Nah, I was the one who was blindfolded, but I didn't have a camera with me today so just plucked this illustration from the net. On Thursday mornings I help out at Lis Hartel in Doorn, a riding school for disabled people. A lot of the clients there are (partially) blind and some time ago I said I'd like to know how that feels to sit on a horse and not be able to see anything. So today Corrie put me on Daniel with a blindfold on and I joined in on one of the 40 minute rides through the woods. I also got on the horse using the special lift we use for people who can't walk so easily themselves. It felt a bit like a mini rollercoaster. It's really difficult to have to totally trust others in this way. Once on the horse I felt as if I was in a tiny 'known' bubble in a huge 'unknown' world. Out on the paths I could sense the difference between lighter and darker bits of the route and feel the few 'hilly' bits. Another volunteer was walking beside me and could tell me to go left or right occasionally but most of the time the horses follow one another on the familiar trails so 'steering' wasn't really the problem. It actully felt quite relaxed and I noticed I was using my ears more to work out where we were. There's a lot of building going on in one area so that I knew when we were passing that bit and the occasional paved crossing areas of the paths make a different noise underfoot. So it was less frightening than I thought it might be. Until we were back in the indoor school... as soon as we were inside I felt all light disappear and it felt truly scary for the first time. The blackness felt thick and I felt I had no way to know where I was. (Odd, as with my eyes open the indoor school, with its skylights, seems just as light as outside, but I could feel a huge difference in intensity of light getting through my blindfold.) We did a short circuit of trotting but it definitely felt worrying. Daft really, the horse knew where he was, he wasn't going to run into a wall but I didn't feel very comfortable. It was certainly an insight (ha!) into how it must feel for some of the riders. A few of them are deaf as well as blind. And they don't have the advantage of having seen the route a thousand times before, and of having learnt to ride with all senses working.
donderdag 27 mei 2010
Blindfold Horseriding
Nah, I was the one who was blindfolded, but I didn't have a camera with me today so just plucked this illustration from the net. On Thursday mornings I help out at Lis Hartel in Doorn, a riding school for disabled people. A lot of the clients there are (partially) blind and some time ago I said I'd like to know how that feels to sit on a horse and not be able to see anything. So today Corrie put me on Daniel with a blindfold on and I joined in on one of the 40 minute rides through the woods. I also got on the horse using the special lift we use for people who can't walk so easily themselves. It felt a bit like a mini rollercoaster. It's really difficult to have to totally trust others in this way. Once on the horse I felt as if I was in a tiny 'known' bubble in a huge 'unknown' world. Out on the paths I could sense the difference between lighter and darker bits of the route and feel the few 'hilly' bits. Another volunteer was walking beside me and could tell me to go left or right occasionally but most of the time the horses follow one another on the familiar trails so 'steering' wasn't really the problem. It actully felt quite relaxed and I noticed I was using my ears more to work out where we were. There's a lot of building going on in one area so that I knew when we were passing that bit and the occasional paved crossing areas of the paths make a different noise underfoot. So it was less frightening than I thought it might be. Until we were back in the indoor school... as soon as we were inside I felt all light disappear and it felt truly scary for the first time. The blackness felt thick and I felt I had no way to know where I was. (Odd, as with my eyes open the indoor school, with its skylights, seems just as light as outside, but I could feel a huge difference in intensity of light getting through my blindfold.) We did a short circuit of trotting but it definitely felt worrying. Daft really, the horse knew where he was, he wasn't going to run into a wall but I didn't feel very comfortable. It was certainly an insight (ha!) into how it must feel for some of the riders. A few of them are deaf as well as blind. And they don't have the advantage of having seen the route a thousand times before, and of having learnt to ride with all senses working.
maandag 24 mei 2010
Urbi is Hot...
Urbi is in heat for the first time, though she's 
barely out of puppyhood. At 6 months she's still not fully grown but apparantly her biology thinks she's ready to reproduce. Anyway she spent the weekend with me. Rens delivered her in Baarn where I was visiting Carin and Dusty.
Look at her wee puppy face!
I then took her straight to the boat in Harderwijk as the deck has to be repainted there anyway and I wanted to avoid having traces of her smell in the house to drive my next lodgerdogs daft. I didn't fancy having all the dogs in the neighbourhood at the door either, as they all come past here on their way to the Eng. As it was she almost got raped by a tanklike blond labrador who caught a whiff of her from the other side of the harbour and came storming over at a remarkable speed for such a heavy dog. Luckily the owner wasn't far behind and got hold of him before he could actually do the deed but it was close. (The foreplay was, em, minimal...)
barely out of puppyhood. At 6 months she's still not fully grown but apparantly her biology thinks she's ready to reproduce. Anyway she spent the weekend with me. Rens delivered her in Baarn where I was visiting Carin and Dusty. 
Look at her wee puppy face!
I then took her straight to the boat in Harderwijk as the deck has to be repainted there anyway and I wanted to avoid having traces of her smell in the house to drive my next lodgerdogs daft. I didn't fancy having all the dogs in the neighbourhood at the door either, as they all come past here on their way to the Eng. As it was she almost got raped by a tanklike blond labrador who caught a whiff of her from the other side of the harbour and came storming over at a remarkable speed for such a heavy dog. Luckily the owner wasn't far behind and got hold of him before he could actually do the deed but it was close. (The foreplay was, em, minimal...)
vrijdag 21 mei 2010
Wake
Chanou, Eric and I went to the long-awaited opera written by one of our favourite authors last night. It was similar to most of his books in that it was made up of a series of interlocking stories. Cleverly done.
When we went in we somehow managed to accidentally wander backstage and heard someone singing a rather frighteningly high tone ladder. We had seats in the front row of the balcony, perfect to see all the action both on stage and on the screens behind. The opera was written to commemorate the firework disaster in Enschede which happened on the 13th of May 2000 but wasn't specifically 'about' this incident, it was more about the impact a sudden dramatic incident has on all the lives affected by it.
When we went in we somehow managed to accidentally wander backstage and heard someone singing a rather frighteningly high tone ladder. We had seats in the front row of the balcony, perfect to see all the action both on stage and on the screens behind. The opera was written to commemorate the firework disaster in Enschede which happened on the 13th of May 2000 but wasn't specifically 'about' this incident, it was more about the impact a sudden dramatic incident has on all the lives affected by it.
woensdag 19 mei 2010
De Gelukkige Huisvrouw
I recently won 2 tickets to this film in a lottery so went last night with Anita to the new cinema in Houten. This is rather like a cross between a lapdancing joint and a VIP airport lounge where they just happen to show films as well. Something unmistakably louche about the place and therefore definitely more interesting than your average film outing. 
Drinks and snacks can be ordered throughout the film by pressing a button on the wee table between the seats. The film was surprisingly good. I'd been severely disappointed by the last Dutch film I'd seen, which also had the same female lead but this film was a pleasant surprise. Or unpleasant... depends on how you look at it. The traumatic birth scenes at the beginning were all too realistic but I knew about them in advance from reading the book so spent most of those scenes consulting the menu and ordering drinks. At the end of the film we were so comfortable we felt like sayig 'Put another DVD in the machine and bring us some more tacos please.' but that wasn't how it worked. Would be a great place to have a marathon soap series event.
Drinks and snacks can be ordered throughout the film by pressing a button on the wee table between the seats. The film was surprisingly good. I'd been severely disappointed by the last Dutch film I'd seen, which also had the same female lead but this film was a pleasant surprise. Or unpleasant... depends on how you look at it. The traumatic birth scenes at the beginning were all too realistic but I knew about them in advance from reading the book so spent most of those scenes consulting the menu and ordering drinks. At the end of the film we were so comfortable we felt like sayig 'Put another DVD in the machine and bring us some more tacos please.' but that wasn't how it worked. Would be a great place to have a marathon soap series event.
dinsdag 18 mei 2010
Urbi's Shame...
Poor Urbi, she doesn't seem full-grown enough 
to be in heat already but apparantly around 6 months is the right time. She was definitely not her usual cheery self and was lying about looking very world weary when I saw her.
to be in heat already but apparantly around 6 months is the right time. She was definitely not her usual cheery self and was lying about looking very world weary when I saw her. 
zondag 16 mei 2010
Sproetige Sunshine
As the sun was shining for the first time in weeks when I went out for a run with Sproet on Saturday I made even more photos of him than usual. Probably too many for my running blog, so I'll put the rest in here.
vrijdag 14 mei 2010
Sproet goes to the Fair
In the continuing socialisation process of Sproet I took him along for a walk over the fair that has set itself down in the park round the corner for a few days. Lots of noise and movement and colour. It was around 6pm so not yet too busy but still enough going on to have him looking about him in amazement. But he stayed calm enough to be able to enjoy the last of the chips I gave him on the walk home (usually he won't take anything to eat if he's stressed out).
In fact he's so relaxed these days that he even spent some time lying out in the open instead of hidden under my desk.
In fact he's so relaxed these days that he even spent some time lying out in the open instead of hidden under my desk.
donderdag 13 mei 2010
Hemelvaart Boekenmarkt
I finally decided to stop sulking because the yearly charity bookfair had been moved from its traditional location in a park 2 minutes from my workroom in Utrecht to a place I'd never been before which must be all of, oh, at least a 10 minute cycle away... 
(Though I actually went in the car from Soest and took Sproet for a short walk beforehand.) Apparantly the council are asking far too much money to hold it in the park so they'd found a free location in a restaurant on the edge of town. As it was so cold and damp today this was actually ideal as they could hold the fair indoors. As usual they had the traditional 'fill a bag for 5 euro' action beginning at around 14.30. I'd already scouted round the various stalls and grouped the books I was interested in together at strategic places on the tables and miraculously most of them were still there when I returned with my bag to fill. Though, hang on, I don't see that Hillary Mantel I had in my hand any more... Ah well, still quite a good catch. For a total outlay of 10 euros, including entry and (terrible) coffee and (rather good) chocolate cake I've come home with 20 books. 
zaterdag 8 mei 2010
Japarty
One of Rianne's Japanese teachers gave a party for pupils and friends. With a table full of 'make-your-own-sushi' ingredients. 
I managed to find someone who let me put their hair up with chopsticks.
I managed to find someone who let me put their hair up with chopsticks.
woensdag 5 mei 2010
maandag 3 mei 2010
Erkemederstrand
For the past 10 years Regio Utrecht of the HDCN (Harley-Davidson Club Nederland) has had its spring weekend rally on a small camping site near Hilversum. This year I had to take the embroidery machine a bit further from home as they had decided to try out a new location with potential to become something bigger. Fantastic place, terrible weather... 
Nevertheless a good time was had by all who braved the rain to get to the party tent and on Saturday evening it even cleared up enough to be able to enjoy the campfire on the beach beside the lake. Next year hopefully a lot more people will find their way to the Erkemederstrand as this is definitely going to become one of the Not To Be Missed weekends on the Harley Calender.
Nevertheless a good time was had by all who braved the rain to get to the party tent and on Saturday evening it even cleared up enough to be able to enjoy the campfire on the beach beside the lake. Next year hopefully a lot more people will find their way to the Erkemederstrand as this is definitely going to become one of the Not To Be Missed weekends on the Harley Calender.
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