21. Dutch Family Visitors

When I first got the idea of writing this blog there were a couple of aims which I had in mind that I thought I would ideally like to achieve. Interestingly, however, I now realise that one of the things I have gained from undertaking this project is something far more valuable to me.

Just to give my readers some background, I left Holland at the age of 23, migrating to Australia where I hoped to carve out a new life for myself in this country which appeared to offer me more career opportunities than were available to me in The Netherlands.

As I have indicated in earlier posts, I came from a very close and very loving family and undertaking this move 65 years ago meant embracing a whole new life. In the earlier years I was very fortunate to be able to make fairly frequent trips to Europe in relation to my work, which enabled me to spend time with my family in Holland. However, as the years went on, these trips became less frequent and we all grew older, passing through different stages of life. My last trip was in 2015 and communication has been less frequent, so, although the ties were there we have known much less about each other’s lives.

However, for me, I now feel that, through my blog, I have a  new closeness with my family in Holland and this is very valuable to me. Not only can they feel in touch with my day to day life here, and understand my love for this part of the country which I now call home, but I can also communicate to them how much my past means to me and how valuable my memories of our parents and our family life will always be. I am now in communication with them more often and this gives me much comfort at this stage in my life.

The importance of family and the joy it can bring was very apparent to me in the first few months of this year. It was a very special time for me because we had visits from my two Dutch children, and some of my grandchildren. These visits were long overdue because of the Covid years and because of work complications. However, this made them all the more special.

In January my son, Mark, his partner, Adele, and my grandson, Lars, arrived from Holland and they stayed with us in Sandgate for 10 days. While they were here, they were very keen to accompany me on my early morning walks to the pier and I was happy that they were able to meet some of my fellow walkers (see post 12 – “Stingrays Everywhere”).

In March it was my daughter Michelle’s turn to visit. She arrived with her husband, Herman, and my granddaughter, Jeanine, and her partner, Rob. They stayed for a longer visit, which included side trips to Fraser Island and then, south to Sydney and north to Hamilton Island.

In Holland, Michelle works as a primary school teacher, while her husband, Herman, works for KLM, the Dutch airline, in the engineering department. I would estimate that he’s been with them for more than 30 years. My granddaughter Janine is a nurse and Rob works in I.T. For the last few years all four of them had been looking forward to having a break away from their stressful and demanding jobs, so this special, relaxing holiday in Australia was exactly what they needed. 

The last time Michelle and Herman were here was in 2019, when they also travelled extensively around Australia, visiting Uluru-Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon and other tourist destinations in Central Australia. Closer by, they also spent time in Noosa and the Sunshine Coast and went whale-watching on Moreton Bay.

This time, while they were here in Sandgate, the four of them also joined me on my early morning walks and they were equally impressed with what they saw and with the welcoming friendliness of the people they met.

One day during their stay, they were very grateful to be included in a special and unexpected treat. Molly and his wife, and Brian and Viv, invited us all to join them for a cup of coffee at the end of our walk.  When we arrived at the covered area where we had been asked to meet them, we found them all waiting, sitting around one of the tables, on which they’d placed several containers of very inviting looking South Asian food.

Among the dishes were several platters of Samosas, triangular fried pastries filled with savoury and slightly spicy ingredients. They’re one of my favourites and I was impressed to hear that they had all been prepared by Brian himself. It was very kind of the four of them to share this delicious food with me and my Dutch visitors. Viv and Molly also managed to pick up take-away cappuccinos, which were still hot when they delivered them back to the rest of us.

There were 9 of us at the table, an interesting group of people, with Dutch (4), Sri Lankan (1), Indian (1), New Zealand (1) and Australian (2) backgrounds, all enjoying each other’s company.

For me the Sandgate waterfront and the Shorncliffe pier are very special places. I have seen and done a lot of different things in my life but now, at 87 years of age, I am just so very grateful to be able to live my “bonus years” in this environment and to share this experience, be it even for a short time, with Mark and Michelle and their families.

O.P.

Next, on Sunday, the story, “Snakes Alive”, will be about a large visitor in the trees near the pier.