17 September 2021 - MAN SPENDS YEARS BUILDING NOAH’S ARK

 

MAN SPENDS YEARS 

BUILDING NOAH’S ARK

 

G'day folks,

 A man in The Netherlands had a dream a few years ago that he was meant to create a new Noah’s Ark from the Bible. So he spent the next few years making it happen. The ark is now finished, and these images show just how massive it is!

This is the ark replica. It was created as close to the specifications in the Bible as possible. The exact measurements are 410 feet long, 95 feet wide and it weighs in at 2,500 tons. This thing is massive!

 The ark was constructed at a cost of $1.6 million. It has since drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors as an attraction. The ark has 5 levels, with some having 75 foot tall chambers. There is even a media area for visitors to learn more about the ark.

 Johan plans to sail this thing half way across the world.

 

 

Clancy's comment: This thing is absolutely incredible. The fact that someone took it upon themselves to build this is astonishing vessel is really amazing. It doesn’t take away from the planning and care that was needed to create something this large that would actually float.

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3 May 2021 - AMAZING FLOWER PARADES - ZUNDERT, NETHERLANDS

 

AMAZING FLOWER PARADES 

- ZUNDERT, NETHERLANDS -

 

G'day folks,

Flower parades are held all over the world, but the one that takes place in Zundert, the Netherlands, is extraordinarily artistic. It’s also the largest parade in the world. Huge floats are made of wire, cardboard and Papier-mâché', and entirely covered in dahlias in intricate designs. The dahlias for grown specifically for the parade, and thousands of them are required just to cover one float.

The huge floats are made by twenty different hamlets and each of them consists of hundreds of builders, aged 1 to 100, who are all equally crazy about the Bloemencorso. The older members of the hamlet are often responsible for planting and growing the dahlias, while the younger ones build the float in large temporary tents that are built exclusively for the event.

Building a float for the Bloemencorso is mainly a social event. Builders of all ages work side by side for over three months to get the float of their hamlet ready on time. It has to be as perfect as possible in order to win the competition. The parade itself takes place on the first Sunday of September, but the members of the hamlets work on their floats all summer. The tents are put up in May or June and from then on the volunteers put all their effort in creating the giant artworks. The last three days before the actual parade are the most stressful.

Because the flowers have to be fresh, the hamlets can only start applying the dahlias on the floats on the Thursday before the parade. If necessary, the builders will work day and night to have their float ready on Sunday.

Most people in Zundert will happily give up their days off to work on the float. The social cohesion that comes from building it is very important. A hamlet is like a family where everyone knows each other and everyone is welcome. After a long evening working on the float people drink a beer together and most hamlets organize all kinds of other activities like song contests and barbecues.

Clancy's comment: Beautiful. What an extraordinary amount of work involved.

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