2015-07-16 Letter to Stuart Cook on Modernity and on our five day break-away holidays spent in Vienna and on my 98 year old mother, who had a femur fracture.
Transcription
Van: A. D. Dirkzwager <[email protected]>
Onderwerp: reflection
Datum: 16 juli 2015 14:48:30 CEST
Aan: Cook Stuart <[email protected]>
Dear Stuart,
When I look back on the period in our lives during which we adapted to the enormous changes in our way of life, I see that modernity is a dynamic phenomenon. The steam engine continued to be used for another 150 years after its invention.
In my first job at Bank of America NT&SA all devices (typemachines, calculators etc) were mechanical.
I wrote my credit-applications with a fountain-pen & ink on paper, passed it on to a secretary who typed my scribbles in three fold using carbon paper between the sheets.
Modernity is changing our lives dramatically and interestingly we adapted very quickly to the changes as a normality.
Sitting at my computer in the attic of our canal house, I book a return flight from Amsterdam to Vienna and print out the boarding passes for Vera and myself. Moreover, the room in the center of Vienna has already been booked online—just like the opera tickets. It has become routine and has lost the element of surprise.
What surprises me is that the ATMs in Vienna spit out the requested amount in banknotes just as if I were in Amsterdam, and that I can pay with my debit card in restaurants. How cumbersome was it formerly to travel with travel-cheques and cash in the pocket or with a travel-letter of credit in your wallet? The preparation for a five days break-away holidays to Vienna hardly differs from a five days vacation to the countryside.
We were in Vienna with another couple, i.e. friends from my student days in Utrecht. We visited the 'Le must' tourist attractions like the Belvedere palace, the Hundertwasserhouses, the Spanische HofReitershule, the Schönbrunn Palace, the Albertina Museum and the Sepulcher Cellar of the Habsburg with 165 coffins. We behaved as exemplary tourists because chances are slight, that we will revisit Vienna. The visit was worth our while, also because we had excellent weather.
Coming Tuesday we leave Amsterdam for our annual trip by car to Menton and thereafter to Lake Como. We plan to be back in Amsterdam around 15th of August. I will miss our roof terrace.
The book on table in the picture is the interesting roman ‘RAJ’ by Gita Mehta published 1989, which I have read. It paints a picture of British rule over the Indian princely states from the perspective of the Indian princes.The British directly ruled a third of Indian continent, the rest (about 500 Princely States) was governed under indirect rule by princes under the considerable influence of British representatives, such as Residents, at their courts.
During the period of Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies, there were only two princely states to deal with.
Well, the wireless, the tv, the media put forward their opinion on who is to blame. I know I see things differently than you do: If we had a fiscal union in Europe, we wouldn't have all that fuss about Greece. The European Commission would then have ample time to take appropriate measures to prompt Greece to implement its much-needed social reforms.
The tragedy is not yet finished, even not when all parliamentary approvals to accord Greek rescue-deal by the EU countries have been obtained.
Other topic
My mother's age is 98 year. In may she did break her thigh bone on Wednesday. She was operated on a Thursday an on Friday at noon she returned in an ambulance to her residence. The next morning she welcomed us not in bed, but amazingly properly dressed and seated in her chair in the conversation room. Say, 20 yeas ago a 98 year old person would not have undergone an operation.
I get the strict order from Vera to go on my bike to the Bijenkorf department store to buy myself boxer shorts. Her wish is law in our marriage.
Wish you and Ursula a very good time in Spain. Love from Vera & Adriaan
Op 13 jul. 2015, om 16:41 heeft Stuart Cook <[email protected]> het volgende geschreven.
Dear Adriaan
found your postcard from Vienna that you mailed us on May 30th. I hope that your visit was enjoyable. I have been to that city only once and that was in 1979 when I was based in the HO of Lloyds Bank International in London, prior to our transfer to The Netherlands - when I was responsible for the bank's business (1977 to 1980) in the Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, Greece (oh yes, we had some business during that time) plus Austria and Italy. It is all so long ago, and look where Greece finds itself now - a country of supposedly impoverished people, incompetent so-called politicians and a handful of immensely wealthy businessmen. If we are to believe today's press, it seems that Greece is about to be bailed out with yet another apparent agreement with its creditors - "Iwonder..?"
Ursula and I have been away on a couple of nice holiday breaks of a week each and in about a month we set off on our annual pilgrimage to Spain, to be joined again for one week by younger son, Julian, Lily and the two grand-daughters-Isobel
now 4 1/2 and Harriet a little over 2. Elder son Alastair and wife Helen, plus her daughter Chloе (16) have just returned home after 10 days in Dubrovnik which they seem to have enjoyed.
Here in the UK, the Tory government is making the most of being in sole charge of the country without the drag of the Liberal Democrats. So far things look a good deal better than before so all we can hope for is a general improvement in world affairs and economies in general. It would be helpful if the EU were to make a start in this direction - the Greece situation has to be resolved quickly one way or another and it would be nice to think that any brewing confrontation with Russia were to be resolved, though this is doubtful as long as Mr Putin continues to play his frankly childish games.
I have things to do in the garden before setting off for the Chichester Theatre (one hour south of here) to attend a performance of the musical comedy, Mack and Mabel. We go to this excellent theatre three to four times a year.
So on that note, our love to Vera and you and have an enjoyable rest of the summer.
Stuart
