monique van der hoek

🌱

[Philip Lymbery @philip_ciwf]

Devastating news is reaching us of yet another live export tragedy

Around 4,000 sheep and goats die after ship sinks near Oman
@theanimalreader
“Reports say the ship quickly filled with fire and smoke before capsizing and sinking. The sheep and goats were reportedly trapped below deck with no way to escape”
An unimaginable horror for over 4,000 sentient creatures
#BanLiveExports
@CIWF_Global

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🚨 NEW HARDLINE IRGC COMMANDER APPOINTED

Seems Iran is replacing leaders killed with more hardline ones, which is not good news for any regime change operation

Unconfirmed reports that Ahmad Vahidi will be the new commander of the Revolutionary Guard

This comes after the death of Major General Mohammad Pakpour

Iran has planned for this day, and has clear succession plans for all leaders

Vahidi joined the IRGC in 1979 and is significantly more hardline than his predecessor

[monique van der hoek @hoek_der]

@RebelSauvage Nee nee zeker niet

[Vuk Jeremić @jeremic_vuk]

There are moments in sport when the scoreboard becomes irrelevant, when what unfolds in front of us feels less like competition and more like history. Under the lights of Rod Laver Arena tonight, Novak Djokovic @DjokerNole stood across the net from time itself—and refused to step aside.

He didn’t win the historic 11th Australian Open title. And yet, what Novak produced felt even more improbable than just another record. At the age of 38, he played on equal terms with Carlos Alcaraz @carlosalcaraz, the best player in the world today—a player who was just ONE year old when Novak played his first Australian Open.

Let that sink in.

This wasn’t a symbolic appearance or a nostalgic echo of former greatness. This was Novak Djokovic competing, suffering, adapting, and believing at the highest possible level—against youth, speed, and the new era embodied in Alcaraz. Nobody in tennis has ever managed anything remotely close to this. Not across eras. Not across generations. Not with this level of relevance.

What we saw in Australia was courage in its purest form. The courage to step onto the biggest stage knowing that time, physics, and history are stacked against you—and conquering it anyway.

Novak’s greatness has never been only about his innumerable titles—it is about his character. About standing alone. About enduring doubt, pressure, and expectation, and still showing up with the same fire.

That is why he belongs in the company of figures larger than sport itself. Like Muhammad Ali, he carried conviction and fought battles far beyond the scoreboard. And he will continue doing so.

Novak Djokovic didn’t lose in Melbourne tonight. He showed us what timeless greatness looks like.

[monique van der hoek @hoek_der]

Djokooooooo! #DjokovicSinner

[Zeno @LukaIbacosec]

Dit is echt knettergek volk

[Luc Stultiens @LucStultiens]

Yeşilgöz pleit bij het verkiezingsdebat voor een factcheck, dus hierbij:

Bij GroenLinks-PvdA gaan de belastingen voor mensen thuis omlaag met €4,3 miljard.

Bij de VVD gaan ze omhoog met €3,0 miljard.

#EenVandaag

[Wolven in Utrecht @WolveninUtrecht]

Of de wolf loopt je verdienmodel in de weg of de wolf is je verdienmodel. De ene rug wast de andere.

Het gaat niet om onderzoek, wolven, veiligheid, bescherming of edele motieven. Het gaat alleen om geld.

Laat de wolven met rust.

https://t.co/oTuHjjwf2B

[monique van der hoek @hoek_der]

@RickRoeper Maar die zit dan toch liever bij VI waar het uiteraard niet over de inhoud gaat .

[monique van der hoek @hoek_der]

Fatsoenlijk rechts toch niet zo fatsoenlijk met verschil tussen verkiezingsprogramma en wat je vervolgens laat doorberekenen door CPB? #nieuwsuur

[Partij voor de Dieren @PartijvdDieren]

Hartverscheurend 💔💔💔

Hier, bij dit varkensslachthuis in Boxtel, worden tot wel 20.000 varkens per dag gedood.

Wie ooit in de ogen van een dier heeft gekeken, weet: ze voelen, ze begrijpen, ze willen leven.

[monique van der hoek @hoek_der]

Geweldige opkomst! Elke dag dierendag. #PvdD #wakkerdier #dierendagdemo

[Cian McCarthy @arealmofwonder]

Rest in peace, Patricia Routledge 🙏🏻

In memory of her, I encourage everyone to read these words of hers from February last year.

Whether young or old, you're bound to get something out of it.

*****

"I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.

My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.

At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.

At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.

At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.

At 80, I took up watercolour painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.

Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.

I’m writing this to tell you something simple:

Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.

Let these years ahead be your TREASURE YEARS.

You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.

You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.

With love and gentleness,

Patricia Routledge

*****

Once more, rest in peace. 🤍

[De Faunabescherming @faunabeschermin]

Maar 1% van de ontlasting van de wolf bevat resten van landbouwhuisdieren . Prooidieren voornamelijk ree, edelhert en wild zwijn. Actiebeelden van @PostEgbert 🐺💩
Het is een hoax dat wolven elkaar leren springen over ‘wolfwerende hekken’.

[Karen Soeters @KarenSoeters]

"Moederkoe strijdvaardig en vastberaden op zoek naar gestolen kalf"
Dat is een veel betere titel voor dit trieste verhaal!
https://t.co/30ok4LnrlB

[Anticommie @QueenAnticommie]

Babies first day 🤣🤣🤣

[RM 🇮🇷 @ferrykoelman]

Ik laat dit hier.
Kijk maar wat je er mee doet.

[Tour de France™ @LeTour]

💛 RT & follow for the chance to win a 🇮🇪Ben Healy signed Yellow Jersey with @SANTINI_SMS

💛 RT & follow pour tenter de gagner un Maillot Jaune dédicacé par 🇮🇪Ben Healy avec @SANTINI_SMS

#TDF2025 | @MaillotjauneLCL

[Peter Hoogmoed @PeterHoogmoed]

Follow The Money - Minister van Landbouw Femke Wiersma (BBB) misbruikt haar bevoegdheden.

Dat oordeelde de rechtbank in Zwolle vandaag. Het handelen van Wiersma kan volgens de rechter ‘niet anders worden begrepen dan [...] een actie om te vertragen’.
https://t.co/64gy7UjQHQ

[Maarten Hopman @maartenhopman94]

14 jonge meisjes die vluchten voor extreem geweld, verwelkomen met extreem geweld. Nederland anno 2025.