17) Sparrow on the Fence

Sparrow on the Fence (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

The most common bird on our planet is the sparrow. I think everyone likes them and we love to see those birds in our gardens. Where are those lovely animals nowadays? In Holland we don't see much of them lately. Some say sparrows are in danger of extinction, but I don't know if that's true. Are our dutch gardens too neat and tidy? Should we put privet hedges in our gardens like we did in the 70's? I don't know, but I would like to see them more often.

16) Northsea Shuffle

Northsea Shuffle (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

Sailing on the Northsea can be very relaxing, but when a storm is coming up things can change quickly. The photo is taken from the Ferry to Vlieland on a nice spot between the Dutch Isles Vlieland and Terschelling.
The Estuary between these Isles is called "The Stortemelk". In stormy weather it can be very dangerous to sail here because of the groundswells. The grounds of stortemelk are notorious because of the many shipwrecks. The most striking case was the downfall of the English Ship de Lutine, in October 1799.What particularly appealed to the imagination was the enormous load of gold and silver, but no-one ever found a trace of it ...

15) Fish on a Rod

Fish on a Rod (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

Most people love beaches and the sea in the summer. I certainly do and I love to swim an walk the sandy beaches of the Island Vlieland. Fishing is another story, I did some fishing when I was a kid. I probably caught a fish or maybe two in my whole childhood but I never forget the day I caught a Seagull. The poor animal was completely strangled in the wires of my fishing rod. Luckily a couple of adults helped me rescue the bird but fishing would never be the same to me.
I still envy people who spend the whole day looking at a bobber en listen to the rippling water. It must be so relaxing for them.

14) The Valley of Malgum

The Valley of Malgum (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

Vlieland is a small but very beautiful Dutch island. When you cycle to the most western part of the dunes on the Island you pass the "Vallei van Malgum". It's a place with a very sad story from the 18th century. One day a ship was stranded at the Northsea coast. The crew didn't get permission to enter the small village on the Island. They suffered from an infectious disease and had to stay in quarantine in the dunes. Whether it was a ship from Malmö or more likely a ship with sweet wine from Malaga, no one knows the exact story. The place where those poor people lived is nowadays remembered as the"Vallei van Malgum". In a wood at the South side of the Island (Bomenland) is a small cemetery for the deceased crew members. It's called "Dodemans Bol".
While I was on the Island last summer and with this story in my mind I wrote a sad waltz for violin and mandolin. My sister played the violin part.

13) Crossing Trains

Crossing Trains (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

Trains were crossing in the Westerbroeksemadepolder. Those Swiss made "GTW-Spurt" trains are passing by a couple of time's every hour. You can't miss those diesel trains when you cross the cyclepath at the right side of it. When I was a child I always wondered why passing trains sounded so strange. The "Dopplereffect" make the pitch of the train sound higher when they're coming towards you while the pitch lowers when they're moving away from you. The idea to make an intrumental tune with that effect resulted in my new bluegrass tune "Crossing Trains". But Bluegrass isn't Bluegrass without a banjo and I was lucky that my friend "Banjohanna" helped me out with the banjopart. As you can hear she is a great banjoplayer and after I mixed the tune together I'm not sure whether it became a mandolin or a banjotune. It's up to you.

12) Circus Luurtieful

Circus Luurtieful (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

Every holiday I experience the same thing. While camping in the Netherlands you have to be limber, you have to show a lot of tricks to get al simple domestic work done and there is always a lot of public. The need of a big tent makes the whole picture complete. It's definitely a circus. But I like this circus and I like my holiday in the dunes close to the Northsea.

11) Chain of Daisies

Chain of Daisies (mp3) (pdf) (tab)

I made those chains when I was a little kid. When I was noodlin' around with this tune I suddenly remembered my aversion towards soccer. Being a goalkeeper was the only thing I could keep up doing. There were always a lot of daisies in the field so I could do something creative while the other kids ran after the ball.