Six Months In Holland

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31000, 4 March 1966, Page 2

Six Months In Holland

Holland became second home for the Seed family, of Christchurch, who spent six months there during Dr. T. J. Seed’s refresher leave last year. Buying fur-lined boots, heavy overcoats and long trousers for the two boys was a first essential on arrival in the bitter cold of January. “All the canals were frozen, and everyone was muffled up in sombre clothes, but the countryside and the cities looked bright and cheerful in spite of it,” Mrs Seed said yesterday. Dr. Seed worked at the University of Lieden, and the family lived in a flat four storeys up in a village close to the city. Dutch state schools would not accept the boys as they knew no Dutch, so Mrs Seed, who is an honours graduate in physics, and recently gained a Ph.D. in geology, worked through correspondence school lessons with them. Their daughter Patricia, aged 18, prepared for the science degree she began this year at the University of Canterbury. “We worked from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Piers and Vaughan were very good and co-opera-tive, and it gave me something to do,” she said. The family often spent Saturdays at the street market in Lieden or visited the many museums, art galleries and churches in Lieden, the Hague and Amsterdam. “On one of our trips to Amsterdam we visited a household exhibition, and were thrilled to see a New Zealand stall promoting lamb, honey and apples. They seemed to be selling very well, and the stall was as impressive as any in the hall,” she said.

The standard of living in Holland appeared to be very good. There were no slums, even in larger cities, no social

security benefits, and doctors’ fees did not seem high. “A visit to the surgery cost us only 12 shillings, but a comprehensive insurange cover is expensive,” Mrs Seed said. However, all over Europe and in England prices for food and clothing were rising steeply. The family had to give up having a good tasty steak for it cost 10 shillings a pound. Pork and chicken were cheap, and ham was very flavoursome. Manufactured goods imported from Common Market

countries were very reasonably priced, and synthetic clothing was popular. Gas power and electricity were expensive, and as Holland was poor in natural catchment there was also a small charge for water. Land for housing was not very plentiful and this led to the building of large blocks of flats. “But there are always parks for the children to play in, and it doesn’t seem congested," Mrs Seed said. Most of the building was in brick, and the flats had large windows uncluttered by

curtains. Everything was designed to catch the most light, and windows were not covered even at night. Homes were full of flowers, and when visiting it was the custom to take a bunch of flowers to the hosts. “Although Holland is prosperous, life is still leisurely. The towns don’t sprawl out as they do in New Zealand, and the roads are good. I noticed the crowds only when I was shopping," she said. Everyone was friendly and helpful and Mrs Seed soon learnt enough Dutch to make herself understood. “The language is difficult to learn, especially with our Kiwi drawl, which makes the gutteral sounds quite a problem. “We were not homesick in Holland, but all the same it was good to return home.”