The Dutch word for dog is hond. The Dutch word for seal – the sort found at the ocean- is zee-hond – dog of the sea. Was walking with a friend on the pier that juts into the waterway that opens onto the sea. We had had tea in the sun and were returning, on our way back home. As we moved forward, a man was walking toward us along the edge of the pier with a fishing rod held low in his right hand; trolling for fish. Inconspicuously he had a fishing net in his left hand, the hand closest to us as we passed. Suddenly my friend began to laugh, She said she thought the man was walking a dog, but at the same nano-second said she knew that could not be as he was dragging ‘the leash’ where the water was beside the pier. Then, in a fit or more laughter she continued, making a play on words, “He must have a zeehond”.
Perhaps this is one of those moments you had to be there.