Fred's Blog
  • Fred's Blog
  • 2023 Showcase Guidelines
  • Memoir Showcase
  • Fiction Showcase
  • Highlights
  • Author Page
  • Info
  • 2022 Memoir Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-1 (M)
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (M)
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (M)
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-1 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-2 (M)
    • Roger Knight 2022-2 (M)
    • John C. Rogers 2022-1 (M)
    • Thomas Laver 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (M)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-2 (M)
    • Lally Brown 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-1 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-4 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-4 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-2 (M)
    • Jackie Lambert 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-5 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-3 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-1 (M)
    • Mike Cavanagh 2022-2 (M)
    • Malcolm Welshman 2022-1 (M)
    • Nick Albert 2022-1 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-1 (M)
    • David McCabe 2022-1 (M)
    • Lizbeth Meredith 2022-1 (M)
    • Jill Dobbe 2022-1 (M)
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2022-1 (M)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-2 (M)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-5 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-1 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-2 (M)
    • Mitos Suson 2022-1 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-3 (M)
    • Jennifer Rae 2022-3 (M)
    • Therese Marie Duncan 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-1 (M)
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2022-2 (M)
    • Kelly Reising 2022-1 (M)
    • Ronald Mackay 2022-6 (M)
    • Syd Blackwell 2022-3 (M)
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2022-4 (M)
    • Denis Dextraze 2022-2 (M)
    • Patsy Hirst 2022-4 (M)
  • 2022 Fiction Showcase
    • Shane Joseph 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2022-1 (F)
    • Keith Moreland 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-2 (F)
    • Robert Fear 2022-1 (F)
    • Lindy Viandier 2022-2 (F)
    • Janet Stobie 2022-1 (F)
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2022-3 (F)
    • Philippa Hawley 2022-1 (F)
    • Daisy Wood 2022-1 (F)
    • Valerie Poore 2022-1 (F)
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2022-1 (F)
    • Sue Bavey 2022-1 (F)
  • 2022 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2022 Guest Blogs
  • 2021 Authors Showcase
    • John L. Fear 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 2
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 3
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 2
    • Mitos Suson 2021 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2021 - 1
    • Donna O'Donnell Figurski 2021 - 1
    • Dolores Banerd 2021 - 1
    • Lynn C. Bilton 2021 - 1
    • Sverrir Sigurdsson 2021 - 1
    • Sharon Hayhurst 2021 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2021 - 1
    • Sue Bavey 2021 - 1
    • Karen Telling 2021 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2021 - 1
    • Liesbet Collaert 2021 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 6
    • Shirley Read-Jahn 2021 - 1
    • Jackie Lambert 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 2
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 3
    • Jennifer Rae 2021 - 1
    • Chris Calder 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Poore 2021 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 5
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 3
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 2
    • Joanne Guidoccio 2021 - 1
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 4
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 3
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 2
    • Margaret South 2021 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2021 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2021 - 1
    • Shane Joseph 2021 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2021 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2021 - 1
    • Adrian Sturrock 2021 - 1
    • Cherie Magnus 2021 - 1
  • 2021 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2021 Guest Blogs
  • 40 years ago today
  • 2020 Authors Showcase
    • Vernon Lacey 2020 - 1
    • Carolyn Muir Helfenstein 2020 - 1
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2020 - 1
    • Alison Alderton 2020 - 1
    • Lizzie Jewels 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 4
    • Lally Brown 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 2
    • Ronni Robinson 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 6
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 3
    • Val Poore 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 3
    • Neal Atherton 2020 - 1
    • Susan Joyce 2020 - 1
    • Leslie Groves Ogden 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 4
    • Patty Sisco 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 5
    • Syd Blackwell 2020 - 1
    • Frank Kusy 2020 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2020 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2020 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 4
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 3
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 3
    • Amy Bovaird 2020 - 1
    • Patricia Steele 2020- 1
    • Elizabeth Moore 2020 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2020 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 2
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 2
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2020 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2020 - 1
    • Irene Pylypec 2020 - 1
    • Denis Dextraze 2020 - 1
    • James Robertson 2020 - 1
    • Andrew Klein 2020 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2020 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2020 - 1
    • Tina Wagner Mattern 2020 - 1
  • 2020 Guest Blogs
  • 2020 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Authors Showcase
    • James Robertson 2019 - 6
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 6
    • Dawne Archer 2019 - 1
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 6
    • James Robertson 2019 - 5
    • Sarah Owens 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 5
    • Dolores Banerd 2019 - 1
    • Val Vassay 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 4
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 5
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 4
    • James Robertson 2019 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 3
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 3
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 4
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 2
    • Jill Stoking 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 4
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 3
    • Cherie Magnus 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 2
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 3
    • Catherine Berry 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 3
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 2
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2019 - 1
    • Mike Cavanagh 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 2
    • Nancy McBride 2019 - 1
    • Malcolm Welshman 2019 - 1
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2019 - 1
    • Patty Sisco 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 2
    • Adrian Sturrock 2019 - 1
    • Tina Mattern 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 2
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 2
    • Liliana Amador-Marty 2019 - 1
    • Celia Dillow 2019 - 1
    • Helen Bing 2019 - 1
    • Syd Blackwell 2019 - 1
    • Ronald Mackay 2019 - 1
    • Robyn Boswell 2019 - 1
    • Kelly Reising 2019 - 1
    • James Robertson 2019 - 1
    • Roger Knight 2019 - 1
  • 2019 Showcase Guidelines
  • 2019 Guest Blogs
  • Competitions
  • 2018 Travel Highlights
  • 2018 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 5
    • Apple Gidley 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 5
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 3
    • Julie Watson 2018
    • Anisha Johnson 2018
    • Philip East 2018
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018 - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 5
    • Malcom Welshman 2018 - 2
    • Celia Dillow 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 5
    • Lee P. Ruddin 2018
    • Cat Jenkins 2018
    • Anierobi Maureen Ogechukwu 2018
    • Dede Montgomery 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018 - 2
    • Parishka Gupta 2018 - 2
    • Angie Clifford 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 4
    • Roger Knight 2018 - 2
    • Mark Boyter 2018 - 2
    • Laurel Casida 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018 - 2
    • Alison Galilian 2018
    • Colleen MacMahon 2018
    • Zahra Makda 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 4
    • Susmitha Subramanya 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 4
    • Aleksandra Krysik 2018
    • Swarnabha Dutta 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018 - 2
    • Sourabha Rao 2018
    • Valerie Fletcher Adolph 2018
    • Swatilekha Roy 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 4
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 4
    • Mary Mae Lewis 2018
    • Parishka Gupta 2018
    • Helen Bing 2018 - 2
    • Madeline Sharples 2018
    • Joe Dodkins 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018 - 2
    • Roger Knight 2018
    • Rob Johnson 2018
    • Anu Devi 2018
    • Lu Barnham 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018 - 2
    • Helen Bing 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 3
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 3
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 3
    • Alan Passey 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 3
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018 - 2
    • Alyson Hilbourne 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 3
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 3
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018 - 2
    • Martha Graham-Waldon 2018
    • Mark Boyter 2018
    • Kristen Caven 2018
    • Neyda Bettencourt 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018 - 2
    • Logan Wood 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018 - 2
    • Emma Yardley 2018 - 2
    • Wenlin Tan 2018
    • Tom Czaban 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018 - 2
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018 - 2
    • Dolores Banerd 2018
    • Piyumi Kapugeekiyana 2018
    • Stephanie Dagg 2018
    • Gabrielle Chastenet 2018
    • Bonnie Jean Warren 2018
    • Rasa Puzinaite 2018
    • Patricia Steele 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018 - 2
    • Syd Blackwell 2018 - 2
    • Louise Groom 2018
    • Malcom Welshman 2018
    • Delores Topliff 2018
    • Claudia Crook 2018
    • Robyn Boswell 2018
    • Amy Bovaird 2018
    • Emma Yardley 2018
    • Ben Stamp 2018
    • Jesus Deytiquez 2018
    • Ria Chakraborty 2018
    • Brigid Gallagher 2018
    • Jules Clark 2018
    • Nancy McBride 2018
    • Susan Mellsopp 2018
    • David Greer 2018
    • Lindsay de Feliz 2018
    • Aditi Nair 2018
    • Mike Cavanagh 2018
    • Frank Kusy 2018
    • Andrew Klein 2018
    • Ronald Mackay 2018
    • Syd Blackwell 2018
    • Sunny Lockwood 2018
    • Robert Fear 2018
  • 2018 Guest Blogs
  • 2017 Travel Highlights
  • 2017 Travel Stories
    • Matthew Dexter - 2
    • Sandra Walker
    • Rishita Dey
    • Lisa Baker
    • Patricia Steele - 2
    • Sue Clamp
    • Debbie Patterson
    • Jill Stoking - 2
    • Robyn Boswell - 2
    • Cherie Magnus
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • Rita M. Gardner
    • Alex Curylo
    • Graham Higson
    • Jill Dobbe - 2
    • Amy Bovaird - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • KC Peek
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Frank Kusy - 2
    • Yvonne Kilat - 3
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 5
    • Mather Schneider
    • Syd Blackwell - 5
    • Gundy Baty - 3
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Heather Hackett
    • Bob Manning - 2
    • Mark Boyter
    • Jackie Parry
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Amy Bovaird - 2
    • Gundy Baty - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 4
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Syd Blackwell - 4
    • Yvonne Kilat - 2
    • Bob Manning
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Yvonne Kilat
    • Olivia-Petra Coman
    • Susan Mellsopp - 3
    • Gundy Baty
    • Syd Blackwell - 3
    • Paul Spadoni
    • Phil Canning
    • Jill Stoking
    • Robert Fear
    • Anna Coates
    • Kelly Reising
    • Syd Blackwell - 2
    • Susan Mellsopp - 2
    • Sine Thieme - 2
    • Alison Ripley Cubitt
    • Angie Clifford
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Nancy McBride
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Amy Bovaird
    • Susan Mellsopp
    • Patricia Steele
    • Susan Joyce
    • Peggy Wolf
    • Sine Thieme
    • Syd Blackwell
    • Frank Kusy
  • 2016 Travel Highlights
  • 2016 Travel Stories
    • Robyn Boswell
    • Elizabeth Moore - 5
    • Susan Joyce - 3
    • Bob Manning
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Mike Cavanagh - 2
    • Lisa Fleetwood
    • Mark Boyter - 2
    • John Rayburn - 5
    • Mark Boyter
    • John Rayburn - 4
    • Elizabeth Moore - 4
    • Mike Cavanagh
    • Graham Higson
    • Philippa Hawley
    • Jill Stoking
    • Nancy McBride - 2
    • Susan Joyce - 2
    • Lucinda E Clarke
    • Elizabeth Moore - 3
    • John Rayburn - 3
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Richard Klein
    • John Rayburn - 2
    • Jackie Parry - 2
    • Elizabeth Moore - 2
    • John Rayburn
    • Jackie Parry
    • Elizabeth Moore
    • Kelly Reising
    • Susan Joyce
    • Nancy McBride
    • Stewart Brennan
    • Frank Kusy
  • Behind the Scenes
  • 2015 Travel Highlights
  • 2015 Travel Stories
    • Val Vassay
    • Doug E. Jones
    • Matthew Dexter (2)
    • Beth Haslam
    • John Rayburn (4)
    • Susan Joyce (2)
    • Jackie Parry (2)
    • Lucinda E. Clarke (2)
    • Jill Dobbe
    • Francene Stanley
    • Richard Klein (2)
    • John Rayburn (3)
    • Julie Haigh
    • Frank Kusy (2)
    • Nancy McBride (2)
    • Anne Durrant
    • Lucinda E. Clarke
    • John Rayburn (2)
    • Nancy McBride
    • Sarah Jane Butfield
    • Jackie Parry
    • Kelly Reising
    • Gareth Nixon
    • John Rayburn
    • Jeremy Parris
    • Matthew Dexter
    • Susan Joyce
    • Richard Klein
    • Frank Kusy
    • Robert Fear
  • Daily Diary
    • February Archive
    • March Archive
    • April Archive
    • May Archive
    • June Archive
    • July Archive
  • Reviews

​A Sea Change by Valerie Poore


The morning was dull, damp and dreary. What on earth was I doing here? Just a few short weeks ago I was in Johannesburg where the sun transformed even the most decrepit, decaying buildings into colourful, vivid life. Now I looked out of the windows of our smart Rotterdam apartment and saw only a washed out, monotone world of grey skies, grey buildings and grey streets. How was I going to cope with this scene day after day? How could I get used to a world where all variety, contrast and colour seemed to have leeched out of it?
 
The reason for the dramatic change came about because my husband had decided he didn’t want to return to our home in South Africa after a year in the bright lights of Amsterdam. He’d been invited to join a film company in the Netherlands in 1997 and given the increasing difficulty of finding work in South Africa, he’d decided to give it a go. The original intention was to spend a year in the Netherlands to earn enough money to set up his own business at home, but it didn’t take him the whole twelve months to decide he didn’t want to return. Opportunities for independent film makers seemed to be good in the Netherlands, and he persuaded me to join him with our daughter.

I was hesitant from the outset, but now I was here I found myself in deep remorse. If only I hadn’t agreed; if only I’d refused to give up my own fulfilling job as communications manager of a medical insurance company. I loved my work, my colleagues were my family and Johannesburg was my city. We’d only been in Rotterdam a short while, but I already missed South Africa badly and pretty much everything else about my former life. With daughter Mo settled at school and the upheaval of moving here over, life looked more than a bit bleak.

“Come and spend some time with me at the office,” my husband said when he saw how gloomy I found the outlook from our living room. “It’s great! I’m right on the quayside where the commercial barges moor up overnight.”

“How come your office is there?” I asked, curiosity making a bid over depression.

“I’m sure I told you, didn’t I? No?”

I shook my head. If he’d explained, I’d forgotten.

“Well, the Development Department of the Rotterdam Council offered me the space. I know I told you. It’s in an old historic warehouse in the Sint Job’s Harbour. You do remember they asked me to come here, don’t you?”

“Yes, but I didn’t really know where they’d put you.”

Apparently, Rotterdam’s business development board were trying to improve the city’s cultural profile and were enticing artists and film makers by giving them substantial grants and providing office space at a nominal rent. As a script writer and film producer, my husband was just the kind of independent creative type they were looking for to fill up the warehouse, a listed monument that was out of use and mostly empty.

“The office isn’t much to write home about. It’s very basic, but the warehouse is wonderful. I believe it was the first in Rotterdam to have electric lifts and they’re still in use. Pretty scary, to be honest, but amazing all the same.”

“Well yes, I’d love to see it. It would be nice to get out of the burbs here. This isn’t what I had in mind when I came over, I must admit.”

My husband pulled a face. I knew he felt guilty that we weren’t in Amsterdam where I was expecting to be living when I agreed to move from South Africa. On first impressions, Rotterdam seemed like a poor substitute, especially the bland neighbourhood where we were staying, with its cookie cutter houses and regulation apartment blocks.
 
The drive through the outskirts of the city didn’t do much to improve my opinion, but as soon as we came to the road that ran along the Nieuwe Maas river, my interest moved up a gear. The view was fabulous. A glimmer of sun shone through the low-hanging clouds and reflected on the water, creating sparkles of dancing light. Huge barges ploughed their way up and downstream, many bearing stacked up containers of such a height I was amazed they didn’t topple over.

“Where are all these barges going?” I asked.

“Well, most of them will be heading inland towards Germany, but some of them will travel through the Netherlands or down into Belgium and France. The network of waterways in this country is mind-blowing.”

I was instantly fascinated. Having grown up in London with the Thames a constant draw, I’d loved the docklands and the river with its tides, mudflats and busy quays. My favourite excursions had been the boat trips from Westminster, and I fondly remembered  going to Greenwich, Richmond and Hampton Court by water. However, my maritime interests were firmly confined to rivers and canals. Although I’d lived by the sea for many years later on, I’d never been a good sailor and turned green at even the thought of a wave. Living in South Africa for so long had also put thoughts of navigable waterways out of my mind; there were none, not that you could use to travel to other parts of the country, anyway. So seeing this thriving commercial port revived me no end and I could almost feel my eyes brightening.
 
When we pulled into parking area next to the old Sint Job’s warehouse, I was slightly discouraged by its state of dilapidation. The building itself was beautiful and typically Dutch, with shuttered windows and huge wooden doors, but weeds grew between the cracks in the stonework, the window glass was either broken or absent, and it carried an air of dejection about it that suggested a downward trend rather than any kind of development.

“Don’t worry about what it looks like now.” My husband read the thoughts clearly written on my face. “They’ve got great plans for re-development here, but they want people like me to begin the process.”

As he spoke, he opened a small door next to one of the arched entrances and led the way inside.

“Da dah! Here it is!”

He was right. The office wasn’t much; in fact, basic was a kind word for what was essentially a small storeroom. But there was an adjoining loo and a cupboard that served as a tiny kitchen. With a couple of desks for computers; a printer and a fax machine; some filing cabinets and chairs; and, of course, an internet connection, it had everything he needed to run his business.

“Okay, I need to get to work and make some phone calls. Why don’t you take a walk around? It’s  a great place to give the dogs a run. We can bring them next time now you’re here.”

Our old Labrador and Border collie had been snoozing after their morning run when we’d left the apartment, but I was quite willing to do a recce of the environs on their behalf.

I walked to the end of the warehouse where I crossed a road leading to some well-known shipping company offices. From this point on, it was open ground to the end of the harbour and I spent an invigorating half hour clambering over sandy hillocks peppered with rough grass and shrubs. A huge sea-going tanker was moored up at the far end of the quay, and I gazed in awe at the thick cables that secured the ship to the massive bollards. They were stretched to rigid tautness and I wondered how they managed to fix them so tightly until I saw the winches they were attached to up on deck. I’d never been so close to a working vessel before and I felt my spirits lift.

The wind was cold, but for once I didn’t mind the way it pulled at my air and bit at my skin. All my misgivings about coming to Rotterdam began to dissolve; this was so different from anything I’d experienced in Africa. The raw vitality of the river and the ships was exciting.

When I walked back, I noticed a huge barge had moored up in front of the office. As I strolled past its back cabin, I was surprised to see lace curtains in the windows, and peeking through them, my astonishment increased. It had a fully fitted kitchen with modern conveniences as smart as any in our apartment. I watched discreetly as a young woman busied herself with a coffee machine. Who would have thought it? These bargees clearly lived on board.

I turned towards the office and pushing through the outer door, I burst out, “Did you know the barge owners live in their back cabins? I’ve just seen the one that’s moored outside here. It’s like a normal house! ”

“Oh yes. They live and travel on them all year round,” my husband said, putting the phone receiver back in its cradle. Luckily, he’d just finished a call.

“Wow! Wow and wow! That must be amazing,” I enthused.

“Yep, I think so too. Actually, loads of people live on barges here.”

“They do? On working barges?”

“Well, they used to be, but commercial barges have got a lot bigger in recent years, so the older, traditional vessels are often bought by private individuals and converted to liveaboard homes. There were heaps of them in Amsterdam.”

“Oh I’d love to see some. D’you think there are any here?”

“I‘ve heard there’s a harbour for historic barges in the centre. I’ll just check. If I can find it we’ll go and take a look, if you like.”

“I’d love to. What a wonderful way to live!”
 
Within a few days, we’d found our way to the Oude Haven, the oldest harbour in Rotterdam. My husband’s research revealed it was home to a foundation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of historic Dutch inland waterways’ vessels. In fact, it was a museum harbour although all the craft we saw there were privately owned. After parking the car, we walked around the quays, which were lined with cafés and bars. I also noticed a very strange building composed of a whole bunch of yellow and black cubes that seemed to be balanced on each other at odd angles.

“Ah, so those are the cubist apartments.” My husband gazed over at them. “They’re world famous, as is that odd looking building that looks like a lead pencil. Rotterdam’s signature is its modern architecture.”

“It makes a nice backdrop, doesn’t it? But look at the barges in the harbour. They’re stunning!”

With their bows to the quayside, the row of old craft were absolutely gorgeous. Some had soaring masts that towered metres above us; others had lovely old teak wheelhouses; most of them sported wooden hatch boards, rather than the steel covers the modern barges had.

There were two adjoining harbours, also full of traditional craft and to our delight, we found a slipway where an old crane was busy lifting the mast off another classic barge that was resting on the slipway trolleys. It seemed to be undergoing a full hull cleaning as a man with a high-pressure hose was working his way over its flat bottom.

I was riveted and smitten all in one. Like a child in a toyshop.

Over the next months, we got to know some of the residents of the Oude Haven and learned about the requirements for getting a mooring in the harbour. A seed had been planted that seemed to have taken root in both our minds. I don’t remember exactly when it finally germinated and blossomed, but I do remember the conversation that decided us.

“What would you say if I suggested we bought one of these old barges instead of trying to buy a house here. We both know we can’t afford much at the moment, and it might be cheaper in the long run,” my husband said.

“Oh yes, let’s!” I breathed, conveniently forgetting how much I loathed being cold and wet, and, even more pertinently, that I could be seasick in a rowing boat. “And let’s try and live in the Oude Haven too,” I added. Any niggling doubts I might have had were quickly relegated to the ‘unimportant’ file and kicked out of consciousness.

We spent quite some time deciding what kind of barge we wanted before setting out to find our new dream home. It had to be both family and dog friendly as well as in keeping with the spirit of Dutch tradition and heritage. In the end, it took several months of searching as well as trips all over the country, but we eventually found the one we wanted. We knew she would need restoring to her original form to comply with harbour rules, so another few months passed before our restoration plan was approved and we were finally able to bring her to the Oude Haven where we began our new life.

Our barge had the traditional Dutch name of Johanna Jacoba, but we decided to change it to one that reflected the huge sea change we’d made in our lives. We’d come from South Africa where the term for a major, or flamboyant, turn around is a Kaapse draai (a Cape turn). Although often used literally, we felt it represented what we were doing with the way we lived, and so our new home was ceremoniously re-named, an event we celebrated with all the delightful harbour friends we’d made.
 
Sadly, it wasn’t a ‘happy every after’ story as far as my marriage was concerned. Within six months of buying the barge, the cracks that had long been widening in our relationship became a canyon across which neither of us could reach. After some painful soul-searching, we agreed to part.

My husband kept Kaapse Draai and ultimately took her to England. I, however, wasn’t done with ‘the life’ yet and had my own sea change.

After a long spell back in South Africa, I returned to the Netherlands and rented a barge from one of our friends. Later in the year, I bought my own historic barge and made another ceremonious entry to the Oude Haven, this time with Vereeniging, which means ‘union’ in Dutch. Her name was still more symbolic for me because Vereeniging was the name of a town in South Africa of which I was particularly fond; it was also representative of a completely new phase in my life: that of my ‘union’ with my Dutch partner, Koos, and also my growing attachment to the Netherlands.
 
Moving from South Africa was a huge wrench for me. I loved the country and miss it still, but the day I walked along that quay in Sint Job’s harbour was a real game changer. The realisation that people lived on boats fulltime led me to discover a different way of life altogether: rich, quirky, fascinating and rewarding. It was a change I embraced and have never regretted.



Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

​Copyright © 2023
Proudly powered by Weebly