ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

Life has been rather miserable since I found that the great balls of Haarlem have finally been replaced with a row of boring shiney posts.

Last Saturday, a very grey day indeed, when were feeling very very down having received sad news from home, we decided to go to Rotterdam for the day.

Why? – to see if we could get out to and see the great sea walls there, a wonder of the modern world they say. But we arrived too late in the day (at about 10.30am), and because it is quite a distance to get to the starting place (about 96k’s), and without a car all the more difficult. Yes, there were other options, but they did not really seem to satisfy – so we are going on a Wednesday soon, when we will satisfy Best Beloveds need to know and see on a special all day tour including the sea wall, gates, museum etc. They only run this specific all day tour on a Wednesday.

We must do it soon, so that with a bit of luck the sea itself will not be boiling so hard (It is the ferocious North Sea after all) that I cannot cope with the boat trip. Very soon, like, before the end of summer. Oh and I think we are there already, at the end of summer, I mean. The air has changed, the light has changed, it is dark much earlier, even the birds behaviour is changing.

But as you can see – I found another stretch of water, a safe stretch, a calm stretch – a concrete river with concrete balls – and now I am inspired once more. I have a completed ball cover, and another one 75% done – and now I may have a place to position them.

A concrete river, with round river stones – WOW!

In the heart of Rotterdam.

That is the news from Rotterdam

and the next news might be after a very busy Wednesday, I just might need some help with this.

The new Grote Markt road edge by St Bavo with the discarded balls in the background – Haarlem 2nd June 2010 – and I have 2 newly created unused ball warmers as well.

Who will polish the stainless steel shiny posts to keep the place looking shiny and clean and tidy? I wonder if that will be the job given to the person who removed my first ball warmer. I do hope so.

We were wandering about town last evening making a decision about where we should eat to celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary.

We wandered about the square, checked the menus of all the places we have eaten at before, and those that we haven’t yet, and in the end we decided to try the new restaurant “Sumo” – and it was a great meal, great restaurant, great staff, even great wallpaper if you please. But this little story is not about our meal where we celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary.

It is about the balls of Haarlem. You know the ones – The Great Balls of Haarlem”

I know I have spoken of these often, or should I say that “I have written about these often”. I have been photographing these balls of Haarlem for more than 1 and 1/2 years now – and I will have to post a gallery later.

But now it seems they really will not be back.

We have been watching as they rebuilt the road, reinstalled some of the balls, removed some of the balls, reinstalled more of the balls, and have had others balls nestled next to the St Bavo Church waiting to be reinstalled.

The square looked very very forlorn last evening. It wasn’t celebrating with us, it was cold and unyielding. It was crisp and sharp and defined, and missing the ambience that we have grown to know and love.

The balls, the great Balls of Haarlem have been replaced with cylindrical stainless steel posts and the balls are all thrown into the corner. They are surplus to requirements here in Haarlem, and the square looks so so wrong.

I simply cannot say anymore just now, I am gutted, I am sick to the core, I feel very very sad.

I must go to the square now, and see what it is like in the day time, and to take photos in case the balls are still there in the pile waiting to be removed. Believe it or not – we didn’t take the camera last evening.

I am passionate about those balls and I am going to miss them very much.

I think we have said it already – we (Best Beloved and I) installed a ball cover / disguise on a ball outside Vodafone offices yesterday morning in Maastricht.

Maybe Vodafoners are so used to odd ball things which is why they just walked by without so much as a sideways glance.

So successfully installed.

Ball Cover was tooo Big

We were not accosted by anyone

TNT deliverers noticed. Vodafoners walked by.

It was still there at 3.30pm

Knit Graffiti – me – Can I really do that?

Well it seems that I can. I was wandering around town as you do, with my best beloved last Sunday which was a freezing, bitter, bleak and cold day after installing the Tree Scarf and saw all the magnificent balls lining the side of the Grote Markt (the big town square) of Haarlem.

We went home and I rummaged and found yarns and started to knit a huge Ball Warmer. We have visited the balls of Haarlem in the dark cold evenings this week to check sizing as you can see from the photos. I went once during the day – that was take 1 – but there is no photo for take 1 as I couldn’t balance my bag, the camera and hold the piece over the ball by myself. So the rest was done under the cover of darkness just so that Best Beloved could assist the project. Under cover of darkness for you southern hemisphere folk – darkness now starts at around 5pm and Best Beloved isn’t home generally until around 6pm.

It is a very big ball.

Then on Wednesday evening – we went to install said Ball Warmer.

Thursday morning it was gone.

Can you believe that – we do know that a young couple took a photo while we were installing the warmer and maybe they have a really good picture of this piece of graffiti – which did no harm, didn’t damage anything and did warm a frozen Haarlem Ball however briefly.