A hunter
VISITORS
The horse comes first
It's a tradition for breweries to receive visitors. Sometimes
our breweries have set up special departments for this
work, for instance in Heineken Holland and Heineken
France. Often these are very big organisations, as can be
seen from the fact that more than 30 part-time guides are
employed to show visitors round our Dutch companies. In
1983 they gave guided tours to some 136,000 visitors, of
whom 55,000 came from abroad. Last year a total of 12,000
people came along to take a look round the two Heineken
France breweries.
The others in the team
Marc Bindel, Heine ken France employee, with his enormous collection of beer
labels.
He was 15 when he first took
an interest in beer labels. At
that time he had a temporary
job in the department at the Mutzig
Brewery (France) checking the
returned empty bottles for
soundness. Many of the bottles that
passed through his hands bore
labels from other breweries.
Carefully, he soaked those labels
off, then dried them and put them in
a safe place. That was how it all
started. Now, some thirty years
later, Marc Bindel is a clerical
worker in the same Mutzig
Brewery, today called Heineken
France. His collection has grown
and grown. And, at around 190,000
beer labels, it's probably one of the
biggest collections of its kind in
Europe.
they're pleased to show me round
and it's very seldom that they won't
give me some of their own labels.
That's one method. There's another
way: getting in touch with other
collectors. By letter, at exhibitions
and in their homes. I can assure you
that I get quite a lot of collectors of
different nationalities on my own
doorstep', explains Marc.
When you see the tall stacks of
albums in his cupboards, you can
imagine how much time and money
must go into building up such a
gigantic collection. But beer labels
have no market value at all. Unlike
postage stamps, you can hardly ever
trade in items from your collection
for ready cash. And you can't buy
beer labels. The only way to get
them is through swapping with
other collectors.
The oldest label in
Marc Bindel's
collection. It dates
from 1895 and
comes from Munich
in Germany.
A romantic label
The West Samoa Brewery in the Samoa
Islands in the Pacific uses the poster
from the well-known James Bondfilm
'For your eyes only' as a label for its
Vailima beer.
Marc Bindel is still trying to add new
labels to his collection. But he no
longer soaks them off the returned
empties. Not does he send out
'begging letters' to virtually all the
breweries in the world. He spent 25
years doing that. Such requests
might have brought in some new
labels many years ago, but that
source has now dried up. Brewers
nowadays get so swamped under by
letters from collectors that they no
longer have time to reply. So, what
do you do if the collecting habit is in
your blood?
'When I'm on holiday I try to drop
in on all the breweries in the area
where I'm staying. Quite often
years of your leisure time gathering
together little scraps of paper which
have no cash value?' we asked.
Marc Bindel had no difficulty in
explaining what drives him.
'I get a kick out of looking at the
labels with their very unusual and
intriguing pictures. And then there's
the thrill of hunting for new ones.
Like the time when I spent two
years chasing after a label from
Guam. When I eventually got hold
of it I swapped it for two different
ones from Sao ToméThe success of
the hunter. That's certainly what
gives me most pleasure in my hobby.'
For years now he's been hunting for
labels from Cambodia. Labels from
that country are still missing from
his collection. Perhaps some of our
readers could help him get hold of
these? You'd be doing him a great
favour. But other out-of-the-
ordinary labels would be just as
welcomeThe address to write to is
Marc Bindel, Brasserie Heineken
France S.A., F-67190 MUTZIG
(France).
Not of this
H H Though not a dying profession, the coachman's job is
^B ^B I undoubtedly rare nowadays. Heineken still employs four
coachmen. All of them work in Amsterdam where
^B Heineken still keeps its brewery horses in beautiful,
^B old-fashioned stables. Two dray-carts and a mail coach
^B are pulled along by these animals at all sort of events
where they attract lots of admiring glances. And... ensure excellent publicity and create goodwill for our
brands. We went along for achat with one of the Heineken coachmen and also met his three colleagues.
Heineken coachmen at work in Amsterdam. From left to right: John van Boom, Wouter de la Haye, Henk Leuven and Martin van Ede.
How did I happen to become a
coachman? Well, I just sort of
drifted into it', says Wouter de
la Hayeaged 31who has worked with
our horses for some four years in all.
'When I was 121 used to help train
horses for trotting races. It's not so odd
that working with horses took my
fancy, as my grandfather was also a
coachman and my father was in the
mounted police. I left the job for a
of years because I thought that
other work would be more satifying.
But I came back again. Horses are a
sort of obsession you never can shake
off.'
Wouter can talk endlessly about these
superb animals and how they should be
handled. 'Of course, as a coachman
you have to show the animals who's
boss. You must never give in to horses.
They've got to do exactly what you
want them to do. If you let them have
their own way they'll make a fool of
you. They're intelligent enough to
know what they want. You need a
certain talent, a knack to handle
horsesBut even if you have that talent
you've still got a lot of things to learn
before you can make the grade as
coachman. It's a job you have to grow
into.'
Quietly, Wouter continues his tale. He
makes it clear that you have to be
willing to make certain sacrifices for
the animals. How you have to go along
and look in at night if one of the horses
is ill. How the horse should always take
precedence over the man. How you
have to treat them as if you owned
them, because that's the only way to
feel really responsible for their well-
being. And he goes on to explain why
he's so attracted by his work.
'The beauty of this work is that it's so
unpredictable. You never know what's
going to happen to a horse or what it's
going to do next. You're always driving
in a different place each time, out in the
open air, trying to make sure that the
Wouter de la Haye, Heineken coachman
in Amsterdam (Holland)
animals look as well-groomed and
handsome as possible.'
'They take a joy in life', says Wouter
with conviction. 'And they do things
specially for you, like following you
around the stables or nuzzling up
against your shoulder when you stand
next to them. You get very attached to
them. Which makes it hard when they
get towards the end of their life, and
even worse when they have to be put
down. It's a great comfort to know that
Heineken's elderly work-horses can
enjoy a long and carefree retirement in
the fields out at the Zoeterwoude
brewery.'
Wouter could spend days telling us
about his great passion. And then, out
of the blue, he says something which
gives an essential insight into why he is
a coachman. 'Working with horses
simply seems like something from
another planet, it's so fantastic. It's not
of this world.'
At 45 years old, Henk Leuven is
Wouter de la Haye's oldest colleague.
This year he'll have completed 25 years
as coachman. Why so long? Henk's
explanation comes easy: 'My work is
my hobby. Working together as a team
with the horses and carts at events just
happens to be my favourite pastime.'
John van Boom was brought up with
horse-talk all around him: both his
grandfather and his father were horse
traders. He has always loved these
animals. He tried to spurn his first love
and worked for years in the filter
cellars at Heineken. But now he's glad
to be back with the horses and his past
3V2 years have been spent working as
coachman in the stables.
Martin van Ede has worked with the
Heineken brewery horses for almost
twice that time. When he was six he was
given a pony and since then there's
been no holding him back. He started
handling the driving-reins when he was
twelve and now he's also a qualified
riding instructor. 'It's a great vocation
and one I wouldn't miss for the world'
he says emphatically.
The Heineken coachmen must be truly
happy people, as they're mad about
their work. What a pity there are only
so few horses still left within the
concern!
