Cities: Walcheren, Netherlands

@Addy- look what I found:
https://www.dyxum.com/dforum/historic-shipyard-c-a-meerman_topic140532.html
;)



all about preservation!





a lobster's tale
a-lobster-on-the-rocks- half frozen on ice, I noticed it was still moving, 'dead slow'.
it was to be offered for sale in a public auction during the 'fisheries day' in 2019.
but no one of the people still present was willing to pay 'as much as' E 10.
"I won't sell it for less", the man said. he picked up the lobster and threw it back
into the water (of the Arne canal) right behind him. and MADE MY DAY!


as for Arnemuiden aka Erremuu ...for X-mas, (aren't we spoiled! ), we were 'treated' by the Zeeland broadcaster to a documentary about the last Zeeland women, who still dress 'on their farmers' on a daily base. as mentioned before- the only place in the province where one can still spot ladies in folk costumes is Arnemuiden. almost extinct, only 4 left. ('they' are keeping track now). Erremuu costumes only.
told you about mrs. Schoevers before, 93 years of age now. ran into her son last year, who said she was still going strong.

for what it's worth... 'Pronte Wuuven', available until january 4.

why don't you post those pics here as well? smeared all over the page(s)?
(and still hoping for a joined effort, as far as this thread is concerned).

was it your 1st visit to our island? to the province??
been to the beach? and the water? seen the other islands?
the magnificent dunes of Schouwen? -or those of Walcheren for that matter-.
seeing hints of sunshine! truly sorry about the lousy weather. very un-Zeeland-ish.   
nice weather seems to enhance the 'Zeeland experience'   , as do (pre-corona)
events ...and some other things?



a rural life


guided tour- that could explain how you found the Kuiperspoort? ? -it c/b easily missed-. what did they show you? within a limited amount of time?
(just curious, never tried 1, except for the dome of the Oostkerk/-church once. (as you can't just walk up there). but often talked with guides, their stories about tourists can be so entertaining ;)). did you know they closed all VVV's -dutch- in the province- all tourist information offices? no tourist info left.


as for the darker hours- if there is 1 guided tour, that 'sounds' recommendable, it must be a ghost walk.
curious if there is anything new they will come up with. (I for one, love stories like that and very fond of the old Zeeuwsch Saga book, a prezzie from Sinterklaas when I was 14).
beware though- pretty sure they'll tell you about the head (+ missing body) that was found sitting at the Middelburg busstop -dutch- at the Molenwater (park) as well. don't buy it, as it isn't a ghost story, but a true one -dutch- ().

nowadays there are obviously more people after a slice of the cake. + alley tours.
new are tours, exploiting the recent revived interest in matters of war, like battle of the Scheldt guided- and cycling tours. guided bunker tours, esp. in the dunes, already were a classic.





(also from Middelburg, from the day that Rudolph & Blitzen landed)


Edited by angora - 29 December 2021 at 21:38

Have a great year too Ine!

and after lots of redecorating- in 2019...







-posted before-

the 2017 gauze screen vanished... new chairs appeared














a stage appeared (FG), the dome revealed...










and a bench transformed into a bar! ;)




which is nothing, compared to the changes it is going through at the moment.
news about the Oostkerk next time?
-IF welcome? ?? -

local ways


for this story to make sense, a closer look at local fashions, accessoiries in particular. again!    once upon a time... most people wore simular 'uniforms', only motifs differed, sometimes, times of mourning, colours. since the early 19th century around 1800, fashionable among 'common' people, farmers. the rich, the famous, the mayor, the notables / dignitaries in town, wore suits, dresses and the like.




'Middelburgs ambacht'





with the exception of the mayor of Zoutelande... when the village of Zoutelande was still an independent municipality, (before 1966), it had a mayor named David Kodde. he served as mayor from 1921 to 1959, and wore the Walcheren folk costume his entire life. (also when he eventually ended up in the House of Representatives in The Hague). his party was the SGP, reformed party, his church the reformed congregation, a very strict conservative Calvinist denomination.
and therefore... it was prohibited, in beach resort Zoutelande, to dance in public places, to camp anywhere but behind houses. while bathing suits were only allowed at the beach. 1-piece swimsuits only, as stated in a local ordinance! for women, it was strictly forbidden to appear at the beach or dunes in a 2-piece swimsuit.

the tourists, of course, couldn't care less and, after the latest fashion, bikini's began to appear at the Zoutelande beaches. one day the mayor was informed that, again, a lady was spotted on the beach, wearing 1 of those modern bikini's, a Belgian lady this time. the mayor took off to the beach to read the ordinance to her out loud. "so you are the mayor", she replied, "and I have to obey you? of course I will. please tell me which part you want me to take off? the upper half or the bottom?" the mayor left speechless and shortly after that he resigned.





sjees-riding- learned when young, done when old









folk costumes are the dress code at sjees-riding events













as mentioned before, ladies who dress like that are almost extinct.



genuine one! caught in the wild (in 2016)


the last man in the province, who dressed in (Walcheren) folk costume on a daily base, passed away in 2003.
'here' the various Zeeland folk costumes on pics.






how to... slip into a Walcheren folk costume (and become a pincushion):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSDWZyl4gQ8

while 96 years of age
(takes about an hour, for advanced users. full manual -video- no longer available). she passed away in may 2020, at the age of 99.

and with her sister Kee, who was 100 at the time (and died in 2018, aged 101). both born in Ritthem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG6BWrdPstE






but to some dressing up properly will always be too much of a challenge    







echt Hema!






why is it that these people 'always' show me their undies? at least, it happened more than twice.
should it be of interest to you- at a certain point in history, the 'snelzeiker' / 'rapid pee-er' came into fashion.
aka Parisian underpants, a 'pantalette'. (before that nobody wore underpants). snelzeikers were practical (!)
undergarments with an open crotch.

to be continued?

silver 'broekstukken'- to hold up your pants





and a local farmer




with a Walcheren earring + 2 times the 'famous' Zeeuwse knop






some call it 'Zeeuwse knoop' (how to make one 'here').
due to its shape, the common name for astrantia major in the Netherlands is 'Zeeuws knoopje'.








showing a 'paeremes'/'horse knife' to a Flushing alderman.
usually either the mayor or an alderman shows up at the end of a ring-riding event to hand out cups, awards to the winners.


(some creepier stuff next time?)

TYSM Pieter!
(late response, sorry. yesterday morning laptoppy died, i.e. playing dead in a very convincing manner.
but in the end, it turned out to be just a glitch, yayyy).

a long and boring story to precede a 'ghost story' (' '), but all you need to know about dressing up the local way.
except for the fact that they are wearing many 'keuzen', many many skirts, at once. at least, they should!!!
if they don't want to end up like ' T H I S ' ! !   -1st pic-   
he turned it into a postcard. the people were not amused! to put it mildly. (of course I would have taken it too,
call it a reflex? but would never show it around. and do believe that Ruben has no right to use it; no portrait right.
-I for one can see who they are?- ;)).



(not them)

getting dressed- the whole enchilda

shots of several striptease acts here- showing skirt after skirt after .... and the rest! but none in 72 dpi.
shown you nothing but left overs. still no PS, still no fast new comp. -instead I bought a massive lens.
many THX to Fred for the heads up!! an offer too good to pass up ...-





behind this link posted above, a story about the pic -shown above- at the Middelburg Market, from around 1930.
she says it shows her grandma and a little girl, who is ...her father.   

common knowledge by now, there was a lot a poverty in Arnemuiden in the past, (people so poor they had ARM -which stands for home port Arnemuiden, but means 'poor' in dutch- written on their sails ). the women came to Middelburg to sell fish, and / or to beg for money, when -mostly British- tourists tried to take their picture. saying: "money meneer?" (i.e. money sir?). and if they didn't have a young daughter to serve as photo material, they dressed their sons in girl's costumes, complete with -copper- curls and all. heard simular stories numerous times, it used to be a habit amoung the Arnemuiden fish ladies. even I have seen it. ('60s). also heard how much these kids, old people now, Hated it to be sent out to beg.
funny, but these people had to endure a LOT, lived through very tough times. (nowadays the fishermen of Arnemuiden are by no means poor. they have a huge corny furniture- /carpet- /flooring- /curtain store there for a reason? ;)).





there is 1 item lacking on the pics and that is the shawl, made of either black or beige-with-a-wild-leopard-like-print plushes (shown 'here' on skis! -1st pic- ), later on often turned into short jackets. -pic above-. clearly remember how it gave me the shivers; watching those ladies on bikes through the snow, with their bare arms sticking out from under their shawls. brr. brilliant things though- had a huge double black one, made of chenille with woven patterns, as a teen (in a post-hippie era), size of a picnic blanket, and useable for 'everything'.   

somewhat warmer- labedissen, long knitted -fingerless- sleeves have also been part of the folk costume ...a matter of prudishness! named after a man, Jean de Labadie, who became minister of the Walloon church in Middelburg in 1666, (but was sacked and kicked out of town in 1669). he couldn't stand the exposal of -any form of- nudity in church, including bare arms! (but I've only seen them at the museum).


lastly...
since we are talking about 'fashion'... ;)




painting by a Otto Eerelman, 2nd half 19th century- 'on their way to the market on Walcheren'
folk costume of Nieuw- & St.Joosland




dating from approx. 1875
with golden 'voorhoofdsnaald'. + info: lady-on-the-left married, lady-on-the- right not married.
the number of swans, engraved in the voorhoofdsnaald /'forehead needle', revealed how wealthy the lady was.
3 swans for the very rich only. but also then, they all wore curls.