Snowstorm brings public life in New York and other eastern US states to a standstill. Tens of thousands of households are required to stay home and are unable to travel. There is also no power. In some places, about 30 to 60...
Lovely wintertime, especially in Belgium, where they issued Mystamps on October 18, 2025. Did you use them when sending your Christmas mail? It gives you such a wonderful winter feeling to receive Christmas mail franked with the...
Arctic temperatures in the northern Netherlands. Terrace weather in Maastricht. Ice fun with ice skating in the north. Code Red in the three northern provinces. No trains or buses in the north. Hospital appointments cancelled. Is it winter or is it spring?...
The Gulf Stream (part of the AMOC) could weaken significantly or stall as early as around 2050-2060 due to climate change and melting polar ice. This tipping point is imminent due to an increase in freshwater in the North Atlantic Ocean. The consequences are drastic cooling in Western Europe, faster sea level rise, and...
This morning I saw a snowy landscape from the window. Perhaps the last time in January? The Elfstedentocht was not held until February 26 in 1986. So who knows what is still to come. In the past, we have had to deal with severe...
Finally, real wintertime. It's just a shame it didn't start during Christmas and the Christmas holidays. Many children have never seen snow. Are you enjoying the snow, or is it actually bothering you because you had to wait for hours at Schiphol? ...
Did you donate money to charity campaigns or lotteries (including the State Lottery or Postcode Lottery) during the month of December? Advertisements appeared in various media during the month of December to encourage people to donate money or to donate even more...
The last time that consumers are allowed to buy and set off fireworks. A great deal of fireworks is expected to take to the skies. During the 2024-2025 New Year's Eve, the Dutch spent a record amount on fireworks: approximately 118...
Do you have Christmas plants in your home, or did you receive Christmas plants as a Christmas gift, for example on your birthday in December? There are many types of Christmas plants suitable for making your living room cozy, such as amaryllis, holly, mistletoe, skimmia, and poinsettia. Do you know how...
You are on vacation and want to get away for a short while to a major event in your own country or across the border. There are many options, and it is lively and busy everywhere, because it is also the Christmas holidays. That makes the selection difficult and...
An elaborate Christmas menu calls for a matching drink. In various European countries, they have their own specialty on the menu. The same applies to the Scandinavian countries. Did you serve an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink to your guests yourself? Or is...
When you see the advertisements and the decorations on the streets and in the shops, the emphasis is on Christmas and not on the Sinterklaas celebration. Do you still celebrate Sinterklaas with your (grand)children or have you already put up the Christmas tree...
On November 4th, I received news from PostNL regarding the 2025 December stamps featuring Efteling as the theme of the annual issue. In the email, in red letters: EMBARGO until November 10, 2025. Why would there be an embargo for...
To mark the 75th anniversary of the comic character Snoopy, PostNL is issuing the Snoopy 75 Years stamp sheet with 5 framed stamps on August 11, 2025. See my earlier blog from August 13. After that, PostNL issued another Snoopy gold stamp....
What King's Day is to the Dutch, St. Patrick's Day is to the Irish. 'Lá Fhéile Pádriag' is the ultimate expression of Irish identity. St. Patrick's Day is the national holiday of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland...
Do you have the oliebollen, apple turnovers, and apple fritters (and perhaps a Dubai oliebol) ready? Do you have the champagne bottles ready? And what about the fireworks? Are you still watching Pieter Derks' New Year's Eve comedy show or...
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