Blessed am I to have such caring relatives and friends who keep me both in the loop and in their thoughts when they go on their overseas jaunts.
Knowing how much I love commemorative plaques and plates, especially the ones etched with nameplaces, they never fail to bring home a piece or two to add to my ever-growing collection.
The two plaques above came from my dear friend and karaoke 'kaki' Suhaini Manan, who croons and swings the golf club with equal zest, who recently flew to Scotland to attend the graduation of her daughter.
Thank you Sue for having me in your kind consideration. Here's fervently hoping you didn't poke your finger into any of those Dutch dykes (the protective 'benteng' kind ok, banish those dirty thoughts!) whilst in Holland... :-D
5 comments:
Eh eh...kita nak buat kita punya commemorative plate sendirilah. Aunty Puteri nak? Hari-hari boleh tengok muka kita atas pinggan nanti. purrr....meow!
It's good you collect the mementos. Easy for friends and relatives to get for you whenever they travel.
It's hard if we don't know what people like. We may buy something they don't like and it may end up unappreciated.
For me it's mugs and fridge magnets. Platespun ada about 6 pcs.
And you wear tudung, it's easy to get shawls for you anywhere.
helter-skelter
cat - you make all those plates, sure laku sebab cat lovers ramai ...
HS - i am easy to please because i come cheap... heheheh
I met some tourist from Holland when we were in Malacca over New Year. So I asked them about the legend of Hans Brinker, and they had no clue about the boy who saved Holland.
So i did a bit of research and found out that this world renowned folklore is more of a fakelore! Concocted by an American author!
Some feedback is here:
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What might be the reason why the Dutch are not that keen on the story? It cannot be that we do not import American tales; we do so on a large scale nowadays, for instance where urban legends are concerned. The main reason is probably that the legend of Hans Brinker is just a silly story which can only be seriously told in a country where people haven't got the faintest idea of what a dyke looks like or how it works. Our dykes are not stone dams or walls (or so) and one can't prevent a flood by putting a finger in the dyke. We are protected from the sea mainly by dunes - no use putting a finger in the sand when the water comes! Real dykes are used against rivers and lakes (our IJsselmeer was once a sea, though), and they mainly consist of clay. Again, when the water comes, the clay gets soaked up and the dykes cave in on a large scale - a finger in the dyke won't help a bit. Another reason why the story is not favoured, could be that the Dutch don't like heroes much; more about this further on.
The Dutch are aware that the Americans tell this story, but we hardly have taken over this story in the oral tradition, because - like I said - we consider it to be a silly tale. Shortly after the statue was erected at Spaarndam, a folklorist caught a local Dutchman poking fun at the tourist trap:
That boy over there near the sluice - it's the same thing as Little Red Riding Hood: it's all make-believe! Do you know the difference between Hansie Brinkers and Manneke Pis [= Little Peeing Boy, another statue] of Brussels? No? Well, Manneke Pis lets it all go, while Hansie holds it all up!
Outside Madurodam (at The Hague), a tourist attraction showing Holland in miniature, there is another statue of Hans Brinker. Nowadays, the Dutch recognise the image of the boy putting his finger in the dyke, thanks to the Americans, but most of us don’t know the whole story. Hans Brinker may be a ‘Dutch Icon’, but he is much more a hero abroad than in the Netherlands itself.
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Aaahhhh...I will never presume and tell this story again.
ninot - but i do like the finger in dyke story... :-) urban legend jugak tu..
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