From MartijnN: The Tuesday Tomes volume IV

 Traditionally, the birthday of the reigning monarch is a holiday in The Netherlands. Our first Queen, Wilhelmina, had her birthday in August. which was fine. Her successor, Queen Juliana, had her birthday on April 30th, which was also fine. However, her daughter Beatrix had her birthday on January 31st, which is not a good for outdoor festivities. So, she decreed that April 30th would remain Koninginnedag,  The Queen's day. In 2013, our current King, Willem Alexander, ascended the throne as the first King since 1880. As his birthday is on April 27th (he is exactly on month older than me), that day became Koningsdag, The King's Day. Traditionally, the Royal Family visit (usually) two towns in a different province each year, where they are treated to all kinds of performances, games, shows and demonstrations of old crafts by the population. A bit old-fashioned, but cute. Usually, these activities are coordinated by the Town Council and the local Oranjevereniging (Orange Society). In most towns there are also vrijmarkten, free markets, where anyone is allowed to sell anything; mostly these turn into a kind of flee market or car boot sale (without the car boots). That in Amsterdam is particularly famous and draws hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country.

Traditionally Kings's Day is celebrated with a glass of Oranjebitter, a liquor based on brandy, and an Oranjetompouce. A tompouce (or tompoes) consists of two thin slices of puff pastry, with a layer of cream or pudding in between. The top is glazed orange, and sometimes decorated with whipped cream. There you go:

Today's posts are obviously a reason for celebrating too, even though they may be small in number. One would almost think that the January Blues has struck the Tuesday Troopers. However, we have two stalwarts producing new tales for the library shelves:

- From PeterB: "Slingers in an identity crisis"

- From IanS: "Mass marching to Moscow"

Enjoy!