Sorting bulbs at Olympic level

Two weeks passed in which I did not have time to write a newsletter, that’s quite something isn’t it? It is all a bit more hectic this season: because of the wet autumn last year, we were not able to plant the Daffodils until mid-December. This is not pleasant for the Daffodil and as a thank you they decided to stay green on the land a little longer than usual. If you are late, we will also be late is what they must have thought. Isn’t that nice? In this season that already is a bit disorganized, we had to start at least a week later. Everything had to go fast, faster, fastest, but the only fast Bol this year is Femke Bol (bol is Dutch for bulb). Femke Bulb, with her great Olympic performances. Lucky me, because I am supported by my Dream Team. First, we got Pracht, our floor manager. Fast as lightning, with her hands and with her mouth. A little disadvantage is that she starts making weird noises in the late afternoon. And then of course our star employee Bregt (with the Fluwel t-shirt) has joined our team again this year. Bregt goes like a train and yet still has energy left for track and field practice four times a week. In four years time we will see Bregt on tv in Los Angeles, or that is what she promised me. A name to remember: Bregt Hopman, 400m finals of the Olympics. A success already, I will go there.  And then there is Roos and Sigge of course. They really come to the rescue, indispensable workers. They got what it takes and work like a horse from France. A small disadvantage is that at least three or four times a day Sigge sr, comes to distract them from their work with his sweet talk. They are such professionals; they can sort out bulbs with their eyes closed. Or are they actually daydreaming? They are called Dream Team after all. While we are stumbling through at least a thousand different varieties of Daffodils, there are millions of bulbs being packed in the Fluwel warehouse for our American customers. The good news is that last Friday the first three containers were ready for shipping. Robin Koning, or as you can read on his forklift, “The King’’ loads them at top speed. Always a happy feeling when the first containers are leaving, that gives a little space in the warehouse. In Dutch the truck-drivers call them ‘blikkies’ or ‘cans’. How many blikkies do you drive to the Maasvlakte is what they ask each other in our canteen.But let’s go back to our warehouse to help my Dream Team. And, it is  Friday already which means we will eat at Land van Fluwel. It does not matter how busy we are, on Fridays we enjoy a tasty lunch with the Dream Team. See you next week.

With kind regards,

Carlos van der Veek