Half Mast

Before I start this story you should know that I’m not very fond of Queen’s Day. Somehow a mass of -mostly drunk- people dressed in orange doesn’t attract me at all So these last few years we usually go for a nice walk, which is also a great excuse to take pictures.

I started the day behind my computer, to read up on SLR camera’s . But at the beginning of the afternoon my hubby noticed on Twitter that there had been a car accident in Apeldoorn. It didn’t sound that alarming, until we saw the actual images on the news.

The crowd was lined up 4 rows deep to see the royal family passing by in a tour car. Suddenly people flew through the air after a car swerved across police railings. Not much later the car crashed into a stone monument. You can see the videos on Youtube, they’re a bit shocking though: video 1 and video 2.
Judging by the distance and speed of the car, the driver intended to ram the tour car carrying Queen Beatrix. Also the driver of the Suzuki told the police men who arrived first at scene that this wasn’t an accident.

By now we know a bit more about the man. He’s 38 years old and had lived in Apeldoorn previously. According to neighbours he was friendly but pretty much to himself. Also we learned from his landlord, that he planned on leaving his appartement tomorrow (in fact it was already rented to someone else). I hope they’ll find more clues. Because frankly I don’t think he’ll live to tell his reasons, since he’s badly injured.

Sadly 5 people have died so far and 12 are injured . I wonder what this day will look like in the future…

Koala Sam and her friend Bob

In the midst of the extreme fires in Australia there’s one enlightening story. A volunteer firefighter named David Tree discovered a koala in the midst of a burnt-out bush. He offered the poor critter a drink from his water bottle, which the dehydrated koala -nicknamed Sam- gratefully accepted. A felllow fire fighter filmed the whole event with his mobile phone camera, you’ve got to watch it :  YouTube movie

Sam was bandaged and taken care of in a Wildlife Shelter. In the shelter she met another koala named Bob and even though they had both burned and bandaged paws they tried to hug eachother, can you imagine that?

Rescuer Tree met Sam again in the Wildife Shelter, where they touched noses!

I can’t imagine why someone would set some of the fires, it’s imensely sad . Especially considering the loss of life the fires have caused. If you would like to do something, consider making a donation to the Australian Red Cross.