Following our discussion of the mystery of the message in Dutch, I took the bold step of writing directly to our correspondent, Dr. Hans van de Sande. He promptly provided a cordial reply which, with his permission, I'm sending on to the list.
As I had guessed, he is a member of TIPS, and this message was sent out by accident to us, but as he notes, he doesn't know how it happened. I did assure him that he should not feel "severely reprimanded", as his e- mail caused us only a little amusement and curiosity, certainly not concern. He also asked me to extend his good wishes for a merry Christmas and happy new year to all TIPsters. In return, I'd like to welcome him to TIPS, his joining helping to make this a truly international list. (It's not that I don't love Americans, it's just that there are so many of you). Stephen ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:36:24 +0100 From: hans van de sande <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: excuses for a misdirected merry christmas and happy 2009 Dear Stephen, Though feeling rather severely reprimanded, neverthelees I am also a bit proud in having finally reached you all. Several times, while reading the very interesting TIPS mail, I felt moved towards doing my bit, but invariably the mail was refused or something else backfired. And now, unwittingly, I finally succeeded. The mail which so unfortunatedly disturbed the peace of my fellow tipsters was intended for private use, it being my custom to send christmas greetings to friends and relations in the form of a poetic recipe, this time for a puree of potatoes and celery. How on earth you all landed on my personal list of mail addresses I must find out, but be assured that I regret having so carelessly violated the customs of my fellow professors of psychology. In your commentary you tried to solve the enigma of the message. If wanted, I could try to make a poem-recipe in English, but a rough and quick translation is: Recipe for a mash of two tubers ( and definitely not "two squeezed"). In these crisis ridden times everyone is up to his ears in the mash (Dutch expression for being in dire straits) If this mash would taste well it would be a bit of a consolation. Therefore this recipe: steal a celeriac and potatoes, being to destitute to buy them. Bring them in the brand new kitchen that you installed before the crash, peel and boil with salt. Then add mascarpone and old grated cheese, and among the remains of your whealth you may find some truffle oil which you also may add. Then mash, eat and you will then welcome even more financial disasters. As the above does not rhyme and only the main message is given, it loses in the translation, of course. Your wife is a wonder, she did a neat translation, only the word "portee" was meant to mean: meaning instead of range, which last indeed is the common meaning, if you still follow me. In the hope that this mishap will open up the road towards my contributing more to the TIPS list, and making use of this occasion to wish you and all yours a very merry Christmas and new year, I remain yours truly Hans van de Sande ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
-
Description: Binary data
-
Description: Binary data
