Reed Is A Weed That's Handy, Indeed

The day before yesterday, Hetty and Netty came by for tea and a chat. Their gardens are next to each other just up the path from me. I went in to set the tea and what happened?...the gas bottle had given up the ghost; or less dramatically put--the contents had been exhausted. It came at an awkward time, for the water had not quite begun to boil when the last blue flame began to shrink and the 'sizzing' sound faded. Darn!

Not to worry though, Sjoerdi is prepared for the unexpected. This statement tempts me to digress and follow the line that if something is unexpected, how can one prepare for it? It seems that if one prepares, then it isn't unexpected at all....but I won't go there.

Moving right along--I have this tiny little bottle of butane stored-away and it has its own support screwed into the bottle upon which one can place a water kettle. I have had it for a few years and never used it.
Out with the directions then---not wanting to waste time at this critical phase of hospitality.

What does this mean? It means that I abandoned the "when all else fails, read the directions" approach. I am sure that some of you recognize this trait, some even may go so far as to attribute it exclusively to the male gender. (I won't go there either).

Well, the day was saved and I could supply my guests with tea and bikkies without hardly missing a beat. It did mean though that I had to take the tank to the camping store and exchange it for a full one.

The camping store was way out in the north-east of town (the exactly opposite direction from the lottie complex). It was a nice bike path to follow and took me by the large greenhouse complex where a family had grown irises and yellow roses for as long as I can remember. The demand had faltered and they are breaking the greenhouse down and selling it to a German organization. Sad.

At any rate, once at the camping store and the gas container exchanged...I thought that it would be nice to have a look at tents, mats and cushions. You know, should I ever buy an auto again. Having a tent would be nice for emergencies when taking day trips. The costs of hotel rooms have risen so much that it begs one to look at hotel stays in a purely logical light: What is a hotel room for? Primarily for sleeping and perhaps the occasional athletic pursuit...but basically, one sleeps in a hotel room. It makes me wonder if I need to spend that kind of money to sleep. I can sleep in a tent for a fraction of the price. So, I am looking at tents.

That concluded, I headed back out and took a different route back. This is where I saw a sight that I see only occasionally these days. There were a couple of blokes up on a roof replacing reed roofing. I know a person that might find this interesting and so I took a series of fotos. I will show a few here.

Reed roofs go right back to the days when people began to settle in permanent / semi-permanent lifestyles. They were traditionally used by non-rich folks because it was the least expensive roofing that one could have. These days it is a de luxe adornment used primarily by well to do people.

This type of roofing is a specialized and independent profession. The workers do only this type of work, but much earlier these professionals would do the cutting and gathering of reed, the binding of it, sell it and of course build with it.
The season not being a long one (and the availability of good quality reed being limited), the workers were compelled to do other types of work to supplement their incomes. They would make wooden shoes or do butcher work.
The reed used is reed that is no older than one year.

I hopped off my bike and leaned it against the railing of the small bridge for bike traffic. The bridge was small and going over the canal between the street and the continuation of the bike path on the other side.

The reed:


The tools:


The metal grid plate-looking impliment is called a Drijfbord, or a rietklopper--the reed is beaten into the right angle/shape with this tool.

The thing that the man is standing on is called a Rietdekkersdakstoel (Literally--a reed coverer's roof chair)....and as you can see, it is for the worker to stand on while working. What this pic does not show is that these Rietdekkersdakstoels have long, sharp metal pins that go into the reed to anker it so that it doesn't slip down.

Placing reed alongside the window. It will be watertight.


These guys work as a team to get the job done. You can see several things on this foto: the man with the black T-shirt is pulling up on a steel wire. This is one way of holding the reed in place.
The man on the left is using the rietklopper to bam the ends of the reed into place in a nice and neat fashion.


You can see the house from a distance...the bridge and bike path is visible on the foreground. That bridge and path is perpendicular to the street that I was biking on.


After the pause, I continued on my way out to the lotties to set up the new gas bottle and do a bit of work.
I hope that you liked this little side trip.

 

That was really cool. Thanks for taking the time to stay there, get some pictures and explain to us the craft.

 

That's amazing. I think I would have sat there and watched them the entire day.
Thanks for a nice "trip"!

 

Sjoerd, I love it when you take little trips and share them with us! The reed roof is so interesting--and the method of laying it down is fascinating, too. Guess you don't go into that line of work if you are afraid of heights.

 

I would never have imagined seeing a reed roof being assembled. Thank you Sjoerd for the pictures and explanation.

Jerry

 

I'm glad that you liked that, CAROLYN. I enjoyed watching those guys working so methodically,

Thanks you CHERYL-- I would have liked staying there a bit longer, but the lotties were calling.

Thank you MG-- I think that you are right about not going into that line of work with a fear of heights. I am a little surprized that they are not required to have some sort of lifeline on.

You are welcome, JERRY-- I did this piece hoping that this sort of roofing was not common there.

 

I think it looks like a very complicated process. It must take time to learn how to do it. I do like the looks of it though. I'm sure I'd never get it done because I'd spend my time on top so I wouldn't have to look over the edge. Heights are not my best thing to do. I used to close my eyes when we drove over the mountain roads in Arizona. And I was doing the driving.
dooley

 

We have a few thatched cottages around here, but lots more as you head out in to the countryside. They do always look so chocolate box beautiful. I once saw a show where some complete novices were trying to learn how to do it, and it takes years to be able to do it. I fear my hayfever would cause me havoc, so my career as a thatcher would be very short lived.

 

That looks like quite a complex dwelling, EILEEN.

Your mountain driving habits sound alarming, DOOLEY-- hahaha I'm glad I wasn't coming around the bend when you were driving there. chuckle.

Yes, I recall that there were some houses with thatched roofs in your area. I had seen them in several european countries. I really liked the Danish ones especially.
Was that show that you saw hosted by Monty Don? I may have seen that series as well, as we can get several BBC channels over here. I can vaguely remember it.
BTW--what do you think of Monty Don being back on "Gardeners' World"?