Getting to know the Brits

Source via @Hellocreatives: here

Relocating from Oz to the Netherlands

‘So what made them move from Australia to Holland?’ was my son’s remark, as we made our way round the puddles towards their flat. ‘That’s a very good question and one of the first things I’m going to ask them’ I said. The apartment of Meredith Tavener and Peter Tooley (also in the Indian neighbourhood in Groningen) is only a five-block walk from ours, is very spacious and flooded by light through its large windows. We were greeted by equally large smiles and voices with a recognizable Australian twang.

Meredith is the reason they made the move, exchanging Perth in Australia for The Netherlands. They arrived 11th January 2010, right in the middle of a real snowy winter. Such extreme weather was something completely new to them coming previously from a heat of 47 degrees. It seems that after she had completed her PhD, Meredith thought it would be interesting to find employment out of her then academic environment, which although pleasant, no longer provided her with a much needed challenge. So, she began to look around. First efforts brought up a job at Oxford University in England, which would have been a marvelous opportunity, had it not been for the fact that she would most probably be competing against the world and his wife for the position! Next she found a position in Groningen at the University and thought I can do that!’ Two interviews later she was hired.

Both Meredith and Peter were used to moving regularly from place to place, due to work, in Australia and inventorying their lives down to how many forks they owned. They think this made their shift from, Australia to Europe, and into expatriates’ status, somewhat easier.

Now where is Peter in all this? Before the move, Peter worked in military aviation. He had spent the last eighteen years of his life doing this and earning a good salary. But he decided to give up his job and follow his wife in search of adventure. While Meredith works Peter is taking his time to find out exactly what step he would like to take next. He says that at the moment he feels as though he can’t just walk down the street and say ‘gidday’, to people as he did in Oz, not knowing how it would be received. He says his ‘compass’ is adjusting to a new hemisphere, which must be strange for someone with a job where navigation was an integral part.

Nonetheless they are both very enthusiastic to learn the Dutch language, but unlike their European counterparts (who generally have a knowledge of a minimum of two foreign languages) getting their heads round actually learning a language, has been quite a challenge. They decided to bring in a private tutor to get things rolling, so that one day soon they will be able to finally decipher their mail and find out if the news reader on TV actually makes sense. In the meantime, when they don’t understand something, they call upon the help of friends, colleagues and Connect as well as making use of those often rather interesting online translation websites, which give a vague idea of a document’s contents, in between some very hilarious literal translations.

Looking around their modern apartment I see brightly coloured painted canvases leant up against the walls and ask who’s the artist. Meredith laughs at the term ‘artist’, saying she started dabbling with paint as therapy, whilst she was taking her PhD. The canvases have traveled with them as instant décor for their new apartment. Peter too, is a creative soul and has an interest in photography, which he would like to really like to get into now, seeing as he has the time to do so.

Both Meredith and Peter are happy to be in Europe, not only to see what The Netherlands has to offer, but also to discover more about its neighbouring countries. Travel is something they enjoy and with past trips across Australia, often covering thousands of kilometres, they find it a refreshing change that distances here, around town or to work, are a lot shorter and can be done either on foot or by bicycle.

Paintings: Meredith Tavener & Photos: Peter Tooley

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #27 Spring 2009 

The Language of Flowers

The language and the giving of flowers (known as florigraphy) can be said to have started as far back as the 1700's by the Persians, as discovered by Charles II of Sweden, who then introduced the practice to Europe. But it was the Victorians (during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901), who developed this into a whole new language and their practices are best known today, because much of it has been well documented in books and journals of the time.

In their very protocol dominated society, the Victorians often replaced words with symbols and gestures, and flowers became an integral part of being able to express one’s thoughts and feelings to loved ones. The species, colours, number and grouping of the flowers were of great importance and as there weren’t as many flower species as there are today, each flower had a specific meaning. A particular favourite was the red rose, symbolizing passion and love, and meaning “Be mine’, whereas primroses stated, “I can’t live without you,” purple hyacinths, “Please forgive me,” and pink carnations, “I’ll never forget you.”

For roses there is a particular coding, but this can also be applied to other flowers as well. Red roses mean romantic love, purple signify that the giver had fallen in love with the recipient at first sight, coral and orange means desire, yellow is joy and friendship, pink roses express gratitude and appreciation, light pink roses show feelings of admiration and sympathy, peach can either signify either sympathy or gratitude and white roses show reverence and humility.

The messaging didn't shop there, how the flowers were worn or presented was also highly charged with meaning. If the flowers were presented upright it was positive, upside down and you were less fortunate. Also, how a ribbon was tied around the flowers was of importance; it referred to the giver if tied to the left and the recipient if tied to the right. A question could be answered depending on which hand the bearer had presented the flowers with. If it was the right hand the answer was "yes" and the left hand "no". Should you have the misfortune to receive a bunch of dead flowers then not only did you now have nothing for your vase, your love had been totally rejected.

In order to attract positive chi in Feng Shui, flowers and their placement within the home play an important part. Dried flowers should be avoided at all costs as they do not ensure a good energy flow. Sunflowers bring stability and endurance, cyclamen bring passion and romance, the spider plant encouraged calmness, whereas African violets attract fame, or recognition. For calm regions of the house such as bedrooms, pinks are best for harmony, for busy areas, balance-inducing lilies and orchids are suggested.

These days, giving a bunch of flowers is more about the sentiment behind the gift than its actual meaning. We seem to have all but lost (with a couple of exceptions) the Victorians’ language of flowers. So go on, next time you give a bouquet, really say it with flowers.

Sources:
Blooms for Flowers     

Easy Flowers     

Flower Stories

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #19 Spring 2008