Today, Friday, 6 September 2013, one of the hottest summer days of this year, Jet surprised us with this lovely BOS BLOEMEN (bouquet). And why did she pay us this unexpected visit? Because she wanted to congratulate us on our 1000 friends (today the number has grown to 1024!). So Avril rushed out to Boheemen, our friendly next door cake shop and specialist in Bossche Bollen (some kind of huge chocolat éclair) and she bought this lovely pie.
We invited the students of our intensive course to tea and cake in the garden. Marloes cut the cake, Jet was feeling awkward in a positive sense and I admired the bouquet while the students remained standing and drinking, eating and chatting. Why didn’t they sit down? Because they had just done the final test – it was the last day of their course and they enjoyed stretching their legs.
They were hiding behind Avril who took this KIEKJE (snapshot). She did not notice that only the three of us were in front of the lens. Two of us, in fact, because all you can see of me, is my grey hair and my right arm.
The cake was delicious, the flowers had a lovely scent and we all witnessed a buzzing bee attracted by the fresh and bright colours. And while we were feasting our eyes and taste buds, the international jury in far away Amsterdam announced its decision to award the Frisian city of Leeuwarden (Ljouwert In Frisian) the title ‘European Capital of Culture 2018’. Congratulations Leeuwarden, we said. You’ve deserved it.
Jet then unbosomed herself to me, telling me how she liked the words of the day, but that she was sorry that I made them longer each day. In fact, she charged me to take control of myself and stop each posting at 450 words. And, by Jove, Avril agreed, and so did Marloes and Petra and Buffy the dog.
Of course I SPUTTERDE TEGEN (grumbled) at this idea, but I gave in. So far I have written 340 words in today’s posting. Less than a hundred words to go, and I still have to deal with the meaning and history of TAART.
TAART is of Latin origin. The words ‘torta’, ‘turta’, ‘tarta’ referred to a round bread or some other kind of round baking in the Middle Ages. The verb ‘torquēre’ means ‘to turn’.
Originally TAART was some kind of savoury pie. In modern Netherlands a TAART is usually sweet, filled with cream and fruit. A TAARTJE or GEBAKJE is a ‘pastry’. With only twenty words left, all I can say is, thanks Jet, ‘dank voor de bloeeeemen’, as the Pope used to say when…