Newsletters

                                                 2003
The E.S.L.C. is an international club for all ladies living in Uithoorn and surrounding areas

Wednesday 3rd September

 Tonight we are coming together to have a chat, coffee and cakes, to talk about our holidays and the future of the club. We are thinking of joining forces with Grapevine so do come along to help us to make some plans to keep in contact, and revive our club's aims to help, support and give advice where needed. Looking forward to seeing you  in the V.T.C. at 8 p.m. 

Wednesday 4th June

Tonight we do hope you will all come along to join us in what may be the last meeting of the English Speaking Ladies Club in it’s present form. We are hoping to join with Grapevine after the holidays.
After the very successful meeting  with Priya Stocks about India and its food and customs we are all bringing an Indian dish to have our end of season party.
 We hope you all have a very happy holiday, where ever you go, and we wish you all a safe return.
We look forward to seeing  you all again in September ( the 3rd ) same place same time.

Wednesday May 7th - Indian Evening

Tonight we have a guest speaker,Priya Stocks,who originally comes from Bangalore in Southern India. Priya gives courses in yoga and Indian cookery. She will be giving us a slide show and some tips for delicious Indian meals. So come along and join is in the oriental sphere.

Wednesday April 2nd – Feng Shui

In March we had real good laugh, hearing about Christine’s travels in Indonesia, and other tales told of yesteryear told by members who had brought along “treasures” that they would hope to save if they ever had a fire.
On the second of April we are having a guest speaker, Evelyn Smith, who is going to give us a talk about “ Feng Shui” This is an ancient Chinese art and science, 5000 years old. This system is based on keen observation combining elements of astronomy, ecology, physics, maths and philosophy. It’s also about good health and wealth, “we only have a limited amount of influence in our immediate environment, but we can be master of our own dwellings”, It sounds very intriguing and interesting so we hope you will all come along, and bring your friends too.

Jill’s Video Night

Jill is having a girl’s night on Friday 28th March.
There will be supper at 7.00 pm 
At 7.45 we will be watching a video of Billy Connolly live on stage. Please ring Jill if you wish to go,
 

Coffee Evening

Kate is having a coffee evening on April 9th. You are welcome from 7.30 onwards. Please give Kate a ring to let her know you are intending to go.

Meeting Old Friends

Sally Hughes and her family are coming to Holland for a visit and she is having “a do” at  the ‘Rechthuis’ in Uithoorn  on 24th April at 11.00. We hope to see you there.
 
 

March 5th – Treasured Possessions

Last month a select few came along to sample some of our members favourite foolproof recipes. It all tasted delicious and I’m sure the recipes will be tried and tried again 
 This month we thought it would be fun to see what your treasured possessions were, and why?
If you had a fire in your home, ( heaven forbid ) what would you grab hold off to save, as your most treasured possession? Tell us the story behind your ” treasure”. A bit like the  “ antiques road  show!!” As everyone would of course save their family, and photos, perhaps important papers and money we don’t mean these things -  just some article which you possess, that you treasure very much.
Looking forward to seeing you on March 5th

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If you lived as a child in the 50's, 60's or the 70's, looking back,
it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have...
 As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
 Our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paint.
 We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cupboards,
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. 
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.
 We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into
the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones. Unthinkable. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth and
there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents.
No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to
get over it.
 We ate cakes, bread and butter, and drank cordial but we were never overweight. Why, because we were always outside playing.
 We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no
one died from this?
 We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, video games  99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal mobile phones, personal computers, Internet chat rooms, ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it?
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and
although we were told it would happen, the worms did not live inside us forever.
 Sports had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't
had to learn to deal with disappointment. Some students weren't as smart as
others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade horrors.
 Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
 Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide
behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of.
 They actually sided with the law, imagine that!
 This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem
 solvers and inventors, ever.
 The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
 We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
how too. And you're one of them.
 Congratulations!  Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.
 
 

                      A POEM FOR COMPUTER USERS OVER 40

                      A computer was something on TV,
                      from a science fiction show of note.
                      A window was something you hated to clean,
                      and ram was the cousin of a goat.

                      Meg was the name of my girlfriend,
                      and gig was a job for the nights
                      Now they all mean different things,
                      and that really mega bytes.

                      An application was for employment,
                      a program was a TV show.
                      A cursor used profanity,
                      a keyboard was a piano.

                      Memory was something that you lost with age,
                      a CD was a bank account.
                      And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy,
                      you hoped nobody found out.

                      Compress was something you did to the garbage,
                      not something you did to a file.
                      And if you unzipped anything in public,
                      you'd be in jail for a while.

                      Log on was adding wood to the fire,
                      hard drive was a long trip on the road.
                      A mouse pad was where a mouse lived,
                      and a backup happened to your commode

                      Cut you did with a pocket knife,
                      paste you did with glue.
                      A web was a spider's home
                      and a virus was the flu.

                      I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper,
                      and the memory in my head.
                      I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash,
                      but when it happens they WISH they were dead!
 

                                               2003

Here we are again in yet another year. We hope that you all had very happy festive days over Christmas and New Year, and that you are all looking forward to joining us for your E.S.L.C. meetings. We wish you all good health, good luck, and happiness in2003.

February 5th - Favourite "Foolproof" Recipe

Please bring along your "guaranteed success" recipe, preferably with a sample for us to savour. Tonight we will swap, snack, taste and chat. So do come along for a "gezellige  avond".
 

Signs that you live in the the year 2003

1.  You just tried to enter your password onto the microwave.
2.  You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
3.  You chat several times a day with a stranger from S.Africa, but you haven't spoken to   .
your neighbour for years.
4.  Every commercial on TV has a web site address at the bottom of the screen.
5,  Leaving the house without your mobile phone (which you didn't have for the 1st 20/30 years of your life) is cause for panic and turning round to get it.
6.  Using real money instead of debit/credit cards to make a purchase would be a hassel and takes planning.
7.  Your reason for not staying in touch with your family is that they do not have Email addresses.
8.  You consider 2nd day air delivery painfully slow.
9.  You hear most of your jokes by Email instead of in person.
10. You get an extra phone line so you can get phone calls.
11. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
12. Your idea of being organised is using multi-coloured Post-it notes.

. 

                                              2002
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and all the very best in 2003
 

December 12th - Christmas Dinner

Our traditional English Christmas Dinner is our December get together. This year it is being hosted by Karen in Amstelveen. Each guest is expected to bring along a small Christmas gift  costing  +/_ €5. We will start eating at 7pm
 

Our next meeting is February 5th 2003.
 

November 6th - "Wereld Winkel"

Tonight we are the guest of the wereld winkel. It will be a good opportunity to do some Sint Nicolaas/Christmas shopping, and at the same time help to support the people of the third world (developing countries) The shop is down the stairs, under the library/V.T.C. building. The volunteers who work in the shop will tell us how the shop works, and their aims. We hope you will come along and support their work. We are expected at 8pm..
Tot ziens in the wereld winkel.

Coffee Dates

Jill is having a coffee morning on Wednesday November 14th. You are welcome from 10 o'clock. Please give her a ring if you would like to go.

Christmas Dinner - Thursday December 12th

Our Christmas dinner is being held at Karen's, the price is €12 to be paid at the November meeting.

October 2nd - 27th Birthday Party

Today we are going to celebrate the fact that we have been together for 27 years by doing what we do best - eating!! We are having a "Pot Luckk Supper". We ask you to bring along a 'party dish', savoury or sweet to help us make a birthday feest! ( don't eat too much with your family before you come!!) We look forward to seeing you there and try to bring along a new member or an 'old' member we haven't seen for a while.

Wednesday 9th October

Karen will have a coffee evening, starting at 7.30 pm  Please give her a ring if you wish to attend, and she will tell you how to find her, and where to park your car!
 

September 4th - A Literary Evening

We hope you have all had a successful holiday, and now we look forward to seeing you all again with new ideas, interesting stories/tips about your holidays. Plus  we hope you will bring along your favourite books, poems, articles etc and review them with us. Tell us about any new authors you have discovered, or good old ones. Looking forward to seeing you.......

Wednesday  September 11th

Kate will have a coffee evening, please ring beforehand to let her know you are going. You are welcome from 7.30pm onwards
 

De Volksuniversiteit, Amstelveen

The Dutch adult college has lots of interesting courses, and if you are intending to learn Dutch has many classes at all levels. It is in the middle of Amstelveen ,Stadsplein 97.
www.vu-amstelland.nl

Christine's Pot Luck Lunch

Christine invited us all over to her son's charming 'volkstuin' for a Pot Luck Lunch on Independence Day and the gods, and the sun thankfully, shone down on us. The table was decked with a  marvellous array of salads and good fun was had by all as we basked in the sunshine

When I am an old lady

When I am an old lady I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals and say we have no money for butter
I shall sit on the pavement when I am tired
And gobble up samples in the shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers from other people's gardens
And learn to spit

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at one go
Or only eat bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beer mats in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay the rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children
We must have friends for dinner and read the papers
But maybe I should practise a little now
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple
 

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June 5th - South African Night

We do hope you we ALL come along to join us in our last meeting before the holidays, to eat, drink and be merry in South African style.
We do hope you will all have a well deserved holiday and return safe and refreshed to continue your life here in the Netherlands.

Pot Luck Lunches - July 4th & August 8th

Christine is organizing two Pot luck lunches in the holidays, to be held in "Tuin vereniging Langs de Akker" If you wish to attend please ring Christine the day before.

The coffee mornings in the "Gijsbrecht"cafe, Amstel Plein will continue in the holidays, everyone is welcome to join us.
 

May 1st - Games night

Unfortunately the 'Wereld winkel' was unable to cope with us this month,due to their making alterations in the shop. They are booked for a later date!
In the past we have had great fun playing games, so we hope you will come along and join us for a 'gezellige avond'. We will have various games to make a choice from, "Beetle" perhaps or "Pictionary" or just come for a chat amongst friends,-  holiday plans?
 

May 21st - Coffee evening

Barbara is hosting a coffee evening from 7.45pm. You are all very welcome to go but please give Barbara a ring if you wish to attend.
 
 

To our "On Line" readers - We would be very pleased to hear from you via our E mail -                            [email protected].
 
 

April 3rd - Weekenders

Monique Verweij is coming along with the new collection of spring and summer clothes from the company 'Weekenders'. The clothes are meant to go into a weekend bag and come out looking as good as they went in. They are made from 50% cotton and 50% polyester, sizes are from XS - XL, plus a line for larger ladies called "Simply Great", the colours and styles are coordinated so that you can easily combine them to make lots of outfits. You can try them on if you wish and if you order anything they will be delivered within 3 weeks. Family and friends are welcome.
 

New Committee members

We are very pleased that Jackie Bardsen and Karin Rawcliffe have agreed to join the committee. We hope they will enjoy working to make our club even better with their new ideas. Thank you both very much and success!

April 11th  Craft morning

Anyone who is interested in using their hands can come along to Dorothy's at 10am. either to show us how you do your craft, or to ask how to do a certain craft, or just to get new ideas to make something with your hands.
 

March 6th - Discover our local environment

Heather Fagan, an English women living in Vinkeveen, is coming to tell us about various activities in our area, ranging from visiting  the nature reserve at Botshol, bird watching, cycling and walking tours. This evening will be of special interest to those of you with children who have newly arrived and who have not yet discovered the many pleasant features of the area. We hope to organize a club trip with Heather as our guide, sometime in the summer, so come along and join us, and hear about things to do when the weather improves. Holland has many beautiful places to visit especially if you can leave your car behind!!

First let me wish that we all have a healthy and happy year.
18 of our members had a very enjoyable Christmas Dinner at Oenone's which also served as Sally's last club evening, as she and her family have returned to England. Sally will be sorely missed by all of us, but especially by our young mums to whom she was a great source of information and comfort. We wish them every success in settling bach into the English way of life.
By now I suppose you are all used to using the Euro and have managed to empty your purse of all the coins one seems to collect when using a strange coin. We have changed our club fees to € 14 per year
 

Wednesday February 6th  -  Make - over evening

Vanessa is a make - up artist and has worked in television. She is coming tonight to show us some of her skills. She is open to questions at the end of the demonstration.
Looking forward to seeing you all again, after the holidays.
 

Mothers and toddlers group

The play group for mothers and toddlers is going to start on February 13th at 11.00 am at Katherine's house. Please give her a ring if you wish to join the group. We hope to make this a monthly happening in the second week of every month.

Craft Morning

This will start at Oenone's house on February 28th at 10.00 am. Please give her a ring if you wish to join the group. The idea is to bring along what you can do, or a wish to be shown how to do something, we can bounce ideas off each other and hopefully become inspired.
We hope to make this a monthly happening too, every 4th week of the month. Please come along and join us.
 
 

November Update
 

Wednesday 7th - Decorating a bottle

Tonight we are going to decorate a bottle. Please bring along a full bottle (a full bottle is more stable than an empty one), scissors and a small vegetable knife, all the other materials will be provided.

Coffee Mornings

Thursday November 22nd Kate is having a coffee morning and Monday November 26th Jill is having a Christmas creative afternoon. Please bring a darning needle.
Please ring Kate and Jill beforehand if you wish to attend.

Friday December 7th - Christmas Dinner

Only those who have paid their fl. 25 by November 7th can be allocated a place. In the Christmas spirit, please bring along a wrapped gift which should not be more expensive than fl. 7,50
 

The Euro Quiz

The answers have been added to the questions.
 

Our next meeting will be February 6th, when a makeup artist will be coming to show us some of her tricks.

We wish you all a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS  and all the Very Best of everthing in 2002.
 
 

October 2001

Wednesday  3rd -  Pot Luck Pictionary

Happy 26th Birthday to us! 
Tonight we are going to have a pot luck supper plus a games night with Pictoinary, so bring along something delicious to eat, sweet or savoury, large or small, it's up to you ladies. 
 

Wednesday November 7th - Decorate a bottle

Jill and Dorothy, being creative types, have been to a flower arranging course and are going to show us how to decorate a bottle using dried flowers. This will be very handy with the festive season approaching and with it the endless problem of what pressies to give comes upon us. Bottles are always nice, whether it's a nice bottle of olive oil or an even nicer moet et chandon. 
 

Friday December 7th - Christmas Dinner
 

Oenone has kindly offered to host the Christmas dinner this year . 
 

Coffee Mornings

Sally is hosting a coffee morning on October 11th. She will expect you from 10 o'clock onwards. 
 
 

Euro quiz

1.The exchange rate of the euro is:                                Ans.  B.  f. 2,20371
   A. f.2,2371
   B.  f.2,20371
   C.  f.2.20

2. The f. is written as NLG. the € as                              Ans. B.  EUR
A. EU 
B. EUR
C. EURO

3. How many countries are taking part with the euro       Ans. C.  12
    A. 10 
    B. 11 
    C. 12 

4. The introduction date of the euro is                           Ans. A.   1st. Jan.1999
   A.  1st. Jan. 1999 
    B.  1st. Jan. 2000 
    C.  1st Jan. 2002 

5. Until which date can you pay with the guilder            Ans. A.  28th Jan. 2002
    A. 28th Jan. 2002 
    B. 1st March 2002 
    C. 1st July 2000 

6. After 28th Jan. 2002 you can change your guilders for euros        Ans. All ans. are correct
    A. 1st Jan. 2003 at your own bank 
    B. 1st .Jan. 2007 in coins at the Bank of the Netherlands 
    C. 1st. Jan 2032 in notes at the Bank of the Netherlands 

7. The guilder has 6 coins, how many has the euro        Ans. C.  8
    A. 6 
    B. 7 
    C. 8 

8. The guilder has 6 notes, how many has the euro       Ans. B.  7
    A. 6 
     B. 7 
     C. 8 

September  2001

Welcome back after the summer hols, I hope everybody has had a super time and is thoroughly relaxed and  looking forward to our next season’s programme. Linda got off to England and of course being Linda it was a dramatic affair involving helicopters etc. but the latest news is that Fred’s operation was a success so all our love and prayers go to them both for a speedy recovery and a lovely life back in Blighty. I haven’t heard anything from Angela so can only surmise life is too wonderful in the land of the free, lucky her.
Our summer fair made fl.250 -  so should keep us solvent for a whhile, thank you everybody who made something and thank you everybody who entered into the spirit of the evening and made it go with a swing.

Wednesday – Sept. 5th. – Quotes and Poetry
This evening we would like you to bring along your favourite poem or piece of prose or quote to share with us. Anything that appeals to you is OK. Amusing, sad whimsical, silly heroic etc. whatever takes your fancy. Search your bookshelves and bring them there quotes along!

Euros – Countdown
€ € - From 1st  January 2002 the euro will be legal tender and from 28th Jan. the guilder will no longer be the coin of the realm. You can change any old guilders that you have lying around the house into euros up until 11th Feb. You will be able to give in any foreign coins to the bank for charity.

3rd Thursday coffee mornings
Our coffee mornings are at the “Gijsbrecht” cafe in the shopping centre Amstel Plein at 10 a.m. every 3rd Thursday of the month.

Dates

September 20th
October 18th
November 15th
December 20th 

Granny Box
If you have anything to occupy small children that you aren’t using anymore, please let the committee know. If you are getting children to stay with you and don’t have enough ‘toys’ let us know there might be something in our ‘Granny box’.

The E.S.L.C. meet every first Wednesday of the month in the V.T.C. in Uithoorn at 8 p.m.