Stunt takes the biscuit as white powder is found to be flour

Envelopes containing white powder which caused chaos at several town halls all over the Netherlands has turned out to be a promotional thank-you note with some flour and a biscuit recipe sent by a hotel.

Police evacuated the premises at the town hall in Tynaarlo in Drenthe following a warning about a “powder letter” from colleagues at a town hall elsewhere. In Nijmegen, a building was evacuated and the surrounding streets cordoned off as emergency services were called in.

Local authorities AA en Hunze, De Wolden and Waddinxveen also received the letters, Dutch media reported.

The sender was hotel Villa Heidebad in Epe, Gelderland, which had hit on a novel way to thank local councils who use its premises for meetings and conferences.

“When people come here, we always give them a special biscuit with their coffee. We wanted to send the recipe, with a video by way of a thank you, and included some flour (meel in Dutch) as a reference to having e-mail contact. We did not mean to cause a panic,” director Bjarne Pechler told RTL Nieuws.

“We investigated and it was a promotional stunt. No laws were broken and we will not investigate further,” a police spokesman said.

Meanwhile news that a gay leather bar was to open in the Amsterdam Noord district of Tuttifruttidorp has also turned out to be a publicity stunt, the Parool reported on Thursday.

The announcement about “Club Cock” caused a flood of negative comments on social media. It never materialised but an art installation to boost discussion about LGBTQ acceptance in the garden of local artists Simon de Boer and Erik Wong did.

“Two minutes after the announcement, 58 comments poured in,” De Boer said. Most were negative and, Wong said, showed the stereotypes and misunderstandings fed by social media and fake news.

The installation is part of the Pride Art Route and can be seen until August 3. The artists are not afraid of vandalism. “That happens when you mount the barricades,” Wong said. “You’re visible. You are standing there with the flag, saying “Freedom!”