Songwriter Frans Westenbrink from Ruinen died on July 27. This 80-year-old Drent is known as a trade union leader of FNV, but is making an even bigger name for himself as a songwriter. In his spare time he likes to go out on the heath in Ruinen as a sheep herder.
When he lives in Eindhoven for work, he focuses on writing Drenthe-language songs. Ab Drijver, Janke Bulthuis, Tiny Klomp, Jans Polling, Trijntje van der Scheer, Andre Damming and Lianne Abeln, among others, rely on Westenbrink’s texts. Write and read notes? He didn’t want to know anything about that. “The melody does sing in my head,” he said.
Karel Eggen, former municipal councilor and team manager of the Dutch volleyball women, passed away on August 13. The resident of Borger died suddenly in his sleep at the age of 69, in a hotel in Germany. Eggen has been active as team manager of the national volleyball team since 2021. The volleyball association describes him as ‘jack of all trades’.
He moves from Borger to Emmen for his work as a physical education teacher. Eggen has been a councilor on behalf of D66 in the municipality of Emmen for twelve years. He will leave there in 2022 to move back to Borger after his retirement.
On August 24, conductor Tjakko Oosting from 2nd Exloërmond died at the age of 90. Oosting conducts choirs and orchestras in Groningen and Drenthe. He has been active for the longest time for the Christian music association De Harmonie in 2e Exloërmond, the place where the conductor was born and where he has lived almost all his life. Oosting died in the De PrinsHoeve care center in Musselkanaal.
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