In mid-September, recordings were made at Moscowa Cemetery & Crematorium for Ode aan onze Doden (Ode to the Dead), a television series by the Gelderland Broadcasting Company. The series relates the stories of well-known and less well-known people who are buried or cremated at Moscowa Cemetery & Crematorium.
Unusual tombs were filmed accompanied by accounts from family members. For instance, at the grave of one ‘Ome Joop’ (Uncle Joop), his son tells a story about his cycling tours. ‘Uncle’ Joop Legerstee held the first event just after WWII, specially for children who had been left with nothing. Uncle Joop’s Tour was organized for the 60th time this year.
At the graveside of his father Antoon van Hoof, Alex van Hoof relates the story of Burgers’ Zoo (a zoo in the Netherlands). A true family business, Antoon van Hoof succeeded his father in 1958 as the zoo’s director. He wanted to recreate the animal world on a small scale and developed natural landscapes in which different species lived together. In 1968, Europe’s first safari park was opened at Burgers’ Zoo. Antoon also featured as presenter of the Dutch TV programme Ja, natuurlijk.
Ode aan onze Doden is due to be aired on 26 October.

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