From MartijnN: The Tuesday Tomes, Volume X

And so it ends. It is hard to believe that we have arrived at the final volume of the Analogueville Library Tuesday Tomes, but we have. Spring is nearly upon us, and this is the last Tuesday of scheduled posting. 

I hope you have enjoyed our little forays into the customs and traditions of  my native Netherlands and my adopted Belgium, or Flanders. Today, however, I will let our Tuesday Troopers do the talking. As the Junior Assistant Librarian it has been an honour and a joy to be their Tuesday minion. So, without further ado, here are the final Tuesday Tomes of  Challenge XIV:

- PeterD brings us more Picts 

- and some Dangerous Damsels;

- GregB is fleshing out his Afghan project;

- and we have a special visit from the boss too!

Fom MartijnN: The Tuesday Tomes Volume IX

Both in Flanders and The Netherlands the standard language spoken is Dutch. However, just like between say, British English and American English, there are subtle differences. For one thing, there is a difference in pronunciation. Dutch Dutch (I'll say Dutch and Flemish now one, just to mark the difference) is generally "harder", containing more guttural sounds like the hard "g" (try the  German ch as in Bach, but form the sound more towards the top of your mouth. Yes, that is very difficult), while Flemish is smoother and sounds more melodious, with a soft "g". As a result, even to Dutch speakers Flemish sounds more "civilized", so to speak, and friendlier. The soft g is also used in the south of The Netherlands, immediately identify the southerner to anyone from above the great rivers.  Also, Flemish makes more use of the rolled "r", which, as a born westerner, I am completely unable to pronounce. Even after more than ten years in Belgium, people almost instantly recognize my Dutch accent. Also, some words are peculiar either to The Netherlands or Flanders. The Flemish still use many words that are considered obsolete in The Netherlands, and many words in Flemish are derived from French (like trailer, remork, from the French remorque), and are completely unknown in Holland. Only about 4% of words are really different, but that's enough to cause some from confusion now and then. On the other hand, in Dutch there are a great many loan words from English, more so than in Flanders. Also, some words have a slightly different meaning in both countries; famously, "een schoon kleedje" means "a nice dress" in Flemish and "a clean carpet" in Dutch. All that being said, both peoples are usually easily capable of understanding each other, and it is not for nothing that in every Flemish municipality the Dutch are the greatest group of foreigners and there are many Belgians working in The Netherlands.

Not much confusion about the great posts for today, few in number though they may be.

- From PeterD: Driving your Chariot

- From GregB: When family planning goes wrong

- From PeterD: Outdoor Archery

And who knows what may come up during the day?

Enjoy!

From MartijnN: The Tuesday Tomes Volume VIII

 Whether you are in Belgium or in The Netherlands, the snackbar (in Holland, yes, we use the English words but combine the two) or frituur (from the French, in Belgium and the southern Netherlands), or the very Flemish frietkot, is an important pat of our culinary heritage. In fact, in Belgium the frietkot is official immaterial world heritage.Often, they are stalls at markets or at a fixed place in town or along a road, but they can also be very simple restaurants with a counter and perhaps some seats, often lit by fluorescent lighting/ tube lighting. Every village or town has a snackbar, not unlike the traditional fish and chips in the UK I guess. The main dish served is fries. The thin French fries were introduced by MacDonalds in the 80s, but true fries are thick, and traditional Belgian fries are even thicker than Dutch fries. The Dutch most often call them "patat" while the Belgians say "frietjes" (both from the French patates frites, but the Dutch use the first part and the Belgians the second). You can get them with any combination of sauces. Traditionally they are eaten with mayonnaise, not with ketchup, or (in Holland) with sate sauce (a reminder of our colonial past in Indonesia) You can combine the two, mayonnaise and ketchup though, for a "patatje oorlog" (oorlog being the Dutch word for war). In Belgium, a very popular (and delicious!) combination is frietjes met stoofvlees, fries with beef stew. All this can be accompanied by anything that can be deep fried basically, the typically Dutch vleeskroket (meat croquette), a roll made from a ragout with a crust of bread crumbs, being a traditional favourite. Not very healthy all of this, but very good now and then!

We will not be left stewing by the Tuesday crew. Two members even have two contributions today!

- From MarkB: Burying your Local Past;

- From PeterD: The Bludgeoning Bishop;

- From PeterD: Big Game Hunting: a guide;

- From GregB: Wading ashore in style;

- From GregB: Now would they be Kings?

Enjoy!

From MartijnN: The Tuesday Tomes Volume V

 Ah, pancakes! Or pannenkoeken as we say in Dutch. Last Friday was Candlemas, or Lichtmis in Dutch. In Belgium, at least in Flanders, that day is typically celebrated by eating pannenkoeken. It is the 40th day after Christmas in the Roman Catholic calendar, traditionally celebrated with a procession, after the churchgoers returned home with a lit candle. The religious aspect is not as prominent nowadays, but many Flemish families still eat pannekoeken. Sometimes they are also eaten on other occasions, but then usually as a desert, and more often in the shape of flensjes, small French-style crepes. Now I was brought up as a Dutch Roman Catholic (many people are surprised to learn that Roman Catholics are actually largest religious group in The Netherlands, although many Dutch nowadays are typically non-religious), and as far a  I know this tradition was not observed in The Netherlands. Pannekoeken themselves, however, are quite a thing in The Netherlands, more so than in Belgium. There are many Dutch restaurants specifying in pannekoeken, and you can get them in all sort of varieties. Traditionally they are served either plain, or with bacon, and smeared with stroop, treacle. But you can also get them with jam, apple, raisins, sugar, powdered sugar, sugar and cinnamon, or in savoury variants with all sorts of meat and vegetables. And with ice cream and whipped cream! Personally, I like the sweet variants most, but they are all good. My mother used to make us pancakes every Friday, I still often do. Dutch pancakes are larger and thicker than crepes, typically between 25-30 cm in diameter, and thinner than American-style pancakes. They are eaten as a main course, often the only one as they are quite filling!

This installment of the "Cuisine and Tradition In The Low Countries" Section over, it is time to look at what the Tuesday Troopers have in store for us. Ah well, we seem to be deep in the Challenge doldrums here. However, we can always count on PeterD and SimonM to pull us through!

- PeterD brings us "A Trip to Manila"

- SimonM has produced "Ben Facing the Law".

I am sure the rest of the crew are feverishly slaving away at their painting desks or quietly contemplating their next magnum opus. And who knows what the rest of this day may bring us? 

Enjoy!

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!

From Martijn: The Tuesday Tomes, Volume III

At the risk of tuning this into a food blog, and after last week's unfortunate canine intermission, I am going to bore you with more Dutch food.

This time it's Duivekater, a sweet brioche-like bread that is traditionally eaten at Easter. The custom originated in the Zaanstreek, which is just north of Amsterdam along the river Zaan. As a child, I grew up near The Hague on the Dutch coast, but as my mother hails from the Zaanstreek, we always had duivekater at Easter. Nowadays, mostly thanks to the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, Albert Heijn, which originates from the Zaanstreek, duivekater is sold throughout the country, but in those days it was relatively rare outside the Zaanstreek. It's an old custom though, there are even paintings by Jan Steen from the 17th century showing duivekater.

The name, which looks like a composition of the Dutch words for dove and hangover, actually seems to derive from the words for devil, duivel, and cats, katten, and is linked to the ancient custom from Roman times sacrificing cats to scare off the devil. I am happy to inform you that nowadays no cats are being sacrificed and no animals were harmed in the production of this blog.

It is also not a sacrifice to admire today's production. The Tuesday Troopers are on a roll! Apart from the very welcome and just-in-timely return of the prodigal son we have contributions from virtually the whole team:

- Jonathan debuts with "By the skin of their teeth";

- from Peter: "Country Horse riding"

- from Miles: "A Russo-Japanese Romance"

- from Gregg: "Who does not honour small things, is not worthy of the great", in two volumes

- from Simon: "Donald loves the bomb" and "Monstrous Myrka and The Robomen"

- from Thomas: "Pretty in Pink"

- from Byron: "Roots: The Sequel"

- from the Lady Sarah: "Elfio and the First Violin"

And we may have Ian chipping in too.

All today's offerings are heartily recommended!

From MartijnN: The Tuesday Tome, Volume III

 Greetings Humans!

I am very sorry, but we have to interrupt this ridiculous "traditions and delicious foods I am not allowed to touch anyway" nonsense for a far more important subject: me.

I am Lucca. I have adopted this bunch of confused humans about half year ago, and I am of course a Labradoodle. I understand that this male human, Martijn, who is supposed who be my Master (although we all know who is really the calling the shots here, don't we: me) has to do some things for you today. I suppose it has something to do with these tiny thingies he insists on colouring each day; for some obscure reason he won't have me play with them (but I still managed to snatch one of them when he wasn't looking, ha!), and he doesn't even want me touching his paw with mine when he is doing that, would you believe it? There is also some female human here, which he seems rather fond of. Well okay, he can cuddle her occasionally, but let's not let things getting out of hand; I will intervene if necessary. I really should be the only woman is his life, and cuddling is for me, right? You have to have a firm hand with these humans, or else they will do whatever they want and misbehave. I have noticed you have one among you who does have that firm hand, I actually think I might quite like this Tamsin lady! Maybe she can share some tips with me for keeping these humans in their place.  

Anyway, you can have my Master (Humouring him of course, I might get a treat for that) for the Tuesdays, but I will insist on my three walks a day. At least. And excuse me, I now have more important things to attend to. There is this amazing white fluffy stuff in the garden, must go check that out.

Ah, one more thing. My human informs me that these Tuesdays Troopers have been very busy and he will be presenting you some more of these papery things you humans call "books" today. Personally I don't see the point in these, apart from the fact they smell funny and you can tear them apart quite nicely, but apparently I am not meant to do that. There seem to be an awful lot of things I am not meant to do. Anyway, here you go:

- From master Miles: "The first principles of carpet bombing"

- From master Brett: "Advance heroic questing for beginners"

- From master Mark: "The Return of the Overdue Swedish Salad"

- From master Peter: "Shoring up your batteries way below zero"

- From master Greg: "The Old Contemptible"

- From master Ian: "Pokémon with Pikes"

- From master Thomas: "Smashing the Anvil"

- From master Simon: : "Resistance: strategies for documentation and suppression"

You can go now and have some fun with these. Be good boys and girls and you may find some treats!

 

From Martijn: Tuesday Tomes Volume 2

One of the advantages of living in one country and hailing from another is that you get to keep the traditions of both. After last week's Dutch oliebollen today we have Belgium's Verloren Maandag, Lost Monday. On this day, the first Monday after Driekoningen (Epiphany), the Belgians eat worstebroodjes (sausage rolls) and appelbollen (apple buns). The origins of the custom are not entirely clear, but it may have something to do with employers treating their employees on the first working day of the new year, which was thus, for all intentions and purposes, lost. But they both are delicious!

What is also delicious is the output of the Tuesday Troopers for today. After last week's somewhat hesitant start, the Introduction or the Preface one might say, we go full speed ahead with a hefty Volume II. Today's feast includes at least:

- a new colleague being introduced by SarahHC;

- "Mythical beasts and sun protection" by BrettM;

- "The Development of Height Requirements in the Imperial Service" by GregB

- "Justice at Gunpoint" by ByronM;

- "Numenor and the Conquest of Space" by SimonM;

- "The Coming of Age of Winfield Scott" by MarkB;

- "Boney moves East" by IanS;

- "Big Bosses and Little Marines" by ThomasG

And perhaps more will show up during the day, watch this space!

Martijn

From MartijnN: The Tuesday Tomes, Volume 1

First of all, I would like to wish each and everyone of you all the best for 2024! Now the new year is finally truly underway, I hope you have all survived the festive season and are ready to rumble through Challenge XIV.

I am Martijn, and this is my fourth Challenge. I live in Belgium, but I am a Dutchman by birth and inclination. One of the traditions we have in The Netherlands is to eat oliebollen on New Year's Eve. They are balls of sweet dough and raisins, deep fried, eaten with powdered sugar. This is not a tradition in Belgium, but I have continued to bake oliebollen each year, and I am happy to say that my Belgian family has been taking to them quite enthusiastically. Here are some; I only wished mine looked as good!

I will be your Tuesday Minion for most of the rest of the Challenge. As the new Junior Assistant Librarian, confusedly circulating the corridors, cellars, crofts and chambers of the Challenge Library, it will be my duty to adorn the book display in the Library Entrance with the tempting and marvelous contributions produced by the Tuesday Troopers. 

I am not an early riser, and a bit of a slow starter, and it seems like the Tuesday Troopers are of the same ilk. However, for today we may have some masterpieces lined up:

- a tribute to Tolkien from SimonM, just in time for the Professor's birthday tomorrow

Well, that's it really, for the time being. We may have some Cold War Gone Hot from DaveD as well, and we will see what the rest of the day may bring. Enjoy!