Nevertheless we had a wonderful time with lots of old and new friends. The weather was great, sometimes a bit too hot for me but good for the festival. I attended several workshops, there was a labyrinth, an archery-range, market-stalls with great stuff, live music in the evening, great food and sooo much more. If you want to get an impression, just take a look at our pictures of the festival.
And then there is the incident with Flight MH17, that was 'supposedly' shot down by a missile that was launched by Ukranian pro-Russia separatists. All people and animals aboard died; 195 of the 298 people were Dutch, so our nation is mourning... A lot has been written about it and I have my own thoughts about it... I think our government did its best to get the bodies over here to be identified and returned to their loved ones. A lot of coffins with remains arrived over a series of days. the victims and their next of kin were honoured in moving ceremonies that I watched in silence. On Wednesday July 23rd we had an official national day of mourning for the first time in decades. Still, not all remains are recovered, identification and investigations will probably take months. I sincerely hope investigators get the access they need and as much as possible can be recovered and investigated thoroughly. The next of kin need closure, and so does the rest of the world. My heart is sinking, but I can only hope for the best....
