I saw Danny, a guy living across the road a bit up dawdling in front of my gate, so I went out to hear what he wanted, as the main gate is now kept locked. Now Danny is known as a bit of a night time dealer in stolen goods, and many nights I have heard trucks stopping at his hose, and unloading stuff. One night I peeped through the window and saw our co-op truck unloading stuff, and the next morning early I watched Danny drive off with a loaded truck. I have once reported this to the police, but nothing was ever done about it. I am more clever now, and know that, according to the locals, some of the local police are in cahoots with the ruff and scuff of the village, and Berty, Emil's nanny, and other people have warned me not to meddle, as the culprits could become very spiteful.
Anyway, Danny said he was just looking at some old car mats that Jan had thrown out, and asked if he could take it.
They are such funny people, as he then told me how bad things were, and him with seven kids! Looking at the big pear tree behind him that was laden with beautiful pears, just ripening, I asked him why they did not pick the fruit, as that is a source of fresh food for his kids, but his eyes darted in all directions, and he mumbled a lot of uninteligible noncense but did not answer my question. I then told him that I can every bit of fruit that ripened on my trees, and he looked at me with big eyes, and asked me how that was done, so that he could enlighten his wife. On me insisting that his wife should know how to can fruit, he said no, she definitely did not know. So I described the process in detail to him, and told him that I had a lot of bottles if he wanted to send the kids over.
With a huge smile he told me that the kids would be sent to pick the fruit after school, and he would send them over for some bottles. I hoped that he would do it, for I saw the previous year how that lovely fair rotted on the tree.
It is now three weeks later, a few pears are still hanging on the tree, while the rest lay on the ground. He never sent the kids to pick it, neither to come to me for bottles! Strange people, who are always pleading poverty, but did nothing that is too strenuous to harvest the fruit that is so abundant in Haarlem.