June 19, 2019

Residents of Lelystad chase down swan thieves

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 9:12 pm

Some 20 residents of Lelystad have started a group to hunt down thieves that have been stealing swans for reasons unknown. The Netherlands has quite a bit of swans, and it is the nests that are mainly being robbed as of late.

Group leader is Wido Nuijens, and he has said that they are going to clamp down on thieves and call the police”. The swan patrol drives around and takes note of any suspicious activity, then reports it, if need be. Apparently, Bulgarian cars are often spotted near gaggles of swans. One person from the group explains that swan meat is a delicacy in Bulgaria. I have no clue if this is true or not, and will ask when I have a chance.

Although there are swans all over the country, for reasons unknown Lelystad is a hot spot for swan robbers.

(Link: waarmaarraar.nl, Photo of swan: public domain)

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February 7, 2019

Dutch company boasts world’s first transparent wood

Filed under: Dutch first by Orangemaster @ 2:21 pm

According to Dutch company Holland Composites in Lelystad, their transparent composite wood panels are the first ever made in the world.

Mark Hoff explains that the company has developed a panel that looks like wood, but when held up to the light, it’s transparent. The panels can be used indoors as partition walls as well as outside as façade panelling. They feature a very thin layer of wood integrated into layers of composites, making them strong, low-maintenance and with a natural look.

The panels are mainly used by project developers and architects, and cannot be found at DIY stores. Watch a short video in Dutch here.

(Link and screenshot of video omroepflevoland.nl)

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March 12, 2012

Littering before the Dutch Supreme Court

Filed under: General by Branko Collin @ 11:35 am

In a glorious display of bullying, barratry and plain old pettiness, the Dutch justice department has decided to take a littering case to the Supreme Court.

It started in October 2009 when a man was fined 120 euro for dropping an empty can on the Neringweg in Lelystad. Rather than paying the fine, the man decided to wait for the court case, which he lost. His lawyer appealed for two reasons, namely that the offence was too small to warrant such a heavy handed response from the state, and that the justice department failed to actually prove the man had broken the law.

The judge quite rightly ruled that it is the justice department’s prerogative to pick its battles, but then awarded the case to the defendant. The local ordinance of Lelystad stipulates that litter needs to be put into a rubbish bin. The man successfully argued that the justice department had provided no proof that there were bins in the street (which there were, by the way).

Spokeswoman for the justice department Kiki Plugge said that the department wants to create clarity for municipalities: should they amend their ordinances? The question seems moot, as the justice department lost because they messed up, not because the ordinance is unclear. The spokeswoman then continued to say that “we do not want people to litter”, which seems an odd thing to say. Of course the justice department gets to pick its own battles, but one would hope that it does not base its choices on its own, undoubtedly narrow minded tastes and interests.

Quite frankly I hope the justice department is taught a lesson on its obligation to perform due diligence, and on suspects’ rights and due process.

Lelystad is a young city of 70,000 souls, built in a place where in the 1950s, a sailor would only be able to see the sea around him. The Dutch Supreme Court doesn’t perform trials. Instead, it only checks to see if the law has been applied correctly given the facts of the case.

(Link: De Pers. Photo by Jos Faber, some rights reserved)

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September 21, 2010

Netherlands gives Australia its half of shared treasure

Filed under: General,History by Branko Collin @ 9:25 am

Last Wednesday the Dutch and Australian governments signed an agreement on how to give Australia the Dutch half of the ANCODS collection, which contains the salvage of four Dutch ships that sank near the Australian coast in the 17th and 18th century.

The agreement to give Australia the Dutch portion of the artefacts had already been taken in 2006, Flevocourant writes.

According to a press release (PDF, 2009) by the ministry of foreign affairs the collections of the Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draeck (1656), Zuytdorp (1712) and the Zeewyk (1727) “include bricks, building blocks, lead ingots, elephant tusk, canon, canon balls, amber and pitch as well as rare objects owned by crew and passengers such as navigational instruments and ornaments”.

“Rather than dividing objects between the two countries, they will be kept as close as possible to the shipwrecks where they have been excavated. This is why the Netherlands has agreed to entrust Australia with safeguarding the objects, which are currently in Dutch possession.”

The agreement was signed aboard a replica of the Batavia which is stationed in Lelystad.

(Photo of the Batavia replica by Wikimedia user ADZee who released it to the public domain)

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August 20, 2008

Villa Peet in Lelystad: sensation white architecture

Filed under: Architecture by Orangemaster @ 9:31 am
White house

Recently completed, Villa Peet is described as an experience in contrasts. These contrasts create a sensation of entering into new worlds through a series of “rabbit holes”. The lack of doors inside gives the ground floor a sensation of continuity in order to keep the spaces clearly defined.

If you look around carefully, Lelystad, capital of the province of Flevoland, is one big garden of architectural experiments. As a big polder established as recently as 1967 (the last Dutch province), it has room galore to let architects, like these cute bunnies, roam free.

(Link and photo: plataformaarquitectura.cl)

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April 13, 2007

Rent a rabbit

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 9:45 am
rabbit1.jpg

Coba Beugeling who works for the animal welfare centre in Lelystad, Flevoland is planning to let children lease rabbits for a month. First, the child gets a speech on how to care for the bunny and if after a month they still get along, the child can keep it, with their parents’ permission of course. Proefkonijn (roughly ‘test rabbit’ although in English we say ‘guinea pig’) was initiated so that people don’t just release rabbits into the wild when they don’t want them any more. Guinea pigs and hamsters will soon be part of the leasing fleet as well.

(Link)

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April 2, 2007

Bright orange Dutch architecture

Filed under: Architecture by Orangemaster @ 3:25 pm
agora1.jpg

The new Agora Theatre is officially scheduled to open on May 25 in Lelystad, province of Flevoland and plans to feature performances and new media works. The building is the work of UN Studio, an Amsterdam design studio with theatre, museum and art buildings in its portfolio. Even without going to the show, the building itself is apparently worth a visit. It has a cafe open during the day and bright pink, curving staircase walls. The concert hall is red with unusual wall surfaces.

Follow the link for more details and pictures.

(Link: thecoolhunter)

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