The Farne Dutchman

Once in a while you meet someone with an amazing presence and a face to match. This happened 2 days ago in Lindisfarne. I met a remarkable man with a stunning face, bright blue eyes, handsome, but wrinkled with life’s adventures and tanned from working outdoors. He is a Dutchman who spent his days in the Royal Netherlands Navy and as a Merchant seaman. Jacob speaks dutch, portugese, spanish, english and ‘old dutch’ or afrikaans. He told me Lindisfarne was the one place in the world where he has lived in a house for the longest time. His face reminds me of Samuel Beckett’s. I wish I’d had more time to chat over a pint with Jacob, one of life’s characters.