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It was like this ...
... there I was cleaning away last weekend .. tidying the accumulated clutter .. putting things away in every room ... clearing out the rubbish .. and having a really good sort out ready to give unwanted 'freebie' items to our forthcoming jumble sale ..
... then last Monday the £50 cheque from YouGov arrived .. so I got everything ready to go to the bank .. walked over to get themutual cheque ... > GONE < ....
.... ohhh lorrrs .. where the heck had I put it .. calm down ... breathe ... now where did I leave it .. blimey ... I'd moved just about everything over the weekend ...
.... Monday and Tuesday saw me frantically searching high and low .. including emptying out those dratted huge wheelie bins to search through the recycling .. not just my recycling you understand .. but half the flamin' complexes recycyling .. TWICE I did that because it .. had to ... be there surely ..
.... by Wednesday I knew I had lost it .. because that's when they came and took away the rubbish
... so imagine my surprise about 20 minutes ago when I went to get my rubber gloves out from the drawer .. (I always put a pair together and fold the top over so they stay together) ... there was my cheque .. somewhat screwed up and tuck into the fold over I'd made with the gloves ... hahah HOORAY ...
... now I can remember what happened .. I was just finishing wiping round the sink when the phone rang ... I 'ripped' the rubber glove off I was wearing .. hastily picked up the other glove, matched it to its partner and shoved it in the drawer ..
... answered the phone .. and forgot all about the rubber gloves ..
.. of course now I can see just what happened .. the rubber glove I wasn't wearing must have been laying on top of the cheque for some reason .. I think I'd moved the cheque to the worktop so it didn't get lost in the rubbish
... so when I snatched up the glove so I could get to the phone ... well .. the rest is .. as they say .. history ...
From previous experience of our events I was expecting I'd be catering for about 18-20 .. and I have 30 ... YIKES ...
.. holy cow that's gonna be a LOT of extra work in the prep .. still .. at least I am 'buying in' most of the food .. 128 sandwich triangles ordered .. 100 mini sausage rolls .. 100 mini egg balls ... a field of salad etc .. gallons of tropical juice with lemonade .. 30 desserts to prep ... and I've ordered two of those sumptuous coffee cakes from the farm shop .. I've opened out 144 cocktail parasols .. 50 straws with honeycomb fruits attached .. 50 food picks with honeycombs fruits ... and I just have the party bags to make up .. flute, tambourine and bubble making thingy in each one .. we have a dart board with stick on balls, pin the tail on the donkey and a blow up limbo pole .. I have 10 'winners' medals on neck cords to hand out for the various activities ..
The tables will be really colourful .. I have tiki bowls, honeycomb paper pineapple centre pieces, bowls that look like banana leaves, a huge bag of bright orange paper rose petals to scatter over the tables .. palm tree 'confetti' .. then there will be a 6ft blow up banana, 6 ft purple palm tree, blow up monkey, Hawaiian banners, ALOHA .. LUAU PARTY, blow up parrot for my shoulder .. one of those 'poke your head through' photograph Hawaiian scenes and I have a little handbag that has a dinky raffia 'skirt' .. flowers for my hair .. and everyone will be handed a colourful Lei as they enter the room ..
I have two hawaiian panaramic DVDs and two hawaiian music cds ... so ... if you can 'pop over' GC you'll be more than welcome ..
Oh Patootie, I look away for two minutes and suddenly you're sweeping 30 people off to Hawaii for the day!!! What a perfectly fabulous party that sounds like! And even more so for people who aren't able to get out that much. They'll LOVE it!!! I don't know where you find the imagination to think of all those wonderful ideas, let alone where you managed to find all the things. Any chance you could post a photo or two after the great day?? I'd love to see it----and if I were somewhat less than 1200 km away I'd make a real push to get there! Is it this weekend??
Do you have any help in setting all this up? I mean, I assume the residents' association or whatever it's called actually defrays the expenses, and you aren't entertaining 30 people at your own expense. But surely there ought to be some other people helping with the setting up and clearing away?
I was SO glad to hear you found the cheque----but I did have to laugh at you rooting around in all the rubbish. I've done that soooo many times, because I'm an inveterate put-it-down-and-immediately-forget-it person too. At least it showed up again.
We are finally starting to feel a bit more settled here. As you probably have experienced, leaving a house unoccupied for a few months is an open invitation to gremlins: and when you get back, a whole raft of things that have always worked perfectly well in the past, are found to be not working any more! So we've had to sort the arial for the French telly, the arial for the British telly, the satellite for the internet, the plug for the washing machine etc etc. About through now, though, which is nice because we have 2 weeks in hand before our guests start arriving. They will come in waves until mid-August, which will be fun but not exactly relaxing.
Had a marvellous evening on Tuesday, which was the eve of the Fete Nationale, I always thought it was called Bastille Day but it's not. We picked up C2 at the airport at 6 (he'd gone to England for a few days to clear out his student house---he's living in another, hopefully quieter, house next year for his last year) and then went to a little local restaurant for dinner. We sat outside until 10, and had a lovely meal for 4 for about 45 quid. (That was 6 beers, 2 cokes, 2 starters, 4 mains and 3 puds!!) Then it was just getting dark, so we followed the crowds down to the bank of the river (it's the Vezere, if you have a map) where hundreds of people were eating, dancing, and generally having a great party. Hundreds were on the bridge, and hundreds more underdeath it so we went down and stood with everyone along the side of the river and watched a great firework display. It was lovely with all the colours reflecting in the water, and at about 20 minutes, just long enough.
And this morning I picked and ate the first ripe figs from the old tree in the garden! I cannot imagine ANYTHING more blissful than that! Wish I could send you some, but they would be mush by the time they arrived
((
Try and answer all in turn ...
part 1
1) ... definately going to try and get some pics of the tables all set out .. and a few of the 'in action' party shots ..
2) ... >gulp< it's just me and the scheme manager (so I hope there aren't any emergencies!) .. for a few extra pence per head I am getting everything I can ready prepped or ready to just throw into bowls etc .. luckily it's just a 'simple' buffet I am doing .. I'm not sure these 'older folks' are ready for the shock of being transported to hawaii and having an authentic Hawaiian meal too hehehe ..
3) .. the cost is all mine .. I have 'cashed in' on some of the many survey sites I get involved with and so there is very little extra 'real money' needed from my bank account ..
4) .. mostly paper plates and cups that will just get thrown in the recycling .. and what little washing up there will be can be put in the dishwasher in the communal kitchen .. once everyone knows what the 'surprise' is I will be grabbing as many hands as possible after the party to clear away .. any left over food can be either frozen (if not put out on the tables) or eaten up the following day at the coffee morning
I must admit I am starting to feel a little panicky .. I've never organised a party for 10 never mind 30 ..
I keep dreaming of plates filled with food floating through the air and then hoping there will be enough to go round .. even just thinking of all the fruit juice and lemonade I had to order is mind blowing .. 50-60 pints of fruit juice/lemonade cocktail ... EEK !! Better too much though than not enough .. 
Tell you what I'll type in my food shopping list ... see next post
Party shopping ...
15 litres exotic fruit juice - 15 litres diet lemonade - 120 sandwich triangles (ready prepared) - 4 large ready prepared salad bowls - 1kg cherry tomatoes - 2 cucumbers - 105 party egg bites - 100 cheese & onion roll bites - 110 cocktail sausages - 20 pork pies - 4 Mediterranean vegetable quiche - 1kg cheese - 4 large tins pineapple cubes - 1/2kg cocktail onions - 6 large pkts crisps - 24 pkts iced gems - 60 sugared mini doughnuts - 60 chocolate mini doughnuts - For dessert - 12 bananas - 1 litre Elmlea double cream - 3 litres home made custard yoghurt .. and crushed ginger biscuit crumbles for the top ..
Various salad dressings - bits and bobs ..
Hopefully that should fill a few tummies up ..
Answers part 2
5) .. cheque .. yes I am so glad too .. of course when I found it I then couldn't find the 'other' cheque .. hunted high and low for about 20 minutes before I remembered I'd already been to the bank and paid it in !
6) .. glad the house is getting in full working order once more .. and good luck with all the guests .. that would totally freak me out .. having so many people 'invading' my space .. not sure having fibro is suitable for having lots of visitors ..
7) .. blimey .. for a 'small sleepy village' you sure do get a lot of entertainment .. fireworks .. wonderful lazy meals in the fresh air .. locally 'hand crafted' drinks .. my goodness you are being spoilt rotten already ...
8) .. ohhh myyyy fresh picked figs ... slurpylicious .. they are surely gifts direct from the Gods .. absolute Heaven with a scoop of luxury vanilla ice cream ..
Party shopping is being delivered tomorrow (Monday) afternoon ... plenty of time then to check inventory and prepare a list for any extras needed .. then Tuesday morning we (scheme manager and myself) go and collect the sandwich platters .. I don't think she 'trusts' me to carry 120 sandwiches on 4 platters .. so she said she'll take me to fetch them .. (oops, just remembered 10 small oranges to slice for decoration is on the shopping list) .. then when we get back we can turn out, make and generally tittivate the food ... next we put up the decorations .. then I get to shower and half an hours lay down before the party starts .. well that's the plan anyway ...
Getting butterflies (elephant sized
) in the tummy now .. is it too late to pretend it's all not happening ... heheheh .. my mantra ... breathe .. exhale .. it will all be fine ... 
Over the weekend one of the communal washing machines broke down .. with my flippin' washing stuck in it .. I really could have done without that ... damp washing .. in a hot enclosed space .. ohh lorrs .. I dread to think how smelly or mouldy it will have gone .. fingers crossed the engineer comes today and not tomorrow to release my washing ..
BREATHE ... EXHALE ... IT WLL ALL BE FINE .... won't it ???
It will be fine Patootie. Looking to hear all about it, and when the washing machine repair man comes and fixes the machine you can always put your clothes back through.
Take care and yes, remember to breathe. Hope you get a little rest before the party.
Good luck and have fun. You deserve it.
Corrah x
Foods all arrived
... no substitutions .. nothing missing .. the large American style fridge in our communal kitchen is FULL ... full to bursting .. I was beginning to think I might even have to wedge a chair against the door to make it stay shut .. but made a few changes around and I finally got the door shut 
.. and then put a large sign on the door to say KEEP OUT .. this means YOU !!!
It's weird ... somehow there seems much more than I expected .. and yet .. looking at it all I can't imagine how on earth it will go round 30 people .. ok ... I'm panicking ... breathe .. breathe out ... calm ... it will all be fine ...
A crowd of expectant party goers started forming outside the communal lounge at 3.45pm .. go'way for 10 minutes we shouted .. (the scheme manager and myself) .. a frantic last few minutes scurrying saw the tables piled high with food, jugs of exotic fruit juice and lemonade were filled to the brim ..
We threw back the curtains (closed to stop sneaky peeking) then we opened the door .. the Hawaiian music CD started to play .. a travelogue DVD was showing all the 'hidden' areas of the Hawaiian Islands .. I greeted everyone as they came through the door and gave them a party bag and a Lei to wear ..
Honestly you should have seen all their faces light up .. they looked around in absolute amazement .. blow up monkeys, parrots, glistening tinsel palm trees .. exotic fruit table centre pieces .. straws and food picks bedecked with honeycomb paper fruits .. over a hundred paper parasols .. ooooohs and aaaahs were coming from everyone ..
The tables were a riot of colour .. and all the food was wonderful .. I had a little speech I wanted (no, needed) to make .. I made a show of looking through half a dozen sheets of paper .. but only the first sheet had anything on it .. (how 'naughty' am I) .. said my piece and then everyone tucked in .. next we had the party games .. limbo first .. then pin the tail on the donkey .. then a darts tournament .. (velcro darts of course, safety first) .. to my surprise almost everyone joined in ..
Then I brought out the desserts .. my 'special' home made custard yoghurt, on top of sliced banana and with ginger biscuit crumbles on top .. mini doughnuts and iced gems ... the party finally came to a close around 6.45pm ... some swift clearing away by the usual ladies .. who really do seem to enjoy and relish the job of clearing up ... and a ery vgood time was had by all ..
Honestly I have never seen so many of the people here having such a laugh and a good time .. cheering on the limbo'ists, laughing at the folks trying to pin the tail onto the donkey .. applauding the dart throwers and everyone going away with huge grins on their faces .. it just couldn't have worked out better ..
But by 'eck am I tired out .. I shall go back down in about an hour and do some more tidying up .. but I just had to come and sit in the quiet for a while .. chill .. and have my feet up for a bit ...
Was all the effort really worth it ... absolutely ... did I enjoy it ... absolutely ... did everyone else enjoy it .. absolutely ... would I do it again .. absolutely ........... NOT ... far too traumatic hahahaha
That sounds totally fantastic Patootie.
Give yourself a huge pat on the back, and I hope you are now getting a well deserved rest.
Corrah x
Hi, Corrah, by the way, good to see you here! Do tell us a bit about yourself if you feel like it. Always nice to have new friends.
I would have looked in sooner to see how it was all going but last Sunday I came down with a right nasty case of food poisoning and have been pretty well out of it until today. Not very nice, but I'm on my way up now (and not before time, we have guests coming on Sunday for dinner!). So lovely to look in and the first thing I see is your account of this spectacular success.
I do keep wondering if there isn't some way that the housing association could let you do this kind of thing more often: I mean, you be the 'brains' who thinks of it all, but get some other people involved in the doing, and maybe even put up a tiny bit of money. By the sound of it, it wouldn't need to be much, and the lift this must give the whole community is immense.
And, erm, I'm almost afraid to ask, but what's the next project on your list????
Sorry to hear you've been a bit poorly GC .. wretched food poisoning .. but glad to hear you are now on the mend .. nothing worse than the tummy wobbles ... !
I'm still really tired and having to lie down a lot .. hands are swollen .. can't get my arms above my shoulders .. and I can only walk a short distance still .. but everyone is still raving about the party .. and that makes it all worth while ..
I have an idea for Christmas ... got to 'polish' the idea up a bit and see if the things I'd need are available .. but it would be fun .. let's just say everyone would be wearing a scarf, woolly hat and sunglasses . heheheh .... more than that I cannot say yet ...
The little Club here have told me that I can ask for money for my 'entertainments projects' now .. reasonable amounts will be freely given, without my needing to say what for .. as long as everyone is included .. (which they would be of course) .. they are so pleased with all the ideas I've had this year .. the Easter Egg hunt, Haggis tasting on Burns night, Chinese food tasting for Chinese New Year, Trooping the Colour coffee morning, Wimbledon finals cream teas etc etc etc
OK .. got to go and lie down again ... get my legs up in the air .. and give them a rest ..
And how splendid that the organisers have realised what a fantastic gift you are, and are prepared to fund your efforts----especially on a 'surprise us!' basis! You really do have the most extraordinary flair for this sort of thing, Patootie.
I was thinking a little while ago, if you ever wanted to do a French-themed evening maybe i could contribute a few authentic bits? Or (if we planned it with an eye to when I'll be making one of my regular trips back to NL) a Dutch one? How about a Sinterklaas party? You could do cubes of Dutch cheese with mustard, little crunchy biscuits, handfuls of goodies----oh yes, Sinterklaas is a perfect occasion cos there are lots of special foods, banners etc, and of course the Sinterklaasliedjes which are like Christmas carols only for SK--could send a CD of those along easily. Just a thought......but let me know if you want to scheme!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas
** surprisingly .. a lot of older folks feel very isolated during the run up to Christmas .. they don't have the Christmas 'feasts' to start shopping and planning for .. or loads of presents to be dashing around buying and hiding .. and it's quite noticeable here that the general mood certainly gets a little 'down' during December ... so the timing would be fantastic ... December 5th (?) is a Sunday .. so it might have to be the Monday or Tuesday ...
Don't let me forget please
But if that sounds like too much work for people, we can still set up food, songs, etc. I can probably get a video from somewhere of the Sint arriving by steamboat (as he does every year). We might even get a video of the Elfstedentocht if we thought we had the time. It had its centenary last year so there's bound to be something around. Look at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht
Anyway, don't mean to push it, but I'll remind you in September so if you want to do it I can get the ball rolling on this side!
I can only try to imagine how grim December can be when Christmas is just another day, different from the others only in that everyone else in the world has someone to be with and you don't..... And if I can do anything to prevent that, I'd love to be on the team!
Pheweee this sudden weather change has 'grabbed' me and given me a good 'shaking' ..3 nights running I've slept for 12 hours .. but don't you feel great when you get a half decent nights sleep .. so much better than only having 3-4 hours anyway .. only problem is the brains willing but the body isn't .. just as when my body is working well my brain is super muddled ... hahahhahhh .. can't win ... !
Had a word with our scheme manager and she thinks the Sinterklaas idea is a good one
.. she just wanted to know if mulled wine is any part of the Sinterklaas festivities .. heheheh .. so we will have that one weekend too .. carols from Kings College Chapel here in Cambridge and some nice mulled wine ... !
Mulled wine - Glühwein - svarené víno - vin fiert - izvar - karstvins - grzane wino - Glögg - same hot spicy wine just different names around the world .. maybe we could do a short drinks quiz or similar .. with the winner getting a nice bottle of wine .. hmmm ... entertainment 'juices' flowing freely now ..
>yawn< ... been yawning my head off this last couple of hours .. so another early night ... perhaps try and read for a while .. then blissful sleep once more ... try and store up some 'extra' sleep for when I can't sleep next week (it's bound to happen) ..
Oddly enough, mulled wine ('warme wijn', it's called in the Netherlands) is not part of traditional Sinterklaas, perhaps because it is primarily a children's festival (St. Nicholas being the patron saint of children). However, don't let a little formality like that cramp your style!
If you think you'd like to do Sinterklaas, we'll do some plotting in September when I'll be there. It always irritates me, the way that seasonal things appear in the shops MONTHS before the appropriate time, but if it means I can send things over to you in then, it will be all to the good. Otherwise I'll get a friend to put together a suitable collection. I think you said the group is likely to be about 30 people?
In the meantime, get your head down and have a really long, lovely sleep! Sweet dreams!
Sigh, another lovely 10 hours sleep .. but will several bathroom 'pit stops' hehehe
Thanks for the offer to help with planning Sinterklaas .. (woohooo I can even spell it now without having to scroll up!) .. I would think around 15-20 would be the most likely number to come along .. proudly says .. my party was the best turn out they've ever had here .. !
The shops here have just started putting all the Christmas things onto the shelves .. it's really stupid .. the kiddies get excited that Santa is coming far too soon .. and to be honest by the time Christmas finally arrives everyone is fed up with it all .. and people panic and start buying because they think it will all be gone long before Christmas .. so the shops can then say .. well we had the demand for it .. grrrr In England these days Christmas = commercialism .. full stop ... none of the 'old fashioned' spirit of Christmas is left .. just chain store glitz and ready made food these days .. such a shame .. I used to love Christmas .. well the run up to it .. making puds, cakes, mince pies .. now it all comes in boxes and freezer bags ..
My speech
ohh myy .. you don't really want to know do you ...
Ok Ok ... so here is the speech ...
"My first Birthday party was when I was about 5-6 years old, and typically I was ill on the day, all I heard from the party was the sound of tin whistles and tambourines as my party guests marched up and down the garden path while I was shut away in my bedroom ... (an aside, in all the party bags I had put a little plastic flute and mini tambourine) so please have a toot, rattle those tambourines and lay to rest the ghosts of my first party.
My second Birthday was not until I was 21 .. I was accidentally punched in the jaw .. I couldn't eat for a month and still can't eat hard foods on that side, and it's always been painful since then.
I said I never wanted to have another Birthday party .. blimey after the first two 'disasters' I'd probably end up killing someone I joked .. and had refused all manner of attempts to get me to have a party .. however, coming up to my 50th I relented and said someone could organise a little 'do' for me .. then very sadly in the early hours of my Birthday my dear old dad passed away .. and my jest of 'killing someone' hit home hard ...
But we won't dwell on sad things, just having said it is enough, so thank you all for being such a wonderful crowd of people, thank you for coming, thanks to Judy (the scheme manager) for all her help and support on keeping the party a secret for so long .. and .. LET'S HAVE FUN ... "
I had a number of people come up and give me a hug in the days just after the party, said I was very 'brave' to have organised the party .. and that they hoped the 'bad' times had been put into the past and that I could now look forward to better times ..
Some of them even went so far as to say that they could see I had 'dark' things in my past but hadn't wanted to intrude .. and that they were pleased I had chosen to 'give it another go' ... and that I had shared some of my 'hurts' with them ..
And it's true .. those 5th Birthday memories hurt .. had hurt for 50+ years ... me shut away sobbing my heart out .. other kids laughing and enjoying themselves .. I wasn't even allowed a bowl of jelly ... you see my doctor didn't believe in asthma .. told my parents I was just a naughty child trying to get attention .. so I went 16 years before I had any proper treatment for asthma .. he 'damn near' killed me stooopid man ... I have scarred lungs and a heart murmur because of him ... lost more than half my schooling .. and I'm still terrified of having anything put over my mouth and stopping me getting my breath easily ..
The 21st punch was truly an accident .. I just stepped into the way of someone flinging their arm out and his fist hit me just in front of my ear exactly where the jaw joint is ... it's permanently 'out of place' clunks when I chew hard or chewy foods and will have that until I die ..
(Sorry the next bit is a bit tough reading, so feel free to skip past if you feel like it)
We never know when we say 'daft' things that they may just come true .. I had known for a few days that dad wouldn't get better after his awful fall down stairs, I was the one who found him, he was in a terrible state, .. and truthfully it was a huge relief that he died as quick as he did because (and only because) he was in terrible pain even with all the morphine .. but I cannot tell you how gulity I felt (and still do) that it was all my fault .. I was trying to help him and we were having his home modernised to make it more comfortable for him .. I think that he simply 'forgot' the stair lift had been fitted and somehow fell down the stairs and landed on top of the stair lift chair .. it's not a sight any daughter should have to see .. I've never been able to tell anyone the real facts .. and I won't .. it's just too awful ... but I know I will always feel guilty ... if only I hadn't 'interferred' .. sigh
Sorry for 'unloading' my angst .. it is very helpful to finally be able to say some of these things .. it''s taken 8 years for me to even start saying anything about dad ... and the hurt does seem just a little less 'all consuming' ..
You know, Patootie, it's normal to feel guilty about an accident like your father's": but you also know that it is an ENTIRELY inaccurate perception of things. In organising the much-needed modernisation that would enable him to stay home and live independently, you weren't just TRYING to help him: you WERE helping him. And I am quite sure that the hope of being able to go on living as he wanted was a huge mental lift to him. Very sadly, falls down stairs are not unusual in older people: sometimes they forget where they are, sometimes they just lose their footing. It is NOT your fault in the slightest. Nothing you could have done would have prevented it. It was, in every sense, a tragic accident. Finding him that way must indeed have been deeply shocking for you, and I am so very sorry you had that to cope with, but it is absolutely NOT true that you were in any way whatever responsible for what happened. It's hard to accept that we cannot protect people we love, but honestly, we can't. And i'm sure your father would much, much rather you remembered him for all the love and the good times you shared, rather than feel guilty about something that was in no way your fault.
It is very brave of you to be able to talk about these difficult things; I hope that doing so will give you just a little more distance from them, and make them impinge a little less on the life you have now.
I hope that doesn't sound preachy, Patootie, that's the last thing I mean to do! Here, have a big hug----that says it all
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((PATOOTIE)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Awwwww thank you GC ... I know deep down that what you say is true .. and for every 'bad, sad' thought I have . I've tried to think of a good memory to make me smile again .. still .. enough of all this angst and woe ... suffice to say .. everyday is a better day ..
It's really hot here tonight .. hardly any breeze .. close and heavy .. yawn ... my eyelids are 'heavy' too .. they are like blinds .. slowly coming down over my eyes hahahaha ..
I think yet another early night is on the agenda .. need to be up early tomorrow .. I want to get out and 'pop up' to a kitchen and home shop .. blinking dropped 4-5 mugs this last two weeks .. broken the lot .. so I reckon I shall have to go and buy yet another lot .. sigh ... the amount of mugs I buy ... somehow when I'm making coffee or washing them up they manage to get a life of their own and just jump our of my hands hahaha
Maybe I should buy myself a kiddies non breakable mug ...
Oooohhhh look what I've found ..
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/holland.shtml
http://www.holland-at-home.nl/index.php
The first site is fairly useful in giving me an idea of how the Sinterklaas day goes (and some cookie recipes) .. and the second site is a shop that sells lots of Dutch goodies .. they are bound to have some cookies etc that are for especially for Sinterklaas ...
And yes, sigh ... my brains had enough of sleeping .. woke up at 3am .. wide awake and raring to start searching the Internet for all manner of things hehehe
Right ... next stop is trying to find some little Dutch paper flags for decoration ...