Dear Erik, really thanks for all your perfect comments on my blog! I always look at your photos daily! But... you know I know nothing about sailing and I feel a little shy to leave comment! I'm afraid of writing an unapropriate comment! Your photos are excellent in view and framing.
22 Aug 2007 8:03am
@Soodabeh: Dear Soodabeh, don't be shy! You probably know that we Dutch are used to big mouths and we can learn from friendly remarks, so please teach us to be polite and friendly! Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate and it's not the sailing that counts, but the pictures, so a comment is never inappropriate, I also feel sometimes not shy but insecure when I see pictures that are not totally according to Western standards, but are beautiful through Eastern eyes, such as many flower pictures, a lamp, ornaments, the way people are pictured etc.
Wonderful b/w and scene of life! Thank you for your comments in my gallery... About Lille, yes, it's Rijsel in Dutch. The old Lille is "Lisle" and before that, it was "L'isle", the same than "L'île".. and guess ow we say "île" in english? "The Island", not so far than "ijsel". I'm not surprised that some people in France want to keep dutch as language, it's like walish for the french part of Belgium, the language of our grandparents... A big thank you for your nice comments on my photos!
22 Aug 2007 8:09pm
@Soph: I'm glad you are not a stubborn language fanatic because everywhere minorities want to preserve their language: Frisian, Welsh, Flemish, Celtic, Bask, you name it. I think we must give minorities the opportunity to keep their language because every language is a culture expression and a fundamental part of people's identity. Thanks also for the explanation of Lille, I didn't see any connection before between the Dutch and French names, but now I do. Do you know the history of the name "Bruxelles" by the way? In the early Middle Ages it was "Broeksele" (village near a moor, a "broek"), by French speaking people transformed to "Bruxelles", later on translated back in Dutch into "Brussel". This was another surprise to me when I read about it, interesting stuff.