A text by Andrea de Kruijf

In the night of All Hallows I organised a commemoration for windmill The Otter in
Amsterdam. During this commemoration we sang a song and offered roses.
This was the In Memoriam speech I read.

Dear mill, dear Otter.
Unfortunately your soul has past away.
Your body is still here, decaying.
I want to look back on your life.
You, sawmill The Otter, were here in 1631.
There were lots of other mills standing beside you.
You were standing on the west-side of the city.
There was lots of wind. There was a good water transport system.
It was a good life.
In 1816 a lot of harbours were removed.
They built a neighbourhood around you.
So in 1931, at the age of 300 you were suddenly the only windmill left.
You were the only survivor.
In 1996 the situation changed.
High buildings were planned to be build around you,
there would be not enough wind for you.
That’s when people started fighting about you.
People tried to stop the building. Then people tried to move you somewhere else.
Then other people tried to keep you here.
So in 2006 you were still here. But the wind has left you.
So your blades could hardly move. Your blades are in the mourning position.
In 2017 some people tried to awake you, to repair you.
But the other people won.
You will stay here forever, without being alive.