Toilet with a Built-In Washbasin
Something like this was shown on the BBC this morning. They were saying it is a good idea for saving water, as you use the hand-washing water to refill the cistern.
It is! But!
I would say that it is much more important as a space-saving device. After all, how many toilets don’t really have the space for a basin. It must also be a lot easier to fit, as you only need to plumb in one piece of sanitary ware.
Here’s a link to one of these devices from an Australian company.
Being a Coeliac in Holland
I travel to Holland quite a bit and to Den Haag in particular. In fact, I’ve just come back from a few days in the Dutch capital.
So how do I manage as a coeliac in Holland?
On last Friday, I went for lunch in a cafe in Amsterdam called Puccini. It’s in the Staalstraat fairly close to the Amstel River and the Town Hall and the new Music Theatre. Most of the food was the usual bread offering, but they gave me a delicious salmon salad with no problems. Just remember that gluten-free is gluten-frij or gluten-fry! At least if they know about gluten, you will get food without a problem.
I would say that the level of knowledge in restaurants and cafes in major cities is about the same as in London or Cambridge.
But the biggest help is Albert Heijn. This is the Dutch equivalent of Waitrose or an upmarket Tesco Metro. You don’t have to know your Dutch, as every one of their own label products is labeled with the gluten-free symbol, if that what it is. If you’re still not sure, you can usually check the ingredients, even if they are in Dutch, as food names seem to be similar, even if the spelling is unpronounceable.
Wandering Around Den Haag
You may not have noticed, but I don’t like places being given two names. That is why this post is called Den Haag and not The Hague.
These are some pictures that I took over the weekend.
The Anonymous Widower 