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Saturday, March 06, 2010

Morning Sun

Morning Sun coverRobbie Williams has given his new single “Morning Sun” to Sport Relief as their official charity single for 2010. The song will be released on March 8. He said: “I am very happy to donate my time to help Sport Relief and I thank my co writers for doing the same. Please join us in helping this very worthwhile cause”. All of the record company profits and artist royalties from digital single sales of the track in the UK will go to the charity, as will income from the writers and their publishers.
You can donate to Sport Relief by visiting their website.

The music video is directed by Vaughan Arnell, director of classic Robbie videos including Angels, Feel and Bodies. Watch Robbie rocket out of space on an intergalactic voyage through the stars here or here.

How do you rate the morning sun
After a long and sleepless night
How many stars would you give to the moon
Do you see those stars from where you are
Shine on the lost and loneliest
The ones who can’t get over it

And you always wanted more than life
But now you don’t have the appetite
In a message to the troubadour
The world don’t love you anymore
Tell me how do you rate the morning sun

Stuck inside the rainbow years
And you could happen to me
‘Cause I’ve been close to where you are
I drove to places you have seen
It all seems so familiar
Like they’d been sent to kill ya

It doesn’t take an astronaut
To float into space is just a thought
The morning brings a mystery
The evening makes it history
Tell me how do you rate the morning sun

And the village drunk
Sadly passed away
It was a shame
I never knew his name
I wonder if he sat there every morning
And watched the sun rise

How do you rate the morning sun
It was just too heavy for me
And all I wanted was the world
If you are the starlet in the sun
Don’t go wasting your time
‘Cause there is no finish line

And you don’t see anything
Not even love not anything
The night could take the man from you
A sense of wonder overdue
The morning brings a mystery
The evening makes it history
Who am I to rate the morning sun

Written by R. Williams, D. Spencer, K. Andrews, R. Scott, S. Ralph, D. Black

Friday, March 05, 2010

Passport

Today we finally applied for new passports. They expired in September 2009, but first we didn't have the money (2x €50,90) and then we couldn't find them... They have a fixed place, but somehow weren't there anymore. We searched the house several times, but alas... This week we decided to report them missing. That would have meant extra costs, but we really didn't know where else to look. Before we did inform the police we decided to search one more time. And o wonder... we found them, in Ron's photography bag! At first we wondered why, but suddenly we knew. Ah well, they have been found.

Of course we needed passport photo's. I never like pictures of myself, but the requirements for a passport made it even worse: ears visible, 100% front view, no smile. Ron had to take his glasses off. The photographer made an extra set of 'normal' pictures. Mine are both horrible, on the 'normal' pic I have slit-eyes because he made me laugh. At least Ron's pics are nice. :-)
Since a short time there are fingerprints on the Dutch passports. I thought about ink, the old-fashioned way, but none of that! It worked with a scanner, nice and clean. Next Friday we can pick up our new passports!

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Weekend in a yurt

Two weeks ago the Lowland Systers spent the weekend (Friday to Sunday) in a yurt in Otterlo. There are 5 yurts (or gers as the Mongolian people call them) on a field, and a tipi with electricity where you can cook. In the yurts there is one electric point, no water and a central stove to heat. Like the yurt itself the interior is authentic and made in Mongolia. You can see pictures in my Facebook photoalbum (no need to have a FB-account).

We got together to make a fresh start. We dealt with the Ara-stuff and are moving on. We all are doing our own thing, but we decided to stay together as a group. Ara Lowlands has changed into Lowland Systers. One woman decided to step out and go her own way. We are with 6 women now. This weekend was to reconnect with each other.

We did a beautiful pathworking on Friday evening and a ritual on Saturday night. We did our ritual bading in the hottub in the snow. First we had to remove a thick layer of ice and then heat the tubstove for hours. When we finally got in, the water was still a bit chilly and near the bottom quite cold. We didn't stay in very long, but we did it anyway. Great for teambuilding! :)

Anyway, the weekend was a big success and we had a lot of fun!

Monday, March 01, 2010

Winter Olympics closed

Winter Olympics Vancouver 2010 Wow, what a two weeks we had! I really need to kick the habit. I especially followed the speedskating, which was mostly at an unearthly time for me. Perhaps it's not the wisest thing to go to bed around 2-3AM and later almost every day when you're chronicly fatigued, but it was worth it.
The Netherlands didn't do bad; we are 10th in the medal count:


  • GOLD Nicolien Sauerbreij - Snowboard - Ladies' Parallel Giant Slalom
  • GOLD Ireen Wust - Speed Skating - Ladies' 1500 m
  • GOLD Mark Tuitert - Speed Skating - Men's 1500 m
  • GOLD Sven Kramer - Speed Skating - Men's 5000 m
  • SILVER Annette Gerritsen - Speed Skating - Ladies' 1000 m
  • BRONZE Bob de Jong - Speed Skating - Men's 10000 m
  • BRONZE Laurine van Riessen - Speed Skating - Ladies' 1000 m
  • BRONZE Speed Skating - Men's Team Pursuit
The Dutch men's bobsleigh turned out to be a disappointment; the 4-men sleigh didn't even start. The 10000 m men's speedskating should have been gold for Sven Kramer, but the much-discussed wrong lane-switch caused a disqualification. He didn't take his revenge on the Men's Team Pursuit. Bad communication cost the men the final. Although they are the best by far (note the olympic record in the bronze final), they failed to prove it.

Nevertheless there was a lot to cheer about and party in the Holland Heineken House, where all the medallists were honoured. The double gold on the 1500m (men and ladies) was a surprise. The gold by snowboarder Nicolien Sauerbreij was the onehundredth gold medal for The Netherlands in olympic history. The first one was for the men's sailing in Antwerp 1920. :-)

I know I have neglected blogging during the olympics. I'll post about some "old" things in the coming days.