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A very Dutch death

Ria — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:38:48 +0000

The new year had barely begun when I learned of the death of a colleague who worked in the office opposite mine. A very Dutch death, he was out cycling on New Year’s Eve, probably going home to celebrate with his wife and four kids, when he had a heart attack and ended up in

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Sure ’nuff ‘n’ yes I do

Ria — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:33:23 +0000

“Dinner time! All hands on deck! Chop chop! Set the table! Put out that fire … And get off the damn computer!”

6 pm rush hour chez les Bacon.

After my eldest daughter has logged out of her favourite social networking site, the Dutch faceoff of Facebook, Hyves, a graphic appears showing the most discussed

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Milk

Family lives 4 years with dead brother

Ria — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:53:25 +0000

The northern province of Friesland is considered to be on the outer fringes of the Netherlands, with its own language, cows, and … weirdness. Proof of just how weird was the following news story from last night:

In the village of Minnertsga, the body of a man who died four years ago has been found

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Slow on the uptake

Ria — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:58:02 +0000

The TV was on late this evening, muted and ignored, until I noticed a series of clips showing motorbikes, cars and trucks trying to drive at high speed up sand dunes before getting stuck halfway up or on the crest. The bikes’ wheels spun sand jets vertically, while the trucks slid and rolled like beached

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The truckers were the real heroes

Ria — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:44:07 +0000

Our plan last night was to put up shelves in our wardrobe and further reduce the chaos of our living conditions, which seems to involve shifting boxes from one room to another, until it becomes unmanageable, then redistributing the boxes to other rooms. Every few days we generate enough garbage to fill the bus and

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Tabaski

Ria — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:48:20 +0000

Today is the most important national holiday in Senegal, Tabaski, the Wolof word for the Festival of the Sheep, known elsewhere in the Muslim world as Aïd-el-Kebir. It is a celebration of an event that is also important to Jews and Christians, that is, the sacrifice by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) of his eldest son.

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Cross Roads

Ria — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:59:30 +0000

While other place spellings may vary in Jamaica (Savannah-La-Mar, Savanna-La-Mar or Savanna la mar; Acadia or Arcadia), Cross Roads in Kingston is defiantly two separate words. A few years ago, it was considered to mark the frontier between uptown and downtown Kingston, although these days, one could argue the urban decay is still creeping northwards.

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Gun Street Girl

Ria — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:27:42 +0000

Best headline of the year so far:

MAN RUN OVER WITH MOTOR CAR, SHOT, ESCAPES

(source: Jamaica Observer)

It’s a fairly typical report of street crime in Jamaica, relying on unsupported interviews with the nearest person at hand, vague and incomplete police statements and victims that disappear, never to reappear.

I’d been scanning the local

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The man who was buried twice

Ria — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 05:16:46 +0000

Photo taken at Port Royal, Jamaica.

In fact, this tombstone marks his third burial place, because after his death, he was buried in a nondescript area, then around 1953, at the time of a visit of Queen Elizabeth II, his remains were moved to a more conspicuous resting place in the graveyard of St

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Statutory rape ha-ha

Ria — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:40:16 +0000

17-year-old sentenced to 3 years probation for carnal abuse Judge tells him to skip Biology lessons for a while Paul Henry

Justice Lloyd Hibbert made the comment after Attorney-at-Law Jean Barnes informed him that her client – a former Calabar High School student – was furthering his studies. As Barnes mentioned the subjects her client

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