I got the mooves like Jagger.…🐄🐄🐄

Wednesday.

This morning Elizabeth had an appointment at the hospital in Purmerend for a bone density scan and blood tests. This is prior to some dental surgery she will be having in England. Our age related ailments mean that we both need to be checked for all kinds of things to keep us going. A bit like an older car needing more maintenance and frequent oil changes.

Theo was kind enough to collect us and take us to the hospital which was a lovely modern and bright building. It has a high atrium and a selection of exotic trees and plants growing in the main hall.

Elizabeth was dealt with early and quickly so our visit was a relatively short one. 

When we left we found that Theo has a very interesting way of avoiding hospital parking charges. 

On departure he follows close behind another car which is leaving. When this car pays and leaves he follows close behind and leaves with a sudden acceleration before the barrier can come down on his car. 

It’s like being with Max Verstappen at the start of a formula 1 race! 

I’m sure I don’t have the nerve to do that in England and anyway we have a different system which records your car’s registration number when you arrive.

But Theo thinks that he already pays enough by way of his health insurance. So good luck to him. 

Hospital parking in England has recently been reduced from its previous high level, so it’s not such a problem for us. 

Theo took us home for a delicious lunch of fresh bread with Gouda cheese and salad. It was also a pleasure to meet Amar again.

Next we were taken to a lovely nature reserve called Het Twiske where we enjoyed a walk. Here are some stock photos of this place (I didn’t take any myself).

I’m sure you can see why this is a very popular place for both the locals and visitors. Apparently it gets very busy in the summer.

It was on our journey home that I noticed many Netherlands national flags flying in fields all along the country roads. I had noticed this before when we had been out walking. What had not spotted before was that the flags were being flown upside down. So what I thought was a show of national pride is in fact a big protest by farmers against government policy in regard to nitrogen emissions  

The number of farm animals (particularly cows) are causing high levels of nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands.

The government here has pledged to cut these Nitrogen levels by 50% by 2030.  The only way this can be achieved is by cutting the number of livestock.  200,000 cattle have already been culled and many farms closed.  But there is a long way to go to achieve the target. Farmers claim they are being unfairly taxed when they exceed government limits on the number of animals they have. 

This is obviously a very controversial and emotive subject which I don’t feel qualified to debate.

But it seems to me that a world slowly moving to a plant based diet will help everyone. That does not solve the immediate problem. 

Meanwhile Dutch farmers struggle to maintain their way of life and the standards they have become accustomed to.

And the cows eat grass.

We have to say a special “thank you” to Theo for all his help today and for his excellent company. We both look forward to seeing more of him and his family when we next visit. 

We had another enjoyable dinner followed by the pleasure of just being together. 

More fun tomorrow….