Transcription
Mr J.W.S. Cook
Lower Farm House
HAMBLEDON
SURREY GU 84 HE
ENGELAND
Rhoon, 26th may 1996.
Dear Stuart,
it's a gloomy day today. Only people care about the weather. Despite this wet Monday, the quinces are in bloom and the wysteria is blooming in the backyard of our neighbor's garden. Many other shrubs and plants (viburnum, clematis, columbine) are all in bloom despite the cold weather,
Vera irons and watches "golf" at Wenthurst on TV at the same time. Every time we expect Andrew Bonar for dinner and he stays with us overnight. He works in the "City" for Tokay Bank and covers the Benelux and Germany. I'm curious how this Japanese bank deals with a market with such fine margins.
I would like to thank you for your letter of May 6, '96 and Julian's learned contribution. A long time ago I read some books about Anna Boleyn(1507-1536). My interest in her was sparked because I visited Hever Castle so often when we lived in Seven Oaks.
Hever Castle was a gift from Henry V111 (1491- 1547) to Anna's father for his loyalty to the Monarch. Boleyn, however, belonged to courtiers of lower rank. He had the audacity to send both his daughters to the French court, I believe, to take up a position as a lady-in-waiting. They were highly valued as good company. When Anna returned to England and Henry Tudor became interested in her, she had enough sense, perhaps as a result of her stay at the French court, not to give in to Henry's advances, because once Henry got his way he would lose interest in her.
She did not want to become the king's mistress. As a Catholic, Henry could not violate a sacrament. He requested an annulment of his marriage, but the Pope feared he would anger Charles V of Spain if his sister was dumped. Ann Boleyn introduced the Reformed books to the king. Anyway, Ann Boleyn had to navigate the HenryV111 between Scylla and Charibdis. If she were to deny Henry V111 her favors any longer, he might lose interest in her, and if she gave in, she might lose magic too.
She did, however, seek advice from the French ambassador. I remember it was recorded correctly. When she became pregnant, she was sure that she had a male child under her heart and that he would be sorry if he did not marry her and a male bastard would be born who could not be heir to the throne.
Because the Pope was unwilling to annul Henry's marriage to Catarina of Aragon, he got the act of supremacy approved in 1534. The Act of Supremacy 1534 was an English legislation passed by Parliament that declared King Henry VIII supreme head of the Church of England, severing England's religious ties with the Pope in Rome.
Henry had wasted money in the early part of his reign and was the poorest king in Europe. Thanks to Ann Boleyn's insistence on marriage, Henry became the richest king in Europe by confiscating the entire possessions of the Catholic Church and property and ordering that all past contributions to Rome be paid into his treasury.
Yes, Henry committed bigamy in the eyes of the Catholic faithful, but he knew that the law of the Catholic Church would no longer prevail in England
Maybe it's not exactly how Julian perceives this episode, but I had to extract this history from my rusty brain. Do we agree that Ann Boleyn played an important role in English history?
In this letter let us return to the 20th century.
I read that salaries in England are on average 20% less than on the Continent. Moreover England did not subscribed to the social chapter, which implies that in the UK the labourer is make longer working hours (which should provide a competitive edge) How can that the English economy is not bursting out of their seems?
Most pension contributions were not paid to the Dutch treasury. The 'Dutch Civil Servants Pension Fund' is the second largest pension fund in the world. When the general old-age pension scheme was introduced into law in the 1950s, the entitled benefits were financed by the active working people, who financed the pensions of the retirees.
My grandmother, who was already of retirement age when the general pension scheme was introduced, was surprised when her monthly benefit was credited to her bank account. For her it was "Manna" from heaven, because she had never paid a contribution for this right.
This scheme is now failing because the aging population will require 40% of the salaries of active working people in 2020 to maintain the same pension benefits. It is a painful subject in Dutch politics. Any political party that dares to undo a stable pension will lose votes!
Because most state budgets are handled on a cash basis, it will be difficult to compare the prosperity figures of one country with another.
I agree that the criteria for joining the European Union are arbitrary. Anyway, at that time all governments had a huge spending drive to please their voters. The Maastricht criteria restored the feeling among Europe's government leaders that the policy of overspending would lead to a disastrous collapse.
So much for Europe.
I will not dwell on BSE, on Prime Minister Major of Great Britain and on the royal family, etc. The subject now is Adriaan Dirkzwager. The latest offer I received from the Belgian General Bank is that they are willing to pay me for another two years and ten months from July 1st,
On the one hand, it is no fun to be despised and rejected, on the other hand, it will be Sunday every day until May 1, 1999. I will definitely try to become a financial advisor. Every day I train myself to become a 'matador' on the computer keyboard. I aspire to become a modern manager with a built-in secretary.
I will also spend some time renovating the interior of our apartment at Keizersgracht 702 Amsterdam. We sold our house in Rhoon and on January 31, 1997, ownership was transferred to the new residents who bought it and the Dirkzwagers who had lived in Rhoon for 17 years left for Amsterdam.
We still remember the pleasant time together with Ursula and you at ours .
Love to Ursula and we would like to be informed of all interesting matters at your end. Vera conveys her love to you both, AdriaanDD
P.S.
Comments on the drawing.
If Vincent van Gogh were still alive today, he would have depicted his potato eaters in a McDonald's cafeteria. Especially when he is behind the counter serving the meals
