May 2008

Amsterdam 9-12 May

Some time ago my manager Steve began organizing a boat trip from Newcastle to Amsterdam. Four of his mates and I went along with him in the end on a very memorable trip. We caught the ferry from Newcastle on Friday evening and returned on the Sunday evening having spent Saturday night in Amsterdam. It ended up costing less than £100 for the 3 nights including the boat trip. The ferry is run by DFDS in Newcastle. I can’t recommend it enough.

I had not visited Amsterdam before. Many people think of pot smoking and red lights, but that’s just the top of the iceberg really. The city is designed mainly for boats, cycles and pedestrians. There are dedicated cycle lanes everywhere, which is a welcome relief from the narrowly curbed streets of the UK where traffic is forced to stay behind cycles till there is no oncoming traffic. I was however witness to a couple of incidents where pedestrians walked purposefully across the lanes and bore the brunt of Dutch blasphemy from the cyclists. Having said that, from experience it is the best way to see the city.
We all boarded a tour boat and had a motor around the canals. Buildings line the busiest canals in a continuous façade. They stand 4 or 5 levels high, and almost as deep, but are narrowly packed in like a crowded bookshelf on the prime real estate. They are taxed on their width, hence the shoulder-squeeze. The stairways suffer the most, so furniture moving is dealt with in a unique way. Each gable has a short beam protruding with a hook. Tenants attach a pulley block to the hook and raise their bulky possessions on the outside.
There are many new buildings and as many museums housing works from artists such as Rembrandt and Van Gogh. We spent a lot of time simply exploring the streets, cafés and canals. I’ll certainly go back to this amazing place.

See photos at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115744&l=a9845&id=882525575


Belper and Ryan's Christening 17/18 May

I worked in a couple of visits on this weekend – On Saturday to Belper and Sunday Shrewsbury. My mate Greenie had recently returned from his trip south to New Zealand, so we met up with Marianna and Carol (another Kiwi friend) on the Saturday. We went for a pleasant walk along the canals near Whatstandwell and had a very English tea and scones with jam and cream at a secluded café. I had a great catch-up with the Kiwis, then headed south-west to Shrewsbury the next morning.

I began the day with a delicious meat pie lunch with Cousins Vin and Linda in Hadnall. We all then jumped in the car, picked up Ruth in Shrewsbury and headed to Ratlinghope church for new cousin Ryan’s Christening. I had not seen Phil and the crew since last year, so it was a good opportunity to catch up with them all again. The christening was followed by a reception in Annscroft, where we all mingled for the afternoon.

See photos at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120395&l=ea851&id=882525575


Sonia’s leaving weekend 24/25 May

Sonia and Eva are both from Barcelona. I got to know them over the past year through salsa dancing, and they were coming to the end of their time teaching English here in the UK. They put on a nice evening of Spanish food, and I completed the banquet with one of my tiramisu specialities. Liverpool friends Sonia, Hannah, Chris, Ali and I headed to Liverpool for the evening and visited a number of places I had not seen or heard of. One nice bar was Alma da Cuba – a church fitted out in a carribean theme. Another place that I can’t remember the name of was so humid and wet that the condensation on the low roof had made the floor completely wet. Don’t think I’ll be going back there!
The next day Chris, Hannah and I went back into Liverpool for an explore. Following a nice brunch we walked through the main street to the Albert Docks. We paused for a coffee next to the “The Beatles Story” area and looked on the new arena dominating the foreshore. There are more things to do than I imagined in this place. Previously undiscovered yet on my doorstep, so thanks guys.

See photos at
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120398&l=765ed&id=882525575