Sister Diny's Rabbit LOVED my Saddlebag from The Bridge Italy

After having been to the Congress in Hong Kong, we continued traveling to Australia for another Congress in Sydney.

Next we flew to Melbourne for a weekend at the Grand Hyatt, using our points.
On Saturday, September 4, 1993 we went to an Italian shop, run by an Italian so I was happy being able to chat with her. In the window we'd already eyed a beautiful tan Saddlebag from The Bridge, Italy.

Now I became its happy owner!

Loved the lock and the stitching around the cording.

So did my sister Diny's pet-rabbit, as it managed to chew a hole in it, while we were visiting her on September 18, 1994... 🐇

Screenshot from video taken at the Gardens of the Alhambra in Spain, with the saddlebag.

We had visited Diny prior to that vacation by bus via France, into Spain and Portugal.

April 20, 1997 at The Spa at Norwich Inn in Connecticut where we stayed at one of their villas during our consulting work.
Wearing my saddlebag (left in picture).

The Spa at Norwich Inn where we stayed in a Villa... click it

From there, we also drove to Logee's for some unique plants

No, I have NO pictures of that favorite bag before the rabbit took a BITE... 🐇

Yep, the Rabbit took a bite right on the leather piping... 🐇

The Bridge Pellettieri in Firenze, Italy

For 1993 pricing Australian $ 119.00

But what to do about the HOLE?

Found THIS: LeatherNu and ordered it... just click link

Well, I have had it for almost 2 years sitting here before using it 'ONE DAY'

Finally I DID!

Starting out with the Leather Repair Compound...

On New Year's Day, I had filled in the RABBIT HOLE for the first time and let it cure... 🐇

On January 6, the RABBIT HOLE looking like this... 🐇

Hitting BINGO with the matching color brown already inside this package and applying a few coats of leather dye.

Got these sponges to apply the dye from the tiny bottle...

Next a few coats with the Clear Leather Sealer...

Result was GOOD! 

And this, after all those years...

Wore my Saddlebag to Church on my Angel Sister's 70th Birthday and feeling happy with it.

Poor Rabbit is long over the Rainbow Bridge... 🐇
It matches well with my Escada jeans and coat.

But I still LOVE my Saddlebag from The Bridge with quite a story attached to it, adventures covering three continents!

Being made in Italy, sold in Australia, taken home to the U.S.A., being bitten in The Netherlands and finally restored in the U.S.A.

Matching also nicely my suede/leather boots from Italy, purchased in 1989 when we lived and worked there. 

Related links:
Our Weekend at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne Regency Club | previous post by me
From Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia | previous post by me

1948 Gevaphone Record with Young Pieter J.C. Vedder Playing his Accordion for his Marine Brother

At the local café in Groessen, The Netherlands, Mr. Holland, also coalman and grocer, had set up a make-shift studio.

 That make-shift studio came from Apeldoorn, a bigger city in the Province of Gelderland.

GELUIDSTECHNISCH BUREAU - SOUND TECHNICAL BUREAU

JAC van Wijk, APELDOORN

Once again: Grateful to NIMH The Netherlands for extracting its contents! See for more info link below from first post at bottom where I explain about donating these records to the Dutch Institute for Military History

Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie

Ministerie van Defensie

Photo is from a couple of years earlier where Pieter played on his Hohner.

This recording he did with his beloved Soberano.

Husband Pieter playing on his accordion two songs for his Marine brother serving in Indonesia...

Aan de over van de Beuly in Dutch

On the banks of the Breuly

Between Ooy and Zevenaar

A frog sat loudly crying

With his hands in his hair

Dear little one, the mother spoke

See yonder that stork

't Is the murderer of you father

He ate him with skin and hair

Dammit, spoke the little

Did the tall one do that

When later I'm big and strong

I'll sure beat him up

The little one grew up

Again he saw that stork

And you won't believe it

He ate him with skin and hair

On the banks of the Breuly

Between Ooy and Zevenaar

A frog sat crying loudly

With his hands in his hair

Cheerio Holland

 I sing you a song full of sway and pleasure 

Of Holland, proud but small 

The land of the dunes, the forests and sea 

Where all those mills are 

From the flower bulb fields, the butter and cheese 

Foremost of Dutch generosity 

Where, that they are free again 

And again be so welcoming 

There I prefer to be of all 

refrain: 

Cheerio! Cheerio! In Holland there they sing like this 

Away with the worries and away with the sadness 

We will get there, even though we are not there yet 

Because the boys of Tromp and Piet Hein 

They will not get them down 

We had the moth in it for five years 

But now things are turning 

And Dutch we want to be 

The Dutch engineers are known 

They make this country great 

They dig channels and dampen the sea 

Exactly if it is just a ditch 

And it is again so beautiful in the forest or the heath 

The Betuwe and in the Gooi 

And the girls, blast it 

That is Holland's glory 

With that Holland is so beautiful 

refrain 

That country is known for its Deventer Cake 

Oysters from Zierikzee 

Pipes from Gouda, its Peace Palace 

And by its Heroes of the Sea 

Because of its great civility, Moerdijk (technoport), K.L.M (Royal Dutch Airlines) 

The folklore of Volendam 

And Dutch prosperity 

The good old gin 

That wonderful drink from Schiedam 

refrain 

On June 17, 1949 Pieter's Parents had their 25th Wedding Anniversary but the two boys were not yet home...

After numerous letters and this very unique Gevaphone greeting, the brothers finally got home after the 25th wedding anniversary in 1949... 
Toon (Anthony) departed from Indonesia on September 3, on the Vessel Kota Inten.

Toon was in the possession of some personal items from one of his comrades that did NOT make it back out alive. He was not able to deliver them to the young Marine's Parents though but requested Pieter to do it for him...
So Pieter went to the place of Elst, as he recalls, amidst the many fruit trees in that area. He remembers vividly the emotions that came with that. 
Of course, they invited him inside and asked several questions to which Pieter only could reply, sorry I cannot give you any more information as I was not there...
He never will forget the very emotional impact it had on his young life!

While the two older brothers served, Pieter was summoned to serve. 
One of the City Council Members advised Pieter's Dad to request dispensation as he already had two of his older sons serving at war and he needed a hand for his greenhouses as he himself had severe back problems.
So Pieter drove with his Dad, in their Volkswagen Beetle to Arnhem, the capital of their Province of Gelderland, to see Dr. Hoefnagels a famous specialist for back problems at the Arnhem Hospital.
Somewhat timidly Pieter's Dad stepped in at the doctor's office who asked him in some surly and authoritarian way, 'what are the problems?!'
Pieter's Dad shyly replied: 'My back' to which the doctor snarled: 'What back, where back?!'
To which Pieter's Dad said: 'If YOU don't know where the back is, I'm at the wrong place here.' 
Pieter's Dad turned around and Pieter can still hear his voice saying: 'You just go and serve, I don't need this!'
All in all, Pieter was rather proud of him, regardless the result of this visit.

And thus, husband Pieter had to serve!

 He proudly did!

Related links:
72 Years Later... Gevaphone Spoken Letters to Marine Brother Employed Overseas | previous post
1948 Gevaphone Record with Young Pieter Playing his Accordion for Brother in Uniform | previous post
72 Years Later... Gevaphone Spoken Letters to Military Brother Employed Overseas | previous post

72 Years Later... Gevaphone Spoken Letters to Marine Brother Employed Overseas

Pieter's Mom and Pieter himself went again to the special studio for a spoken letter to Marine Brother Toon

Marine Antonius (Toon) P.M. Vedder
The second son  had to go overseas in 1947 to Dutch Indonesia, for the Indonesian National Revolution. He'd joined the Marine on March 5, 1947 and after some special training they left for Indonesia.
On July 30, 1947 he left on the old 'Volendam', from Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Once again: Grateful to NIMH The Netherlands for extracting its contents! See for more info link below from first post at bottom where I explain about donating these records to the Dutch Institute for Military History 

Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie

Ministerie van Defensie

Pieter still being only child at home and this was with Easter, on March 28, 1948, a goose egg being boiled and  painted.

Pieter on the left, his Mom and his Dad.

This is my hand, holding the thin paper envelope around this Gevaphone record mailed out to Marine Antonius Vedder...

The Gevaphone record with spoken letter by Pieter's Mom and by Pieter himself, written down in Dutch.
Again it turned out to be 'speed-speech' for trying to say as much as possible in 1.5 minute!
Thanks to the help of Gillis Video we could hear it in slow motion for capturing the words!

Translated into English above:

Mother: And now I'm going to talk to you, it's not going to be that smooth yet, but I'll do my best.

First, Toon, everything is still going well with us. What are you saying? Are you as healthy as chicken? Yes you looked like you used to look like you were with us and now, according to the picture, I can't say you've changed a lot.

And now that you’ve become assistent cook now your tummy will grow in size. 

Because the proverb says who's closest to the fire warms himself best.

Has everything been repaired again that they don't need so many technicians and bench mechanics anymore?

Then you're ahead of us here in Holland.

And now I first want to move to our own surroundings.

We slowly are moving into summer.

Now I'm glad we've had the winter behind us because sitting in the cold isn't always fun either.

If only we had a bit of the cold here (she means warmth!) from you!

We live in the country for heat you can say, so every human has something.

East West, it's not that good at home.

To stay in Groessen, we are gradually sowing and planting again.

In the greenhouses, the lettuce and cauliflower are fine and the plants under the flat-glass also.

Finally, Toon,  thank the nuns on behalf of your parents for all the fun time you have spent there.

And now I end up with a firm handshake from your Father and your Mother and Piet will fill the rest of the record.

the plants under the flat glass... like in this photo showing flat glass gardeners click it

~

Yes, that is to say the voice of mine.

I'm talking to the microphone here for a minute and a half, but that's not that easy.

Oh, dude, you should have seen and heard those preparations! You'd have roared with laughter. 

You’ve lost your mind says one, you can't put that in, who knows who's going to be there when they play that record.

You know what you're doing, said another, you can just write everything you said to Theet, you'll change a few things. 

Yes, that's all well, but if they ever will switch it, you'll end up looking stupid.

We're all fine, you've heard that.

And a lot more, I don't have a towel for you either.

If you start picking on someone, you'll say exactly as Willem Kruis: 'You don't get any supper tonight.'

But then Thé, who writes that they're not so generous with the food. I told him see to it that you're pretty much back home again with Henk Lubbers, by then we'll make sure we have fattened a pig.

We are now also in the big fasting (Lent)!

But now no nonsense. I'll take the accordion and play a tune.

For Theet I played the Blue Danube but for you I have to turn down a few others because you're not that classic and then you can always trade it.

Well there it goes with the best greetings of your brother Piet Vedder.

Genbat is genie bataljon or genius battallion...

Pieter still only child, with his Mom to the left and Dad to the right, while his older brothers were at war for almost 2.5 and 3 years...

Pieter's Mom enjoying her cup of tea while reading one of her son's letters from Indonesia...

Pieter's Mom, penning letters to her two eldest sons at war...
Difficult times but they made it back home safe!

Listen to Pieter's Mom (side A) and Pieter talk (side B) to Toon... All merged together.
De Indië-Gangers 1945-1950
The Indonesia-Goers 1945-1950

A book with compilation of stories by e.g. A.P.M. Vedder about his Marine period.
He proudly shows his received copy on December 9, 2003.
Pictures from his eldest daughter Myriam, Pieter's Goddaughter.
Toon died almost 3 years later but he leaves quite a legacy behind for his descendants...

Next post is about Pieter playing his accordion for his Marine Brother.

Related links:
1948 Gevaphone Record with Young Pieter Playing his Accordion for Brother in Uniform | previous post
72 Years Later... Gevaphone Spoken Letters to Military Brother Employed Overseas | previous post