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We were so lucky with the lovely weather on Saturday 12 September.

First, we treated ourselves to some coffee and cake with whipped cream on the cake – or, as some people did, whipped cream on their coffee.

Afterwards, everyone found a lovely spot around the Plaetse farm in Heeze or on the nearby Strabrechtse Heide. The heather was still in full bloom and everything was a shade of purple.

With a group of five painters, we walked towards the heath with our painting gear. ‘I’ll sit here,’ I said, and the rest of the group walked further into the heath. So I dropped everyone off and, as the very last one, quietly sat down on the heath myself.

I thoroughly enjoyed the peace and the beautiful purple view. There was a lot of interest from walkers, cyclists and runners. Everyone was surprised to see us sitting there drawing and painting on the heathland.

So, as well as producing a really lovely drawing, I had lots of nice chats with passers-by.

As far as I’m concerned, it was a very successful day and I wouldn’t hesitate to join in again next year.

There was a great deal of interest in this day trip to Het Depot in Wageningen; the coach was almost full! We started at Lievendaal with coffee and cakes, where Mies Berendse gave us some practical information about the day’s programme.

At Het Depot, and also outside in the beautiful Arboretum, there were various exhibitions featuring contemporary sculptures of torsos, as well as fragments of the human body.

There was such a wide variety on display, in terms of form, material, symbolism and size – and there was even a moving sculpture.

A surprising contrast to the often smoothly polished sculptures were the creations of Emile van der Kruk, who used a chainsaw to carve highly detailed works from wood.

In between, we were able to enjoy a delicious vegetarian lunch. It was certainly a successful and well-organised day. Well done to the organisers!

To see all 600 sculptures, you’ll have to go back again.

Anneke van Gemert