What have the Dutch ever done for us

newscoop


Joined: 23/12/2007
Posts: 2197

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 09:06

Seeing the cartographer chap crowing about the euro got me thinking about Dutch contributions to the world. All I came up with was



Dykes

Red light areas

Legal cocaine usage

Van Goth

Rinus Michels

A certain marvellous footballer

Daf cars



and my particular favourite (not)



GATSOS (speed cameras)

gibson335


Joined: 01/11/2008
Posts: 325

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 09:08

Which type of Dykes??????????????????

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 09:32

newscoop. I feel you'll be getting a response from the Dutchman sooner rather than later. Prepare yourself!

craig2536


Joined: 09/06/2007
Posts: 277

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 09:35

edam cheese thats like eating rubber

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 09:40

The good thing about the pound being low against the Euro is...



The Dutch who can't afford to buy Dutch goods will find British goods cheap..



In a world recession having the strongest currency is like having the poshest car in a traffic jam... losing more resdidual value while you sit there ;¬)



In past UK recessions it has been necessary to de-value a strong pound to make British goods affordable to foreigners... they don't need to this time.



Holidays in the UK should look lovely and cheap too....

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 09:43

Oh and as for the title of the thread...



Err well they have developed shed loads of things we can all do without... which is good because we couldn't afford them now anyway...



The World's Worst Cheese award goes to Leerdammer.... ;¬)

newscoop


Joined: 23/12/2007
Posts: 2197

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 11:17

Worst cheese may well be tilsit but leerdammer is worthy of consideration.



As for eurozone, the riots in Greece are merely a sign of things to come.



The euro is under huge pressure from the southern economies notably Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and in the west, Ireland. France is feeling the pinch and Germany is reluctant to bail everyone out. Belgium has been a fractured country since the last elections and is facing a potential north/south split.



2009 could be an interesting year in Europe

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 11:24

"The World's Worst Cheese award goes to Leerdammer...."



Was a joke... and you are right... leerdammer is worthy of consideration..



What recipes does anyone know of that use it?

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 11:32

Take two slices of Bread. Put in Toaster............Oh No don't bother!!

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 11:58

my dad was never the best chef.

went into the kitchen one day and he was making cheese on toast under the grill.

i asked him what cheese he was using as the cheese toast was a funny pink colour?

edam, he didn't actually know to take the rind of first,yuk!

he spent the next few years telephoning me everytime he wanted to cook something.

Lambousa Gordon


Joined: 03/11/2007
Posts: 1992

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 12:10

The Dutch have provided us with a proper Royal Family when our own King went religiously potty. William of Orange promptly signed the Bill of Rights.



The Dutch were allied with the UK against the Spanish and the French.



When ships get into trouble and oil-tankers start leaking their cargoes around the British Isles it is generally Dutch teams that salvage and protect our coasts from further pollution (the last time we did it ourselves we thought it would be a good idea to bomb the tanker!).



This all said the Dutch have yet to buy me a pint ;)

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 12:20

Clogs, tulips and long haired soldiers.

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 12:23

There Heiniken beer reaches parts that others cant .What parts they reach is open to discussion,but not a bad drink.Also export some of the most beautiful flowers you can buy....

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 12:34

Gordon...



So the Dutch know about cleaning up shit... maybe they've had plenty of practice... ;¬)



William of Orange... possibly a great bloke... not very well thought of as a result of the fat boys in ill-fitting blue and orange suits marching hither and thither stomping to fife and drum commemorating The Battle of the Boyne when half of them don't even know where the river Boyne is..

batterboy58



Joined: 20/04/2008
Posts: 442

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 12:42

The Dutch make the best Fish and Chip frying ranges

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 13:21

Personally i love the Dutch, even though their navy gave us a bloody nose in the 17th century

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 14:06

Thats a long time back........Anything significant recently?

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 14:09

What have we given the Dutch recently?

Baspinar Bob


Joined: 15/02/2008
Posts: 618

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 14:12

Credit where its due ,they gave us caps and Elm disease.



Bob

ROBnJO


Joined: 30/06/2008
Posts: 1289

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 14:42

What about the disturbing image of young boys sticking their fingers into dykes?



Advocaat? Which country could put fresh egg yolks into alcohol and only sell it for 2 weeks before Christmas?

Have you ever tried to finish that bottle of Advocaat in June?... YUK!



Music? Well there was something about a mouse in a windmill in Old Amsterdam!



Amsterdam does have some jolly interesting Streets though, with interestingly clad women sitting in windows smoking roll ups, while men cruise by in boats.



I tried reading the diaries of Anne Frank:

"Monday,... Hid"

"Tuesday,.. Hid"

"Wednesday,.. Hid again,.."



They don't even have a Mountain Rescue Service!



Where is Dutchland though?



Is it Holland? Netherlands? Pays-Bas? Nederland?



Have they ever won the Eurovision? Actually, yes, 4 times, last in 1975!



ROB



(no disrespect,.. meant to be lighthearted!)

littlenige



Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 3594

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 15:51

they gave us Hans doleman



AND all about crusades



A happy smiling chap who can refill your ink cartridges

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:00

Has he got a work permit to do that Nige?

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:09

msge 20



very funny

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:15

RE Nigel, msg 21 : (...) AND all about crusades A happy smiling chap who can refill your ink cartridges (...)



RE Hilltop, msg 22 : (...) Has he got a work permit to do that Nige? (...)



===> "All About All Crusades" is a web site ( http://www.allcrusades.com ) with a huge section about medieval Cyprus, based on a Dutch server, Hilltop. And refilling ink cartridges is free - for friends.

Lemtich



Joined: 15/02/2007
Posts: 1487

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:15

You forgot Dutch Elm disease!



Lem

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:36

"And refilling ink cartridges is free - for friends. "

What a nice man!

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:47

I heard that tulips came from the Ottoman empire originally.

You can see their design in the palaces in Istanbul

The Dutch are wonderful linguists. We had a Dutch girl in our

Gaelic choir, spoke several languages & preferred our country to her

own. We get hilarious emails from her now in Sharm el Sheikh!

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:49

One of the Greatest Dutchman of all time was Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuyn. He was a controversial, openly gay, politician who formed his own party, (List Pim Fortuyn or LPF). He was assassinated during the 2002 Dutch national election campaign by a militant animal rights activist Volkert van der Graaf, who claimed in court to murdering Fortuyn to stop him exploiting Muslims as "scapegoats" and targeting "the weak parts of society to score points" in seeking political power.

Fortuyn was the centre of several controversies for his views / positions about immigrants and Islam. He called Islam "a backward culture" and said that if it were legally possible he would close the borders for Muslim immigrants.

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 16:50

RE Hilltop, msg 26 : (...) What a nice man! (...)



===> No way. Nice friends!

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 17:02

The Duch are famous for their sense of humour.

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 17:06

msge 27



I went to a seminar the other evening in Central London. It was partly about the Dutch world champion sailing team. I was so amazed at how well the three Dutch speakers spoke English. I struggle with english, let alone speak as well as they did in a foreign language.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 17:44

Unstinting support and helping Allied servicemen on the run during WW2.

karakum5c



Joined: 18/03/2008
Posts: 1021

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:03

The Dutch have good english because they are able to receive the BBC transmissions and the population as a whole love watching it, in fact if you look at the BBC weather bulletins you will see they usually put in the symbols over Holland for all their Dutch viewers who they know are watching.

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:09

msge 33



I also think our pop scene has had a big influence in them learning English. I remember being on a tram in Amsterdam, and these five Dutch girls of about 13 years of age, were singing all the words to a Depeche Mode song, singing the words perfectly. (I think it was Depeche Mode)

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:13

Sing it Mark - we'll see if we can spot what song it is!

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:16

I'll give it a go Bill, listen very carefully. Okay here goes Bill

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:17

RE karakum5c, msg 33 : (...) symbols over Holland for all their Dutch viewers (...)



===> Indeed. The weather the UK send us across the North Sea, Coronation Street, East Enders (or Eastenders?), The Sun and The Daily Mail -- the list of good things from the UK is almost endless...

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:20

You're right Mark. Depeche Mode. The silent version.

JimmyG


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 900

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 18:34

The Depeche Mode silent version is the one I prefer!!

ROBnJO


Joined: 30/06/2008
Posts: 1289

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 19:02

Sounds like the Dutch secretly want to be English.



Have they ever been a Colony?



Should we allow them in?



VOTE NOW:

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 19:09

msge 40



That would mean we would eventually have to go through the whole process of granting them independence. We would then offer them UK citizenship, which means they will take all our jobs.

I say no

ROBnJO


Joined: 30/06/2008
Posts: 1289

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 19:12

ILC



But wouldn't they be taking East Europeans jobs?





You may be right though!



I've never heard of a Dutch Plumber!

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 19:13

msg 41,



Considering they speak better English, are more cultured and liberal and know the meaning of family and society, I'd say turn over the UK to the Dutch.

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 19:14

"But wouldn't they be taking East Europeans jobs?"



Thats true

newscoop


Joined: 23/12/2007
Posts: 2197

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 21:04

Fascinating take on history Gordon. Records show that the Netherlands were a vassal state of the Spanish until 1648 which probably explains the swarthy skin on a lot of modern day Dutch. As for King Billy, far from riding to our rescue he was actually booted out of the Netherlands on January 18th 1795. From then on the French were in charge until 1813 by which time the Brits with the help of a few Prussians had sorted out Napoleon.

Mindy



Joined: 27/10/2008
Posts: 1210

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 21:17

What about the "Dutch Cap" that was 1 of thiers I think...........

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 21:21

I may be wrong but I was lead to believe by and elder Dutchman I knew in Maastricht may years ago, that English was taught as a compulsory second language as far back as 1945.Perhaps the Dutch Crusader could tell me if I am write or wrong...

Mindy



Joined: 27/10/2008
Posts: 1210

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 21:22

where does the saying "Double Dutch" come from. Anyone??????????

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 21:51

RE Mindy, msg 48 : (...) where does the saying "Double Dutch" come from. Anyone?????????? (...)



===> And: "Dutch treat", "going Dutch", "Dutch uncle", "Dutch courage", "dutch the bank", "the Dutch act", "Dutch bargain", "Dutch auction", "Dutch barn", "Dutch blue", "Dutch book", etc etc (I found 61 in the English language!).

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 21:53

So the Dutch are like the Scots, but with better English?

flowerfairy


Joined: 17/09/2008
Posts: 1277

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 23:06

Wasn't there a tale of a little Dutch boy who found a small hole in the damn,

he stuck his finger in there until help arrived to stop the damn from flooding????

Anyway, what have the dutch done for me............

delivered the most wonderful selection of top grade flowers to my shops

for the past 30 years, (up until 18months ago).

without them, I wouldn't have had such a good reputation.

arrry



Joined: 19/08/2008
Posts: 1235

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 23:24

They export that crap Grolsch beer and their truck drivers are nutters !!!

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 23:35

I remember reading that story about the wee boy sticking his finger

in the dyke to save the town from drowning when I was in junior school

(long time ago..)

My Dutch friend does not secretly want to be English, she considers

herself Scots, and proud of it. Even has the accent, slightly.

Excellent people on the whole (though their food is tasteless)

Records from 18th cent. say they were very clean, tidy folk.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
11/12/2008 23:39

Hilltop



The Scots are like the English, but with better English... for sure.



As it's so flat, Holland is a great place for caravanners and cyclists... I wish they'd all bugger off there! ;¬)

flowerfairy


Joined: 17/09/2008
Posts: 1277

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 01:08

And they're a b'''''''''''dy sight better than the French, we struggled selling

their golden delicious apples, lol

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 02:36

I agree there, you can't beat coxes pippins!

deecyprus4


Joined: 27/07/2008
Posts: 3452

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 07:48

You forgot tulips which last about 5 mins then droop

flowerfairy


Joined: 17/09/2008
Posts: 1277

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 08:19

that's because you didn't condition them properly dee, xx

deecyprus4


Joined: 27/07/2008
Posts: 3452

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 08:24

Probably flower, but trust me I can kill anything, even a cactus

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 08:28

RE deecyprus4, msg 57 : (...) You forgot tulips which last about 5 mins then droop (...)



===> That's why the tulip growers in Aalsmeer, Holland, provide some Brits with a 58 page manual: "How to keep my fresh tulips alive for 6 minutes". The manual is not free, but you can ask for a discount (depending on your IQ). I'm sure you'll qualify...

Lambousa Gordon


Joined: 03/11/2007
Posts: 1992

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 13:27

Re message 14 & 45:



I was referring to what William III (of the house Orange-Nassau) did for the joint Crowns: namely sign the Bill of Rights and restore the prestige of the Monarchy which James II had so ably eroded - mainly by returning England to a more Parliamentarian and therefore democratic rule.



It's true he was involved in the internecine subterfuges concerning the Netherlands but he was hardly kicked out. In fact he was made statholder of Drenthe in 1696. By the way he died in 1702 not 1795.



Newscoop, the question was what have the Dutch done for us not who ran Holaand!!

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 16:19

RE msg 1 : (...) Seeing the cartographer chap crowing about the euro got me thinking about Dutch contributions to the world. All I came up with was

Dykes

===> Which the Dutch taught the English to build in the East of England...

Red light areas

===> Where 80 (!!) % of the visitors is from the UK...

Legal cocaine usage

===> Holland: where the junks don't smash your car windows in order to steal your radio - they get what they "need" for free...

Van Goth

===> Van Gogh. Who was or is "Van Goth"...?

Rinus Michels

===> Who sublimized "total football"...

A certain marvellous footballer

===> Johan Cruijff or Johan Cruyff (even "the Saviour" himself didn't know how to spell his name...)

Daf cars (...)

===> The first automatic in the world. Nicknamed "the ladies car" in Holland and that meant the end of this smart car...

and my particular favourite: (not)GATSOS (speed cameras)

===> It's hard to say, but I agree...

Lemtich



Joined: 15/02/2007
Posts: 1487

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 16:24

Its really dangerous in Holland, the country is full of cyclepaths!



Lem

Hilltop



Joined: 28/04/2008
Posts: 636

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 16:29

It's a very good route to lots of interesting places, and small enough to ensure you do not have to stop.

jock1



Joined: 06/01/2008
Posts: 3786

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 16:51

Van Der Valk....................... now that was some programme

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 16:55

you ought to try riding one of those bikes with a girl on the back.Its bloody hard work I can tell you!!!!

ROBnJO


Joined: 30/06/2008
Posts: 1289

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 17:03

It's also bloody hard work riding one of those girls with a bike on your back!!













Oops ;-(

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 17:03

RE Coachie, msg 66 : (...) you ought to try riding one of those bikes with a girl on the back.Its bloody hard work I can tell you!!!! (...)



===> Oh, oh, Coachie! You haven't understood the system. When it's a girl, she's sitting in front of you ("op de stang"). Later, when it's your wife, she's on the back ("bagagedrager").

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 17:16

RE Coachie, msg 47 : (...) I may be wrong but I was lead to believe by and elder Dutchman I knew in Maastricht may years ago, that English was taught as a compulsory second language as far back as 1945.Perhaps the Dutch Crusader could tell me if I am write or wrong... (...)



===> Almost right. Young people in Holland can learn French from the age of five. English from six. And all of 'em MUST (at least: used to) learn to speak and write three languages (English, 3-5 years, till they are 16-18 years of age), French and German. Unfortunately they now can choose "a package" and usually German and French are not chosen. This is very sad - Holland is still a tiny country in a big, big world. I've never been sorry to have learned to speak and write seven languages (OK, including all the errors I make

Littlenige



Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 3594

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 17:19

When do they learn to play football ??



Your international side could still do wth lessons..........

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 17:26

RE Nigel and the English National Football Team, msg 70 : (...) When do they learn to play football ?? Your international side could still do wth lessons.......... (...)



===> Tip (free of charge) : http://www.allcrusades.com/BB_pics/22884296.jpg

Coachie



Joined: 29/07/2008
Posts: 2135

Message Posted:
12/12/2008 21:21

DC..It didnt where she sat it was still hard work till I found a girl who had a bike with a little engine on the front ..great,made things a lot easier..She had to push for a little then jump on the back after I got the engine going...

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
13/12/2008 00:02

deecyprus: "You forgot tulips which last about 5 mins then droop"



Although cutting back on the lager can help.

eager


Joined: 23/02/2007
Posts: 1272

Message Posted:
13/12/2008 00:33

The greatest of all Dutch Masters.........Johan Cruyff

Call me nieive if you will but are all the dykes in the red light district?

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
13/12/2008 09:04

Eager



"Call me nieive if you will"



Ok nieive, is that OK.... you'll have to tell us what it means in English though because only DC and you speak Dutch.... ;¬)

Harlequin


Joined: 02/10/2008
Posts: 346

Message Posted:
18/01/2009 15:44

LOL Being very bored I just thought I would look and see what was the last thread on page 30. Here it is. No doubt it will soon be there again.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
18/01/2009 18:08

if holland is so great, why not go home dutchman?

onlyme


Joined: 28/01/2008
Posts: 86

Message Posted:
18/01/2009 22:10

same could be said about england firestarter

Harlequin


Joined: 02/10/2008
Posts: 346

Message Posted:
18/01/2009 22:12

Remember Sebrenica!

kenny



Joined: 26/05/2008
Posts: 405

Message Posted:
18/01/2009 22:24

going dutch, saved me a fortune !

newscoop


Joined: 23/12/2007
Posts: 2197

Message Posted:
19/01/2009 09:14

Kenny;

Before Dutchie pulls you on that it is spelt SREBRENICA.