the
Magazine JULY / AUGUST 2016 ISSUE
A bi-monthly publication by the Hollandse Club
Visit us online @ www.hollandseclub.org.sg
Features Exclusive interview with film director, Roel Reiné Off the Beaten Track on a budget... HOME Kartini Day Celebrations Eid Mubarak! (Hari Raya)
Membership Meet the new Social Members “Goodbye” to Ann Yang Wanted - Hero
Holiday S tories Colouring Contest Travel Jo urnal
PLATINUM SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSORS
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Magazine Director: Marloes Schoonenberg (sales@hollandseclub.org.sg)
Editor-in-chief: Nina Gunasingham (editor@hollandseclub.org.sg)
Proofreader: Janene Johnson
Writers: Claire Wintraecken Karien van Ditzhuijzen Alice Clark Platts
Art & Creative Editor: Mohd Izzat (news@hollandseclub.org.sg)
Photographer: Inge Kuipers
22 Camden Park, Singapore 299814 | Tel: 6464 5225 | Fax: 6468 6272 | www.hollandseclub.org.sg Email: info@hollandseclub.org.sg | Court Bookings: reception@hollandseclub.org.sg The Hollandse Club Magazine is published bi-monthly and distributed free to members of the Club. For advertising enquiries, please email news@hollandseclub.org.sg Views and opinions expressed may not necessarily reflect those of the Club, its committee or editorial staff. © All Rights reserved. MICA (P) 156/04/2009.
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 3
FACILITY INFORMATION
Club Opening Hours Sunday - Thursday: 7am - 11pm Friday - Saturday: 7am - 1am General Office Hours Monday - Friday: 9am - 6pm Tel: 6464 5225 (Reception) Fax: 6468 6272
SPORTS & RECREATION
Lost & Found Items Please contact the Housekeeper on 6461 1114 or Reception on 6464 5225.
Library Monday - Saturday Facility information for the library will be different every week
Gymnasium Daily: 7am - 10pm
Multi-Purpose Sports Court Daily: 8am - 10pm Please check availability with Reception before using
FOOD & BEVERAGE OUTLETS Terrace Daily: 8am - closing (Last food order for the kitchen 9pm) Beverages are available until closing Serambi Bar Daily: 6pm - 11pm The Lounge (Outdoor) Daily: 8am - closing (Last food order for the kitchen 9pm) For reservations, please call Reception 6464 5225 or email reception@hollandseclub.org.sg Tennis Pavillion Monday - Friday: 8am - 12pm Saturday, Sunday & PH: 8am - 12pm 4pm - 6pm For special events the opening hours can be suitably altered Tradewinds Bar Sunday - Thursday: 11am - 11pm (Last food order for the kitchen 9pm) Friday - Saturday: 11am - 1am (Last food order for the kitchen 9pm) Eve of PH & PH: 11am - 1am (Last food order for the kitchen 9pm)
Squash Courts Daily: 7am - 11pm For court bookings, please call Reception on 6464 5225 or email reception@hollandseclub.org.sg Swimming Pool Monday - Friday: 8am - 10pm Closure times for competitive swimming: Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday 5pm - 7.30pm (Two lanes will remain open) Last Friday of the month: 5pm - 7pm *At least two lanes will remain open on school holidays between Monday to Friday Tennis Courts Daily: 7am - 11pm Booking is required. For court bookings, please call Reception on 6464 5225 or email reception@hollandseclub.org.sg Kids’ Rooms Monday - Thursday: 12pm - 8pm Friday: 12pm -10pm Saturday: 9am - 8pm Sunday & PH: 10am - 8pm For children aged 2 - 11 years The Chill Out Room Monday - Friday: 4pm - 10pm Saturday & Sunday: 10am - 10pm For children aged 11 years and above
Pool Bar Monday - Friday: 3pm - 6pm Saturday: 8am - 6pm Sunday & PH: 9am - 5pm
DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that you are only allowed to use the main entrance to enter the Club’s premises? 4 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
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CONTENTS
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9
10
10
Foreword
The Room Rates
Thank You to Jeffrey
Annual Staff Party 2016
Volunteers needed!
Welcome New Members!
11
13
14
15
16
18
Meet the new Marketing Committee!
Meet the new Social Members
The Hollandse Club says goodbye to Ann Yang
Wanted - Hero
Members’ Benefits
Holiday Fun Colouring Contest
19
21
22
24
25
26
Kids’ Activity Corner
The Hash
My Adventure in Legoland
My Easter Holiday
Wanted: Junior Reporters
Travel Journal
30
32
34
36
38
40
How to Make your Kids Speak Them all
Off the Beaten Track on a budget...
Exclusive Interview with Film Director, Roel Reiné
Eid Mubarak! (Hari Raya)
Home Kartini Day Celebrations
42
48
50
51
56
July/August Event Calendar
59
July/August Event Posters
Artists Insights
May Fair / King’s Day Flea Market
The Comedy Club Asia / The Ukuladies
Hollandse Club Sports Schedule
Swimming Reports
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Lucozade TriFactor Relay Swim
Squash Reports
Tennis Reports
Hockey Reports
Picnic Recipes from Terri-Anne Leske
July/August New Library Books
Wildlife at the Club By Nina Gunasingham
Although we are just off the residential area of Bukit Timah Road, the Club is situated almost at the heart of Singapore and at the edge of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. As such, despite all the humans around, we do get quite a bit of wildlife - if you keep your eyes open. This little guy, whom I saw running around the Terrace one day, is a Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus), also known as an Oriental or Tricoloured squirrel. Google tells me it rarely ventures to the ground, however, usually ‘flying’ through the trees. It is very agile, making spectacular aerial leaps, and also builds nests to raise its young.
It is common in Singapore and found from Thailand all the way down through Indonesia, as far as Bali and Lombok. As you can see, it is brownish on top with an orange belly below, separated by a black and white stripe. It is a fruit eater, apparently even attacking large fruit like jackfruit though it is only about 20-30 centimetres long itself. It may also eats insects. As with any wildlife, please keep your distance for your safety and theirs, and let them find their own naturally occurring food. WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 5
MAIN COMMITTEE President: Marte van der Hoeven president@hollandseclub.org.sg Vice President: Cecile Sturm vicepresident@hollandseclub.org.sg First Secretary: Daniel Gelinas firstsecretary@hollandseclub.org.sg Second Secretary: Rein Graat secondsecretary@hollandseclub.org.sg Honorary Treasurer: Jan-Willem Buist treasurer@hollandseclub.org.sg Commercial Affairs: Henk Jan Bakker commercial@hollandseclub.org.sg Member Food & Beverage: Filip Olde Bijvank fnbmember@hollandseclub.org.sg Member Sports & Events: Andrew MacDonald sportsmember@hollandseclub.org.sg Member Marketing & Communications: Pooja Arora marcom.maincommittee@hollandseclub.org.sg Member Property & Investments: Stuart Crow investment@hollandseclub.org.sg
COMMITTEE MEMBERS Kids’ Committee Members: Patricia Joris, Alina Manicea Sports & Events Committee Chairperson: Andrew MacDonald Library Committee Convenor: Hian Tan Members: Nina Gunasingham, Yvette Filipiak Finance Committee Chairperson: Jan Willem Buist Members: Then Wee Lin, John Williams, Wietske Helle, Johan Schoenmaker, Sjoerd van Miltenburg, Ken Shohtoku F&B Committee Chairperson: Filip Olde Bijvank Members: Patrick Tan, Leonie van Willigenburg, Kate Van Schuijlenburg, Claire Wintraecken
FOREWORD Dear Members, We are very excited to share with you our first steps in the journey to turn the business of the Club around, by focusing on the Club Revisited model. Side by side, our operational staff and our various committees, are working very hard to bring our Club up to the next level and initiate a positive vibe. One of the first results you will observe is the absence of the monthly F&B specials in our Magazine. By the time this magazine goes to print we should have finalised our negotiations with a new F&B service provider. We promise to keep you in the loop of all the exciting things happening on the F&B side and we will introduce the new F&B team to you in detail in the September issue. As a result of the outsourcing of our F&B, we will have to let go of the majority of our highly valued staff, who have greatly contributed to the Club’s kitchens and restaurants for many years. A task far from easy for all involved: colleagues, Management and Members. Please be informed that we are doing our utmost to take care of these staff members and we will help them as much as possible. In the northern hemisphere, the months of July and August are the summer months and this means for many of our Members that their children have a long holiday season ahead. We understand that parents must be breaking their necks to keep their children entertained. Not to worry! Together with our tennis coaches from Savitar and swim coaches from AquaDucks we offer holiday camps from the 13th of June until the 19th of August. You can choose between both half-day and full-day camps on a weekly basis. More information and sign-up forms can be found on our website or alternatively ask our Reception staff to help you further. Besides hosting these fun camps, we plan this summer to work hard on upgrading and renovating our facilities. As with the building of a house it starts with the foundations. Some of these will be directly visible and some you may not notice straight away. Long overdue is the back office for example, where several important information technology systems will be upgraded to the 21st century. Every summer we sadly have to say goodbye to repatriating expat Members who have become dear friends over the years. We look forward to welcoming many new families and individuals and to this extent, we have started a marketing campaign to attract new members for the ‘Social Memberships’ and highly appreciate your support by referring our Club to your friends. We are committed to fulfilling our maximum potential as a lifestyle club and making the Club an even more special and exciting place for existing and new members. We feel supported by many of our Members for whom the Hollandse Club already is a tropical escape, a home away from home where they socialise, play sport and find a taste of holiday life in the everyday. On behalf of our whole team, we wish you safe travels and a lovely summer ahead. We are looking forward to meeting you at the Club again at the start of a new schoolyear!
Magazine Committee Members: Nina Gunasingham, Karien van Ditzhuijzen, Janene Johnson, Claire Wintraecken, Inge Kuipers, Alice Clark Platts Marketing Committee Chairperson: Pooja Arora Members: Amcke Becker, Niek de Rooij, Karen Bart 6 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Marte van der Hoeven Annemiek Kuijsten President General Manager
CLUB MANAGEMENT General Manager: Annemiek van Leeuwen – Kuijsten 6461 1103 gm@hollandseclub.org.sg Assistant General Manager: Martijn Boersma agm@hollandseclub.org.sg Office Manager, HR: Maya Rashid 6461 1160 hr@hollandseclub.org.sg F&B Manager: Alejandro Puno 6461 1136 fnbmgr@hollandseclub.org.sg Sales & Marketing Manager: Marloes Schoonenberg 6461 1139 sales@hollandseclub.org.sg Membership Executive: Rex Gillera 6461 1111 membership@hollandseclub.org.sg Marketing Communications Executive/Designer: Mohd Izzat 6461 1117 marcom@hollandseclub.org.sg Sports & Events Executive: Kishor S/O Chandra Sagan Abdul Hafiz 6461 1127 events@hollandseclub.org.sg sports.exec@hollandseclub.org.sg Finance Specialist: Narimah Binte Ma’at 6461 1106 a.r@hollandseclub.org.sg
Thank you to Jeffrey By Nina Gunasingham
Jeffrey, who is a familiar face on the Terrace, will be leaving the Hollandse Club in August. He will be sixty five years old in July: he will have worked at the Club for forty five years! He plans to take things easy for a couple of months, and then look around for something else to keep him busy. Jeffrey is Singaporean and his mother is Chinese, but his father’s family came from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). When he started working at the Club his grandmother lived in Kheam Hock Road, so he used to walk to work. In 1982, however, they had to relocate as the Government was planning to use the land as a catchment area for a reservoir and the house is no longer there. He remembers the Club in its heyday, when there were 1,800 Members and the Terrace was busy every day. Of course, the Club has changed somewhat over the years; instead of Tradewinds, the Bar was where the Puppy Room is now (so maybe you should think twice before signing your children in there!), the Terrace had less roof and was more open, with umbrellas instead. The swimming pool was already there, but there were a couple of tables with umbrellas where the p l a y g r o u n d i s n o w, a n d t h e multipurpose court was where the General Manager’s house stood instead. He has seen many General Managers come and go, including Mr. Loon, a Singaporean, who still drops by to visit the Club.
Jeffrey has a lot of memories and stories about the Club; he mentions a Members’ jazz group that would play to a packed audience every Friday night in the Bar (the Puppy Room in its previous incarnation), which had a stage. I asked Jeffrey for his recommendations from the menu. He says the Nasi Goreng is always popular, but also tells me the story of a Member named Harry who would always ask the cook “What can you do for me?”, so the dish ‘Harry Noodles’ was created with beef, green pepper and chilli, which later became the Club Noodles. Of the things he will miss at the Club, he says he will miss the Members. He still sees long-standing Members like Victor and even Koen (of AquaDucks) whose parents were Members here; he remembers that the young Koen was a good swimmer and Club Champion. Mr. Wee (the tennis coach) is a comparative newcomer, having arrived only in the 1970’s. He will also miss the environment here he says, as he gazes around the Club, which has been part of his life for so long.
DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that in July and August the following valued staff members celebrate their birthday. Happy Birthday to: • Narimah Binte Ma’at
• Rajah Malik (Jeffrey) (Restaurant) 26th July
• Lee Quee Siong (Joseph) (Kitchen) 19th July
• Tan Check Tong (John) (Kitchen) 22nd July
(Finance) 1 July st
• He Jinfeng (Kitchen) 14th Aug 8 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Annual Staff Party 2016 Aloha Hawaii!
By Marloes Schoonenberg
On 30th May our Annual Staff Party took place at the Hollandse Club. The special Staff-Party Committee organised a fantastic day full of prizes, refreshing drinks, delicious food and a lot of fun! Around 12 pm everyone began with a great Hawaiian photo shoot at the homemade photo booth in the Lobby (see the top images). After a tasty welcome drink in the Tradewinds Bar, our hilarious MC KP Sandhu of the day asked everyone to sit down at the round tables in the Main Hall where the actual event would start. He guided us through lucky draws, best dancing contests between males and females, and of course a special best dressed - catwalk battle between the best dressed ladies and guys. We saw everyone’s incredible moves and danced the “day” away while enjoying the Hollandse Club always amazing hospitality with some refreshing drinks and great food. We had a blast and would like to thank everyone for contributing to this great bonding event!
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 9
welcome
EXTENDING A WARM
TO OUR NEW CLUB MEMBERS!
• Linda Dekkers • Hans Dekkers • Joost Van Doodewaard • Marlouke Schuengel • Norbert Quard • Laurence Quard • Boudewijn Arts-Tollenaar • Eilke Tollenaar • Mayank Prasad Bhatnagar • Priyanka Bhatnagar • Catherine Barr • Sam Randall • David Brotherton • Davinia Brotherton • Wayne Gordon • Shelley Jones • Phoebe Weiland • David Weiland • Leonora Gfrerer • Leynette Rasiah • Aandrew Pennington • Maria Firkin • Mark O’Brien • Susie O’Brien • Richard Saynor
10 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
• Kate Saynor • Andrew Perkins • Anna Marie Ullmann • Gustaf Wick • Emma Wick • Scott Meyern • Melissa Meyern • Ryan Sandilands • Eva Sogbanmu • Isabel Schmidt • Chris Lobel • David Meadows • Sarah Meadows • Gijsbert Van Popta • Laura Weller • Cecile Collineau • Nicolas Parrot • Julie Beusmans • Faas Breebaart • Mariano Mantaras • Maria Moscardini • Theresa Tabayali • Irfan Tabayali • Alexander Thoms • Eleanor Thoms
• John Williams • Jane Williams • Carla Rodriguez • Victor Rodriguez • Robert O’toole • Susan O’toole • Paul Speed • Sharon Speed • Kiran Karunakaran • Sweety Kathuria • Pater Murken • Florence Leong • Eveline Payen • Stephen Blow • Katherine Blow • Molina Roosjen • Michiel Roosjen • Kenneth Lim • Juliana Su Hui Yong • Kim Leng Gan • Susan Kim • Dirk Mantel • Lisette Van Engelen • Iris Van Holstein • Jeroen Van Holstein
Meet the new Marketing Committee! By Nina Gunasingham
In this chapter of ‘Meet the Committee’ we introduce the newly created Marketing Committee. They help Marloes, Sales & Marketing Manager of the Club, formulate strategies to help more people discover the Hollandse Club.
Department to the next level. As our team is small, with only our designer Izzat and myself, we went on the look-out for volunteering Members with a very professional marketing background, to bring some advice and hop on this fast moving train. We aim to give an enormous boost to the marketing of the Hollandse Club, to raise awareness throughout Singapore and initiate a very positive vibe. With the new social membership in place, we are setting up a strategy to welcome at least 240 new families to the Club within the next 3 years.
Marloes Schoonenberg I am Marloes Schoonenberg, aged 30, Dutch, and in Singapore together with my partner Philippe (30) who is half French, half Venezuelan. Before moving to Singapore we were actually living in Kuala Lumpur for 2 years. When Philippe’s contract ended we decided not to head back to Europe yet and explore other exciting opportunities in Asia. Hence we moved to Singapore! We have been enjoying it to our fullest ever since. I love to practice yoga here, cycle to the East Coast from Tiong Bahru, walk around and organise barbecues with friends. In my first year here I was responsible for the marketing and operations at French Studio, a French Language School on the East Coast, where I set-up a successful language-exchange program and organised many language events and activities which continue to date. Since I was 15 years old, I have always worked in the fields of food and beverage and hospitality in both the Netherlands and France, especially in the South of France and on the beautiful island of Corsica. I started to miss it a lot and decided to go back to where my roots are, when I heard about the Hollandse Club: it was the perfect fit. Heading the Hollandse Club’s Sales & Marketing Department is an exciting challenge. There are many things to do and with the Club Revisited Model ahead we are taking the Marketing
Pooja Arora My name is Pooja Arora. I am 39 years old, Singaporean and married with an 18 month old son. I came to Singapore for work in 2001 and fell in love with the country; I have been here ever since! We joined the Hollandse Club for the amazing atmosphere, family friendly feeling, sporting activities and swimming. I have over twelve years of marketing experience with companies like P&G and Unilever, so I am hoping to leverage on that, to drive awareness and members for the Hollandse Club and help turn it around. I am the point contact between the Main Committee and Marketing Committee. My vision is to use the extensive experience we have in the Committee to help craft a strong marketing strategy and an execution plan that can really help us drive awareness of this wonderful Club and the unique ‘no up-front fee’ offer we have. This should help drive up the membership significantly, which is the key pillar of the Club Revisited Plan. So I see the Marketing Committee’s role as key to helping us turn the Club around! WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 11
much that we decided to stay on for longer. We joined the Hollandse Club for several reasons. The practical reasons were that our kids needed a place to have swimming lessons and we were looking for a place to play tennis and do sports. But we also really liked the atmosphere and the beautiful setting. I am a seasoned marketer with more than sixteen years of experience at companies such as Unilever and Friesland Campina and recently Facebook. I hope to help bring in some much needed new members, so the Club can flourish and become even better! And hopefully my experience at Facebook, will enable us to ramp up our social media marketing campaigns and activities.
Niek de Rooij I am Niek de Rooij, 38 years old and Dutch. I am married to Manon (also Dutch, forever young), with three children: Stijn (9, football), Gijs (8, rugby) and Veerle (5, tennis – at the Club) – this gives you an idea about our Saturdays! I work for Unilever; we relocated here from Sydney more than two years ago. Friends introduced us to the Club and we didn’t have to think for long about joining ourselves. It felt like a great opportunity to meet people from various backgrounds and nationalities; for the kids to play or to simply enjoy a leisurely Sunday afternoon at the pool with a dearly missed ‘bitterbal’ within reach. I’ve spent quite some years in marketing now, managing various brands across geographies and I’ve found that the answer to many marketing challenges is often quite simple, as long as you really understand the problem. I think this is a special place, with a unique feel and character. I’d like to ‘give something back’ that will hopefully contribute to a well-positioned Hollandse Club. And did I mention working with the Marketing Committee is really fun? Just check out these other profiles.
Amcke Becker I am Amcke Becker from Holland. Peter, my partner and I have 2 kids, Jurre (9) and Nola (7) van Buren. We came to Singapore more than three years ago for my job at Friesland Campina and we loved it so
Karen Bart My name is Karen Bart. I am 44 years young, free and single! I am Singaporean - born here. I joined the Hollandse Club to enjoy the facilities and loved the location and the laid back atmosphere. I have been a Club Member now for over two years. I bring a lot of advertising experience to the Committee, having worked in both television and internet companies previously and now in a technology platform company. I hope to be able to help the Club continue to do well and thrive in Singapore. The Club’s history and tradition should be kept alive in our very fast paced environment and I love working with and meeting new Members of the Committee and Club.
DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that we invite you to become a volunteer of the Club? 12 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
MEMBERSHIP
Welcome to our New Social Members Alice Clark-Platts
By Nina Gunasingham
a novel. I thought, why not? We were only going to be here for just over a year after all.....Then I realised that writing is a lonely business and so started a meet-up group which I called The Singapore Writers’ Group. That group now has over 1000 members and we have published two short story anthologies and meet regularly for writing workshops and critique groups. If anyone is a budding writer out there, check us out at www.singaporewritersgroup.com.
Alice and her family are new Social Members for 6 months at the Club. She tells us her Singapore story: I moved to Singapore seven months pregnant with my youngest daughter and spent most of the first two months sitting under an air conditioned stream, trying to entertain my two year old, whilst avoiding going outside. It was HOT!!! My husband and I are both lawyers and we came on secondment with his firm for a very definite and settled period of eighteen months. So he told me..... Five years later and we are still here. We’re pretty settled now - having managed to make good friends, who aren’t going to disappear to another country at the drop of a hat, and with our now 8 and 4 year olds happily enjoying school at Dulwich College. When India, my youngest was born, I started writing
At the same time, I finished my first novel Warchild, which was shortlisted for the Impress Prize in 2013. Then I got accepted onto an online novel writing course with Curtis Brown and finished my second novel Bitter Fruits. I managed to secure a literary agent and then last year, got a two book deal with Penguin Random House. My third novel, The Taken, will be out in November this year. We love living in Singapore; swimming every day, beautiful beaches just a short drive away and time spent with the children in the sunshine, as opposed to the dark winter days of the UK. We joined the Hollandse Club just a few months ago, but love coming along to play tennis and swim in the pool. My biggest recommendation is the Vietnamese noodle soup and my children both love the fish and chips! And they are obsessed with the library - perhaps their mother’s daughters? It’s so nice to come down on a Sunday and relax in a friendly and attractive environment. We have had great afternoons at the Club with friends and look forward to many more!
David Bush David Bush is one of our new Members. Until recently he was working with Savitar and he enjoyed the Club so much, he decided to join. Hi David, thank you for talking to us. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Why did you choose to join the Hollandse Club? I first encountered the Club from a work perspective, coaching with Savitar for two years. I grew to love it; meeting great people here and I really like the atmosphere, the beautiful setting and how laid back the Club is.
I grew up in London but moved to Hilton Head Island, USA, on a tennis scholarship when I was 18 and never looked back! After five years in the States, I moved to Asia becoming the Director of tennis worldwide for the wonderful Aman Resorts. I am single and no children! Hmm, quite a catch then. How did you end up in Singapore? I came to Singapore as Director of Business Development for Savitar, as well as a Director of tennis/coaching.I love Singapore! After the madness of living in cities such as Bangkok, I love the quality of life in this beautiful dynamic city; it’s so organised and clean! WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 13
MEMBERSHIP
Nardia Stanistreet We are in our third year here. We have a son here at school aged 16 and a daughter in university in the UK. So why did you decide to join the Hollandse Club and what do you especially enjoy about it? We are new Members: as we have been members of clubs for many years and thought we did not really need to join a club with the kids all grown up - until we looked at the Hollandse Club. We really like the Hollandse Club because it is traditional in its decor and for the community atmosphere. The staff are all very nice, friendly, and happy and go out of their way to be helpful. I hope you are enjoying it here. Is there anything special you like doing?
Nardia Stanistreet and her family are enthusiastic new Members, on a one month trial Membership. I asked her to tell us what they love about the Hollandse Club.
At first, I found Singapore to be a little claustrophobic as we were coming from Dubai where everything is big and there is plenty of space. But the flora and fauna here is so beautiful.
Hello Nardia. Could you tell us a bit about yourself please?
I love to ride my bike to the Club as I look up to appreciate the blue sky, flowers and trees while the birds sing as I cycle along of a morning.
Okay, we are a family of four; we are British. We have been expats for twenty years and have lived in the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean and now we are in Singapore. How long have you been living in Singapore?
You can’t ask for more really... That sounds very relaxing! Thank you for sharing your story with us, Nardia.
The Hollandse Club says “Goodbye” to Ann Yang By Nina Gunasingham
This month, the Hollandse Club loses an icon. Ann Yang has been helping Members get fit and healthy for 32 years, but is now retiring and returning to England. One of those Members was yours truly so we caught up to reminisce. My son Rohain was around and Ann recalled I would leave him in the Puppy Room while I did Pilates, or occasionally take him in for a class. She started running exercise classes at the Club in 1984 for four days a week, with two morning and two evening sessions of low impact aerobics, stretch and tone and ante-natal classes. In the nineties step arrived, followed by step aerobics and then Pilates. All her classes were held downstairs in the Rotterdam Room. Ann met and married her Singaporean husband in England and had two children before moving to Singapore in 1981, where they have remained for 35 years. Their children went to local schools and their son did National Service here. The couple are looking forward to relaxing when they return to rural Sussex. They will be able to see Europe and her husband is anticipating going fishing. They still have good 14 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
friends in the area that they are in touch with, including Members they met at the Club, one of whom has been a close friend for over twenty years. Although their daughter is married and living in Singapore,
MEMBERSHIP they will be able to spend time with their son’s family, including their three grandchildren, in Southampton. They are looking forward to hearing the large cruise liners sound their horns even from their house and enjoying sitting in the park to watch the ships set sail with families waving from the dockside. I wondered how much the Club has changed in all the time she has been here. Ann remembered that the Terrace ceiling was much lower, at the same height as it is at the entrance, but now it is much more open. The Gym used to be where the Savitar office is now, before it moved to the space now occupied by the Library, when the Library was in what is now the Chill Out Room. And the floor in the Rotterdam Room has improved a lot!
I asked Ann what she would miss the most. Her surprising answer was “palm trees,” but she thinks she will also miss the food, the convenience of late night shopping (every day) and the convenience of getting from A to B, in terms of distance. Her best memories of Singapore are meeting lots of lovely people as a consequence of which she has lots of really good friends all over the world. In fact, she regularly meets up with her friends around London, of whom about 80% are exHollandse Club Members, at the Sloane Square John Lewis. I’m sure she is looking forward to catching up with them more often. We wish Ann all the very best in her new life and hope to see her back in Singapore occasionally.
Wanted - Hero On the 24th of April, Samantha and James Hickman were celebrating King’s Day at the Club and spending time with their family on the inflatable in the pool. Unfortunately, when they returned home they discovered that James had lost his wedding ring. They were especially upset because, quite apart from being James’s wedding ring, this ring is significant to them as it has a story behind it. This year the Hickmans will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Sam and James solemnised their wedding in Bali with family and friends when, be it excitement or nerves, Sam put the ring on the wrong finger. It didn’t quite fit so James forced it all the way on. Later they discovered that they couldn’t get it off again; the tropical heat and humidity and the fact that James had broken his fingers in the past playing rugby didn’t help either. When it swelled up and turned blue they started to worry that he could lose his finger. It seems as though this is a common occurrence in Bali; Sam explains “There’s a little guy who runs around on a motorbike with a ring-cutter.” - this is apparently a blade like a circular saw, which sounds quite scary! First the man had to check whether the ring was platinum. Fortunately it was white gold or otherwise James would have had to have gone
By Nina Gunasingham
to a hospital to get the ring off - which would, of course, have ruined their whole wedding. The man cut through the ring and fortunately avoided cutting through the engraving on the inside, which states ‘Mr & Mrs 28th October 2006’. James wore the ring taped up for the rest of the honeymoon, even for diving. It was not until they got back to Hong Kong, where they were living at the time, that they got it soldered back together. The jeweller used yellow gold, so there is a band of yellow gold in the white gold ring as a memento of their adventure. They found it ironic that the ring survived all that, only to be lost in the swimming pool here. Luckily, someone found the ring in the pool and handed it in to Reception the very next day. As the ring means so very much to them, the Hickmans would like to thank them in person and show their appreciation. If it was you, please leave your name at Reception so that Sam and James can get in touch with you. WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 15
MEMBERSHIP
We have partnered up with a selection of merchants to bring you some of the best deals beyond the Club! * Don’t forget to bring your membership card to enjoy these promotions
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Holiday Fun
Colouring Contest
Hey kids! Join our Holiday Fun Colouring Contest and win many cool prizes! Submit your best colouring at the Reception by 5th August. Winners will be featured in the Sept/Oct 2016 issue. Ready, steady, go! Name:_________________________________ Membership No.:__________________ Age:____________ HP:___________________ Email:_____________________________ *extra copies of this colouring page are available at the Reception, Kids’ Room & The Terrace. 18 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
KIDS’ ACTIVITY CORNER Holiday Fun Word Search
Our camper has finished roasting marshmallows. Can you help him get back to his tent?
fairground family fun hotel icecream swim journey pack postcard suitcase summer tent
COLOURING CONTEST WINNERS!
Sophie Mulvahill (13 years old)
Sophie van Deur (11 years old)
Jessica Freedman (6 years old)
Congratulations to the winners of the Family Colouring Contest! Winners will be notified by email. Keep up the good work, kids! WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 19
Holiday Fun Getaway! Explore . Learn . Develop
The Hash By Linde Meulendijks, age 7
At the end there is always food and circle time. At circle time every new person, or someone who is celebrating his or her special hash, like tenth, or fiftieth has to go inside the circle. We sing for them. After ten hashes you get a medal. And you get a cup of orange juice. You can choose if you drink your juice, or throw your orange juice at someone else, but after that your cup has to end on your head. At your second or first hash you get a passport. For every hash you do you get a stamp in your passport. I like hashing because I like running.
A hash is a sort of run through the jungle and mud. You know how we find our way through the jungle? Children with the help of their parents, called the hares, set out the way. When they find the way, the hares put some flour or white toilet paper to mark the track. The other people follow the track. When you are doing the hash you sometimes see a circle, which means there are different ways to go. You have to find the right way and break the circle. Sometimes you can choose a long or short hash. It’s always somewhere else.
Want to try the hash for yourself? More information on https://hashhousehorrors.com
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My Adventure in Legoland By Rohain, age 7
For my ultimate adventure I started to pack
on Friday to leave on Saturday. We got there on Saturday morning and booked in at 11:30 to get our room. When we got our room my Mum and Dad started unpacking. We decided that we would go to the water park first and I built a raft on the lazy river. Even though it rained my raft stayed on the water through the rain, floating round and round the pool. We had to walk in the rain to get back to the room. At dinner I ordered ‘alphabetical pasta’; it made me have a tummy ache but still, I had a lot. I got dessert from room service and wanted to watch a movie but they didn’t have much in movies so I watched Nickelodeon instead; after that I went to sleep. When I woke up it was morning and we decided to go to the water park again and it did not rain. When we got back we changed and went to the theme
park. We walked around and went on rides like the boat ride, the dragon ride, the smaller dragon ride and the car ride, but we still did things inside like build your own car and race it. It was so much fun! We went back to the hotel room and got dressed for dinner. I had margarita pizza for dinner. I also had room service dessert again and I went to sleep. On Monday we had to leave but before that I went to Brain Storm* lessons. Then I went on the dragon rollercoaster; after that I went on the car rollercoaster to finish off my adventure at Legoland. My adventure ended when I got home on Monday afternoon. *Brain Storm lessons teach you to program Lego robots.
Visiting Legoland By Nina Gunasingham
Legoland Malaysia makes a great kid-friendly day trip or long weekend from Singapore. We go by car but I understand that there are buses that go too. Last year we bought an annual pass that has certainly turned out to be value for money; we can get there in under an hour from home. We plan our trips to avoid causeway jams and we’ve learned from experience to check that all our passports and re-entry visas are in order! There are two parks next to each other; the theme park and the water park. My husband finds the theme park boring, but the kids and I like them both equally; we could build and race Lego cars until the cows come home! There are rides for all ages and Rohain is especially thrilled because this year he finally met the age and height restrictions on the roller coasters, so we did ... Everything. Do be aware that if it’s sunny, there isn’t much shade in either park and it can get uncomfortably 22 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
hot; get uncomfortably hot; even if you do take slippers for the water park, there are only a few places to leave them, so you have to hot-foot it between rides. The slides are tremendous fun, but what comes down has to go up, first, and you do have to carry your own tubes or mats for almost all the rides. And, of course, the higher you go, the more fun it is - so you have to do that much more work first. Watches, caps, sunglasses, water shoes are not allowed on the slides. We’ve been there on a day trip, taking minimal luggage and booking a cabana at the water park. We’ve also been for weekends, staying at the Legoland Hotel which is about a 2 minute walk from either park entrance. There are different themes to the floors - Kingdom, Pirates, Adventure - and everything fits the theme; carpets, wallpaper, dungeon doors, Lego cannonballs coming through the walls and so on.
Best of all, each room is divided with a door, so the kids have their section with bunk beds and their own TV. And there is a treasure hunt to keep them occupied while the adults get the room in order. Bliss! So far, we’ve found it less crowded than Universal Studios, though Universal is easier to get to, obviously. If my family is feeling generous after a weekend of fun, I get to go to shopping at the
Johor Premium Outlets mall about half an hour’s drive up the road, before we come home. By the way, if you do go to Legoland, I expect you to do the YMCA dance in the lift. Trust me, everyone does. Unless you get the lift with ‘We are Family’ - or one of the others disco hits to boogie to.
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Teacher of DUTch LangUage anD LiTeraTUre Overseas Family School Singapore is seeking a full-time teacher of DUTCH Language and Literature, commencing August 2016. This is a Mother Tongue course (Dutch native speakers) for students aged 14 to 19 years. The teacher will be required to teach up to the level of IB Diploma. A language/literature teaching qualification for secondary school is obligatory. Interested applicants should send their resume / CV, in English, along with copies of university and teaching qualifications, to the High School Principal, Ms Suzanne Bentin. suzanne_bentin@ofs.edu.sg Overseas Family School 81 Pasir Ris Heights Singapore 519292 Tel: +(65) 6738 0211 Fax: +(65) 6733 8825 Website: http://www.ofs.edu.sg Registered with the Council for Private Education, Singapore Registration No.: 199104269R Registration Period: 1/9/2015 - 31/8/2019
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My Easter Holiday By Tijm Meulendijks, age 8
In the Easter holiday we went to Japan. We went to Kyoto, Nozowa Onsen, Kanazawa and Tokyo. When we arrived in Japan we went to Nozawa Onsen on the Bullet Train, known as the Shinkansen. When we were in Nozawa Onsen we went skiing. We had ski lessons. My sister’s and my ski teacher was Dutch. My little sister was in love with the ski teacher. His name was Fraser but we called him Frozer because he was a little bit frozen. I skied on the red, green and a little bit of black piste.
We also went to Kanazawa on the Shinkansen. We stayed in Kanazawa for one day. We stayed in a hotel. In the evening we went to a restaurant. Next to us in the restaurant there were four men, they gave us some food because nobody spoke English and we couldn’t read the menu. When we arrived we watched TV. In Kanazawa we went to a castle; it was great fun. We went to Kyoto with the Thunderbird train. In Kyoto we rented a house. There are so many cherry blossoms! When we were in Kyoto we went on a little train. And there were too many temples! We also went to a geisha theatre and a tea ceremony. After the tea ceremony we got a plate. Geishas are traditional Japanese ladies who dance. In Japan I liked the trains the best.
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WANTED:
By Karien van Ditzhuijzen
The Hollandse Club Magazine is looking for children of all ages to help us diversify the magazine content. Do you have an interesting hobby, did you go on an adventurous trip, or have a favourite Singapore hangout you would like to tell us about? All stories on all subjects are welcome. This summer, most of you will be traveling, to Europe, America, or closer to home in Asia. We’d love to hear where you went and what you saw. If you find it difficult to get going with your writing, or worry you will have forgotten all about your
not start a travel journal? The handout on the next page will help you. You can write and draw on it, or stick tickets and pictures, please do get creative in any way you want. And when you submit it to our Magazine Committee - who knows? Your travels might be featured in our next issue. C ont r ibut ions can be made v ia ema i l t o news@hollandseclub.org, or by hand at the Hollandse Club Reception.
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Journal template created by Sophie March from www.idaandernest.com
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How to make your kids speak them all Raising bilingual children
By Karien van Ditzhuijzen
The average child in Singapore, whether local
or expat, speaks at least two languages, if not more. In the local education system, every child will learn English, but is also educated in their ‘mother tongue’, which can be Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil. It does not stop there, many will speak further dialects at home, or with grandparents such as Teochow, Cantonese, Punjabi, Hokkien, Hakka, or Hindi. Expat children learn English at school, their parents’ language(s) at home, and maybe a further third or fourth foreign language at school. The children of anglophone parents get the short end of this stick, living in a country like Singapore where the main language is English, they usually get little opportunity to get proficient in anything else. My personal experiences have taught me one thing clearly- you don’t learn languages at school. To become fluent, you need a reason, an urgency to learn, as well as the opportunity to practise a language in its natural surroundings.
Our children were born in the United Kingdom, from Dutch parents, and in their early childhood we did not give their language development too much thought. They learned English at nursery, or with friends, and we spoke Dutch at home. The distinction was clear, and they seemed to know instinctively which language to use, when. Whenever they played together they always spoke English but to me they spoke Dutch. When we moved to Singapore, and they were at an age to learn reading and writing properly, we thought it would be nice to put them in touch with their Dutch roots, and enrolled them into the Dutch school. Almost immediately, their English started to deteriorate, despite the daily English classes the school offered. Their understanding, as well as reading skills remained good, but their spoken fluency suffered particularly, despite the forced playdates I organised with English speaking children of my own friends. Our son even went through a phase where he refused to speak any English at all. Three years later, they were fluent in Dutch, fairly good in English, and we moved them to another school. Now they are taught in English, and learn French daily. In French, they have since mastered names of foods, sports, and swearing but I have not caught them using a proper sentence yet.
At university I spent half a year taking Spanish classes, but when I travelled to South America, I realised immediately on arrival, that between a textbook and the real world, there is one giant gap. A mere week later though, I babbled away with my guest family, picking up words and phrases effortlessly as I went along. In a similar way, five years of French in a Dutch secondary school was nothing, compared to a three-month internship at a French university. So I realised that if I wanted my kids to be properly bilingual, I could not count on schools alone. Skimming the internet, and magazines, I found many tips, do’s and don’ts, about how to raise bilingual kids. Many are contradictory, indicating there is no one solution that fits all. I needed my own plan. 30 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
To us, maintaining their Dutch mother tongue is just as important as learning English, so we enrolled them in after school classes, via Language One. There, they can learn grammar, reading, writing, and all those basics that are important in building a strong language base. After school language
Top tips to teach children multiple languages 1. Start early: Research shows children can identify different languages as young as a few days old. Even before the child can speak it can learn. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. 2. Prioritise it: During the years I have met many children from mixed nationality families, as well as expats, and the fluency with which a child speaks a second or third language, is mostly down to the efforts, or lack thereof, of the parents. 3. Be patient: You don’t learn a language overnight, it takes years of practice to become fluent. Many young children can understand more than one language perfectly, but have one preferred language to speak. Encourage them to use the others, but also realise that the child has twice as many words and rules to learn and this takes time.
classes can also provide contact with other children from a similar background, play with Dutch children at recess, learning about the culture of their ancestor’s country, and of course celebrating its national feasts. Koningsdag, Kerst, Sinterklaas, voetbal; there is much more to being Dutch than language alone. Our kids love their weekly Dutch lesson, the homework less so, but at the same time I realise, on its own, these lessons are not enough. What else can you do to encourage your child to become fluent in any language that is not the one they use most often? After years of expat life, navigating bilingual kids in different settings, see my top tips on the right.
4. Talk, talk, talk to your child: Expose them to the language you want them to learn as much as you can, and if you don’t speak it yourself, get someone else to do this, or arrange suitable play dates. Children are little sponges, but you need to offer plenty of material to absorb. 5. Read! For the little ones, get pictures books, and as soon as they can read themselves, make sure there are plenty of chapter books on offer. Leave the instructive, boring stuff for school, and focus on stuff they like to read. I am not ashamed to admit that the ‘Donald Duck’ magazine has become an important part of our children’s Dutch education. Most magazines offer overseas or online subscriptions. 6. Go digital: Applications, digital TV, DVDs, music, websites, audio books, what kid doesn’t love them? 7. Write! If, like me, you don’t enjoy giving your kids extra homework (don’t they have enough?) let them email their grandparents, cousins, and pen pals. Encourage them to keep a (holiday) journal. 8. Rope in the family: A week or so at the grandparent’s house does wonders, so does playing with cousins. 9. Play games: Multilingual scrabble is a hit in our household in Dutch, English and French simultaneously. Give out bonus point when they use the preferred language. 10. Ignore well-meant advice: Basically, feel free to ignore this article completely, and do it your way. You know your child the best! WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 31
Pulau Ubin
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK ON A BUDGET.... Singapore City Gallery Labrador Nature Reserve
By Claire Wintraecken
I have been making summer plans, since our vacation is approaching and I have a seven weeks stretch ahead, to keep everybody entertained (and happy). Love it and hate it, at the same time. I love the idea that my kids have vast vistas of unplanned time they have to take possession of. However I hate the crying out to me, “But what should I do-oo-oo?� Meanwhile I am trying to ignore them and force them to come up with an answer for themselves and an IPad, watching TV, or play station is not part of that answer. 32 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
FEATURES After being in Singapore for a while, we have ticked off the Zoo, Universal Studios and Wild Wild Wet (although my kids can never get enough of these parks my wallet is reaching the bottom), so I decided to take a look at some of Singapore’s more off thebeaten-path-attractions on a budget. Just because things can get pretty pricey when you are living it up or actually just living in Singapore. These free things to do will keep them and myself busy through every season.
At the City Gallery you can see into Singapore’s future, present and past urban developments. There are several interactive exhibits, where you can be an urban designer and create your own memorable city skyline. Or interact at the exhibit called “A Brush with History” with old and new streetscapes; immerse yourself at “A Day in Singapore” in beautiful scenes of the city from dawn to dusk. My favorite is the Grant Model. Even if you are afraid of heights, here you can still enjoy a bird’s-eye view. You do not have to climb a skyscraper to catch a glimpse of Singapore’s central hub; as an 11m-by 11m- scale model of the central city, which comes alive with a light and sound show, gives you a threedimensional overview of the development of Singapore as a city. These interactive city-planning exhibitions give you a compelling insight into the Government’s policies of land reclamation, and meticulous urban planning. You will get a better understanding of the challenges facing Singapore. With rising temperatures at home, this is a perfect outing to keep your kids and yourself cool.
Labrador Nature Reserve Labrador Nature Reserve is one of the least visited national parks of Singapore and yet hides a host of hidden treasures. In amongst the tropical rainforest you’ll find war bunkers, WWII machine gun posts and secret tunnels, which can be explored via a guided tour. There’s also a great sandy playground, complete with a maze for the kids to run off their energy in. Home to seventy kinds of birds and thirteen butterfly species, it makes a great spot for bird watching. For fishing enthusiast, you can catch a fish along the shoreline of the promenade. This is a park where you can wander around and the kids can have a ball for a great afternoon.
Singapore City Gallery Planning a city for nearly five million people to live in is no easy task, and it is the difficult job of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to do this. Set up
Actually there are quite a lot of budget friendly options in Singapore, I find. Here is my bucket list for this summer; • We have been to Bintan and Pulau Ubin, which are very good day trips and away from the hustle and bustle. This summer I would love to explore the marine life, snorkel, have a picnic and visit the Sisters’ Islands. These little islands (off the coast of Singapore, 15 minutes boat ride) are home to some of the richest reef around. You can explore amazing marine life. I will find out this summer and report back to you. To be continued…. • Catch a free performance at the Esplanade. On 10 July there is a concert at the Esplanade. “ All that Jazz” is an hour-long free concert for all, and is part of the Esplanade’s Beautiful Sunday program; • Kite-flying at Marina Barrage; • Take a free Singapore River or Chinatown walking tour with Singapore Footprints’ students –Walkaholics; • If you have not done it yet, MacRitchie Reservoir’s treetop walk is an all-time favorite for my family; • Play tennis with your family at the family social at the Hollandse Club on any Sunday morning. As a member you can enjoy this perk and play for free together with your loved ones. Perhaps we will meet each other at one of these events, Have a good summer! WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 33
FEATURES
Exclusive interview with film director, Roel Reiné By Claire Wintraecken & Nina Gunasingham
Some weeks ago Nina and I were invited to sit down and have a chat with Los Angeles-based Dutch film director Roel Reiné. In all honesty, the name Roel Reiné, did not ring a bell to Nina or me, which definitely says a lot about us and our lack of film knowledge. The following is an interesting talk we had with this Hollywood director.
within an area of study, for you to become an “outlier”, one who is extraordinarily proficient in a certain subject or skill.
Roel Reiné Roel Reiné was born and raised in the Netherlands and directed popular TV shows in Holland like Wie is de Molwhich is still one of my favourites. He also won the Golden Calf Award for Best Director (a prestigious Dutch film award) with the movie The Delivery. This film was his ticket to Hollywood. Along with the advice from another famous Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven,. “You have to move to LA, when you are not around, you do not count”, Roel Reiné took the leap and went to the film capital of the world, Hollywood. Stretching your dollars Of course Reiné is hardly the first overseas director to try and make his mark in the U.S. From Paul Verhoeven to Roland Emmerich, directors have been trickling into Hollywood from non-English speaking countries for about as long as Hollywood has existed; and it usually takes them years to get a shot at a big movie. So, how did Reiné manage to become a household name in Hollywood for modern action movies in such a short period of time? “I made as many films as possible” Reiné tells us. He is a firm believer in Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule; the magic number of hours needed to practice 34 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Even though he passed his “tipping-point” of greatness (Gladwell theory) sometime ago (18 American feature films under his belt in eight years, most of them being budget action movie sequels), Reiné believes he still continues to learn every day. Making low budget action movies (US$6-8 million) but having them look like US$40-50 million blockbusters, became his trade-mark. He uses smaller crews, good planning, scheduling and shooting with four cameras to get the right coverage and more angles, thus allowing him to stretch each dollar in a smarter way. Admiral He brought all this knowledge and experience together in his recent movie, Admiral, the opening film at the 2016 European Film Festival in Singapore. Admiral is a film about Michiel de Ruyter. A Dutch admiral, born in 1607 in Holland, Vlissingen. De Ruyter was very much loved by his sailors and soldiers; he derived his nickname Bestevaêr (Grandad) both because of his disregard for hierarchy (he was himself of humble origin) and his refusal to back away from risky and bold undertakings, despite his usually cautious nature. He is without doubt the most famous Dutch hero of the sea. And as de Ruyter is one of the most important and influential persons in Dutch history, I have taken the opportunity to teach you some Dutch history. Dutch History It’s the 17th century, which in Dutch history will become
FEATURES known as the Golden Age. After their 80-year-war with Spain, the Dutch are finally independent and becoming very rich, because of the money flowing in through the East Indian Company. The country is a republic and this is seen as a dangerous development by all surrounding countries, who are all kingdoms at that time. Needless to say the Dutch Republic did not lack enemies, with England and France being the most obvious ones. Trade disputes led to sea piracy, and declarations of war lead to massive fleets clashing. After the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War (there is a sequel unfortunately of this war as well), Michiel de Ruyter takes the job of Admiral (reluctantly). He reforms the Dutch Navy, commands the building of next-generation warships, creates the Marine Corps of elite sea-soldiers, and proves to be a VERY nasty surprise to the British. At the same time, the country itself is on the brink of a civil war - this all happened in 29 years. Please bear in mind, I am not a historian, so hopefully I have accurately depicted the background in which time Michiel de Ruyter lived. Class is dismissed!
No Green screen, three vessels struck in a sea battle For many filmmakers it is a dream to put the life of a national hero on the big screen; Roel Reiné is no different. He loves challenges and is keen on history (as we found out later) so when he stumbled on a script about the Ruyter, he took it on. Reiné presents large-scale sea battles on a tight budget; which many people said would not be possible. He displays his skills with this movie, using a canny combination of practical effects, and existing historical locations in Belgium and the Netherlands, while optimising scheduling. Reiné took on the roles of both the film’s cinematographer and director, in order to save money. But, most importantly he wanted to avoid green screen. Green screen is a technique which films use to blend computer generated images with real-life ones and can be very time consuming and expensive. Reiné went for the real thing and no green screen
was allowed. For the battles at sea, he needed actual vessels, so he used just three real 17th century replica ships. In a big lake in Holland, where you are not able to see the shore on the other side, they conducted a sea battle with blasting cannons, and dozens of sailors, soldiers and ships. No use of any green screen but with a computer he surrounded the three real ships with more ships, (he doubled the three real ships many times) so as a viewer you feel there are hundreds of ships around you. With this technology and the use of applications such as Google Earth, you are given the full perspective of the sea battle. Rembrandt The lighting done in the movie reminded me of a painting by Rembrandt. That was exactly what the director had in mind. He wanted to create a world that would immerse the audience in the 17th century; the film’s visual inspiration is derived from the works of the Dutch masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. The way he emulates natural light (sun light) because they did not have internal lighting in those days, was to use bright lights shone through windows. Worldwide Nina asked how the movie was welcomed in the UK, since the British were the bad guys in the film. The UK was the first country outside Holland to release the movie Reiné said, and it turned out to be quite successful. It is interesting how the movie is perceived differently in different parts of the whole world. In Beijing, viewers believed the Admiral was about freedom and the struggles against kings and governments, while the United States’ moviegoers where intrigued by Johannes de Witt, a Republican, also strongly liberal, preferring lesser power to the central government. Everyone can watch the Admiral (everyone above 16 years old though) be entertained, see the dramatic story, action and find his or her own thoughts about the film. I saw the movie on a plane flight from Singapore to Amsterdam and I was impressed. Speaking for myself, it is about a guy who had to leave his family to do something he really believes in. Next projects….. Already busy with filming his next project in Thailand, Hard Targets 2; I personally look forward to his next historical movie about Radbod, King of Frisia. The last independent ruler of Frisia before Frankish domination, this movie should be released in 2017. After talking with Rene, Nina and I are even more impressed by this Hollywood director. Knowledgeable, hardworking and a big name in Hollywood but yet very down to earth and humble. No surprise Michiel de Ruyter intrigued him.
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FEATURES
Eid Mubarak!* Eight things you should know about Hari Raya Puasa * Blessed Celebration! By Mohd Izzat
It’s Hari Raya Puasa on the 7th of July! And our Muslim friends must be busy preparing scrumptious and mouth-watering feasts of Lontong (compressed rice cake), Ayam Masak Merah (spicy chicken dish), Beef Rendang , Ketupat (rice dumpling) and Kueh (cookies). Yum!
Why do Muslims fast? Muslims fast to appreciate all that God has bestowed upon them. Through fasting, they believe that one learns self-control and develops empathy towards what the poor undergo on a daily basis. Fasting is an important religious duty in Islam. What’s the difference between Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji? While Hari Raya Puasa is a day for celebrating the end of the fasting month, Hari Raya Haji, which occurs usually about three months later, marks the end of the pilgrimage (Haj) Muslims make to the holy city of Mecca. Hari Raya Haji is also widely referred to as the ‘day of sacrifice’ as Muslims believe that on this day, Prophet Ibrahim almost sacrificed his son, Ismail, in an act of obedience and reverence to God. Muslims usually slaughter sheep and cows and feed them to the poor in remembrance of the Prophet’s sacrifice.
But, apart from the delectable dishes Singaporeans get to taste during this joyful occasion, how much do we all really know about Hari Raya Puasa? Here are eight things that we should all know about the festival and to join in the celebrations with our Muslim friends and neighbours. Why is Hari Raya Puasa celebrated? Hari Raya Puasa marks the end of a month of fasting for Muslims. It is a day of joyous celebrations. Some think that Hari Raya Puasa is the Muslim New Year but that is not true! Just what exactly does ‘Ramadan’ mean? Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a month of fasting for Muslims. During fasting, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn till dusk. Ramadan is considered a very auspicious month in the Islamic calendar as it is believed that the Prophet Mohammed received the first verses of the Qur’an during this month. 36 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
What happens on the day of Hari Raya Puasa? Muslims wake up early, visit the mosque and thank God for the blessings they have in life. They also seek forgiveness from their elders and receive green packets containing money. While dressed in their best clothes, people visit family and friends and dig into delicious food! “It feels amazing when I put a morsel of Ayam Masak Merah in my mouth! It feels like the entire month of fasting was sooo worth it!” exclaims my cousin Nisa Jumat.
FEATURES
DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that we make beautiful, tasteful birthday cakes that don’t break the bank?
What else can you do to soak in the festive atmosphere in Singapore?
What are the traditional clothes, worn on the day, called?
Bear in mind that a lot of festivities happen during the days leading up to Hari Raya Puasa. The bazaars held at Geylang Serai are usually filled with rows and rows of stalls selling Hari Raya goodies, costume jewellery and outfits.
On the day of Hari Raya Puasa you may look out of the window and see brightly coloured clothed people flagging a cab down. (You try and tell your other half what these beautifully tailored clothes are but can’t get the names right). Let me tell you. Women usually either wear a Baju Kurong (traditional “enclosed dress”), Baju Kebaya (traditional blouse-dress) or Jubah (traditional robe). Men wear the male version of a Baju Kurong together with a Kain Samping (a piece of cloth worn over the trouser of the Baju Kurong). It is common to see men wear a songkok on their heads as well. It doesn’t really matter if you wear a Kebaya or Kurong – it is a matter of preference. How should guests generally behave?
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Most Muslims in Singapore do not expect guests to present gifts or cash. If guests insist on presenting something, then sweets, cookies or kueh are best and will be appreciated by most hosts. Guests should also look out for what not to give. Avoid the colour black; wine, champagne or any other forms of alcohol are an absolute no-no. Additionally, non-Muslim guests are not expected to be dressed in traditional Malay clothes. However, it might please your hosts if you make the effort. Don’t have the time to shop for a Baju Kebaya or Jubah? Fret not! Wearing casual western clothing is completely acceptable! However, keep in mind that the Muslim community here is quite modest. So female readers, remember not to wear anything too revealing. If you’re not too sure about the dress code, just keep in mind that short skirts and cleavage baring tops are not appropriate. What are the most common Hari Raya Puasa greetings? Selamat Hari Raya is the traditional greeting used by Malay Muslims which means ‘Happy Hari Raya’ and ‘Maaf Zahir dan Batin’ which when translated loosely, means ‘ I seek forgiveness from you’.A lot of Muslims also say ‘Eid Mubarak’ when they greet each other; the term has Arabic origins, ‘Eid Mubarak’ means ‘Happy Hari Raya’. WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 37
FEATURES
HOME Kartini Day Celebrations By Karien van Ditzhuijzen
I f you were at the Club on Sunday the 8th of May this year, you may have marvelled at the women lounging around the Hall, dressed in amazing Batik, the traditional patterned Indonesian fabric, and wondered what they were doing? All these women were Indonesian domestic workers, attending Kartini Day, an Indonesian National Holiday, where Indonesia’s national hero and feminist Kartini is honoured. The Hollandse Club generously donated the Main Hall for HOME’s (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics) annual celebration, combining Kartini Day and Mother’s Day in one festive event. All Indonesians know her as Raden Adjeng Kartini, or Lady Kartini. She was born in 1879 in Central Java and her family was part of the Javanese aristocracy. Kartini was lucky to be enrolled in a Dutch primary school, rare for a Javanese girl in those days, but at twelve, Kartini was secluded at home, deprived from further education in preparation for marriage. She started to correspond with Dutch friends, and became an important pioneer for women’s rights, particularly championing Indonesian girl’s education. Unfortunately, Kartini died at a young age, in childbirth, but her spirit lives on; Kartini’s birthday is observed as a national holiday for all Indonesians, celebrating the life of this extraordinary woman as a mother to all.
As one of the speakers that day asked us, we wonder, what would Kartini have said if she lived today? Female emancipation has come a long way over the last hundred years, but Kartini’s work, unfortunately, is far from done. Migrant domestic workers still have fewer rights than other workers in Singapore, and are not covered by the Employment Act, which makes it difficult to protect them from abusive and exploitative employers. HOME fights for justice as well as empowerment for these workers, its staff and volunteers, many of them domestic workers themselves, following in Kartini’s footsteps.
After that serious note, the speeches were over, and most of the day was one of celebration. There were musical performances, both contemporary and traditional, dance, singing, and to top it all a fashion show giving us a modern take on Indonesian Batik.
38 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
FEATURES The diversity showed us that Batik still has many uses today, from our very own Singapore girl, to elaborate ballroom dresses or much more practical daytime wear, sarongs and kebayas (traditional blouse-dress). The women looked amazing, and the judges must have had a hard time choosing a winner from all the beauty paraded in front of them. In all categories, singing, dancing, creative writing and fashion, prizes were awarded to the most talented candidates. It
was special to see these women, out of their standard uniform of shorts and T-shirt, showcasing that domestic workers have so much more to offer than plain cleaning, cooking and child-minding. HOME would like to offer a big ‘Thank you’ to the Hollandse Club for offering the use of the Main Hall, thus making it possible to organise this unique event in Singapore.
Photos by Dina Sartiman
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WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 39
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
JULY
at a gl
1- 31
Art Display: Aarti Bartake
July
Daily, Tradewinds Bar Free Admission
16
4,6,7
HC Holiday Camps
July
Mon, Wed, Thurs | Tennis Court, 9am-12pm, 1pm- 3pm Registration via the Club’s website
Movie Night at the Pool
July
Sat, 7pm, Pool (M) Free | (NM) $15
12-14
HC Holiday Camps
July
Mon, Wed, Thurs | Tennis Court, 9am-12pm, 1pm-3pm Registration via the Club’s website
26-28
HC Holiday Camps
July
Mon, Wed, Thurs | Tennis Court, 9am-12pm, 1pm-3pm Registration via the Club’s website
*Events Cancellation Policy: For fee-based events, cancellation (and refund) will be accepted up to maximum 48 hours in advance of the event. If the cancellation request is received after the deadline, we cannot issue a refund and your account will be charged.
40 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
AUGUST
CALENDAR
glance... 1- 31
Art Display: Shruti Gupta
August
Daily, Tradewinds Bar Free Admission
HC Holiday Camps
August
Mon, Wed, Thurs | Tennis Court, 9am-12pm, 1pm-3pm Registration via the Club’s website
13 -19
HC Holiday Camps
Aug
Mon-Fri | 9am-12pm, 1-3/5pm Swimming Pool, price from $65 david@aquaducks.com.sg
19
HC under 10,12,14 Junior Team Tennis Competition
August
Fri, 9am-12pm, Tennis Court scott@savitar.sg
(M) Members (NM) Non-Members
2-4
HC Holiday Camps
August
Mon, Wed, Thurs | Tennis Court, 9am-12pm, 1pm-3pm Registration via the Club’s website
10-12 Jun
Events not to be missed in the months of July and August! Please do remember to register early to avoid disappointment! Registrations can now be made online at www.hollandseclub.org.sg
13
The Comedy Club Asia
August
Sat, 8pm, Main Hall (M) $30 | (NM) $50
16
New Term of Junior Group Tennis Program
August
Tues, 9am-12pm, Tennis Court scott@savitar.sg
20
Movie Night at the Pool
August
Sat, 7pm, Pool (M) Free | (NM) $15
Social events
DID YOU KNOW?
Sports events
Did you know that we offer 7 weeks of Summer camps?
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 41
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
Only runs if a minimum number of participants is reached. You can sign up until Monday 11th July and 15th August respectively. 42 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 43
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
44 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 45
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
46 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
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German European School Singapore entrenches roots and reaffirms commitment to Singapore as they announce a new campus The German European School Singapore (GESS) has recently announced the development of their new campus, opening an exciting chapter in the school’s story as they merge two existing campuses into one purpose-built school with state-of-the-art facilities. With the potential to grow the school community to 2000 students, the new grounds will have important school facilities and spaces – specially designed to accommodate the evolving mind-sets of future generations. The campus will be ready to move in to during the 2018 June/July school holidays in order to operate by August.
The school provides education in German, following the German Curriculum, and an English-speaking education, following the IB Curriculum. GESS also provides a Dutch Mother Tongue Programme to support the maintenance and development of the Dutch language. This programme is available to students in the Primary and Secondary School and is in addition to English and German language lessons which all take place within the regular school day. The school currently educates 1500 students of more than 50 nationalities from 18 months to 18 years and is open to take new admissions. For more information, visit www.gess.sg.
Apply Now
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+65 6461 0881
Hollandse Club (125x175mm).indd 3
7/6/16 10:38 AM WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 47
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
Artist Insights I: Aarti Bartake
By Martijn Boersma
“Art has always been an integral part of me. During my initial years, I used it to design and decorate interiors of residential projects and after a hiatus, found my one true calling – painting. I have since been passionately creating eloquent, vibrant works of art which provide me with a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction like no other.” “It is heartwarming to receive generous feedback from my patrons and also a proud moment for me when they send photos of my artworks on their walls”. Aarti Bartake Born in 1976 in the culturally vibrant city of Pune, India, Aarti Bartake is a graduate with an Honors Degree in Residential Space Design and Management from Pune’s SNDT University. She also holds a Diploma with Distinctions in Animation, Multimedia and Graphics from Aptech Arena Multimedia. A resident of Singapore for the past 17 years, her travels across many countries have given her a wide perspective about life, which in turn finds reflection on her canvas. Delving primarily into acrylics and sometimes mixed media she creates endearing artworks, implementing eclectic techniques using various mediums like metal, paper, sponge, plastic and bubble wrap to name a few. She wields it all together with vibrant colours and shapes in an intuitive manner to convey her story. Her portfolio boasts a comprehensive collection of engaging abstracts, stunning landscapes and lifelike florals. She has held successful exhibitions in London (UK), Minneapolis (USA), Pune (India) and Singapore. Her alluring paintings grace the elegant walls of many art galleries and home of private collectors from all over the world.
48 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Says Rajesh Saini (Minneapolis, USA) “They say ART speaks where words cannot and for me to connect to this fact and finally experience it was through this artist named Aarti Bartake. Going through her paintings here in the US, I could relate to how Aarti was discovering herself through the process of painting her thoughts which eventually reflected herself. That journey was my first interaction with ART in this depth and going through the process I felt/experienced her “Following in a Silent Prayer” piece. Today that piece adorns a special wall in my home and every time I pass by it, it gives me the ‘Silent Treatment’ but of the divine nature i.e. happiness. I am thankful to Aarti for connecting me to this side of me. She foremost works with her hands and head but her distinction is that beautiful heart of hers playing a humongous role in her creations. Hoping we connect on multiple future pieces of yours Aarti. Wishing you a successful horizon and do keep transforming these combination of colors into something uniquely beautiful and alive. Freedom to your thoughts. God Bless”. Aarti has won many art contests in various categories. Her paintings have also been published in magazines. (‘Sootradhar’ published in Singapore based MMS Magazine in September 2015, ‘Eternal Energy – Dawn’ published in UK based1st Angel Arts Magazine in March 2016.) You can catch a glimpse of some of her artworks at the Tradewinds Bar, Hollandse Club, for the month of July. Website - http://aarti-bartake.pixels.com/ Contact - aartibartake@gmail.com
UPCOMING SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS
Artist Insights II: Shruti Gupta By Martijn Boersma
Shruti Gupta is an Indian artist and printmaker based in Singapore. Her art is abstract and layered, drawing inspiration from nature and everyday observations. She loves to experiment with different mediums and works with oil, acrylic, water color, ink and dry pastels. She loves neon colours and uses them extensively. Shruti’s artwork is based on memories, experiences and observations. However, what inspires her artwork most is the ‘everyday’. She loves that she can take something regular from everyday life and give it a whimsical twist! It surprises her how one’s perspective changes everything. The way one looks at something and what it means or how it makes them feel, depends on one’s personal experiences, memories and thoughts. Her artwork reflects deep emotions that are unaffected by rules or what may be considered correct. Her art is about being. Her journey in the creative field started back in India where she grew up. She graduated with an Honors Degree in Psychology and later enrolled in design school to pursue Interior Design. She was chosen to represent her school at the Durian Society Interior Designing Competition and achieved first place (group) at the Zone and National levels.
Shruti has been painting for over six years and has exhibited in India and Singapore. She has taken part in eight group exhibitions including the Affordable Art Fair 2015, Gallery Uttama, The Embassy of Brazil, Pameran Poskad - Gillman Barracks, My Art Space and National Park (Singapore) along with two more in Kolkata, India. She was awarded the ‘juror’s award’ for her artwork at My Art Space for the SG50 Fort Canning Park Art Competition 2015, which was later sold for charity. Shruti’s work will be on display at the Tradewinds Bar for the month of August. Shruti Gupta www.shrutigupta.me Shruti.13@outlook.com Instagram: 3hruti +65 93765661
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 49
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
May Fair By Martijn Boersma Fri, 13 May th
This year we had forty vendors set up in the Main Hall and the Tradewinds Bar, showing and displaying a variety of products and services from clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories to travel agencies, home decorations and cosmetics! The atmosphere was pleasant and the vendors and buyers were able to enjoyed some of our complimentary snacks and coffee and tea. We tried something new this year, by changing the day and time of the Fair. It was held on a Friday and we opened at noon until 7pm. It was a trial and the main feedback was that Fridays are not good for Fairs and running into the evening did not work well. Next year we will definitely go back to a Thursday and start in the morning. Thank you to all our vendors, your setups were great, and a thank you to the buyers, we appreciate you coming to the Hollandse Club. See you next year!!!
King’s Day Flea Market By Martijn Boersma
Tues, 24th May
In true Dutch tradition, we held the King’s Day Flea Market (Vrij Markt) in the Main Hall on Sunday the 24th of April. Here children were able to sell off their old toys and books or even present their homemade wares like sticky popcorn, cupcakes, candles and earrings. We had a nice turnout of sellers, around 20 stalls. However the turnout of buyers was low, but this did not break spirits. I think most sellers became buyers and nobody left empty handed. By 12pm some stalls were sold out and the kids were tired after a day’s work of selling. Luckily they were able to enjoy the afternoon in the pool, where the giant blowup float was placed in the water!
DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that you have to show your membership card at the reception? 50 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
The Comedy Club Asia By Martijn Boersma
Sat, 28th May
A perfect night of humor and great stories was had by about 100 guests. The Main Hall was transformed into a Club full of laughter, friends and a couple of drinks. The diversity of the comedians was amazing and definitely many debated who the best was! All in all, we are glad that CCA is back at the Club and we look forward to hosting them on a monthly basis from now on (except July due to holidays). The next shows are on the 18th of June and the 13th of August. Keep on laughing.
The Ukuladies By Victoria & The Ukuladies
Fri, 27th May
The Hollandse Club had the pleasure of hosting the grooviest girls in town...... The Ukuladies with their outstanding “Ukuladies Gold” gig on Friday 27th May. The Ukuladies (who include two of our Club members) and their lively backing lads on cajon, bass and guitar, did not fail to get the audience’s toes tapping to well known songs from artists as diverse as James Bay, Train, Eurythmics, The Weeknd and Spandau Ballet - think “Gold”! A fun and relaxed evening was had by all listening to The Ukuladies let loose, singing and strumming up a magnum of sound on their pint sized instruments. Look out for their next performance at the Club! If you’re interested in joining this fun group of ladies who love to strum and sing the Ukuladies rehearse weekly on Mondays 8.00-9.30pm at the Club and can be contacted at ukuladiessingapore@gmail.com
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 51
<Reserved for Past events reports>
52 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
BLOOM Business Lunch - Wednesday 25th of May by Sheila and Willeke Twenty people attended the fully booked and inspiring BLOOM Business Lunch, led by Willeke Lankamp and Sheila Bouwman - founders of BLOOM Development Factory. Topic of this month: Managing Perfectionism. In our competitive world, a little perfectionism can be a good thing; driving us to aim high. But if perfectionism leads to constantly criticising yourself and a fear of failure, it can become counter-productive and hold you back in achieving your goals. The talk and discussion covered the causes of, negative effects of and practical strategies to overcome perfectionism. Every last Wednesday of the month, the BLOOM Business Lunch is held in the Indoor Lounge. This interactive lunch and learning session is open to everyone who wants to be inspired. It is a great way to network too. The next one is planned for the 28th of September. For more information about BLOOM Business Lunchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next topic please go to www.bloomdevelopmentfactory.com.
Sheila Bouwman is a certified SIMAÂŽ trainer and coach with a background in human resources and social sciences. She has worked for over 15 years in various human resource interim management and consulting roles with diverse (multinational) companies. Willeke Lankamp is a social and organisational psychologist and certified coach. She gained broad experience in human resources and talent development at Heineken and specialised further as an assessment psychologist and trainer. BLOOM Development Factory is a training and coaching company, with the mission to create positive empowerment and help more people live a happy and meaningful life.
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 53
World citizen at the HSL At the HSL we understand the importance of your mother tongue; it shapes your cultural identity. Knowing who you are and where you come from gives you self-confidence and the opportunity to become an open-minded, reflective world citizen. The HSL is a family school for Dutch and Belgian children ranging from 2 to 12 years old. It has been awarded a rating of “outstanding” by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education. Whilst we are proud of our Dutch roots, we maintain a strong international focus. Alongside the Dutch curriculum, we offer the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and daily English led by native English speakers. Within our IPC program our students benefit from student-centred learning. Emphasis is placed on the development of critical inquiry, collaboration and in-depth research to give our students a wider, more international perspective. We offer an inspiring curriculum, which includes sports, music and extracurricular activities taught by an international team of passionate teachers. The school provides an inclusive and warm environment, which ensures that our students are challenged to discover themselves and the world beyond.
Hollandse School | Singapore 65 Bukit Tinggi Road • (65) 6466 0662 • www.hollandseschool.org
Hollandse Club Monday Time
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Venue
Pool
Tennis Court
Pool
Squash Court
External
Pool
Rotterdam
External
Pool
Squash Court
Pool
8 - 8.30am 8.30 - 9am Adults Swim Training / Swim Lesson
9 - 9.30am
Adults Swim Training / Swim Lesson
Adults Swim Training / Swim Lesson
9.30 - 10am Tennis Ladies Social
10 - 10.30am 10.30 - 11am
Parent & Child/ Preschool
Parent & Child/ Preschool
Parent & Child/ Preschool
11 - 11.30am 11.30 - 12pm 12 - 12.30pm 12.30 - 1pm 1 - 1.30pm 1.30 - 2pm 2 - 2.30pm 2.30 - 3pm 3 - 3.30pm
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
Preschool / lts
Higher Level lts / b/c / Preschool / lts
Preschool / lts
Stroke & development / Fun Class
Stroke & development / Fun Class
Stroke & development / Fun Class
Stroke & development / Fun Class
Waterpolo ( 8 years and below)
Dutch Dolphine's
Waterpolo ( 8 years and below)
Dutch Dolphine's
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
Higher Level lts / b/c / Preschool / lts
Higher Level lts / b/c / Preschool / lts
Stroke & development / Fun Class
Dutch Dolphine's
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
3.30 - 4pm 4 - 4.30pm 4.30 - 5pm 5 - 5.30pm 5.30 - 6pm 6 -6.30pm 6.30 - 7pm
Hockey (Youth)
Karate
7 - 7.30pm 7.30 - 8pm 8 - 8.30pm
Squash Social
Squash Training Adults Swim Training
Hockey (Ladies)
8.30 - 9pm 9 - 9.30pm
Hockey (Mens)
9.30 - 10pm
Legend: Kids/Teens
Families
Ladies
56 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Men's
Adults
Sports Schedule Friday Rotterdam
Tennis Court
Saturday Amsterdam
Pool
Rotterdam
Squash Court
Sunday Tennis Court
Pool
Rotterdam
Judo (7 yrs below) Bridge (Duplicate)
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
External
Tennis Family Social
Hockey (Youth)
Dutch Dolphine's
Dutch Dolphine's
Tennis Ladies Competition
Tennis Court
Judo (10 yrs below)
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
Judo (10 yrs above)
Parent & Child / Preschool / Learn to swim
Squash Social
Tennis Men's Social
Karate
Karate Judo (Children Intermediate)
Tennis Mixed Social
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 57
SPORTS CONTACT LIST
DAY
TIME
VENUE
A Aerobics (Step)
Wednesday
0900 - 1000
Rotterdam
B Bridge (Duplicate)
Friday
0900 - 1230
Amsterdam
C Cardio Sculpt
Mon & Fri
0900 - 1000
Rotterdam
H Hockey (Ladies)
Wednesday
2000 - 2100
CCAB*
Willemijn Dorrepaal
Hockey (Men)
Wednesday
2100 - 2200
CCAB*
Olaf Kwakumar
Hockey (Youth)
Tuesday
1800 - 2000
CCAB*
Willemijn Dorrepaal
CLASS
POINT OF CONTACT
Franciska Ho
CONTACT
6259 3864
Sunday 0900 - 1200 CCAB* Wietske Teunissen
9423 6374
J Judo (Children Intermediate)
Friday
1700 - 1800
Rotterdam
Gerard Lim
9750 6305
Judo (7 years & under)
Saturday
0930 - 1030
Rotterdam
Gerard Lim
9750 6305
Judo (10 years & under)
Saturday
1030 - 1130
Rotterdam
Gerard Lim
9750 6305
Judo (10 years & above)
Saturday
1130 - 1230
Rotterdam
Gerard Lim
9750 6305
Wednesday
1830 - 1930
Rotterdam
Peter Robertson
98378637
Sunday
1630 - 1730
Rotterdam
Peter Robertson
98378637
K Karate
P Personal Training By Appointment Gym Ashraf 8180 6610 Youri Kruse 9739 7610
Pilates
Thursday
2000 - 2100
Rotterdam
S Squash (Training)
Tuesday
1900 - 2100
Squash Court
Daniel Gelinas
9725 4198
Thursday
1900 - 2200
Squash Court
Daniel Gelinas
9725 4198
Saturday
1400 - 1700
Squash Court
Daniel Gelinas
9725 4198
Squash (Social)
Various
Swimming Pool
hollandse@aquaducks.com.sg
T Tennis (Ladies Social)
Swimming Lessons/Competition Mon – Sat Monday
0900 - 1200
Tennis Court
Pauline Welten
8168 2084
Tennis (Mixed Social)
Sunday
1600 - 1800
Tennis Court
Klaus Wulf
8118 0300
Tennis (Ladies Competition)
Friday
0900 - 1200
Tennis Court
Pauline Welten
8168 2084
Tennis (Men’s Social)
Saturday
1400 - 1700
Tennis Court
Jacco Poland
Tennis (Free Family Courts)
Sunday
0900 - 1200
Tennis Court
Reception
6464 5225
Tennis Lessons (Savitar)
Mon – Sat
Various
Tennis Court
Scott Johnston
9038 9348
Tennis Lessons (Mr Wee)
Mon – Sat
Various
Tennis Court
Mr Wee
9673 4851
W Water Polo (8 & above)
Tuesday
Thursday
1800 - 1900
Swimming Pool hollandse@aquaducks.com.sg
1800 - 1900
Swimming Pool hollandse@aquaducks.com.sg
*CCAB (Co-curricular Branch, MOE Hockey Field)
ROTTERDAM CLASSES
JUDO
Days: Fridays & Saturdays Times: 5.00pm - 5.55pm (Fri) 9.30am - 10.25am | 10.30am - 11.25am | 11.30am - 12.25pm (Sat) Costs: (M) $35 x no. of sessions (NM) $42 x no.of sessions Friday Classes term dates: 5th, 19th & 26th Aug Saturday Classes term dates: 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th Aug
58 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
KARATE
Days: Wednesdays & Sundays Times: 6.30pm - 7.30pm (Wed) 3.00pm - 4.00pm | 4.30pm - 5.30pm (Sun) Costs: (M) $30 x no. of sessions (NM) $35 x no.of sessions
Wednesday Classes term dates: 10th, 17th, 24th & 31st Aug Sunday Classes term dates: 14th, 21st & 28th Aug
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS Dear Swimmers,
SWIMMING
The month of May has been a very busy month.
By David Verlinde
Gold and Diamond League In the month of May, we organised the Gold League (6th of May) and the Diamond League (27th of May). Our Dutch Dolphins competed in races against the other teams from AquaDucks. Besides winning a lot of medals, many of our swimmers improved their times. Neptune League On Sunday 15th of May, our Swim Team went to the British Club. On Sunday 29th of May we had the third race at the League at SICC. The SCICC team were very strong but our swimmers obtained many personal bests. ABC Swimming Awards On Sunday 12th of June, we ran the second round of the ABC Swimming Awards for the year and we have a couple of swimmers with beautiful strokes. The ABC Swimming Awards, are the basic swimming awards in the Netherlands that teach basic breaststroke and freestyle. The Awards are essential in the Netherlands in order to swim in the public pools. Award Swimming On Friday 10th of June, we held another round of award swimming; every child from 6 months to 18 years old will show the progress they have made in the last six months. Afterwards they will have some theory questions about safety around the pool. Summer Holidays/ Cancelation As July is coming soon, some Members will leave Singapore to go on a long deserved holidays. To cancel your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s swimming classes please fill in the cancelation form on time on our website. Please note that the cancelation notice is one month. Lessons after the Summer Holiday As there are a lot of changes in the school holiday timings, we are creating a new schedule for next term. This will have some changes; we will inform you of them via email. Please contact us by email to reschedule all swim classes for your child.
Photos by Marloes Schoonenberg
Wish you all a great summer holiday. Best regards, AquaDucks team. Hollandse Club WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 59
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
AquaDucks Schedule @Hollandse Club as per 1st July 2016 Aqua Ducks Schedule @ Hollandse Club per 01-07-2016
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Adults Swim training /Swim lesson
Adults Swim training /Swim lesson
Adults Swim training /Swim lesson
10:30 - 11:00
Parent and child / preschool
Parent and child / preschool
Parent and child / preschool
11:00 - 11:30 11:30 - 12:00
Parent and child / preschool
9:00 - 9:30 9:30 - 10:00 10:00 - 10:30
Friday
Parent and child / preschool
12:00 - 12:30 14:00 - 14:30 14:30 - 15:00 15:00 - 15:30 15:30 - 16:00 16:00 - 16:30 16:30 - 17:00 17:00 - 17:30 17:30 - 18:00 18:00 - 18:30 18:30 - 19:00 20:00 - 21:00
Parent and Child / preschool / Learn to swim Higher level lts /b/c
preschool/ lts
Higher level lts /b/c
preschool/ lts
preschool/ lts
preschool/ lts
Higher level lts /b/c
preschool/l ts
preschool/
lts
Saturday
Sunday
Dutch Dolphine's
Dutch Dolphine's
parent and child / preschool / learn to swim
parent and child / preschool / learn to swim
Parent and child / preschool / learn to swim
Stroke and development / fun class Dutch Dolphine's
Waterpolo 8yr- and above
Dutch Dolphine's
Waterpolo 8yr- and above
Dutch Dolphine's
Adults Swim training
Pricelist (before gst) weekdays weekend Pricelist hollandse@aquaducks.com.sg (before GST) Weekdays Weekends Parant and child / Preschool / Learn to swim 1 x 30 min a week $103,$120,- month
Please email for any Question email
(for the 30 min lesson second lesson is for free if available only on weekdays) (LTS ) learn to swim 1 x 60 min a week $103,Parent and child / Preschool /Learn to swim 1 x 30 mins a week $103 per mth Stroke and Development 1/ Dutch Dolphin/ Waterpolo (every weekday or all week) $103,-
(for the 30 min lesson second Adult swimming lesson / training lesson is for free if available. Only on weekdays) Adult swimming lesson / training Hollandse club championship / Dutch afzwemmen / zwem4dagse
$120month per mth month
$120,$120,-
$21,$231,$25,-
1 lesson 12 lessons each event
(LTS) Learn to swim 1 x 60 mins a week
$103 per mth
$120 per mth
Stroke and Development 1 / Dutch Dolphine / Waterpolo (every weekday or all week)
$103 per mth
$120 per mth
Adult Swimming Lesson / Training
$21 per lesson
Adult Swimming Lesson / Training
$231 for 12 lessons
Hollandse Club Championship / Dutch Afzwernmen / Zwern4dagse $25 per event Please email hollandse@aquaducks.com.sg for any enquiries.
Photos by Inge Kuipers 60 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
Lucozade Tri-Factor Relay Swim By Sophie March
On 8th of May the Hollandse Club won a silver medal at the Lucozade Tri-Factor Relay swim. Wietske Helle, Rebecca Taylor, Priya Dewan and myself, Sophie March competed in the 3km relay swim at Tanjong Beach, Sentosa ... and we came second! This is the point where we have to fess up that, while there were loads of swimmers competing in the events that morning, there were only four teams competing in the relay. The team that beat us managed the swim in 47 minutes compared to our 1hr19 but we had a great morning and had fun representing the Club. Priya took the first 750m (30 lengths of the
Club pool), followed by Sophie, then Wietske and then Rebecca who overtook a team in the last 100m to take second place - had I mentioned that we came second?! A big thank you to Rodgrigo, Dave and Lulu for the training sessions. Come along and join us for the AquaDucks adult swim training sessions. There are variety of abilities from new swimmers to those training for triathlons. We will be looking out for our next open-water competition ... perhaps aiming for a gold medal this time!
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SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
SQUASH By Paul Roberts
By the time this report comes out, we will have finished the National Squash League and hopefully would have done our dear Club proud for another year. For our effervescent Vets I team, it seems that the champagne has turned into a rather cheap fizzy plonk, as both age and time have eroded their early season swagger. With players dropping faster than a bad face lift, by end of term, the challenge was getting four able bodied souls on court. Despite this, they stuck to it and at the time of writing this masterpiece, they remain in the top four and have a place in the final play-off. Fred’s cameo appearances, scattered thinly around his attempt to beat Phileas Fogg’s globe-trotting record attempt, have been masterful and he is showing all the vim and vigour of his pre-op days. The wooden hip holds firm and he is almost angelic as he stumbles around the court. Our posh Antipodeans (Kiwis) continue to prove that they may be small in size but big in talent (the country rather than the individuals in question) adding some much needed points to the score board. With players returning from the geriatric ward just in time, we could well have a strong play-off once again.
The Vets II’s are in similar fighting form and in fact can still boast a full array of talent at our disposal. We have players champing at the bit, which is a huge departure from last year’s debacle. Despite some close encounters (players not reading emails, not turning up and a captain steadfastly refusing to use WhatsApp as a comms tool), we currently sit in fourth place and in with an excellent chance of making the play-off finals for the first time in our short and somewhat chequered history. One game to go against an opposition that we should beat (famous last words) and if other results go our way, then we have done it. A big thank you to all the players who have contributed to the season: to players that have played in the spirit of the league and done our Club proud.
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The first time our Vets 2 managed to stick around and have a victory drink. Our C team were resilient throughout a tough term, but despite a strong first half of the season, where they were pushing for third spot, they then faced a perfect storm of some injuries and the kids from other teams being granted special permission to stay out after dark, which put the kybosh on their push for stardom. They finished the season a very respectable fifth. Over to the D team, who have been decimated with the defection of players, who deemed the D’s to be too low for them and jumped ship to the C team: no notion of team spirit and taking a couple of hits to ensure a continued strength. Too many Ronaldos and not enough Tony Adams…Joking aside, well done to those who have improved so much as to get promoted. The Double D’s have done extremely well in reaching the heady heights of sixth in their division, with a very real chance of making the top four and subsequent play-offs. The surprise package has been our silent assassin, Erik Mul, who remains undefeated: a huge accomplishment. What was not so well received was his European company vacation allowance, which gave him practically half the year off, plus the max 35 hour working week; or is that just the French? To ensure we don’t have a repeat of this next year, threats have been sent to Heineken advising them of the fallout, if they allow it to happen again.
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS And as for the E team, well it seems that our veritable captain, managed to give us some soundbites on the procrastinations of the E squad. The first half of the season promised so much with the E squad flying high in second place. The departure of our vice-captain, who left to embark on a yodelling course in the Swiss Alps, coincided with a freakish drop in our fortunes and the team decided that the best course of action was to finish in a feng shui- perfect eighth place. As valiant an effort made, as long as certain teams deem it appropriate to field teams of barely pubescent kids quite capable of playing two grades higher, because they think it gives them a true insight into the reality of the world of squash, then few stand any chance in this league of doom. Nevertheless, our royal Rumanian captain is adamant that we field a team regardless so bravo to him. Our final couple of reports take us over to Bangkok and Manila where our Club was represented in both tournaments with aplomb.
In Manila, the Three Amigos made the jaunt over to participate in the Philippines’ Squash Association Tournament. The organisers obviously thought highly of our trio and placed them, perhaps mistakenly, in the elite category. Despite a moment of glory for the quint Quebecan, their presence in the elite group was short-lived. They fared considerably better in Division 1, with Daniel making it all the way to the quarter finals. It goes to show, that with the right preparation (volume of beers drunk the night before) anything is possible. The next instalment is in early December and we look forward to a larger contingent making the trip. Lastly, we have the Hollandse Club Open taking place just before the summer holidays. We also have yet to hear from the Tennis Club about the Racketlon Cup, so we can only assume that they don’t have the team or the talent to step up to the mark.
In the Bangkok Doubles Tournament, we managed to field two teams. The ‘old’ pairing of Daniel and Kim went in with all the gusto and very little forethought, as they won their first two matches and were promptly lined up against the fourth seeds. The game was not pretty to watch, but at least it gave both players the opportunity to explore the delights of Bangkok. The wily pairing of Fred ‘The Hipman’ Saarloos and John ‘The Ever Smiling’ Bird, played the smart game and lost in the first round. This pushed them into the plate and, with an almost Jedi like ability to read each other’s minds, played some fantastic squash that ended in them losing to the eventual Cup winners. An excellent event that hopefully will get more of us to enter next year.
For all the new Members joining the Hollandse Club who fancy a hit, then please make your way down to the courts on a Saturday afternoon at around 2pm, and you will be welcomed by our motley crew and given your complementary health beer at the end of play. We even have our own personal yoga trainer on hand at the end of the play. What more could you ask for?!
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SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
TENNIS By Danielle van Wees
New Hollandse Club Members interested in playing tennis The Tennis Committee at the Hollandse Club is always happy to welcome new tennis enthusiasts in our midst. So, if you are a new Member of the Hollandse Club and interested in playing tennis, please send us an email at tenniscommittee@hollandseclub.org.sg so that we can keep you up to date with the upcoming tennis events. In addition, please note that you are very welcome to join one of the tennis socials at the Hollandse Club. Tennis courts can be booked through Reception (tel. 6464 5225). Please do not forget to cancel your court booking if you have to reschedule or annul your tennis appointment. In this way you will allow other members to play. The Tennis Socials of the Hollandse Club
tenniscommittee@hollandseclub.org.sg The Tennis Socials of the Hollandse Club The Youth Club Championships 2016 were a great success. On Friday evening, the 6th of May, the kids aged 10 years and older (Yellow Stage) played a lot of challenging matches. On Saturday, the younger girls and boys played in the Orange and Green Stages and this was based on their age and playing ability. The weather was perfect, the kids had lots of fun and they and their spectators, really enjoyed the thrilling matches on Friday and Saturday. Winners of the Youth Club Championship 2016: Charlie Crow, Zara le Roux, Jake Hassett, Scarlett Perkins, Florian Ankersmit, Zoe Wang, Felix Bracht. Runners up: Veerle Kuipers, Irene Meinen, Julius Leendertz, Julia Westerbeek, Koen Moormann, Katharina Bracht, Tobias Ankersmit.
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SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
Tennis Wits Competition
Veerle, Willemijn, Geke, Céline, Els, Christie, Susanne, Marina, Merle, Eugenie and Karen
The Dutch D-Lites!
The Drop Shot Divas
Even though we have had to say goodbye to three teammates and our very popular coach David, The Dutch D-Lites have nevertheless managed to play well this season, resulting in a fourth place in the ranking. Good weather, great training sessions, a lovely new team member and Kiki’s delicious snacks and juices have made it a very enjoyable and fun season.
“You win some, you lose some”, they say. We certainly did! As a team we never lost the spirit! We are a great Wits-team; supporting each other and had lots of fun during the matches and the training. Many thanks to our captain Willemijn (also for all the bananas!), co-Captain Eugenie and Savitar. We are looking forward to the next season in the D division! Best regards, Karen Stuurman and Geke van Eck
Joanna, Elise, Kate, Dorien, Anne, Nedda, Leonie, Cécile, Annette
Mostly Orange
Double Dutch
Mostly Orange had a great season, with very competitive and hard-fought matches. We finished a respectable 5th, with only six points separating 3rd and 7th place. Although there will be no trophies this season, we are winners in team spirit and morale. We fought every match to the end, while having fun on court with our partners. Thanks to our coaches Savitar and our number one supporter, Mr Wee, for his continued support and bananas! Onwards and upwards for the next season!
For almost the 20th season, the Hollandse Club’s Double Dutch have managed to put together a fantastic A-team in the Wits Tennis League. Proudly sponsored by Body Firm, they played many challenging matches and although Double Dutch didn’t finish first, they are champions in having fun! By the way, if anyone is interested, Double Dutch is always on the look out for strong and fun tennis players!!
Laura, Susanne, Eva, Stephanie, Tuula, Sheila, Sylvie, Ineke, Paulien and Liezl!
Majel, Marianne, Valeria, Fiona, Esther, Ingeborg, Anneloes, Hester and Danielle
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SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS What you need to do in this case is to make your first serve more consistent by cutting down on the power and using more control to put the ball in. The more you put your first serve in, the less likely your opponent will recognize the weaker second serve and attack it. Club Championships Adults 2016 Friday night the 13th of May we kicked of the Club Championships. Exciting matches were played, great atmosphere, good weather and of course Kiki was there to serve us her famous Kiki juice and nice cups of coffee. So everything was perfect. Saturday morning everything was still ok, but then around 1 pm the rain came and never stopped for the whole afternoon. At the end of the afternoon we had 5 swimming pools and it did not look good for the rest of the day. Unfortunately at that very stage, rescheduling matches was no option any more and we had to cancel the Club Championships for this weekend.
The consistent first serve will also help you build your confidence in your serve and eventually you will be hitting the ball harder and getting the first serve in more effectively, maybe even serve a few aces. Be consistent and cut down on the “out of control power” on your first serve and serve your way to Match Point, then finish it off with an ace! Good Luck!
But not to worry, after the summer holidays we will organize the Club Championships again! Enjoy your summer!
Coaches’ Corner: By Scott Johnston JUNIOR TEAM TENNIS TAKES OFF COACHES CORNER: CONSISTENCY OVER POWER There is a saying that a tennis player is only as good as his/her second serve. In club tennis, this is especially true. Many club players have a tendency to hit their first serve as hard as possible, hoping it will go in. When they miss that first serve, which is 80 per cent of the time, they just “dink” the second serve over, therefore losing the offensive position they are in. Once your opponent is used to your wasting your first serve, he will then have the tendency to attack on your weak second serve, causing you to lose your service games and your overall confidence on the serve.
DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that we have a Monday morning social tennis. You do not have to be an A-player to join? 66 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Since April over 50 Hollandse Club juniors aged from 8 to 14 years old have been playing weekly Friday afternoon matches on the Club’s five courts. Teams of three players competed in three different age groups U10,U12 and U14. We have seen some great tennis over the past months with players learning more about their game and tennis through matchplay. This year has seen double the number of participants from previous seasons with the introduction of new age groups and two divisions in the under 12. Any players keen and wishing to enter the new season which begins on 19th of August should contact the tennis director, Scott Johnston on 9038 9348 or email scott@savitar.sg. Registrations close on 5th of August or when capacity is filled- be early to not miss out!
SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
SAVITAR JUNIOR TENNIS PROGRAMME -SCHEDULE-
Development
Tuesday Thursday Saturday
4:30 - 5:30pm 4:30 - 5:30pm 8:00 - 9:00am
Tuesday Thursday Saturday
4:30 - 5:30pm 4:30 - 5:30pm 8:00 - 9:00am
Summer Break Tennis Lessons June, July, August Pick the dates you play!
Performance
RED STAGE (Age 4-7) Development
Tuesday Thursday Saturday
4:30 - 5:30pm 4:30 - 5:30pm 8:00 - 9:00am
Performance
Tuesday Thursday Saturday
4:30 - 5:30pm 4:30 - 5:30pm 8:00-9:00am
ORANGE STAGE (Age 7- 9)
Development Tuesday
Thursday Saturday
5:30 - 7:00pm 5:30 - 7:00pm 9:00-10:30am
Performance
Thursday
Saturday
5:30 - 7:00pm
9:00-10:30am
GREEN STAGE (Age 8-10)
Development
Tuesday Thursday
Saturday
5:30 - 7:00pm 5:30 - 7:00pm 9:00-10:30am
Performance
Saturday
10:30-12:00pm
YELLOW STAGE (Age 11-16)
Summer Break: Starting from Tuesday, 21st June until 13th August 2016* *Payment can be pro rata to allow for travel time. Parents must inform the coach on the first day of class the dates they are away (No Lesson on Public Holidays) COST: $25.00/session (60min), *$37.50/session (90min)
Players will be split into stages & levels based on age and ability. ONLINE REGISTRATION: Please go to www.savitar.sg, click ‘Locations, ‘Hollandse Club’ For further enquiries, please contact Director of Tennis, Scott Johnston at: scott@savitar.sg or HP: 9038 9348
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SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS IMPORTANT DATES ALL CAMPS HAVE HALF AND FULL DAY OPTIONS AVAILABLE, 9AM TO 12PM OR 9AM TO 3PM. REFER TO THE POSTER ON PAGE 45 FOR ALL THE DETAILS June 21 - 23
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 1
June 28 - 30
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 2
July 5,7,8
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 3
July 12 - 14
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 4
July 26 - 28
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 5
Aug 2 - 4
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 6
Aug 10 - 12
Savitar Junior Tennis Camp 7
Aug 16
New Term of Junior Group Tennis Programmes Term 2 begin
Aug 19
Hollandse Club Under 10,12,14 Junior Team Tennis Competition (week 1 new season)
For any more information or to register for any of the above activities, please contact Scott Johnston on 9038 9348 or email at scott@savitar.sg
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SPORTS & SOCIAL EVENTS REPORTS
Hockey By Dutch Youth Hockey Committee
Kids ZOAT 2016 in Kuala Lumpur for Dutch Youth Hockey The weekend of 21 and 22 May was a special weekend for the hockey kids - the second Kids ZOAT hockey tournament was held in Kuala Lumpur. Last year was the first edition of this tournament, a childrens version of the renouned ZOAT tournament (Zuit Oost Azie Tournament), that started 110 years ago in South East Asia. Like the adult version, the tournament is held in a different city every year. In 2015, Singapore started this tradition with a succesful tournament at the Hollandse Club with over 150 children participating.
The tradition continues with the second edition in Kuala Lumpur, where Singapore participated with 13 teams. Lots of games and fun at a brand new stadion in KL, a poolparty and disco in a hotel with children and parents, it was just like the adult ZOAT. In the U10 competion, Singapore won the cup; in the U12 and U14 competion, the cup stayed in Kuala Lumpur. But all kids and parents had a great tournament. We hope the tradition will continue, with a third edition next year in another city in South East Asia.
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FAMILY AND GENERAL DENTISTRY Dr Andrew Lui
DIRECTORS
BDS - Melbourne
Dr Gareth Pearson MSc BDS - UK
Our Associate Dentists
Dr Linda Yen
Dr Edwin Heng
BDS (Hons) - Sydney FRACDS
Specialist in Periodontics BDS MSD Oral Biology - Boston Cert in Periodontology - Boston
Dr Damini Chawla BDSc (Hons) - Western Australia
FAMS - Singapore
W e b s i t e :
w w w . d e n t a l e s s e n c e . c o m . s g
6733 9433 127 Tanglin Road, Tudor Court Shopping Gallery, Singapore 247922 6733 2234 583 Orchard Road, #02-31, Forum The Shopping Mall, Singapore 238884
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Picnic recipes from Terri-Anne Leske By Nina Gunasingham
Photo by Littleones Ph
otography
I chose this business because I love cooking and am so lucky I’ve been able to turn something I’m passionate about into a business. Working for myself is amazing; it gives me flexibility with three young kids and I don’t think I will ever go back to an office job! I think it’s important to give back and have donated my time and some proceeds from my book to Star Pals and the Tabitha Foundation. I am happy to offer Hollandse Club Members free postage on my book email me at info@carrotsticksandcravings.com to order. Please visit my website www.carrotsticksandcravings. com to purchase my book and see lots of other recipes. Please like me on Facebook and Instagram and please feel free to email any questions you may have to info@carrotsticksandcravings.com
Green Eggs and Ham Muffins
With the holidays on and the children at home, maybe you’re starting to run out of ideas on how to entertain them and what to feed them. How about a picnic? Terri-Anne Leske provides some healthy recipes you can try. Here is what she has to say: I’m Terri-Anne, a happily married wife and mum of three beautiful kids, and a passionate foodie. We moved to Singapore from Melbourne, Australia, four years ago for my husband’s work and have loved every minute of it! My food philosophy is built around moderation. I don’t believe we should deprive ourselves of anything, unless there are intolerances or allergies. Balance is key, and it helped to inspire the title of my book and blog, ‘Carrotsticks and Cravings’. I started my blog ‘Carrotsticks and Cravings’ three years ago when my twins were babies. I have always loved cooking and been a passionate foodie. However, when I had kids of my own I really wanted to find a way to teach others and share my passion of cooking healthy food: as well as teaching my kids the importance of eating healthy unprocessed food and getting them in the kitchen as much as possible. Two years ago I started working on a book which launched last November called ‘Carrotsticks and Cravings My Creative Kitchen’ and is full of healthy recipes for the whole family. There are over fifty recipes including breakfasts, snacks, mains, salads and sweets which are all my own recipes. I did all the photos in the book - it truly is like a fourth baby to me! I also teach healthy cooking classes out of Brettschnider’s Baking and Cooking School, where I love teaching others how to cook healthy food! 72 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
Makes – 12 muffins Tips – These can be frozen too for a quick on-the-go breakfast. Just defrost the night before and heat up in the morning Ingredients 3/4 head broccoli ½ cup peas Coconut oil for frying 1 leek ½ crushed garlic clove 100 grams diced ham or bacon ½ large zucchini 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese ½ cup almond meal 2 tbsp olive oil ½ tsp baking powder
5 eggs 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley Pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top Method 1. Pre heat the oven to 180ºC. Line a muffin tray with non stick muffin cups or baking paper squares 2. Boil the kettle. Wash and chop the broccoli into small 1cm pieces and add to a bowl with peas. Cover with boiling water and a plate and leave for 5 minutes 3. Sauté diced leek with some coconut oil, crushed garlic and diced ham or bacon in a frying pan over med-high heat until leek is soft and ham slightly browned 4. In a medium mixing bowl add drained broccoli mix, leek mix, grated zucchini and parmesan, almond meal, oil, baking powder, eggs and flat leaf parsley. Mix with a fork until fully combined 5. Pour the mixture into the pre prepared tins leaving 1/2 cm on top of each one 6. Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until golden and there are no runny spots of egg 7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for a month
Grape Ricotta and Thyme Bruschetta
3. Slice bread in half 4. Toast bread in the oven for 5 minutes until crispy 5. Remove from the oven and top with ricotta and grape mixture 6. Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes until grapes are soft
Banana Blueberry Bread
Tips – Serve warm with my Coconut Lemon Curd. Freeze in pre cut slices for the perfect afternoon tea when friends come by unexpectedly. Mixture also makes 18 muffins/cupcakes – bake for 20 minutes. Ingredients 3/4 cup self raising flour 1 cup wholemeal flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 2/3 cup brown sugar 2 large ripe bananas 2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup natural yoghurt 1/3 cup coconut oil 100 grams blueberries
Makes – 8 slices Ingredients 20 red seedless grapes 1 tbsp olive oil 4 stems thyme 4 large slices good quality sourdough ½ cup ricotta cheese Sea salt and pepper Method 1. Pre heat the oven to 180ºC. Line a tray with baking paper 2. In a small mixing bowl combine washed grapes with chopped thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside
Method 1. Pre heat the oven to 180ºC. Line a bread tin or small cake tin with baking paper 2. Sift flours into a medium mixing bowl with all dry ingredients 3. Puree the banana and add to a small mixing bowl with eggs, milk, yoghurt and oil. Whisk 4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly 5. Add washed blueberries and mix through lightly 6. Pour mixture into the lined tin and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean Recipe photos by Terri-Anne
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NEW BOOKS JULY / AUGUST 2016
__________ ENGLISH BOOKS (ADULTS) _________ Maestra by L.S. Hilton With the cunning of Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne, and as dangerous as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Lisbeth Salander, the femme fatale of this Talented Mr. Ripley–esque psychological thriller is sexy, smart, and very, very bad in all the best ways.
by Harper Lee
The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel A story about love, loss, and faith that take us on a mesmerizing journey through the last century. Told in three intersecting narratives—part quest, part ghost story, part contemporary realism—the novel begins in the early 1900s, when a young man named Tomás discovers in the archives of Lisbon an ancient journal. Thirty-five years later, a pathologist is drawn into the consequences of Tomás’s quest.
Ghost Flight by Bear Grylls
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
From deadly giant spiders to piranhainfested rivers to blowpipe-wielding Amazonian tribesmen and a lost aircraft from World War II with a deadly secret, Bear Grylls’ debut novel is jam-packed with wild action and even wilder conspiracies involving ex-Nazis.
A captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to ask. A powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.
Grylls, a popular television personality, is a former British Special Forces soldier and survival expert and not surprisingly his first novel is full of arcane jungle knowledge and survival tips. Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama
Joanna Trollope’s much-anticipated contemporary reworking of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility launches The Austen Project and is already one of the most talked about books of the year. Two sisters could hardly be more different. Elinor Dashwood, an architecture student, values discretion above all. Her impulsive sister Marianne displays her creativity everywhere as she dreams of going to art school. But when the family finds itself forced out of Norland Park, their beloved home for twenty years, their values are severely put to the test.
China, 1957. Chairman Mao declared “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend,” to encourage a new openness in society. However, for many outspoken intellectuals, this turned out to be a trap. Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, was one of them. A year later, Sheng remains imprisoned in a labor camp, while Kai Ying and her family struggle to find a sliver of peace and hope in a world full of guilt and secrets.
I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
Only the Animals by CERIDWEN Dovey
In a seedy hotel near Ground Zero, a woman lies face down in a pool of acid, features melted off her face, teeth missing, fingerprints gone. The room has been sprayed down with DNA-eradicating antiseptic spray. Pilgrim quickly realizes that all of the murderer’s techniques were pulled directly from his own book; a cult classic of forensic science written under a pen name.
Only the Animals is a story told by the souls of ten dead animals. Each animal is caught up in a human conflict over the last century. They tell the stories of their deaths. A mussel speaks of its death in the Pearl Harbour bombings, an elephant from the 1987 Mozambique civil war, a bear of its death during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict of 1992. Not only is each story told during a different conflict, and by a different animal, each story pays homage to a writer.
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LIBRARY LIBRARY
ENGLISH BOOK _ ENGLISH BOOKS (CHILDREN) _ (ADULTS)
The distant hours by Kate Morton
MaloryTowers, First term by Enid Blyton
Malory Towers, Second term by Enid Blyton
Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Millderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her Mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret. Evacuated from London as a thirteen year old girl, Edie’s mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Millderhurst Castle with the Blythe family: Juniper, her twin sisters and their father, Raymond, author of the 1920s children’s classic, The True History of the Mud Man. In the grand and glorious Millderhurst Castle, a new world opens up for Edie’s mother. She discovers the joys of books and fantasy and writing, but also, ultimately, the dangers. Fifty years later, as Edie chases the answers to her mother’s riddle, she, too, is drawn to Millderhurst Castle.
Darrell Rivers is off to boarding school for the first time. She quickly settles down and makes new friends, including the clever and mischievous Alicia. But the first term is not all fun and Darrell has some tricky problems to cope with.
Darrell, Sally, Gwendoline, Mary Lou and all the girls are now in the second form, but they are as lively as ever. Mam’zelle Dupont is still trying to be strict, Alicia plays a trick with invisible chalk and Gwendoline and Daphne get into trouble. 9 yrs+
Mount Emily by Low Ying Ping While digging around their school’s backyard in search of an urban legend, Patsy Goh and her best friend Elena are whisked back in time to 1987. Trapped in their mums’ 13-year-old bodies, the duo race against the clock to hunt down the magical time crystal that got them in this mess, before the evil Midnight Warriors find it and cause a time crisis that could destroy all of existence.
Welcome to the Library! The Library is run by volunteers and we do our best to keep the Library open as much as possible. If you would like to help – maybe you have some free time while you wait for family members to finish a session or a class in the Club – we would very much appreciate your assistance. If there is no Librarian present, you can return your Library books via Reception. Please do make sure that all your details are recorded in the Green Book there.
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If there is no Librarian present and you would like to borrow Library books, between 9 am and 3 pm you may collect the Library key from Reception.
.Please sign out the key via the Green Book. .When you borrow Library books, please fill in all the details for all the books in the Blue Book on the Library desk. .If you are not already a member of the Library, then please fill out your details on the Library Membership form at Reception. This is necessary as Library records are held on a separate system from the Club.
Please note that Temporary Club Members (TM account numbers) are not able to borrow Library books. However, they may purchase second-hand books from the Books for Sale shelves when there is a Librarian present. We are always willing to accept donations of second-hand books. If the Library is not open when you bring them in to the Club, you can leave them at Reception.
WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG | HOLLANDSE CLUB 75
__________ DUTCH BOOKS (ADULTS) __________ Hartendief - Chelsea Cain
Pegasus - Danielle Steel
Gretchen Lowell is mooi, briljant en... de vrouwelijke Hannibal Lecter
Een immigrantenfamilie dankzij een raspaard
In Forest Park is een dood meisje gevonden. Rechercheur Archie Sheridan wordt erbij geroepen. Jaren eerder stond hij ook al over het lijk van een meisje gebogen in dit park, en daarmee begon zijn helse jacht op de extreem gewelddadige seriemoordenares Gretchen Lowell.
Aan de vooravond van de Tweede Wereldoorlog vlucht Nicolas naar Amerika. Hij heeft niets meer, alleen zijn raspaard. Met veel inzet probeert hij een nieuw leven op te bouwen. Het lukt - maar dan blijkt het verleden hem achterna te reizen.
overleeft
Maar Gretchen zou nu veilig achter slot en grendel moeten zitten...
Veertig moeders- Choga Regina Egbeme
Beloofd is beloofd - Erica James
Veertig moeders is Egbemes adembenemende verslag van haar leven in een Nigeriaanse harem. Ze vertelt over de tradities, de hiërarchie, de onderlinge relaties tussen de vele vrouwen en geeft een zeer openhartige kijk op haar leven in een gesloten wereld.
Schoonmaakster Maggie lijdt onder een slecht huwelijk en wordt gekoeieneerd door diverse opdrachtgevers. Ella, gespecialeerd decoratieschilderes, herstelt van zeven jaar in een wanhopige relatie. Directeur Ethan gaat vreemd om zijn slechte huwelijk te ontvluchten. De wegen van deze protagonisten worden op vanzelfsprekende wijze met elkaar verweven: Ella helpt Maggie door luisteren en advies, Maggie helpt Ethan na een val, Ethan helpt Ella kiezen. Alle drie komen zij voor cruciale keuzes in hun leven te staan, en de weg van het hart volgen is de centrale boodschap van dit romantische verhaal.
Een tuin bij de zee - Marcia Willett
Jonge Turk - Moris Farhi
Een schokkend familiegeheim. En een verleden dat niemand loslaat. Jess Penhaligon reist af naar Devon om een prijs in ontvangst te nemen voor een van haar botanische schilderijen. Daar vindt ze een warm welkom bij Kate en haar grote familie. Jess logeert boven het boothuis dat uitkijkt op een prachtige tuin aan de rivier de Tamar, ook wel `de tuin aan zee genoemd, waar ze volop inspiratie voor nieuwe schilderijen vindt.Naarmate er meer herinneringen worden opgehaald, begint Jess te beseffen dat ze een gezamenlijk verleden met Kate deelt.
Tegen de achtergrond van het opkomende nazisme in Europa worstelt een groepje tienervrienden met de grote politieke gebeurtenissen én met hun seksuele en emotionele ontwikkeling. Farhi portretteert dertien mensen die opgroeien in dezelfde wijk in Istanbul, een ware smeltkroes van joden, Armeniërs, Grieken en Koerden. Jonge Turk is een erotische roman waarin liefde, moed en volwassen worden centraal staan.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that there are Donald Duck Pocketbooks and other cartoon strips in Dutch in the Hollandse Club Library? 76 HOLLANDSE CLUB | WWW.HOLLANDSECLUB.ORG.SG
january: ny Reception
january: talk about dutch heritage
january: lecture about Colonisation of Mars
February: Guided tour World Press Photo
March: Company visit “dress for success”
March: Workshop Personal Branding
April: Company visit Vroon offshore
May: Masterclass Cyber security
june: summer BBQ
OMG, is this all ADB? ....and there is more to come! Why should you join the AdB? ADB offers not only a platform to share knowledge and experience of doing business in Asia, but also: •
Inspires through company visits, cultural visits and lectures;
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Encourages personal development through panel discussions held by members, prominent Dutch and non-Dutch business people and industry experts;
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Facilitates networking at our monthly events, annual ADB Party and during casual drinks;
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Gives the opportunity to converse with Dutch politicians, visiting Singapore;
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Keeps you informed through our bimonthly ADB Magazine full of Dutch news with a Singaporean twist.
More informaton: adb.org.sg / adb@adb.org.sg
°°°
“Connecting Dutch business people in Singapore”
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