dearest readers of the board it has been a busy week here in old amsterdam.
the big event of the year 'sail 2005' has been in town bringing with it an array of vessels the like of which is rarely seen. 50 or so tall ships filed into the harbour along with steam boats, warships et all for a 5 day water based extravanganza. i was fortunate enough to have a birds eye view throughout from both on and off shore and thoroughly enjoyed the entire spectacle. this morning the ships all tailed off starting at 10 o clock, each of the galleons receiving a canon salute and its own national anthem as she passed the ruyterkade. the russian and dutch anthems seemed to be fighting for airspace most of the time though i did strain to hear the band strike up 'god save the queen' as i battled with the coffee machine. im sad to say i missed the nightly firework display but always seemed to have business to attend to in town, especially with the arrival of a certain board stalwart on friday. if you want read more about the event and see some pics take a peek at
www.sail2005.nl. the event only happens every five years by the way so get those hotel bookings in for 2010!
back tracking to wednesday last week... after partying at the sail event with lots of free beer i cycled off down to the doors coffee shop for a few ales before heading to a new venue for me - maloe melo blues bar on lijnbaansgracht. easy to access if you are staying in either leidseplein area or the jordaan this little place opens at 10pm every night with live music and no entry charge. small beers at 2.50 rather than the usual 1.80ish but worth it. my buddy and i saw the final set in the amsterdam tour of an isreali rock band called the carsitters who were really pretty good. probably only about 30 people in the room but a great feel, nice atmosphere and even a father and son bar team with matching cigars. highly recommended. check local free papers for listings of bands.
thursday and after dinner with friends in the jordaan i found myself at the melkweg for a gig by 'fat freddys drop' who i was told were storming the music scene in their native new zealand with a mix of dub, soul and reggae. well what a treat this one was -great sound with a full horn section and some really talented musicians, all in the small room downstairs at the melkweg. some of the wonderful jack herer from touche coffee shop helped the evening along (no problem smoking in either melkweg or paradiso by the way) and i meandered home later most unsteadily. i would highly recommend this band if they head your way. for the record - the gig cost 9 euros entry plus 3 euro for compulsory 'membership' which strangely always expires after one month (same deal with the 'memberships' at the paradiso incidentally).
friday and im off round the harbour in a fishing boat in the rain but with a huge smile on my face. what a real privilege to be here at this time and to witness all these craft in their majestic beauty. couldnt help thinking what huge balls the sailors of yesteryear must have had to scale those masts in all weathers. no wonder the girls of amsterdam were on constant call when they came to port, those buggers took some emptying! (incidentally a gay friend of mine was telling me earlier how the sailors parade on saturday had 'made his weekend' :-) anyway, chugged along with a brolly and a beer then i disembarked at 7.15 for an 8 o clock rendezvouz with the man fallen buddha. enjoyed a most agreeable few joints together leaving me more than a little wasted. eventually the wallen called us and i joined the big man for his famous 'stomp down the tromp'. after the stroll it was a quick nip into ignatzmice hq, otherwise known as ziggys bar where we bade farewell as jet lag caught up with the buddha and advanced refreshment threatened to get the better of me.
saturday and a little relaxation after a heavy few nights. hopped around a few nice little shops in the oud west, the 'jan piet' and 'blue lagoon' amongst them, before heading into town with a couple of friends and a rendezvous with FB at cafe de klos. when the man has read so much about the place it would be a crying shame not to share a table on saturday night. as usual the feast was mighty! not much more i could manage after that lot than a trip to the local videotheek to rent a movie, determined as i was to have a more restful evening. incidentally, i rented 'the hillside strangler'. dear oh dear, like a standard of acting you would come across in a school play. i couldnt work out by the end if it was supposed to be a kind of twisted parody of true life events or whether they just employed the scriptwriter from sesame street to do a re-write?
i hope there is somebody still reading? id better add tits, bbbj, kamer and 'how much is a blow job?' so at least this drivel will remain in the search archive (even if it is 'full of out of date information'). sunday was all a bit english really, football, lager, that kind of thing. oh and with a big bloke from chicago just to even the balance. i also nipped down to the grachten festival which was taking place on a floating pontoon on the prinsengracht canal smack bang outside the pulitzer hotel. a very reputable line-up of classical and opera performers appeared throughout the weekend and at the time that i passed a female opera singer was serenading festival goers who in turn munched cakes and sipped tea on large round tables in front of her. gezellig indeed! met up with buddha at homegrown fantasy where he shared with us some rather fine weed (was it stella blue or lavender FB? i forget). followed up with greenhouse effect, then nes cafe, then tara irish pub where i damn near broke my neck trying to see the big screen for the arsenal - chelsea game. then finally back to the nes where my neighbour at the bar had clearly reached another level in his quest for all out brain alteration, via a handy sized bag of ice-o-later. i was tempted to take the chap by the hand to the nearest window which he could have licked to his hearts content. instead i shared his hash.
apologies for no filth in this report. you will naturally be happy to know that i did the customary three window bike tour this evening between about 8.15 and 9.15. pijp was dead quiet, busier at 2 this afternoon when i had ambled by (just happened to be in the neighbourhood, that kind of thing...). singel had a couple of new faces including a blonde in korte korsjesportsteeg who i hadnt noticed before in the end kamer as you head towards herengracht. really nothing to get excited about though in general. the limited tour i did of the wallen yielded very little indeed. plus the bike is a bit of a hinderance down the tromp or in the covered area. and in sexyland they get really funny about bikes in the kamers. now im going back to smoking this nice hash joint ive been neglecting ;-)
regards from amsterdam
withnail
