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#TBT: Bowling Borrel 2012
This evening we’ll meet at the Dolfijn Bowling Center for our combined bowling/happy hour. For Throwback Thursday, let’s take a look at the TIC experience from 6 years ago!
x–x–x–x–x–x–x
23 November 2012
by Anne van Oorschot
TIC members met at the Dolfijn bowling alley in Tilburg to combine our monthly happy hour with a little bowling. All claimed to be amateurs, but when Sondra arrived …
The winning team!
We started by splitting into 2 teams for the 2 lanes we had reserved (and just getting names in the scoring machine was a challenge to begin with!!) then…let the bowling begin! Everyone had a different style and with no gutter guards, a variety of techniques became visible: Straight into the gutter, first a lovely curving path…then into the gutter, a partial hit, and the occasional strike. Consistency did not seem to be anyone’s strong point, even Yolonda who took bowling as a class in College and Mala, whose parents are championship bowlers. Go figure.
The little ones have a go!
The little ones have a go! The TIC kids who attended had a great time rolling the ball, with the smaller ones getting help from their parents, and really did pretty well. Of course there were drinks for all to keep us going and a lot of time for exchanging bowling tips and chatting about daily life and challenges. At the end of our time bowling, the winner was…unknown!? At the end of one game it just jumped to the next game, with all stopping at the end of our 120 minutes! Actually, since everyone had such a fun start to their weekend, we were all winners!
#tbt #expatlife #Tilburg #bowling #happyhour #borrel
Annual Holiday Dinner review
by Molly Johnson
New Year seems to stretch itself out in the Netherlands, so in true Dutch style, TIC celebrated its 
holiday dinner on January 20th – better late than never! It was great to see so many members, both old(not like that) and new, turn out for this popular event where we ate, drank, and mingled.
‘t Elfde Gebod (the 11th commandment) created an almost exclusive atmosphere in itsupstairs room for the 30+ internationals, and among the religious-themed decor, we alltold stories of Christmas and New Year, with a welcome drink of bubbly. According to Andrew, the 11th commandmentis “thou shalt drink” and several of us were more than happy to oblige.
After an initial hour of catching up, it was to the tables, where a delicious three course meal was served, and conversation turned to country cultures, as well as the usual “how I ended up in Holland” story for those newer members. Curiosity kicked in when another group joined us in the upstairs space and we were keen to know what club they belonged to.
Between courses some seat-swapping went on so everyone had chance to catch up and introducethemselves to any unfamiliar faces, as we filled ourselves on salmon, steak, pasta, dame blanch, and other treats in between.
It seemed as though a great night was had by all, which made for the perfect way to kick-start the second half of the TIC season and get chatting about some of the exciting events coming up on the agenda.
Save the Date! TIC Annual Holiday Dinner
Memory Lane: 2016 Christmas Cookie Workshop
Our 2017 Christmas Cookie workshop is just around the corner. Here’s a quick look back at last year!
by Sondra Grace
‘Twas ‘bout a week before Christmas when all thro’ Verhalenhuis
Not a creature wasn’t stirring in butter, pecans or muisjes;
The potholders were hung by the oven with care;
In hopes that the cookie doughs soon would be klaar;
When all was baked and nestled snug into tins,
Wine and music and friendship had we all to our zin
Visions of jam thumbprints and ting-a-lings danced in each head
We left ‘gainst a winter’s night, glove and scarf gekleed
And Anne in her apron, with smile tinsel bright, called
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
TICKids: Maisdoohof (Corn Maze)!
Getting ready for the hunt!
by Mala Raman
For the first TICKids outing of the club season, 4 TIC families met up at ‘t Fazantje Maisdoolhof (corn maze) in Dongen to complete a challenging quest within the corn 
maze. After a week of rain, we were very lucky with the weather and were able to enjoy very pleasant, sunny temperatures the entire afternoon.
The instructions were simple: walk through the cornfield looking for letters and pictures of emojis. The letters, when combined, form a message. Sounds easy? Not quite. Both kids and adults entered the corn maze armed with pen and paper to find all of the hidden emojis within the tall corn stalks.
Once in the maze, there were no signs to orient us, to remind us which paths 
we’d already trodden, which letters we’d already found. Even the tallest among us couldn’t see above the corn stalks and he was almost six feet tall! That didn’t
faze the children at all. Each took a turn leading the group as we wended our way through the trail, peered through leaves for those elusive clues, walked along and doubled back down pathways. The maisdoolhof proved a challenge for children and adults alike. Each family moved at their own pace answering most, if not all, of the questions.
ne by one, families emerged from the corn having successfully completed their 
“speurtocht” (trailhunt). After all that running around, we sat down together for a drink and lots of chatting. Finally, dinner bells starting ringing and one by one everyone said “tot ziens” until the next TICKids event!
Check our website for upcoming TICKids events!
2017 TICnic Review
by Mala RamanThis year we had perfect weather for our annual picnic. To our regular participants, our once a year, springtime gathering is known as the TICnic. In a not too warm, not
too cold outdoor venue, a big crowd of TIC members and guests came together to once again help bring the club season to a close. In the middle of a lush green park on the campus of Tilburg University, everyone happily sat at the new a
nd improved picnic tables or on the grass to enjoy a good old-fashioned cookout. Thanks to Andrew, our grill master (who received many compliments on his handiwork), there were hamburgers, veggie burgers, chicken drumsticks and steaks to be gobbled up.
It was great to have so many families join this year’s outdoor festivities. On this Father’s Day, TIC presented all of our TIC father’s with a take home gift basket of a Trappist Dubbel bier with nuts and a commemorative Trappist Brewery glass.
No TICnic is complete without some fun group activities. This year we had a “TIC-athalon” that had 5 teams racing around trying to accumulate as many points as possible in the
Great Egg Race, TIC Tac Toe darts, Obstacle course, Mini golf, Jump Rope, TICpic, Bowling, Bean Bag Toss, Pass the Parcel and Air Guitar.
All in all, we had a fantastic day. To all who attended: we hope to see you again in the upcoming club year. To those who stayed home or couldn’t make it this year: come by next year and share in the fun!
Visit to Kaasboederij Leyedaeler (Cheese Farm)
Articles written, translated and photographed by TICKids!
Dutch version by Filipek Cizek
English version by Baruska Cizek
Photographs by Varunka Cizek
8 April 2017. We went to a cheese farm for a tour. First, we could drink something: tea, coffee, raw milk from the cows or lemonade. While we were drinking, the farmer told us something about the farm and the cows: how many there are, how much milk he gets from them, when they are outside and when they are inside and how the cheese is made.
After this, we went outside to see the calves. There were three small calves in the “camping” for calves 
that are only one month (or less) old. Behind the “camping” were bigger calves. Then we went a little further to see the big cows. There were about 50 cows. Again, the farmer told us something about the cows and he showed us the leader of the cows: It was the only cow that had horns. There also were two cows that were fighting.
When the farmer was done explaining, we went back to the farm house and there we went upstairs to take a look at the cowshed. It was almost empty, because most of the cows were outside. The farmer said that the cows could freely walk around in the cowshed.
When we looked through another window, we could see a place where the cows get milked.
After taking a look in the cowshed, we went to see the last part of the farm: the part where the cheese is made. We could see the salt bath, the shelves where cheese ripens and a large barrel in which is milk whe
n the cheese is made. We could also taste some cheese. There was also a shop on the farm where we could buy cheese and while the adults stayed in the shop, the children could go and milk a wooden cow which was fun. This was the last thing we did and then we went home.
| It was a great day for everyone and I learnt a lot about the cows. The cheese we could taste was really good so we bought some to eat it at home. |
Visit to Kessels Music Instrument Museum
by Andy Kelly
Living in Tilburg for the last 8 years, I had heard the story of Marietje Kessels, the poor 11 year old girl who was murdered in the Noordhoek church on August 22, 1900 with no one was brought to justice. The story I was told was that Marietje came from a rich factory owner’s house but I did not know her family business was the production of musical instruments. So, I thought it would be great to find out more about one of the most famous families from Tilburg.
The day started like all guests to the museum trying to find the entrance, I was glad to see Anne waiting for me at the entrance to the textile museum were she proceeded to show me how to get to the musical instrument factory. After going out the textile museum and up some stairs the group was brought into a little room, where tea, coffee and biscuits were served.
At this point, the curator introduced himself and began to tell the story of the factory and the Kessels family which I would find out go hand in hand. The museum is staffed by volunteers who love their work and it shows. An example of this was even though the curators English was not the best and sometimes he had to ask for the right word, he spoke with the passion of a man wanting to share his knowledge of a beloved hobby. So back to the tour, next on the agenda was a short film about the factory which turned out to be kind of an accident.
Mathijs Kessels, a man that worked in the sheet music industry and an 
accomplished composer, saw a market for his sheet music in an industrial town known as Tilburg. Due to the high levels industrialization, this brought something totally new to the lower class free time. The factory owners encouraged music playing within the lower-ranks as, in the words of the curator, playing a musical instrument was a lot better than sitting in the pub.
So, as with many things, Mathijs started a small printing house in Tilburg and for some reason, people started bringing their musical instruments to the printing house to have them fixed. And in true entrepreneurial fashion, he said, why not? Demand became so great for musical instrument repair that Mathijs decided to not only repair them but make them. He found a site outside of the city center (next to the big AH that is now a green field ) to build a grand house and a new factory. 
Business grew and his factory at one point could supply almost everything to kit out a full marching band.
As with most stories, what goes up must come down. Mathijs received a large order of 900 pianos that were made and delivered but for which were never paid. This caused the company to come close to bankruptcy at 
which point the bank stepped in and took control of the factory. This ended up with Mathijs being kicked out of his own factory and starting a competing factory right next door. In the long term, not a great idea as orders and invoicing were delivered to the old address. Matthijs passed away on the 21st of December 1932 and within 20 years, both the new and old musical instrument factories were out of business.
So with the film ending, we were led to the brass workshop and shown the
many stages of producing brass instruments. Being a mechanical engineer, it did bring me back to my student days. We were really shown how the instruments were made and the exhibit had a great i
llustration of showing this step by step. Next on the agenda was the wood instruments assembly area which included a saxophone to my surprise…
Well I don’t want to spoil the rest of the museum but I can recommend a visit. Half the fun is finding the museum and, if you have an interest in music or manufacturing, you’ll definitely be in the right spot.
A look back at the Christmas Cookie Workshop
by Sondra Grace
‘Twas ‘bout a week before Christmas when all thro’ Verhalenhuis
Not a creature wasn’t stirring in butter, pecans or muisjes;
The potholders were hung by the oven with care;
In hopes that the cookie doughs soon would be klaar;
When all was baked and nestled snug into tins,
Wine and music and friendship had we all to our zin
Visions of jam thumbprints and ting-a-lings danced in each head
We left ‘gainst a winter’s night, glove and scarf gekleed
And Anne in her apron, with smile tinsel bright, called
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
TICKids Sinterklaas party a hit!
by Mala Raman
On 1 December 2016, Sinterklaas and two of his Zwarte Piets dropped by the Reeshof Wijkcentrum to celebrate the season with TIC. The evening started with lots of snacking on chocolate pepernoten and chocolate covered cookies. A crowd of kids brought along their parents for the event and happily, a few new guests as well as our own TIC members joined in for the festive evening.
Loud knocking on the doors from one of the Piets announced the arrival of Sinterklaas. The kids were enthralled watching them enter the room as the Piets started “throwing” pepernoten and snoep (candy) to the kids.
While the adults enjoyed some snacks and Gluhwein, Sinterklaas was kept busy 
checking his book for the personal details of what the kids had been up to this past year. Sinterklaas greeted the children and gave them gifts. When the last child had his or her gift, they all helped with a countdown to open their gifts at the same time.
With a last wave for the kids, Sinterklaas made his way out of room promising to be back next year. Whether using the name Sinterklaas or Santa Claus or something else entirely, the holiday spirit was alive and well at TIC.
Tilburg International Club 