Welcome to my website!

Actually, this is a webpage rather than a website. However, I am the webmaster of a number of websites, and one of the purposes of this page is to introduce them to you, and, of course, to persuade you to visit them. But first I would like to tell you a bit about myself.

I was born and bred in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I have lived there most of my life. I now live in Amstelveen, a small town south of Amsterdam. I am a teacher of English at the Zaanlands Lyceum in Zaandam, a town north of Amsterdam. I still enjoy teaching, in spite of the fact that I have been doing it since 1973!

I am really into sports. First there is tennis. I do like that game. It helps that I am reasonably good at it. I play at level 6, if that means anything to you.
Golf is another sport that I practise. However, I am very bad at it, which does not stop me from trying again and again to get a good score. I have been on some gorgeous golfcourses: Banff Springs in Canada, Paradise Island in The Bahamas, and Mauna Kea in Hawaii. And I was at the Home of Golf: the magnificent Old Course of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Finally there is running and fitness. I run about 12 kilometres or have a session in a fitness centre every other day. It keeps me fit, which is necessary if you are a teacher ... all those unruly pupils can really tax you!

Flight simulation is my greatest hobby. I can spend hours in the cockpit of the virtual plane on my computer flying from one place to another. I know, nothing much happens when you are flying over the ocean on your way to New York, but I think it is a nice way of passing time.

I also like to play bridge now and then. I am a member of Stepbridge, which is an online bridgeclub. The advantage is that you can play whenever you want, even in the middle of the night.

Then there is William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright that ever lived. I talk about his life and his plays in class, because I think every pupil who leaves the Zaanlands Lyceum should have seen at least one of his plays. His legacy fascinates me. I always go when one of his plays is performed in a theatre near my home, even though I may have seen it several times already. I also have an extensive collection of DVDs and books dealing with Shakespeare's life and works.

No wonder my favourite author is William Shakespeare. The best novel I have ever read is Pat Barker's Regeneration with Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited a close second.

If you want to know what books I am reading at the moment and what I think about the ones I have just read, you are welcome to visit my virtual bookshelf at Shelfari, the social network for people who love books. Click on the Shelfari logo to go there.

The best film I have ever seen is Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. My favourite television programmes are Spooks, Foyle's War, A Touch Of Frost, Midsomer Murders, CSI, and Star Trek. My favourite holiday destinations are Stratford-upon-Avon, England and Puerto de Mogán, Gran Canaria.

In the middle of this page you will find some photographs which will enable you to put a face to my name. On the right you will find descriptions of the six websites that I am webmaster of. I sincerely hope you can find some time to visit any or all of them. Please send me an e-mail if you have any comments or suggestions. They are welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you for visiting.

I spent the 2011 summerholidays in Iceland. The picture was taken at Jökulsarlón, a lake at the end of Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe. The icebergs behind me have broken off from the glacier and are slowly melting. Jökulsarlón is one of the many wonderful natural sights of Iceland.

In the summer of 2009 I travelled the length and breadth of Scotland. One of the places I visited was St Andrews, which is perhaps best-known for its world famous golfcourse, the Old Course. In the picture you see me on the stone bridge on the 18th hole of that course. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and many other famous golfers have stood there as well!

Here you see me during the 2010 Dam tot Damloop. I run this 16.1 kilometre race every year. I ran my best time in 2008, when I crossed the finishing line after 1h.14m.25s. Actually, I think this is pretty good for someone my age!