On 14 October, the king visited Overschild and Steendam: villages that are both affected by earthquakes as a result of natural gas extraction in the province of Groningen. He started his visit to the dairy farm in Overschild owned by the Van der Geest family.
‘Interest is beautiful’
“I was honored that the king came by that day. You only experience something like this once in your life. I also thought it was great that he was interested in us,” says Etus.
And that visit made an impression on the king. “I’m just a sober Groninger, but I think it’s nice that he’s thinking about it again. I didn’t know what I heard.”
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Etus runs the farm together with his wife Rianne. Their three sons also sometimes lend a hand. The visit feels long ago for Etus, but he remembers one thing well. Namely: how well the king could get along with his children. “He had a lot of fun with our sons. That was special to see.”
His children and wife were also impressed by the visit. “It was really a surprise for them. I knew it two weeks in advance, but had to keep it quiet. They thought it was incredible.”
Christmas speech king
In the Christmas speech the king mentions the peasant family in a series of stories in which worries and tensions are central. “Can one of the children still take over the company, with all the misery of leaking manure pits and other earthquake damage?” he asked.
Etus’ answer to that is: “If it stays as it is now, I’ll tell my boys ‘please find something else’. But if the buildings are reinforced, I hope they want to become farmers.”
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In addition to the dairy farm, the king also paid attention to stories of pride and ambition. He mentioned, among other things, a manufacturer of fully electric buses from Deurne and students from TU Delft who are working on projects to combat climate change.
‘It’s really nice to be called that’
“We were very happy that the king came by,” says an employee of the company in Deurne. “He was very enthusiastic and interested in aviation and sustainability, which is what he stands for. It’s really nice to be named now.”
And in Delft there is also an enthusiastic response to the mention in the speech. “It is very nice to be called that. We are very ambitious in the field of the energy transition,” says a spokesperson for TU Delft.
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