Lady with Headphones? and Butterfly Hair?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post…  a tour of the Stichting Den Haag Sculptuur (The Hague Sculpture Foundation) annual outdoor sculpture festival.

These photos were made in the summer of 2010 and were in my photo archives,  and since I’m not able to take any outdoors photos at the moment, this seems the perfect time to bring a little bit of last summer to your winter computer screens.

The featured sculptor last year was Manolo Valdéz who hails from Valencia, Spain ( but resides in New York USA).

I have mixed feelings about these works… some aspects appeal more than others.

This first piece was, I thought at first, a representation of a tree. Then I looked again, saw the face and though, “oh, she has leaves for hair”. Then, as we got closer still, all was revealed, those “leaves” were butterflies!

Hmmm… I liked it better when I thought they were leaves actually.

The second head is cousin to the “Darth Vader” piece of yesterday… I’ve nick-named this one ” Lady with Headphones” as that seems more polite than calling her “ lady with the weirdly over sized ears“.  Once again personal interpretation and preferences are everything when it comes to works of art and I’m not in love with this one. not even a little bit.

The next one made my heart leap … I’d seen it from behind and saw what I thought to be a kind of whale tail head dress… great lines!  Then I walked around it and saw that the front was completely different,  it was like there was a great slug perched on her head.  Disappointment.

I do admit that Lady Gaga would probably feel quite inspired by this one, However if I was forced to own it  I’d definitely put it with the front side to the wall and the backside prominent. Or it’s sluggy form would start to eventually irritate me so much that I’d put the whole thing behind a wall (and brick it up LOL).

Before Friends of Slugs get upset, it’s nothing personal against slugs… it’s just that is isn’t the whale tale that I’d hoped for.

The last one got the thumbs up…   I’ve called her ” Lady pretending to be  Admiral Lord Nelson but still looking like she would be ready for Ascot at the drop of a hat” If she were mine, I’d wind fairy lights all around those wires every Christmas… ” Lady Nelson with bling” .

So my friends your  opinions are welcome, as we leave  Manolo Valdéz behind, which of these pieces is your favourite?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Headgear Spikes, But The Look appears Somewhat Heavy…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

After digging into my Photo archives, and discovering some forgotten photos taken last summer, this is Family Kiwidutch continuing our wanderings in the Lange Voorhout (July 2010) where Spanish Sculptor Manolo Valdéz is exhibiting some of his massive sculpture pieces.

Yesterday’s posts saw the horsewomen and the curvy ladies with the heavy dresses and puffy sleeves, and in today’s post we see more figures… mostly sporting some rather creative headgear.

Yesterday’s curvy ladies were soft and gentile,  todays first photos remind me more of someone running head first into a brick wall and coming off second best.

The second on sports the “Darth Vader” look and the last one is at best,  a prickly customer.

Certainly none of them are smiling, or indeed look comfortable to have anything to smile about. Philistine that I probably am, I tried hard to appreciate these but could relate less to them, so for me, the best thing about lingering close to these, were the busking musicians …

(Please Note: Little Mr. ran inconveniently though my best clips, so I can’t show those here, so these lesser offerings are all I have to give you a taste of the ambiance…)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There is a steady breeze which is rather welcome as it was a very warm day by Dutch standards. The avenue of trees giving  welcome shade.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Even more welcome was the sight of  the Italian Ice-cream van ( the scoops are very small in size, but very good)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Horsey and Curvy Ladies Exhibiting Themselves…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Every summer, the Stichting Den Haag Sculptuur (The Hague Sculpture Foundation) posts a massive outdoor sculpture exhibition  in the centre of  Hague.

The primary location is always the same, a leafy broad avenue that is the Lange Voorhout.

This avenue is a mere few streets away from the Hofvijver (Court Pond) and the Binnenhof behind it, (Historic Parliament, which  literally translates as ” the Inner Court”)

The Lange Voorhout is a sort of “L” shape.

Try to imagine an old fashioned smoking pipe laid with the bowl facing downwards, then you would have a better idea of the actual shape.

The long end of the “L” is very broad at one end but gently tapers to the other, the right angle of the “L” is actually a large Plein (Square) that stays more or less the same width it’s whole length.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’ve taken a photo of a Google Earth Image on my computer to try and show you better how this area looks.

Since the only vehicle access through here consists of brick streets each side of the broad avenue of trees, this  is not a major thoroughfare so makes an unusually large pedestrian space  in the middle, ideal for showing large artworks.

Sometimes there are various groups of artists exhibiting a piece or two each, sometimes just one or two artists exhibiting many pieces.

In 2010, Spanish Sculptor Manolo Valdéz is  the featured artist here.

He was born in Valencia, Spain on 8th March 1942, studied Fine Art in Valencia,   received the National Fine Arts Prize of Spain in1984 and went to live in New York in 1990.

Amongst his achievements: He was chosen to represent Spain at the 48th edition of the Venice Biennale, had  retrospective exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and has also exhibited in the garden of the Palais Royale in Paris and on Broadway Avenue in New York.

So.. we know a little about the artist… let’s walk and learn more about his work.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Walking the Backstreets…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I went out for a Doctors visit yesterday morning and spent the afternoon sleeping after taking  painkillers since I’ve discovered that my new walking practice imposes a painful limit when distance is applied.

The 100 meter sprint record is most certainly safe.

After my rest I’m back on the computer this evening to check on email etc and whilst there am reminded of a far better walking experience that we enjoyed last summer.

As usual, camera in hand, I had documented our outing but it’s one of those photo folders that ” I meant to sort out later” and then completely forgot about.

Therefore I will amend that transgression and treat you to a small tour.

…But where are we going to?

Ah Ha ! Our destination will be revealed in due course…

Therefore I will whisk you back in time just a little,  and start just as we did.. in the back streets of the centre of  Den Haag (The Hague).

This is mostly the area between the  Mauritskade and the Lange Voorhout, with a detour along the Kleine Kazernestraat.

It was a beautiful day, so let’s walk…

It doesn’t take us long to pass by the Catholic Sint Jacobus Church…  a stunning building and beautifully decorated.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Beautiful, Yes…   … but onwards…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This is an old part of town, many of the old buildings remain, but there are also a smattering of new buildings nestled amongst them too… the details of the old ones catch my eye.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Mondriaan woz Here…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Hague City Council  (Gemeente Den Haag)  commissioned a beautification programme for the city’s Electrical Substations.

I’ve been busy trying to photograph as many of them as I can.

Dutch artist Pieter Cornelis “Piet” Mondriaan was born in Amersfoort in 1872 was the son of an art teacher.

He qualified as a teacher and also studied fine art in Amsterdam.

He was initially influenced by Naturalism and Impressionism but it was the Cubist movement that was to change the style of his painting for ever.

Mondriaan moved to Paris as a young man, dropped an “a” from his surname and became known as “Mondrian”.

On a visit back to The (neutral) Netherlands in 1914, World War 1 broke out and he was unable to return to Paris until the war ended.

He returned to Paris after the war and evolved his definitive style of geometric black lines and coloured squares. Later after a short stint in London, he moved to New York (Manhattan) in 1940 to escape fascism and the outbreak of the second world war in Europe. He died in Manhattan in 1944.

This electrical substation pays homage to Mondrian’s work and certainly brightens up a Dutch street in a manner that Mondrian would have been delighted to see.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Food Chain Reaction…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Becoming a good blogger entails not only writing your own posts but also reading the blog posts of others. Often they challenge or inspire you, and sometimes you get the added bonus of  links to other blogs that can in turn, start a chain of events.

This post is part of the “chain reaction”…

So.. let’s tell all. One of the bloggers that I follow is Tracy of Milkay Photography.

Yesterday Tracy blogged about the  topic of Food Photography http://milkayphoto.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/three-squares/#comment-4420 and her post was made in direct response to  Scott Thomas’s  http://stphoto.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/assignment-11-food-photography/  blog and his Foodie Photography Challenge.

Since I’m still laid up in plaster, I shall have to bend the rules of the challenge somewhat and dig though some previous meals of ours that I have taken photos of. (Crutches + Camera + accident prone = a risk I’m not prepared to take at the moment LOL)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Added to post later in the day … I found another photo of the soup..(yeah it’s been one of those days LOL)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

Watch how the City Marches into the Market Gardens…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Haags Gemeentearchief (the Hague City Council Archive ) celebrated it’s 125th  by placing many large billboards of photographs  around the city.

All of them are photos of various points in the city taken between 20 and 150 years ago… and all are situated as close to the spot as possible (and where practical) to where the original photos were taken, so that viewer of the billboard can see both the past and present views.

I took photos of many of them whilst they were on view.

I am standing taking these photos on a four-way intersection. As per usual with Dutch streets,  streets often change names at intersections. In this case each of the branches of the four-way intersection sports a different name.

If you are looking towards Tram Number 3 then the street you see will be Arnold Spoelplein, the same street behind you on the other side of the intersection then changes name to Lisztstraat.

If you have Arnold Spoelplein on your left side and Lisztstraat on your right, then the road in front of you (pointing in the direction of Laan Van Meerdervoort) will be Aaltje Noordewierstraat and behind you is then Tramstraat (upon which ironically there are no tram lines LOL).

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Thus the four streets  leading away from this one spot each have different names .. but in general, Tramstraat leads more to the district called Loosduinen and Aaltje Noordewierstraat leads to a district called Waldeck .

So, Now that I have you acquainted with the area, we can proceed to the billboard photo.

The Text on the billboard says: “Gezicht vanaf de verffabriek Premier op een deel van de toekomstige wijk Waldeck. Foto: Dienst Stadsontwikkeling en Volkshuisvesting, maat 1949.”

Translation: View from the  “Premier” paint factory towards a part of the future neighbourhood Waldeck. Photo:  Urban Development and Housing Department , March 1949.

As you can see, this area has changed vastly since 1949.  Long gone are the market gardens that backed onto what used to be the outer edge of the city.

Today the view includes the  Loosduinen terminus of  The Hague’s Tram Line 3, apartments blocks, general housing  and a former post office (building by the empty tram halt with orange signs).  As per recent city council environmental efforts, the grasses by the tram stop have not been mown in the deliberate attempt to encourage bees, insects and butterflies.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Just think…  probably seventy to eighty years ago the caterpillar ancestors of these butterflies had probably been munching on lettuce and cabbage leaves in the market gardens.

Look Out! This Might be “Dangerously Delicious”!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Our little beer-tasting club has been back in action,  and as the non beer drinker in the group I have been busy noting the details in the bottles and writing up the resulting reviews.

Our group do taste several beers in an evening but I’m writing them up as separate  posts so that each beer gets it’s own personal review and page.

BEER: Ramese Bier ‘Mamba Porter’ gevaarlijk lekker”

(Translation= Ramese Beer ‘Mamba Porter ” dangerously delicious”)

0.75 liter

Vol.Alc. 6.4%

Cat.I bier

Mamba Porter is een volle Amerikaanse Porter, Koffiemouten,Chinook, Amaryllo en Crystal hop, verzorgen een verassend fris karakter. Dit bier is gebrouwen door Ramses Snoeij bij de brouwerij de Horne in Kaatsheuvel en bevat uitsluitend natuurlijk ingredienten. 6.4% Proost!

Aanbevolen drinktemperatuur 6-12 C, Ingredienten: Water, Mout (EBC 118), Hopbloemen (EBU 66), Iers mos en Wyeast Irish Ale. Koel en donker bewaren.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Translation:

Mamba Porter is a full American Porter, coffee malt, Chinook, Amaryllo and Crystal hops, produce a surprisingly fresh character. This beer is brewed by Ramses Snoeij at brewery de Horne in Kaatsheuvel and contains quality natural ingredients. 6.4% Cheers!

Best served at a temperature between 6-12 C , Ingredients:  Water, Malt (EBC 118) Hop flowers (EBU 66), Irish Moss and Wyeast Irish Ale.  Store in a cool dark place.

www.RamsesBier.nl

Review:

(Note: it took about 5 minutes for the head to go down)

Himself: ” a little bit bitter side, nice and full think it’s dutch or danish, Rating =8“
Andrew: ” I really quite like this, Rating = 8“
Friedel: ” I hate it, it tastes like aspirin, Rating = 2″
Tamara: ” Undrinkable, Friedel why are you giving to 2 points?”
Evan: “Definitively what beer should be like, proper beer… might have wanted to give more, Rating =9″
Li: ” I like it, it’s  not what I’d usually drink and it needs food to stand up next to it like the salsa chili, this has a very overpowering flavour, needs bold food: lots flavor, lots of spice, Rating = 5″
Erik: “It’s carbonated, so first I gave it a 1, after a while I decided that although it’s  not style I like , it’s good beer so I changed my rating: Rating= 6″
Alicia: ” I don’t know how you can not like this one, It’s my favourite so far and I don’t like dark beers that much so this is surprising, a very complex flavour, Rating = 9″

Clearly,  judging from the very wide variations in the reviews here if you prefer a very strong complex flavoured Porter, then Ramese Bier ‘Mamba Porter’ will suit your taste. On the other hand, if lighter porters are more your style, then this might the “aspirin” you thought you might need tomorrow.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Thai-ing up Old Memories…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

These are the last of the series of photos I took at the Thai Festival that took place in August 2010.

I’ve never been to Thailand, although it is on my list of ” places to see one day“. In the last two posts especially, I saw things totally new to me and learned about new cuisines but there are some things that pop up as “variations upon a theme” in one culture or another.

The coconuts in one of the previous posts, all carved up ready for easy opening could have been taken in Singapore, or many places throughout Asia and the Pacific regions.

These little deep fried pastries in my first photo here, look exactly like the Samosas  that my Chinese-Malaysian house-mate used to make when I was looking after my parents New Zealand house when they lived overseas.

I know from my other travels that samosas  are often made in triangular form, but my house-mate called her version Samosas too and watching her deftly form the same beautiful scrolled edges speedily on the small fat crescent shapes is stuck with awe in my memory.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

She made it look so easy, but when I tried it, I kept impaling the soft almost sticky dough with my fingers, the filling kept falling out the holes and my attempts at an even half decent crimp around the edge were laughable if you were being polite, and a well deserved  0/10 if you were being honest.

She, of course had the secret weapon of experience: her Grandmother had a restaurant in Malaysia and as a girl received no education because her Father believed that only her brothers needed any.

Her lack of education grated on her and determined to prove herself she spent her life building up a thriving restaurant business from scratch.

When in turn her only child, a son, lavished education and a home on his son but not his daughters, she financed her granddaughters education herself and in return they would help her part-time in the restaurant.

Thus, from a young age my house-mate made hundreds of these samosas each week and could turn out several perfectly filled and crimped creations every minute.

The crabs in a bucket reminded me of the Solomon Islands market stalls,  and the whole fried fish looked the same in a variety of countries off the beaten track that Himself and I have travelled to.

It’s good to celebrate our differences, but even better to remember that we are often more similar than we think, and widening your horizons at any time is always a very satisfying experience.

Let’s take a look at what we are seeing as we leave…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Deep fried Bananas… the process…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

…and the result…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Eggceedingly Strange Eggamples…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I Eggaggerate not,  (oh groan the pun) finding these on display stopped me in my tracks at the Thai Festival that took place in The Hague in mid-August 2010.

Not only did I stop, but I believe I may also have had my mouth open gaping, as I tried to figure out how (and why) you might want to empty a raw egg from it’s shell, and then stuff it again with a soft filling of some sort, poke it onto skewers and then, cook it on a BBQ grill.

I have questions galore, not least of which is ” if the filling is soft enough to be spooned or piped back into an egg shell, then wouldn’t the bits of egg shell just cave into it when the “egg” is cooked?”

I’m kind of thinking of how I might peel a barbecued egg if the inside was the consistency of mashed potato, and I’m mostly thinking that if left to me there would be a definite gritty taste to my resulting  filling.

If anyone might know the name of this dish or what the filling consists of,  I’d love to hear from you.

At this point of our Thai festival tour, the kids had been given a small amount of money to spend themselves and with this burning a metaphoric  hole in their little pockets. Their interest is not in food but in trinkets, so a detour back to the non-food stalls is now a matter utmost urgency in their little minds.

So after both kids had expressed their opinion on the eggs (a typical kid “ewww!”) I decided it would be best if we  walked hastily on…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)