CHAPLAIN’S LETTER
At the 1998 Lambeth conference bishop John Hind who was then our diocesan bishop and bishop Evans Kisseka from the diocese of Luweero in Uganda first had the idea of creating a diocesan link. Bishop Hind later entrusted responsibility for the link to our archdeaconry of north west Europe on behalf of the diocese and so the Luweero twinning or link was born. During the course of the past eight years there have been a number of exchange visits, and a number of chaplaincies including our own and individuals have given generously to support different church based projects in Luweero. Most importantly the Luweero link led to the setting up of the Healthy Vine Trust which does vital community health work in some of the poorer parts of the Luweero diocese.
At the beginning of September Alastair Macdonald from Amsterdam and I visited the Diocese of Luweero. Our purpose was not only to see things at first hand, but also to try and discover whether the church in Luweero valued the link and wanted to continue it. The answer was an emphatic ‘Yes’. In place after place we were warmly welcomed, and thanked over and over again, for the help that our link projects and the Healthy Vine trust have been able to give them. People went to immense trouble to come and meet us and to entertain us. On the first Sunday I was even presented with a live chicken as a thank you gift from the parish where I was preaching! Through this link we have all of us made many friends in this part of Uganda. They look to us for friendship, encouragement, prayer and financial support. Their needs are great, but so is their courage and determination to help themselves. They are not just passive recipients of our charity, but brothers and sisters in Christ with whom God has brought us together in a unique relationship.
Of course the contrast between life in rural Uganda and urban Europe could not be greater. Life in a Ugandan village is very basic with no tap water, electricity, gas or sewage disposal. Cooking and washing are done out of doors and education and health care are basic. This together with illnesses like Malaria and Aids is the context in which the clergy and people of the Luwero diocese work to proclaim Christ both by evangelism and by practical service.
I was therefore delighted that our Archdeaconry Synod which met in Antwerp from the 8th to the 10th October voted almost unanimously not only to continue but to develop the link with Luweero. I look forward to encouraging the growth of our relationship with this part of Uganda here at Holy Trinity, and I ask for your prayers and your generous support.
Fr John
WITH ALL SAINTS (1 NOV) IN MIND
For the early Christians koinonia was not the frilly fellowship of church-sponsored bi-weekly outings. It was not tea, biscuits and sophisticated small talk in the Fellowship Hall after the sermon. It was an unconditional sharing of their lives with the other members of Christ’s body.
Ronald J Sider
THE RIGHT TO READ - CONCLUSION
Due to the development of technology, speech is being used more and more nowadays instead of braille, not just for talking books and magazines, but also for speech synthesisers for computers and memo-recorders. This development in technique is a great advance. There are now more books and magazines available for the visually handicapped than ever before. The production takes less time and is less expensive than braille. Those losing their eyesight in later life can now enjoy listening to a great variety of books, and they can also use the computer by working with speech. It is now possible to download a book and listen to it through the speech synthesiser on the computer. Even routine braille readers prefer their mp3 player with a talking book programmed into it, and an ear plug for listening, rather than reading a rather bulky braille book.
Considering all these motives, it is not surprising that (especially among the providers of subsidies) there is a call for a reduction of braille literature. The reason given is that braille readers are in such a small minority and it is too expensive to provide for such a small group. We see even now that the publication of some braille magazines has been discontinued, and the number of braille books produced by libraries is much smaller than the number of talking books. To resist this trend, the theme of the braille bi-centenary year is ‘the right to READ’.
For a skilled reader, finding one’s way in a braille book is far easier than in a talking book. We were shocked to hear that the staff of some of the rehabilitation centres for the visually handicapped sometimes discourage people from learning braille. It is not an easy matter to master this skill for people who lose their sight in later life, and for some it may be impossible, but those who manage to learn it, if even just a little, really benefit from it. Being able to READ instead of HEAR is very important. Reading a braille book may be quite an effort for late learners, but the fact that they can read or write a small message is a great asset and gives them more independence. They can enjoy games with playing cards or other games with braille, or they can receive letters in braille, or compile their own shopping list. I know one example of a Mr Simonson, an Anglican clergyman, whom I knew in London, and who lost his sight at the age of 90 and learnt braille. I used to send him messages in braille and he typed a printed letter back. This correspondence gave us both great satisfaction. He lived until the ripe old age of 102. You may have noticed that very often there is braille written on boxes of medicine, creams, etc. This is the result of an EU regulation. Even those with not so much skill in reading braille can easily recognise the pills they have to take. All sorts of things can usefully be labelled, such as CD’s, or pots and bottles in the kitchen. Occasionally you find braille signs in lifts or at the top of the stairs in railway stations. That is real progress, but it is not enough.
At the 2009 symposium organised by the Braille Bi-Centenary Committee a resolution was passed that, if a user of a library insists on having a book in braille instead of on CD, she/he is entitled to get it. Through publicity we encourage people to use braille more often, not just by reading books, but especially by having a braille display on the computer as well as speech. Otherwise they may become so-called semi-illiterate. It is easy to become lazy and to turn to speech. We hope that this Braille commemoration year will draw the attention of many people, hopefully increasing funds and ensuring that our efforts contribute to an increase in the use of braille.
Mieps
GOD'S MISSION AND OURS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Continued
What are we doing? is the third question. Once again let’s turn to what Christ says: ‘Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.’ (Matthew 10.8) It’s a rather tall order even for mission societies like the ICS to meet all those requirements straight away. But it seems that the fundamental point once again, in answer to the question what are we doing? is changing - changing and releasing. Mission is release from sickness, from death, literally, from isolation (leprosy), from the demonic and the destructive forces that suck human beings down into darkness both inside and outside. Mission is crucially about tangible change, visible release, a release that at the individual level is the release from guilt and fear in respect of God which at the public and corporate level is a release from despair and oppression, from poverty and inhumanity. But whether we’re talking about the individual or corporate, we are talking about change and a change in the life that you see around. What are we doing? We are bringing Christ-shaped change into the situation.
And I put it that way so that we can remind ourselves that the change we speak of, where mission is concerned, is not simply or primarily a change of opinions or even of beliefs. First of all, it’s a change in the whole environment, a change in the world you live in. Not for nothing does St Paul speak of new creation. Not new things going on inside your head; not new concepts but a new world, a world whose newness is shown in that manifest release that’s going on in the lives of people and communities. Where do we start? Where God has started. What do we say? God is nearer that you think. What do we do? We seek to bring Christ-shaped change.
And, fourth, why do we do it? ‘Freely you have received, freely give’: that, surely, must be the hymn to all our thinking about mission. Gratitude is why we do it, because we can’t help it. Why are we seeking to share the good news of Jesus Christ? It is because we have received without payment an inestimable gift, which will not stay still in our hands.
I’ve sometimes used the metaphor (which I hope doesn’t seem too irreverent) that the gospel placed in our hands is like a small, highly active animal: it won’t sit still; it’ll leap out of our hands to go somewhere else. As soon as we’ve received it, off it goes, it has (as we say) a life of its own. We receive a gospel that will not just settle down in us in inaction as something that we can possess and put away in a bottom drawer. We receive a gospel that makes us active, and pushes us out, and leaps out of our hands into the lives of others. And we sometimes need to reflect on the ‘restlessness’ of the gospel, as if the gospel is never content just to settle down and make a home here without wanting to make a home there as well, which is of course why we’re all here.
The New Testament is the story of a restless gospel that constantly leaps over barriers and frontiers that we might be much more comfortable leaving in place. The Acts of the Apostles is a story of that constant frontier leap of the gospel. ‘Freely you have received: freely, give.’ That’s why we do it because our gratitude for the free gift means we can’t keep it to ourselves, and the old adage that the Church exists in mission as a fire exists in burning, is just one way of saying the same thing.
And then of course we come to one of the most challenging bits of the whole picture (the fifth question), How do we plan it? ‘Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food’. (Matthew 10.9-10) The words of Jesus clearly imply that initiative comes first and resource comes later. Anybody involved in planning mission activity has a real challenge in these words. Put a slightly different way, we have to be very careful not to close doors by the way we plan: that is, we need to be led by the sense of where God is actively opening doors and put the initiative and energy there in the trust that somehow that action will generate the resources we need – ‘For the labourers deserve their food’.
Mission travels light. Mission is probably not best advanced by the spectacle of someone embarking on it encumbered with a massive weight of cultural or financial baggage. Some of you may know that wonderful comic novel by Evelyn Waugh, Scoop. It’s about a journalist who is, quite by mistake, sent to cover a civil war in Africa. One of the finest passages is the two pages that describe how young William Boot assembles all the things he thinks he’s going to need in Africa. They include any number of pith helmets and waterproof chests and cleft sticks for carrying messages, and sure enough it’s impossible for him to get it on the plane. Evelyn Waugh is an unlikely place to turn for advice on mission and yet, that image is worth pondering.
Jesus, again and again, emphatically says to his friends in the gospels, travel light, you may find yourselves going into a new situation so encumbered with what you think you need, that you are unable to perceive and respond to what the people in front of you need. And it would be a brave person (wouldn’t it?) who tried to deny that in the history of the Church - indeed in the history of our church - that mission has more than once been held back by people coming along in the spirit of William Boot. So, resource follows initiative; initiative is finding where the doors are open, where the needs are, and God is turning over the soil and that’s where we’ll set our faces. We try and allow that situation to shape our sense of what we need to bring, and how we resource it. Needless to say, it’s not a recipe for doing no planning and trusting in the providence of God. That’s the other big mistake. Just wandering aimlessly into the field and saying here I am: over to you, may be a mark of great spiritual courage, but is not necessarily very sensible in the light of the New Testament, which encourages us to be prudent and thoughtful, to count the cost, to know where we’re going and why. But all that being said, travelling light is absolutely essential.
So in these short verses in Matthew 10 we do seem to have some rather clear directions about where mission starts, and how and why it takes the shape that it does. It starts where God starts. It says, ‘God is nearer than you think’. It realizes Christ-shaped change. It arises afresh, day by day, out of gratitude, the restlessness of God’s
love. And it requires that we take the initiative and then look for the resource. We step out in trust that God seems to be opening the door. © Rowan Williams 2009
To be continued next month.
LUX PERPETUA LUCEAT EIS
During September, we had to say ‘farewell’ to two faithful members of our congregation: Thom van Hessen and Jonathon Hiscock. Thom is remembered in Madeleine’s latest ‘Miracle’; here follows a short piece from Dave Thomas about Jonathon.
IN MEMORIAM
a tribute to Jonathan Hiscock
Jonathan Hiscock died on 23 September 2009 as a result of pancreatic cancer. He was a much loved member of the Zwolle Congregation. Jonathan was a down-to-earth, gentle and inspiring person. He had a deep and sincere faith and extended a warm welcome to everyone. To our congregation he brought a sense of purpose and stability. Calmly he took things in his stride and his clear relationship with the Lord was his guide.
Thanks to Jonathan’s foresight our church now has a stable base on which to grow and develop further. He suggested that we needed more fellowship and so we started our Bible study group this year. Our commitment to tithe our church’s income was another of his ideas and this will benefit the Luwero Twinning project. And that we now have our own website at Zwolle was thanks to his support.
Sadly Jonathan did not have the opportunity to complete his reader training. However, his commitment to his studies and calling inspired us and the knowledge he acquired deepened his own faith, something he and his family benefited from enormously during his last few weeks.
We will miss Jonathan at Zwolle and our prayers are with his wife Hanneke, his sons David, Thomas and Peter and his daughter-in-law Svetlana.
Dave
ON LINE FOR ADVENT
MARY AND JOSEPH - THE ROAD MOVIE
If you think local nativity plays are charming/hilarious, give yourself a treat and visit a website called: www.paperlesschristmas.org.uk. You won’t regret it!
Those clever people at Jerusalem Productions and the Bible Reading Fellowship have brought the story of Mary and Joseph up to date – and how! This online Advent production certainly gives the Christmas story a fresh and original makeover.
The Adventures of Mary and Joseph: The Road Movie will run throughout Advent, and will soon have you hooked. Tell your friends about it, and spread the poignancy of the old Christmas story in a fun, funny and thought-provoking way.
Here is what some people who have already seen paperlesschristmas have said about it:
The Road movie is great and so imaginative. Roger Royle, BBC broadcaster
The most convincing Mary and Joseph I've ever seen. It is proof Christmas can be fun. Dr James Rosenthal, President, St Nicholas Society, London Internet Church
Delightful. It's the future. John Simpson CBE
FOR OUR YOUNGER READERS!
Here’s something for the younger CTC members to have a look at. Kunnen jullie de verloren munt, de lamp en de bezem vinden? Zien jullie ook iets anders? Het verhaal is dat van de vrouw die een zilveren munt verliest en het hele huis schoonmaakt om die munt te vinden. Dan nodigt ze iedereen uit om te vieren dat zij de munt terug heeft gevonden. Op dezelfde manier viert God het terugkeren van een zondaar. Zie Lukas 15:8-10 Tussen twee haakjes, je zou de tekening ook kunnen inkleuren!
GREEN AWARENESS GROUP OUTING SATURDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER
It’s amazing how the seasons come and go. The autumnal equinox seems to be thrust upon us this year without much warning and it’s back to the winter woollies again! Well, in all fairness, we were blessed with a pretty good summer and just at the tail end of it, at the recommendation of Maarten Rigter of the Green Awareness Group, 19 of us spent a most memorable late summer’s day at the Heerlijkheid Marienwaerdt. This is a beautiful 900 hectare country estate owned by the Van Verschuer family since 1734, located in the heart of the Betuwe in the Geldermalsen region. The original estate dates back to 1129 when an abbey was built with its main buildings erected around the cloister on the site of the present manor house. The name “Marienwaerdt” meaning “island of Maria” denotes the piece of elevated land or ridge on which the buildings were erected, protecting them from flooding from the River Linge. On the surrounding land there are 3 country-houses and 17 farms. The estate is completely ecological and is farmed on biological principles - no chemicals, pesticides, fertilisers or animal medicines are used - everything is ‘puur natuur.’ Self-sufficiency is the aim and with the abundance of grain fields, fruit orchards, nut trees, dairy and meat cattle fed on the crops grown there, sheep grazed on the pastures and a host of products sold in the farm shop and consumed in the brasserie and restaurant, it seems that their goal is achieved! On arrival we were welcomed with a hearty portion of delicious homemade spicy apple cake and coffee in the delightful rustic ambiance of the recently restored oak-beamed pancake house: ‘De Stappel(b)akker’ adorned with antique chandeliers! Our guide Lars gave us a brief rundown on the history of the estate and escorted us outside to begin our tour. Little did we know the extent of the educational/endurance exercise that lay ahead of us! Its not every day one has the occasion to sit in a horse-drawn covered wagon pulled by two rather frisky horses. For those of you old enough to remember the westerns Laramie or Wagon Train on the BBC back in the 60’s it seemed like we were being taken on a trip into the Wild West! One almost needed a leg-up to hoist oneself into the carriage. Suddenly one of the horses reared up and caused the carriage to rock from side to side! In spite of the coachman’s efforts to pacify the horses they were clearly disturbed firstly by a surge of motorbikes roaring into the car-park and later by any unsuspecting vehicle passing along the narrow road circling the estate. After a rather hair-raising 3 kilometer ride led by the driver on foot (!) it was decided to put the dear horses to pasture at a nearby farm and continue the rest of our tour by tractor-drawn carriage. This proved less stressful albeit somewhat noisier. The exhaust fumes of the tractor were counteracted by the sheer freshness and natural beauty all around us and our attentions focused on the abundance of wild life and vegetation. We embarked once more for a visit to the stately manor house: Marienwaert surrounded by a beautiful picturesque garden and adjoining walled kitchen-garden reminiscent of the manorial system in England. A quick peep into the downstairs area of this house revealed an exquisite collection of Chinese, French and English porcelain and an interesting display of family photos and a magnificent dolls’ house. On completion of the tour we returned to ‘De Stappel(b)akker’ for a late lunch of tasty pancakes and refreshing freshly pressed fruit juices. A quick visit to the farm shop with its tremendous variety of home grown products, chutneys, jams, cheeses, juices, biological ‘vino’ and the like finished off a day which proved fruitful in more ways than one! Many thanks to Maarten for coordinating this visit and organizing it with Sheila along with others and Kim for attending to the financial matters with even a bit of cash left over to contribute to the hurch Windows Fund. Jolly good all round I’m sure we will all agree and certainly not an outing to forget!!
Anne Andriessen
WINDOWS FUND
As a postscript to Mieps's October article on the West Window and the Kerkennacht, I would like to add a comment on the very generous donations received since we commenced the Windows Fund Raising. The years 2007 and 2008 brought a total of nearly €32,000 and this year so far about €15,000. The individual gifts range from € 15 to € 10.000. A really wonderful effort!
Mike Ebbs, co-treasurer
CTC CHILDRENS TRINITY CLUB Corner
Hi there! We missed a month but here we are in this exciting time – the run up to Advent and with some important news!
Danielle and her team; Edwin, Ingrid, Jacqui and Jan are setting out on a new venture with the children – new and original material to work with and very much suited to our children’s’ group as it is now. Jan van der Kooy , who sings with the Utrechts Oratorium Vereiniging came in contact with a Mw. Vrijmoeth, also a member of UOV, who was recently decorated by the Queen for all the work she has done over the years on material to be used in children’s’ Christian Sunday groups. Having mentioned his interest in working with children in church, Jan was invited to Mw. Vrijmoeth’s home in Houten where she had a whole room containing the books and materials she had used to produce her ‘system’.
‘VERTEL HET MAAR’ is an easy-to-use programme with complete sections for each session: introduction, Bible text with story, which can also be read aloud by the children from the Children’s Bible. There is also guidance for communicating this to and with children, and each session is rounded off with a creative activity. It lends itself to use with different age groups and is “helemaal in het nederlands” – which suits our CTC children. It is direct and, according to Danielle, more up to date in its style. We will keep you posted on the progress with ‘Vertel Het Maar’ which has so far been used for two sessions, and with the follow-up material for the coming months up to Christmas which has been ordered.
There is a growing movement within CTC for more music participation by the children! It is felt that this is an aspect from which the children and the whole church would benefit. Jan has been instrumental (excuse the pun) in encouraging this movement, and will no doubt be working together with Danielle and the team leaders towards making music an integral part of the CTC sessions and ensuring that this should be part of our church service from time to time.
This was it from CTC for now! Don’t forget to pray for the team and the children – that the new material may inspire them and help them grow! Profiles of the CTC team leaders will be included in our December ‘corner’ – see you then!
Nicky for CTC
MIRACLE 9
A letter for Thom van Hessen
Dear Thom,
Some time ago you left us to be with God in His heavenly light. I had wanted to ask you some questions about management, when Father John mentioned your great talent for management, which had been of immense use during the church window restoration project. I had just been asked to be on the board of an Antillean organisation in Tilburg. For this I would need some management skills, which I do not have. There was a feeling of unlimited time to wait for the appropriate moment to ask you these questions. And suddenly it seemed to be too late. But then by the way of a small miracle your answer did come.
During the funeral service in Holy Trinity Church, which you had composed yourself, it was as if you were very much present. The church was packed with your loved ones and friends; so many were there that there was no room left and many people stood outside the church on the pavement in the drizzling rain. After the service we went to Overvecht to the crematorium building and there several of your relatives, friends and colleagues spoke some words about your life, your friendship, work and talents. And there, in these words, came the answer to the questions I had wanted to ask you:
A man from the Ukraine-Netherlands Commission talked about the work you had done for them since you joined their organisation two years ago and how you had shown them what good management entails. You were a very good listener, he told us, who would carefully listen to what the problems were, without giving any judgments or jumping to conclusions. Then you would concentrate on solutions that were feasible in the short term and only next on solutions to longer term problems. At my first meeting with the Antillean organisation I applied these ' skills': first of all trying to listen very carefully to everything the others had to say, and I thought of you. Thank you for your answers Thom!
For your wife Hetty and all the people who knew you, your death came much too soon. But somehow you are still present among us in everything you did for us as a congregation: not only in your work for the church windows (of which you
saw the west window restored and shining in the afternoon sunshine), but also your other church work, including being an excellent secretary, a skilled organizer, a formidable arbiter and peace-maker. Then there was always your kind smile and honest friendship. You are now in the peace which passes all understanding and we pray for you, for Hetty and all who mourn for you. You would always say, when you lead the intercession in church: "There will be a short moment of silence after each prayer". So let there be a short moment of silence after this prayer for you and may our merciful Father accept this prayer for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ. Amen
Madeleine
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
A very sick man visited his doctor in a small rural village. As he was leaving, he suddenly blurted out: "Doctor, I am afraid to die. You go to church on Sundays. Tell me what lies on the other side."
Very quietly the doctor said, "I don't know."
"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"
The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining. He opened the door and the patient’s spaniel sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.
Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice your dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened he sprang in without fear.
”I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door opens, I shall pass through with no fear, but with gladness."
PRAYER CHAIN
If you have any requests for the prayer chain, or if you feel called to take part in this ministry, please contact Anne Miechielsen
FESTIVALS
Shortly after I was born the War To End All Wars - Part 2 ended and Edinburgh, my native city, decided it was its job to raise the artistic tone of the world by holding the Edinburgh International Festival consisting of classical and contemporary theatre, opera, music, dance, visual arts, talks and workshops. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and we ordinary citizens shuddered too. However this brought thousands of tourists to the city, who in turn brought lots of lovely money, which we made sure they left behind when they went. But every August it converted the city into a sort of living hell for us residents.
Back in those days a major form of entertainment was 'going to the cinema' and Edinburgh then had more than twenty cinemas. We also had a good number of live theatres, decent restaurants, nice hotels and so forth. But, during the Festival the cinemas were showing incomprehensible Norwegian black and white films (with subtitles), the theatres had displays of exotic native dancing from some obscure African country while the restaurants and hotels were fully booked for the entire month. To add to the fun, all the above establishments had to take on temporary staff to handle the load. It goes without saying that these temporary staff had the greatest difficulty distinguishing their nether regions from their elbows and thus could answer none of the tourist's questions. So us poor inmates of the city who were seeking a entertaining movie, an interesting play, a nice meal out or to book a room in a hotel for a friend from out of town tended to run into the same ubiquitous answer excuse, "Well, it’s the Festival, y'know."
Luckily by the time I was twelve years old I had joined a Boy Scout troop which held its annual summer camp in August and this got me out of the city for the worst of the Festival. As I grew older I was careful to book my holiday early every year to ensure I could have it in August. By that time the Festival had, like a plague, spread. Now there were nowhere like enough places to perform and the concept of the 'Venue' was born. At the top end of the 'Venues' were small halls, like Boy Scout huts, church halls etc.. Next down were pubs and I believe that the bottom place was held by a public toilet. (I'm not making this up, y'know.) In the end there were very few places that a non-artistic citizen could seek refuge for the entire month.
But then my career took me south to London, a city far too large to be disrupted by anything as insignificant as a mere Festival. The years drifted by and I let my guard down to the extent of accepting the use of my mother's flat for Harry and me to visit the city while she was on holiday with her sister. I remembered, far too late, that The Festival was on during our stay. I hastily told Harry the bad news, but he didn't seem to grasp the full horror of the situation until one evening when we managed to get a table in a restaurant. The waiter was an elderly gent who was so well versed in his temporary trade that he was unsure if a rosé wine was a red or a white. The serving of the meal was a bit of a fiasco and the Head Waiter apologised with the standard 'It's the festival, y'know'. Which caused Harry to do a nose job on the red wine he was drinking (he used to drink
in those days).
But the area I now live in has mercifully brief festivals. Our great city of Buren, for example has its Once A Year Day. But this only disrupts our bucolic life for one day and is dead easy to avoid. Then we have our Hat Day, when everyone is supposed to wear an interesting hat. But just down the road in Tiel they go a bit more up market and have a Fruit Corso. For this momentous event all the local towns and villages enter floats. Each of these is a tableau created, very artistically, out of fruit. These are all built in secret, each team jealously guarding their prodigy from the prying eyes of the others. Then they hold a grand parade of all the floats. These are run passed the judging panel and the crowds in the tribunes and a winner is declared.
For the kids static displays are set up on the river bank designed and built by the local schools. These are large mosaics made of fruit. (Personally I think it is a waste of good jam making ingredients. But I suspect I'm just a tiny bit biased.)
It all sounds so simple, but of course it requires a lot of organisation. First the tribunes must be built. This reduces the traffic on one of the main arteries into the city centre to single alternate lanes. This persists for the week before and about three days after the weekend of the Corso. As you would expect, on the actual day of the Corso it completely closes off that side of the city, allowing no cars in or out. This year, in their infinite wisdom, the powers that be also arranged the Apple pop music festival to be held on the same weekend. This was located on the other side of the city and closed access from that side totally from the Friday to the Monday after the Corso. To insure their dominance they actually erected a marquee right across the main road! This meant that on the Saturday of the Corso the only unobstructed access to Tiel was by train. Naturally NS decided this year to schedule engineering works on the track and suspended all the trains replacing them with a temporary bus service. About here you can just imagine the chaos spreading outwards like the ripples when you throw a stone in a pond.
So the week before, all the ‘Road Closed’ signs and red and white barriers in the entire province of Gelderland were collected up and sent to Tiel where they were lavishly distributed, closing off all the main roads and side streets. All the cars were desperately trying to find a way through and to add to the mayhem there was a fleet of temporary busses, driven by drivers who don't know the area, trying to get to and from the railway station.
This year on the week before the Corso Harry's computer went toes-up and for the first time I couldn't fix it. We were a bit desperate as the newsletter had to go out on time. So we had to take it into the computer shop in Tiel. On the first trip, the day before the Corso, we were beginning to think that taking it to a computer shop in Groningen would have been quicker. Then we had to return, fighting our way through the mayhem with my English copy of Windows. Finally we had to go back a third time and collect the repaired machine. By then I was convinced that a Corso can be just as annoying as a Festival. I wonder, should I teach the locals the phrase, 'It's the Corso, y'know'?
Jamie
Services at Holy Trinity Church, Utrecht
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