Windmills re-visited - well, this is Holland!

On Zaterdag we went for a walk to Dordrecht's remaining windmill - about five minutes away. Where once there were many, now there is one.

Built in the1740s - a stellar period for these monsters - it has been restored by enthusiasts and now runs as a part-time flour mill and shop.

For four euro, we were able to climb to the very top. It is bloody high, with steep stairs - and when I say steep stairs in the Netherlands, you should imagine a narrow, rickety ladder. In fact, we were advised to go down facing the 'stairs' - ship like. We took that advice.

This mill takes local organic grain and stone mills it to wholemeal flour. They bang out about 200kg per hour when the wind is blowing. In an earlier blog, I described these mechanical monsters as pumps, but that is only one application. They are engines.

This beautiful mill is enjoying a long restoration. The old guys doing it were very happy to show us around - it was one of those unexpected delights.We didn't even know they were in the (upper) bowels of the machine till we popped up through ladder six or so and there they were, hunched up and smiling and doing stuff.

The kids made flour on a mini-mill with one of them - it required a fair bit of arm work and we could see why someone would want to dream up a. way of having wind do the work while they drank genever. A similar thought occurred to the English, who used water power. Then followed the industrial revolution.

I climbed to the very top, where the effort of the sails is turned into downward rotation through an oak transmission. I learnt that the wood-to-wood moving parts are lubricated with bees wax and the wood-to-stone bearings (yes!) are lubricated with the belly fat of pigs. The dried bellies of four fat pigs hung from the rafters to underline this lesson. Yet again, I was glad not to be a pig.

I came away from the mill with slight vertigo and a substantial appreciation for the enthusiastic part-timers making these things possible. You've gotta love the eccentrics world-wide who keep things going, keep knowledge alive and share it with passion and humour. Well, I do. The kids left with an understanding of flour milling and for Cait, a bruise where she walked into the mill winch, while admiring the view. And Syl left looking for coffee.

Onto the markets in the Statenplein!