This was the key takeaway from the fun packed Tripartite in Holland over the weekend from 29th May to 1st June 2025. There were 14 members/partners from our club, 28 from the RC Iserlohn in Germany and 38 from the host club, RC Voorschoten-Leidschendam in Holland. It was great to meet old friends at our traditional annual Tripartite tha goes back more than 60 years.
This year our club members all travelled to the event by car taking the shuttle or the ferry from Harwich! For the golfers amongst us Friday started with a tournament at a local club. Great competition ensued, marred only when everyone looked in disbelief as our President Elect, Paul Smith’s golf buggy and new golf bag disappeared into a pond before the start – he was not responsible for the disaster, but he had to play with borrowed gear. He (almost!) saw the funny side when his golf clubs and bag had all been cleaned up and returned to him before he left the club. Non-golfers had a relaxing day walking in the Wassenaar parks and forest and seeing the outside of the Dutch Royal Family’s Palace. In the evening there was a cocktail party in the Van de Valk Hotel and then we were whisked off to the traditional house parties at the homes of our hosts. This is always a great time for small groups to enjoy together some food and drink, fellowship, catching up with what’s going on in each club and to put the world to rights.
The next day we were up early to be taken after breakfast by coach to the Voorlinden Gardens and Museum where we spent the morning discovering fascinating works of art in silence – you must remove your shoes! We had the gallery to ourselves for an hour. Our hosts issued us with brightly coloured socks so we could pad around in silence to get a better understanding of the exhibits. After the gallery, host club member Bert Griffioen, gave a fascinating tour of the gardens explaining their layout, which had been created by the world-famous Dutch landscape architect Piet Oudorf. Burt’s knowledge of perennial plants was astonishing; throughout his horticultural career he was responsible for the creation of new strains of perennials, some of which he named after his wife Marianne and their two children. He takes delight in his family’s names being reflected in plant names in literature and in conversation.
Lunch was in the restored Manor House at Voorlinden after which we were taken by coach to the historic city of Leiden for an open boat trip along the canals, past windmills and homes, under bridges and out into the waterways of the countryside – the weather was perfect and boat lovers in particular were in their element. Late afternoon we returned to freshen up in time for the evening meal at the restaurant on the beach.
There was a great barbeque, drinks, ice-creams on the sand and dancing to a local band led by a former fellow Dutch Rotarian, who was both very good and great fun. The evening finished with speeches, a couple of renderings of the Rotary Song (a catchy number we have sung before) and of course Auld Lang Syne. At around 10.30pm, after witnessing a romantic sunset over the water, - the North Sea looks much better than from our side - we were coached back and those staying at the hotel had drinks and chatted until late.
On the last day it was the farewell brunch and closing speeches in the hotel and then we headed for home. Thanks to Dutch President Hennie Homan and the clubs Tripartite Team of Henk de Bakker, Bert Griffioen, Marc van Dijk, Monique Vreeburg and Ruud Smitshuysen for laying on such an enjoyable and well organised event. Speaking to Hennie after, I thanked him but he said, “Hey, we did it together” – a great takeaway for all attendees at the Tripartite.
The pressure is now on us to organise the next Tripartite between 15th and 17th May 2026.
Clive Page