The Dutch city of Deventer on Saturday transformed into a pocket of 19th-century England, with 950 people in costumes bringing characters from Charles Dickens’ books to life.
Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge and Miss Havisham were among the characters at hand, mingling with chimney sweepers, livestock and Christmas carol singers in Deventer’s historic center. Onlookers bowed when Queen Victoria passed through.
Merchants peddle antiques and gingerbread, while people portraying pickpockets try to avoid being tossed in a mock Marshalsea Prison.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The town’s link to Dickens is Emmy Strik, who started the weekend-long festival to protest rules against keeping her antique shop open on Sunday. Strik and other shop owners dressed up in the 19th-century England costumes and walked out on the streets.
The protest evolved into an annual festival and Strik, now 84, has collected more than 1,000 Dickensian costumes for the event.
Organizers enforce the dress code strictly — no clothes or accessories from after the 1800s.
Photo: AFP
Sandra Nieland played the queen this year.
“In her younger years, she was, of course, a beautiful queen, and in her older years, she was mourning her husband, Albert and, well, she was always in black and not [wearing] too much stuff. Just her rings... She always wore a lot of rings.”
It is the 32nd edition of the festival, which attracts about 100,000 visitors each year from around the Netherlands and abroad, the town organizers said. That means big crowds, who line up to enter the narrow streets.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Amateur street actor Stef Jongbloed reveled in the festive energy.
In addition to specific characters, “you also have so many people that just dress up just for fun and just walk around here the entire day. Also doing it together is what makes it so amazing,” he said.
THE TRAGEDY OF PUNCH: Footage of the seven-month-old Japanese macaque has gone viral online after he was rejected by his mother and formed a bond with a soft toy A baby monkey in Japan has captured hearts around the world after videos of him being bullied by other monkeys and rejected by his mother went viral last week. Punch, a Japanese macaque, was born in July last year at Ichikawa City Zoo. He has drawn international attention after zookeepers gave him a stuffed orangutan toy after he was abandoned by his mother. Without maternal guidance to help him integrate, Punch has turned to the toy for comfort. He has been filmed multiple times being dragged and chased by older Japanese macaques inside the enclosure. Early clips showed him wandering alone with
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday said he did not take his security for granted, after he was evacuated from his residence for several hours following a bomb threat sent to a Chinese dance group. Albanese was evacuated from his Canberra residence late on Tuesday following the threat, and returned a few hours later after nothing suspicious was found. The bomb scare was among several e-mails threatening Albanese sent to a representative of Shen Yun, a classical Chinese dance troupe banned in China that is due to perform in Australia this month, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. The e-mail
TENSIONS: The march went ahead without clashes, but arrests were still possible as police investigate suspects behind Nazi salutes, racist slurs and homophobic insults Thousands of people on Saturday marched in southeastern France under heavy security in tribute to a far-right activist whose killing, blamed on the hard left, has put the country on edge. The crowd — many wearing black and some covering their lower faces with masks — marched through the city of Lyon carrying flowers and placards bearing pictures of Quentin Deranque and the words: “justice for Quentin” and “the extreme left kills.” The 23-year-old died from head injuries following clashes between radical left and far-right supporters on the sidelines of a demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed
‘OCCUPATION’: Hong Kong said it had lodged ‘stern protests’ with Panama’s consulate, and would ‘staunchly support’ the rights and interests of Hong Kong companies Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Monday ordered the temporary occupation of two ports run by a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the firm’s concession, escalating a dispute that has become a proxy battle between the US and China in Latin America. Mulino said in a speech that the administration and operation of the two ports on the strategic Panama Canal is to revert to the country’s National Maritime Authority to ensure their uninterrupted, safe and efficient operation. The occupation covers movable equipment at the ports and does not mean a definitive loss of
RSS