Statuesquely Watching the World rush By…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m sitting in bed, fairly immobile with my foot in plaster so new photos from around and about my home city are not happening any time soon.

However I do have some photos in my stash from walking adventures around The Hague earlier on in the year, so this post is about a small series of those photos.

There are some figures in The Hague that many the locals will recognise but might be less well known to visitors.

They are not situated in the centre of town or near any prominent tourist attraction, and are on a busy road, well above people’s eye-line and set back just a little so if you are just looking straight in front of you out of the car or tram window then you might not even realise that they are there.

I’m a detail fanatic and love looking up at the decorations on old buildings when I’m a passenger in a car or on a tram.

Sadly many of the oldest buildings on this street  and in this neighbourhood were rather dilapidated and run down and so were in recent years demolished to make way for newer, more modern houses and shops.

If you find yourself on the Loosduinseweg, between the intersections of  the Asmanweg and the Gaslaan, heading towards Loosduinen, then you will have on your left hand side a tram track that runs though a narrow avenue of trees and which divides the road and the traffic heading in the opposite direction and on your right hand side, a large block of Flats that sport some small business premises out the front.

The Flats take up a good proportion of the area between the Asmanweg and the Gaslaan and more or less in the centre, there are two columns,  that mark a small parking and drop off area that comes off the Loosduinseweg and service the flats.

My statues are a jaunty couple seated upon these columns and if you are not looking for them, are dwarfed by the flats behind them.

They are a figures of a man and a woman,  1930′s style (I think) and they are casually posed, nonchalantly looking down at the traffic that passes by on the busy road.

Perched up high, it’s not so easy to get photos from different angles, but I’ve done my best.

I love them…   take a look and see if you do too…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Kid Cooking made Easy… “Pigs in Blankets”

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Kiwi Daughter: currently aged nine years of age, often expresses interest in cooking.

I’d like to think that it’s all due to the Maternal Influence in this household… that she has seen my passion for food, my deep love of cooking, of entertaining and feeding people.

Sadly more critical inspection reveals that the most likely cause of her motivation consists of her attempting over indulgence of her rampant sweet tooth, since about 95% of her chosen recipes involve chocolate or icing as an ingredient… or even more preferably, if she can manage it…. both.

Because of this I have been trying hard to show her that cooking savory items can also be satisfying and since she has recently discovered that she likes puff pastry, she asked if she could make something for lunch that included pastry.

I am not able to stand on two feet at the moment and the combination of crutches, an oven, a nine year old helper and a minuscule galley kitchen meant that I needed to think of something easy, whereby Himself could take care of the oven and assist in the easiest preparation possible.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Thus the brainwave… smoked sasuages wrapped in pastry, a.k.a. “pigs in blankets”.

Dutch pastry of the commercial variety comes in small frozen packages of ten little square sheets, approximately 10 cm square (about 4 inches square).

Here in The Netherlands we do have soft sasuages in cans, called ” knackworstjes“. They come in regular length and in mini form and I think that the mini sized ones translate to the little sasuages that are called “cocktail franks” in North America.
Our version of these have soft side and no real skins and would quickly go mushy in the oven, so I used a different sort of knackworst that has a firmer skin and just sliced them into thirds to make them the right length.

All Kiwi Daughter needed next were a few sheets of pre-prepared puff pastry.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Ingredients:
Frankfurters
Several sheets Puff pastry
Milk (optional)
Mustard (optional)
Ketchup (optional)

Method:
Preheat your oven to 225 C (440 F)
Take a thawed sheet of ready rolled puff pastry and roll up your Frankfurter pieces.
Use a small dab of water to seal the join of the pastry, and place the pieces join side down onto a baking tray.
Brush with milk ( if you want a more golden coloured pastry).
Bake for about 12- 15 minutes or until the pastry, puffs up, is cooked and golden in colour.
Serve with mustard or ketchup if you wish.

Et Viola!, Himself was the Master Controller of the Oven and hot trays, Kiwi Daughter did the cutting of the sasuages and the rolling up of the pastry, she achieved a simple tasty lunch with minimum effort and adult input and she’s pleased as punch with the results.

hmmm… I foresee a looming addition to puff pastry, so dear Daughter, no you can’t have these every day this week, there are other savoury school-holiday lunch recipes at our disposal too… we will cover many of them in due course.

Meantime, my Compliments to my budding chef and her sous-chef helper: Himself… by the time my foot is mended I might have a fight on my hands to wrestle back my kitchen LOL!

“Miscellaneous” and a Final Portuguese Round-Up…

We are almost at the end of our Portuguese adventures… I have some photos that I really like but which didn’t get included into other posts for various reasons. This is therefore a round-up of the “miscellaneous” …

Some of them I like for their scenic qualities…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Some of them for their graphic qualities…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This one because I have a very strange compulsion to take photos of  letterboxes…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Or because dried salt cod is just so normal and everyday in a Portuguese supermarket…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I didn’t know the name of these but they make an interesting shape to photograph…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Becuase there were quite a few of these little signs, all different, dotted around northern Portugal…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

And because sometimes the subject just caught my fancy…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Adieu Portugal… until next time…

The dna Cafetaria and an Unexpected Local Speciality…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Evening is falling in the northern Portuguese town of Arcos de Valdevez. We have been looking around the area and stopped here for a swim in the river and a look around.

Now tummies are rumbling so we cast our thoughts away from the cooling water to searching for a place where we can eat.

Himself remembers seeing a Cafe/Restaurant  called the “dna cafetaria” at the end of the promenade type area where the jousting statues were located.

The rumbles in the kids tummies are starting to come out of their mouths in the form of sibling bickering  and any wise parent knows that in order to stop this swelling  riptide of whining, the best course of action is to stem the hunger pangs fast…so without any ado we make a bee-line for this place.

It’s still very warm, even as the daylight is fading so photos are getting hard to take, even though we are seated outside under the sun umbrellas. Little Mr. decides that this is an opportune moment in which to request a ” portrait photo-shoot”.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Little Mr. and good camera moments are based solely on the whim and mood of  a positive co-operation level, and the right moment with a camera-to-hand and that these two events converge about as often as full moons. Therefore I seize the moment and grab a ” series” of photos of him in cute pose, actually enjoying the process for the family album.

The camera battery was flashing  “Beware-I’m-getting-empty” messages as the food arrived so today I make do in this blog post with the few shots I took before the battery died on me.

Murphy’s Law was that I thought I was smart because I’d remembered to pack  the extra camera battery but I’d totally forgotten to recharge it first, so as Confucius Says: “Duh, fat lot of use that is“.

Little Mr. went for the Portuguese version of a Hot Dog,  Kiwi Daughter pleaded that since it was one of her last days in Portugal, wanted a special  treat, put her best pleading face on and scored a pancake covered in chocolate sauce, followed by a toasted sandwich with massively thick bread slices.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The sight of this instantly transported me back to my childhood when the bread we bought came only one way: the white unsliced loaf. It was a special treat for us to make what we called “door-step” sandwiches with really fresh super soft and springy bread, super fresh out of it’s paper bag wrapping …the slices cut at least double usual thickness, still warm and very bread-y smelling.

Later we moved to the city and discovered brown bread, wholemeal, ready-sliced, wrapped in plastic, seemingly “progress” but actually not necessarily completely if you look at it  hard with a keen eye.

I fancy a hamburger just a few times a year and once I spied Hamburger on the menu I decided that today was a Hamburger day…

Himself asked in Portuguese if there were any local specialties on the menu and the reply came back that “francesinha especial com batata” was such an item, so he ordered one of those.  And No… he wasn’t exactly sure what it consisted of when he ordered it, but he was due to find out.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We ate well, even if  “francesinha especial com batata” turned out to be very  impressive if  rather heavy meal, (I’m being polite) …

Reality was that it was mega-dripping with cheese , very heavy and the gravy made all the French fries soggy.

It was a somewhat similar construction to Kiwi Daughter’s toasted sandwich, but with more meat in the centre, as well as copious amounts of cheese, a fried egg on top along with yet more cheese, then the whole ensemble was drenched in  gravy and served with fries.

Phew, I feel my arteries hardening a little just typing out the description LOL.

I suppose you could call it the local heart attack experience and we quickly concluded that a) I got a better deal and that b) Himself was happy to persevere this one time, but that it would remain a one-time experience.

He wasn’t just full at the end of it, it was more of a lead weight feeling, and that night’s sleep probably wasn’t the best he had all holiday.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The kids polished off ice-creams for afters and slept in the car on the journey back to camp.

All things considered it was a good meal… and I can’t remember exactly what we paid but I do remember that it was so cheap that I thought they must have forgotten a few things off the bill… they hadn’t.   Definitely can’t say that we didn’t get value for money here, and the service was ok too.

We would come back here in a heartbeat, but Himself, valuing his heart, will likely be ordering something a tad lighter if we return. Oh well, that’s what you get for signing up for the local specialty…  a surprise, a very unforgettable experience and a good laugh.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Literally making a Splash in Arcos de Valdevez…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’ve brought you back to our adventures and travels in Portugal.

We are in the small northern Portuguese town of Arcos de Valdevez. The second delight that we find here is the river that runs though the middle of the town.

We were here at the end of August, beginning of September and it’s hot to say the least, around 33 C  (91 F) so the sight of people swimming and playing in the river gets our kids hopping with excitement in the back seat of the car.

We find a car park and the kids don’t need asking twice to get out of the car. We have swimming gear and towels in the boot of the car and in no time at all we have crossed the bridge and are on the recreational stony opposite bank of the river.

There are a few trees dotted around closer to the water and I find one to sit under as I’m a reluctant swimmer. Technically I can swim, but it’s what I call “lifejacket style” swimming i.e. I can swim if my life, or that of one of my kids depended on it, but in that situation I would be swimming in desperation and not for pleasure.

Learning to be confident in water is something I’d like to master in my lifetime, but I think I will have to take some adult swimming lessons and to be honest that’s not high priority with  Himself, two kids,  job, house etc requiring  time too.

Luckily Himself and Kiwi Daughter are confident and accomplished swimmers and judging by his lessons so far, Little Mr. is rapidly working himself out of my swimming league and into his Fathers and Sisters, so they take to the river like ducks and enjoy splashing around and getting wet.

As Chief Towel, Valuables and Clothes Keeper, I stay in the shade and take photos for the Family Album, until the water proves too cold eventually and the hunger pangs draw the kids towards getting changed and urging us towards a venue that sports refreshments.

We like Arcos de Valdevez and and Himself and I would like to explore more, but first… we need to go in search of food for four rumbling tummies.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

…in the distance, on the other side of the River…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Nic’s Boursin Tomato and Cucumber Nibbles, Mega Easy Chic!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Before I return you to our Portuguese adventures, I will respond to a request that was made in a comment to yesterdays post.

Yes, and this photo, again LOL!

I was asked for recipes to the photos that I posted, and whilst I won’t do them all right now, I will do the first one and then get to the rest as soon as I’ve finished with the Portugal posts.

I’m a long time member of the website (formerly) known as “Recipezaar.com ” It now sports the very generic and bland name of  “Food.com”  and whilst there are many failings and blips in the new site, it does have a wonderful recipe data-base submitted up by many faithful members over the years.

There are possibilities to review recipes and, if you like submit photographs of them as well, and I have had the pleasure of making, reviewing, and often photographing more than 1000 recipes over the years.

It’s actually just as well that Tracy ( a.k.a. “milkayphoto”  http://milkayphoto.wordpress.com/2010/12/24/from-our-house-to-yours/) asked for this recipe, because until this moment I didn’t realise that I had been making it for at least two years now for family parties and friends to dinner but had completely forgotten to submit a review or my photos.  (An omission that I will rectify shortly.)

The recipe was submitted by a Zaar member with a screen name called “Nic” and I have made several recipes from her in the past, all good. The recipe uses basic ingredients that you can jazz up at will, but produces as result that is greater than the sum of it’s parts.

So, in short, mega easy with the “wow factor“, what busy Foodie doesn’t appreciate that?

I can tell you that I have make my own feta and garlic spread in the past and used that in place of the Boursin, but both taste great so if you don’t have Boursin to hand but have something else that you think might work then don’t be afraid to experiment a little. This recipe is very forgiving.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I pat off most of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes with a paper towel just so it’s not dripping in grease, but a little oil is highly recommended as it gives great flavour and blends the different elements together.

I also always peel my cucumbers because the first time I made this I did a large batch for a party and did some peeled and some not and the peeled version disappeared light years before the un-peeled ones. Since then I’ve always peeled the cucumbers.

Here is the recipe in full, but if you make it I’m sure that Nic would appreciate it very much if you would click on the link to the original recipe that I have provided below and leave her a review to tell her how the recipe faired for you and your guests.

Prep Time: 20 mins, serves 20-25 depending on how thick you slice your cucumber and how long your cucumber is.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
100g  Boursin cheese with herbs

20-25 fresh basil leaves
20 -25 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
Directions:
Cut the cucumber in half length-ways and slice a little off the bottom to make it sit flat on the plate.
Note: you can peel the cucumber if you prefer or if the skin is tough – it’s easier to do this before slicing in half.
Scoop out the seeds and discard them.
Fill the hollow of the cucumber with the Boursin or cream cheese, smooth top with a knife.
Cut the cucumber into bite sized pieces and top each one with a basil leaf and a tomato.
Secure with a cocktail stick.
Drizzle with some of the olive oil from the tomatoes.
Chill until ready to serve.

http://www.food.com/recipe/boursin-tomato-and-cucumber-nibbles-249820

Enjoy!!!

For a Kid the word “Love” is spelled “T.I.M.E.”

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Christmas Day is upon us and people everywhere are busy doing things for the occasion, stressing about timing the cooking of a turkey right, frantically sieving lumps out of gravy, wondering why you bothered when your toddler is playing more with the packaging than the so-called must-have gift that you had to go to six different shopping centers to hunt down and then queue ages to get.

Ok, my youngest is now five and is actually very  interested in the gift, especially if the word “playmobile” is stamped onto the outside of the box but actually there are many lessons to be learned from kids and Christmas if you stop a little and listen.

Having spent the last three weeks in plaster and having pain if my foot is lowered towards the ground, this results in being what might in the politically correct folks call “mobility impaired”. I call it frustrating, annoying, painful and boring. Yeah for sleeping and painkillers.

On the plus side, you get to have the kids run inside from playing in the snow for a cuddle (actually it’s their intent to steal my body heat as I’m currently the warmest person in the house and wow their little hands are cooooold when shoved onto your bare stomach or leg.)

And I have been reminded that some of the biggest gifts that kids REALLY want are either free or cost very little indeed.  I always knew this, but sometimes that reality of it gets pushed to the back of your mind a bit more than it should in the rush of everyday life.

Little Mr. does indeed worship little plastic figures with “C” shaped “hands” and he worships them even more if they come with fire hoses or ambulance or police accessories that fit into those little plastic hands, but in the end what he really wants for Christmas is exactly the same thing that he loves best all year round.

TIME.

He wants us to sit on the floor with him, showing him how Lego blocks can be shaped into funnily shaped buildings (Note to self, we appear to have ten times more Lego doors than windows and this makes for some construction quandaries). he wants a Big Person to put the mega fiddly steering wheel bits back together after he has pulled them apart for the fourth time , no wait, fifth time , no wait, sixth time…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

He wants us to build complex castles with the wooden blocks and even better, to play the bad dragon who’s coming to breath fire on the surrounding forest and burn it down, whilst he, the courageous knight comes out and gives the dragon a good telling off so that it becomes good again.

It’s the same with Kiwi Daughter, she wants to get her fingers sticky in the kitchen, deep in the remnants of the bowl that a short time earlier housed the chocolate cake batter, or taking a sneaky bite of a mini muffin fresh out of the oven, or grated cheese from the side of the grater.

She wants to choose colours from my plastic container of food colourings, to mix icing for biscuits (cookies) or gingerbread or … heck, lets be honest here:  icing on anything edible would pretty much suit that kid.

She wants to get her fingers dirty in glue and glitter and felt and thread and the sequins and mini pompoms that are crowded with the pipe-cleaners and various other low quality  items that were jam packed into a cheap box that she bought  herself for Euro 3.99 the other day with “holiday money” of Euro 5,- that I gave each of them the other day to spend.

She spent the rest on a pack of coloured pencils that cost 99c and Little Mr managed to spend Euro 4.97 of his share and they triumphantly handed me the change of a full 5 cents as they showed off their choices.

Himself said that he was pleased and proud to see that they both chose very wisely for the cash they had, and it made the lonnnnng and painful deliberation process that took place in the shop easier to withstand in the pre-Christmas rush.

Kiwi Daughter is delighting in drawing, wants to learn how and delights in colouring in… she and I have been making joint first attempts at folding origami boxes, playing board games on the bed and reading.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Little Mr has been watching kid movies on the dvd player and wanting reassurance that when it looks like the baddies are coming that it doesn’t all get too scary. I assure him that in most cases I have ever heard of the Good guys usually win/ find their way home etc and that helps… until next movie when he needs reassuring again. (And no, these are not ‘scary’ movies,  we are talking movies like Shrek and Toy Story).

I am reminded that my kids value TIME so much more than they value “stuff” and that they love to cuddle up next to me with a book,  even if they say they are “too old for that stuff now”.

Of course my kids are normal kids, Yes they have been fighting tooth and nail most of the day with each other, Yes there was a row about who was going to tidy up what when we were preparing the house for guests Christmas Day (not exactly a Spring Clean, but at least not let the place resemble the bomb-site i.e. a “toy grenade went off here”  it usually does).

We did manage to corral most of the kid-junk into the kid bedroom, and yes I know it never stays there, but I live in hope that at least whilst we eat Christmas Lunch that no one finds Playmobile figure body parts under their feet at the dining room table.

Yes, Little Mr. did manage a Force Ten Gale of a tantrum because I asked him pick up a single solitary woolen mitten… why? because it belonged to his sister and not him… so Yes they are normal kids and not saints.

That’s why I’m delighted to report that this Christmas Eve, Kiwi Daughter has been “secretly” drawing cards to give as presents to guests tomorrow, she’d been trying to make gifts from the sparkly, tacky, beautiful bits in her Euro 3.99 treasure trove of stick and paste…. she’s been delighting in it and making it personal.

To a lesser extent so has Little Mr ( and his fingers, face and clothes are completely covered in felt tip pen marks to prove it)

They been spending TIME, they have been delighting in doing it, they are very proud of their creative achievements and they’ve given great thought ( and ok, a few squabbles too) into what would be best for each of the people concerned.

So… tomorrow, Saturday 25th December 2010, they each find under the Christmas tree, a single large gift and two tiny ones, but I’m delighted to say that they have each discovered  the joy of giving and the Spirit of Christmas, and maybe, with the gift of TIME, that is the present that I am proudest that they appreciate.

So, Yes, Today for many around the world is about the food and festivities, and giving gifts, but I hope it’s also about spending time.

I wish each of you a brilliant Christmas, full of joy, laughter, happiness and TIME, with people you love.

Merry Christmas!

Jesting, NO, Oops, JOUSTING in Arcos de Valdevez…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

During our wanderings out and about in northern Portugal we happened upon the small town of Arcos de Valdevez.

It was a welcome break from the narrow winding roads that we had been on for quite a while and as an added bonus we discovered several great points about the town that we liked very much indeed…

But first let’s look at a beautiful feature that stands by the river that runs right though the town.

Close to the centre of town, and running alongside one o the main streets we spy a wonderful scene in stone  and bronze.

These jousting knights are magnificently set into a massive stone base, and directly behind them are a series of fountains that gush water at irregular intervals, just like the cut and thrust of battle.

I was delighted to stop and  get some photos of this amazing art form. I was certainly captivated by the beautiful forms of both the horses and the riders… ok, the horses here have no legs, but that leaves you to imagine the thunder of the hooves and the kicking up of the dust…

Supporters wave the ribbons in the colours of your favourite knight…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Going Potty, being Silly and International Sign Language starts with a smile.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Following up on yesterdays post, where I mislaid and then found a camera chip and wanted to tell you about two more sellers I met in the medieval market in Vila Nova de Cerveira.

Yesterdays post was about a man who faces his impairment head on and works hard despite his disability and he is truly an inspiration to me.

Today’s post was about the genuine friendliness and fun of people despite language barriers.

This gentleman sells pottery items that he has made, I saw his stall and I love pots so went over to have a look. He asked me some questions as he saw my interest and we quickly worked out that my few words of Portuguese and his few words of English were not nearly enough for a conversation.

That didn’t deter us, he clearly wanted to know if I was interested in buying something.  In spite of feeling silly,  I left inhibition behind and with a smile and outstretched arms mimicked an aeoplane  (my arms being the wings) and tried to let him know that we were flying home and that our bags were already full.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

His reaction made it clear that it was a pity, and with a smile he mimicked driving a car, so I got the idea that he meant that next time we should drive to Portugal instead of flying.

Then he noticed that I was smiling as I looked at a chamber pot that had a face on the side of it… he laughingly picked it up and made some more serious arty poses with it as I took photos, then he posed with it upside down on his head.

I left him after a fit of giggles and felt that the world was a better place for having had a good laugh, a good conversation in international sign language and where a little bit of humour and a smile goes a very long way.

It reminds me that meeting the locals is the best bit of travelling abroad, that  being willing to make a gesture to show that you appreciate and admire the goods even if you are not in a practical position to buy, is often appreciated by the seller.

He’s been standing there all day, no doubt many people just averted their eyes and walked on past… a smile was appreciated and we both had a good laugh. This is typical of the down to earth friendliness of the Portuguese, but you know what? Give most people and opportunity to be friendly and in my experience 99.9% of them will.

So… make eye contact, have a laugh, communicate with people, even if you do speak the language, don’t let formality get in the way, smile and go on… dare a little.

These are the true riches of not only travel, but of Life.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Living your Best Life, an Inspirational Man…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m being a bit haphazard here and skipping back to an earlier post today… I misplaced a camera chip that featured a two more of the artisans who were working and selling at the medieval market that took place on the weekend of the 27th August in Vila Nova de Cerveira.

Today I found the chip at the bottom of the side pocket of my camera bag (looked before there but missed it the first time)  so I’m taking the time to re-visit these two artisans because both were  friendly and delightful and because they made a real impression on me.

Neither spoke more than three words of English and my ten words of Portuguese didn’t go particularly far but sign language and smiles are international and we made do most excellently with both.

Himself has taken the kids and his excellent Portuguese language talent to the tapas restaurant  restrooms for an urgent kid pit-stop, and they wanting to take the short route back to the car afterwards, this was my opportunity to negotiate the one side street full of market stalls that I had not yet seen, so I nipped off to have a look around and will meet up with them at the car.

Two stalls in particular stood out… and this post is about the broom seller.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It was instantly clear this this man  suffered from a substantial learning problem, his words came out  slurred and with great difficulty,  but he had a very willing (and very noticeably toothless) smile and when he wasn’t attempting to engage with potential customers he was sitting  on a stool constructing a new brooms before my eyes.

The process is swift, his hands dexterously show that he has done this before, probably thousands of times and the head of the broom takes shape with a speed and ease that makes it looks easy.

I know enough about handwork to know that when it looks that easy it definitely isn’t… if I were ever silly enough to try this, I’d be all fingers and thumbs and people would br cracking up with laughter.

He made a great impression on me because in spite of a clear and profound communication disability, he had found a skill and was attempting to make the very best of it in spite of it.

If you could only have heard him attempting to speak you would understand how painful it must be to put yourself  “out there”  on full show and in full view the market place and public with this kind of impediment. I’m not one brave enough to stand and speak in public willingly at any time, so this man earned my utmost respect for doing this and you know what, his handcrafted brooms were amazing too.

Bravo to this man for not only learning a skill that hopefully helps him to make a living, but for also having the courage to actually set up a stall and do the selling himself.  He is a wonderful example of someone who’s trying hard to look at all the positives in life and not just dwelling on the negatives.

He might have every reason and excuse to use this profound communication problem to not participate fully in life or work,  but it’s clear that he has no intention of letting his difficulties hold him back, and for this he earns my utmost respect.

Sadly even a very beautiful a broom wasn’t going to fit into our bags for the flight home or I would have seriously been thinking about getting one.

I  wanted to make a blog post about him as soon as I found my “lost” photos of him because he is the sort of person who should be an inspiration to us all.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)