What's Hot, What's Not! - Geocaching

Geocaching is a way to take a walk in the countryside, which is a combination of both sport and game. If you are tired of just looking at flora and fauna whilst listening to the trudging sound of your footsteps on a walk, why not take a walk with a purpose that will keep your brain as well as your body fit?

With Geocaching, the idea is that with the aid of a handheld GPS receiver (using co-ordinates obtained from the Geocaching website), you follow what is rather like a high-tech treasure hunt. At the end of the hunt, hidden somewhere in the world, you will find a cache. The cache is generally a watertight box complete with logbook (the finder can document finding the cache), and ‘treasure’ inside, with which items can be swapped or added. Anyone can hide a cache and the location is made common knowledge via Internet. Once found the cache is returned to its original hiding place and your Geocaching stories and photos can be shared online at various forums.

So, it is also possible to choose the type and grade of difficulty of the Geocache; whether it’s a normal, earth, multi or mystery cache. The earth cache for example is educational, whilst with the multi cache a point has to be reached before the co-ordinates of the final hiding place are given. Another popular variety is the collation of information found at given points in a hunt, which lead to the end destination and, you guessed it, a cache.

The game has been around since May 2000; Dave Ulmer hid the first cache on 3rd May. In order to play the game one has to create an account and become a member, which is free. Currently there are Geocaches placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents including Antarctica.

So, dust off those walking boots and take your brain for a jaunt!

For the official Geocaching website: Geocaching. For the Dutch website: Geocatching (NL).
Sources: Wikipedia

© Alison Day 2018
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #24 Summer 2009 

What's Hot, What's Not! - Alice TT Assen, 79th Edition 2009

For those of you interested in motorbikes, the 79^th annual TT motorbike race in Assen will be held from the 25^th – 27^th June 2009.

With 100,000 motor enthusiasts eagerly descending on Assen for this event, this famous motor race is dubbed as the Dutchman’s answer to Formula 1 in Monaco and Wimbledon in London. A bit of a high-flown comparison there chaps, but I’m not going to stat bursting any bubbles!

For this motor spectacle, entrance with standing room begins at € 20,00 for adults (dependent on the day). For children entrance is free up to age 15 on the first two days, but only up to age 12 on Saturday 27^th June.

The tribunes can seat up to 56,000 people. For more information and to book tickets please see their website here (Dutch). As with everything popular, these sell very quickly. The circuit in general is clearly visible by all and if that wasn’t enough there are also ten Big Screen Vidiwalls so that you won’t miss a thing.

So, whether or not you are a motorbike fanatic, with a penchant for men dressed head to toe in tight leathers, sitting astride an enormous hunk of metal that shoots around a track at mind bending speeds and belches out more CO2 than should actually be allowed in this day and age, why not try the TT Assen and decide for yourself as to whether it’s Hot or Not!

Photo source here

© Alison Day 2018Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #23 Spring 2009 

Connections Magazine - Spring #23, 2009

© Turban Lady by Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #23 Spring 2009 

Connections Magazine - Winter #22, 2009

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #22 Winter 2009 

Connections Magazine - Autumn #21 2008

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #21 Autumn 2008 

Intelligent Fridges

Are the new ‘must have’ techno inventions of today really necessary or are we just being manipulated into believing that we need all this?

I remember the uproar when the old vinyl disc was replaced by the compact disc, and the perturbed few who realized that they could never ‘not be at home’, any more with the introduction of the mobile phone. But what seems to have followed is a conveyor belt of new inventions, which I doubt the necessity of. Added to the blackberry, iPod, Mp3 player and iPhone there is also an intelligent fridge!

Well I suppose it could well be true. This mammoth fridge, not only keeps your food cool, makes ice cubes, is self-cleaning, and due to a cunning little strip underneath each product knows how much milk is left. It then tells you when to buy a new pack. Pretty handy, one may never have to write another shopping list again. It also has a built-in screen for TV and Internet—Hooray! I may never have to leave my kitchen again.  

Don’t worry about not having ever to think again, this will be compensated for by the fact that one regularly trains ones brain with the brain trainer programmes offered by a Nintendo DS Lite.

For those of you as cynical as me there’s a super short story called ‘The Machine Stops’ by E. M. Forster, which shows what could happen to the human race if we continue along this tack. But having said that, in a couple of years I will probably be the proud owner of one, once I’ve bought a bigger house of course.

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #21 Autumn 2008 

Myriam Berenschot - Illustrations

When asked, Myriam defines herself mainly as a teacher, offering painting and illustration workshops, but she also works as an illustrator on commission for her own pleasure.

Schooled at the Academy Minerva in Groningen, she started by following illustration, graphics and abstract painting, but later decided to add a teacher-training course to the mix to broaden her prospects for the future. Finishing with a first class honours in 1992, she then decided to head off to Indonesia for a six-week break with two other colleagues.

Upon their return to the Netherlands the three of them set up their own studio in central Groningen. As well as pursuing their own work, they offered and developed a range of classes from beginners to advanced, for both adults and children. During this time Myriam was also busy giving portrait and watercolour classes at the Volksuniversiteit in Zuidlaren, Drenthe as well as painting workshops at children’s’ birthday parties.

The studio was put on hold in 1998, with the life changing arrival of new members to the various families coupled with moves to new houses and neighbourhoods. During this period Myriam continued with her own work and started making decorative coat racks on commission. She enjoyed being able to work on a smaller scale again by choice and left abstraction by the wayside choosing to go back to her preference of painting realistic and detailed works.

By 2005, and with her youngest daughter Ella in school, Myriam decided to pick up where she had left off and start up the painting workshops for children again. This she has been doing ever since at the neighbourhood playground association: Het Buurt & Speeltuinvereniging Helpman Oost ‘De Helpen’. Shortly, she will be branching out to include evening classes for adults. Also, she plans to resume the painting workshops for children’s’ birthday parties. Other work has included illustrating the plans for landscape designers, as well as giving drawing lessons for the SKC (after school reception) and illustrating a nursery school newspaper.

For the future, Myriam is in the process of joining forces with a couple of colleagues, each with a different creative discipline to her own. She says, instead of being an island in one’s discipline, as so many artists seem to be these days, she wants to see more of a mix between art and music and intends to achieve this through her liaison with them. This could pave the way to a whole new genre of workshop.

If you're interested in seeing more of Myriam’s work, or finding out more about her workshops: Myriam Berenschot

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #21 Autumn 2008