Washing Cloth

Why do only the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium have a ‘washandje/Waschlappen’? It’s made from terrycloth and is like a glove. In other countries people use just a regular cloth. Why? Who invented this?

Complicated Women

Why do we woman always want what we can’t have? Why can we never be satisfied with what we have and why do men seem to cope with this better? Or is this just a miscomprehension?

The world of Fashion Shops

Amazed! That is what I am sometimes about the power of clothes. Today I was introduced to the power of Primark in London. Being in the city for a while now I have noticed that everywhere you are and go there are Primark bags in London attached to all sorts of people. So I became intrigued by this phenomenon. Yesterday as I passed the famous store on Oxford Street (a street I try to avoid because of the masses and tourists) people were queueing outside.

So today I had to be in  the same area again and as I was trying to figure out coming from Bond Street tube station in which direction to go I was joined by a woman who was looking for the way to Primark. By this point I had to know what was it with this shop, do you get your clothes for free there?? So I asked
this woman. She told me this was a bargain clothes shop with massive queues everyday. She lived in Tokyo and as they do not provide for woman who are over a 40 and larger than 1.60cm she came here everytime she was in London to get masses of clothes.

In the end I got in and  was amazed by all sorts of people you see there, the indeed very cheep clothes, the relatively good fabrics but most of all the amazement that people were buying bags full of clothes, queuing for an hour and the power this brand has.

More

Why are there so many choices, do we want more than we have, is it never enough? There is excess in everything. Isn’t more just a lesser fulfilling life really?

Croque-Monsieur

Almost everyone has eaten this delicious simple cheese/bread meal. For me the right way to eat this is with dutch cheese (preferably old) without the ham. But when I was in London recently people were also eating this (was called by the french name, but the english name is grilled cheese sandwich) and then I started wondering what variations are there (the Gouda/Edam cheese one is not the original is it) and where is it originally from (wiki says France)? The strange thing is that we automatically think our own version is the original one, but is it?

Customs in Winter?

As you walk around in February it depends on in which country you live what people wear. Not only is weather a factor but customs seem to be too. I always wonder why people are so tied to a season. Why do you have to wear three scarves and a jacket like you live on Antarctica when it is 10 degrees (C). But when it is carnival for example you can walk around in a skirt when it is freezing? Or the difference in clothing between London and Amsterdam with the same weather? I am just wondering …