Wolvega Assen and Emmen

Booksigning in Wolvega, Assen and Emmen on Thursday January 22, 2009 by Vera

Thursday January 22, 2009… D-day for me… I was gonna see Derek zien in Wolvega, Assen en Emmen…

The day started at 5:30, get out of bed… get all my stuff together, bring Nikita to my parents and go to the station… the train left at 6:19…

Surprisingly the first part of the journey was without delays, so exactly on the scheduled time I arrived in Wolvega, at 8:24… I walked to the bookstore, where I arrived only 5 – 6 minutes later…

I had to wait outside till 9:00 ‘cause they only opened at 9:00… man that was cold!!! The people in the store were very nice and friendly and wanted to know all about previous signingsessions…

Before Derek arrived, the local tv-station was also in the store, with a camera and they asked me some questions too… (woohoo! 1 minute of fame!!) you can find a link to the article and a movie on www.stellingwerf.nl… I am the girl with long, darkbrown hairs, black jacket with red and white striping… Derek arrived around 10:15… first he gave everyone chocolate and peppermints (how nice a breakfast haha!) and when he was done the signing started… I had number 1, so I could go first, which was really nice, because I had to catch a train to Assen…

In Wolvega Derek signed my laptop:

It snowed and rained a bit when I was walking to the station, but fortunately it was only a short walk…The train to Meppel (where I had to change trains) was very nice on time, but in Meppel the troubles started… de train from Meppel to Assen was 10 minutes late, according to the information… bummer… but it can happen… anyway… 10 minutes isn’t that bad.. but after 10 minutes I saw a lot of things, but no train to Assen… in the end the train was 20 minutes late…

The bookstore in Assen was also very close to the station… and a very nice lady let me walk with her, because she had to walk passed it anyway… The city of Assen looks very nice to me, so I will probably visit it sometime when Derek isn’t there to sign books too… J When I arrived in the store, I got number 1 and 2, for me and my friend Alette… I took a quick walk to see some shops and after 10 minutes I was back… still no other people who came to see Derek…

Derek arrived around 14:15 and, just like he did in Wolvega, he gave all of us chocolate and peppermints… and after that he started signing… Alette went first and I went 2nd…
Derek told me he was happy it was only 40 minutes to the next shop… and before I knew it, I said “For you it is only 40 minutes… it will take me 2 hours by train…” he looked really surprised and when I walked away, he said “See you in Emmen!!” and after that, a bit laughing “Enjoy your trainjourney!!!”

In Assen Derek signed the book Mathilde gave me:

Derek also arrived at the store by car that time… thank god for the baseballcap which covered my face… Derek must have thought “Man, who’s jumping like an idiot there..” haha!!

At the station in Assen the real problems with the trains started… the train to Zwolle (where I had to change trains) was to depart at 15:00, so when I saw a train at the right platform at that time, I jumped… right on time, because the doors closed immediately and the train left… only it didn’t go to Zwolle, but to Groningen… so I went back home for a bit… I had to wait 45 minutes to catch a train back to Zwolle, so I was gonna be late for at least 1 hour… ah well… my own fault… pay more attention next time… haha!!!

The train from Zwolle to Emmen left right on time, but unfortunately after 1 station the troubles started again… we had to wait because a cargo-train was right in front of us… we had to wait till it was a bit further away… 5 minutes later we were going again… finally… going to Emmen without further delay… WRONG!!! The next station we had to wait again… and the station after that we had to wait like 10 minutes… the train back to Zwolle was to cross our route… normally the trains cross around Nieuw Amsterdam, but because of our delay, the train had already left Nieuw Amsterdam, so we had to wait in Coevorden… aaahhh!!! Stress!!!!

Thank god, from Coevorden to Emmen no problems or other cargo-trains… and a very nice woman in the train gave me a ride in her car to the bookstore (only 3 minutes).. Sandra and Ria were waiting outside the store… and believe me… yelling, shouting, etc. about train scan be a really nice relief…. haha!!!

Inside the store, I got a very high number… ships… if I was gonna wait for my number, I was leaving the store way too late to catch a train back home from Groningen… I started panicing a bit… let me think… what could I do now… Finally the guy who accompanied Derek the whole day told me that I could ask Derek to take a quick picture before the signing, when I told him the story, so I went to the stairs where Derek had to come off when he was done taking off his jacket… when he got off the stairs, another woman also asked for a picture… he did it, so when she was done I also asked for a pic… and Derek said yes… thank god, I didn’t have to wait for my number.. and I didn’t have to sleep on a station because of missing the last train home… Thanks Derek… you’re the best!!! (Emmen to Groningen is about 2 hours and from Groningen I must take another train to get home… 40 minutes…)

Derek looked at me very surprised, when I told him the story about the 90 minutes delay… but in the store I didn’t tell him that part of it was my own fault… Derek gave me a big hug, which really made me feel better… I already travelled 6 hours and I was facing another 3 hours to get home… Derek said to me “You look tired like me… you should go home now and get some rest…”
Awww… the sweetheart!!!

I talked to Sandra, Ria and VeraR + son and then rushed to the trains…

Derek also climbed on the table, to take some pics of people waiting for a pic and and a sign in the book.

The travel back home was without problems… (wow! It’s amazing!) and I arrived in Uithuizermeeden at 22:07.

Statistics of the day:
Total time in the trains: 9 hours and 15 minutes
Duration of the day: 6:19 – 22:07
Feeling it all gave me: words are not enough

<< Back

• Live chat with Derek

  On Friday January 30, 2009 we held the first live chat with Derek Ogilvie exclusively for our supporters. To watch the chatlog (part of it is in Dutch) and see the photos, click here or on the image below, the page opens in a new window.

  

• Photos

  There are hundreds of photos on this website that are made during events such as theatre shows and booksignings of Derek Ogilvie. Do you have photos that are not in one of the galeries yet? They are always welcome! Click on the image below to visit the photo page.
  
  

• F.A.Q.

  Do you have a question or suggestion for us? You can contact us by clicking on the contact page on this website. Before you do, please read the frequently asked questions first. You can do so by clicking on the image below.

•