Tulips from Amsterdam - Sunday

This time, I was up first and I showered and then went out for a walk and some breakfast. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and I loved it. It was so quiet. I bought some fresh fruit salad and ate that as I walked along. I then found a cafe and had a coffee and a waffle. I then started to walk back to the hotel because we had to be out of our room by 12.00 and I wanted to make sure Sammy was awake. She met me in the doorway as I was entering the building. We went and got a coffee for her and then went back and packed our bags and left them at the hotel so we could do some final sightseeing without being burdened with heavy bags.

We went to have a coffee in a cafe and sat outside. Sammy had something to eat - a basket of chips - and because she has such a small appetite, I had to help her. While we were sat there, a police car drew up and I felt compelled to take a picture for my husband, as I knew it would be of professional interest to him.

Then we went to a shop we had identified the evening before, where Sammy bought herself a little Buddha. I bought presents for two of my three children there - a cuddly Jesus for my son Harry (he looks a little like a Muppet Jesus and I think he's great [so for that matter does Harry]) and racing grannies for my older daughter, Charlie. I also got myself a fully poseable action figure of Sigmund Freud - a must for every person in a stressful job (or indeed every psychologist)! I was really taken by the cuddly Vincent Van Gogh with a detachable ear but I am going to leave him until my next visit.

During our perambulations around this beautiful city, (we were en route to the flea market by then), I found a rather wider canal than I had been previously used to. It had this beautiful bridge and I felt compelled to snap.

Next, we came to the Red Light District, this time in daylight. There were still some girls posing in shop windows, one of which was almost certainly a transvestite or lady-boy. We went in a Sex Shop (because it was there) and browsed through the leather, latex and other gear and the large variety of sex toys. One of the men who worked there kept asking if he could help but also seemed to be offering some kind of other service. He did not specify and we did not press him. We left empty-handed.

We then found a shop that sell clogs and lots of them. Here is Sammy sitting in a clog. Now, I know she's smaller than me but this is ridiculous! It's a Size 6 and would fit me! Sometime before this I had bought a smaller pair of clogs for my younger daughter, Bobbie. I think they're about a Size 1. She fits Size 8 so obviously they don't fit her.

The Flea Market was shut and we then made our way to the Anne Frank House. It started raining on the way and I was glad to get inside. Sammy has been there loads of times and chose to have a coffee at a cafe nearby instead. This was the first time I'd done anything really serious in Amsterdam. I am sort of familiar with the house and characters from the book and television programmes that I have watched but actually being in the house really brought it home to me. The most significant impression I received was how small the Annexe was. It is unfurnished now but the rooms are still claustrophobic. The exhibition that shows the eventual fate of Anne and those who lived with her in the Annexe was truly heart-rending and reading excerpts from letters her father wrote after the war brought a tear to my eye. It was a very sobering experience for me. I went into the Free2choose exhibition at the end and voted on a couple of issues before Sammy texted me and I went to join her.

Eventually, we went back to the hotel, retrieved our bags and set off for the airport. Once there, I bought some tobacco for my long-suffering husband and then we got a drink each. I got a beer and Sammy took a picture of me imbibing - one final souvenir of our visit.

The plane left on time and we actually landed a little ahead of time. Sammy drove me home from Blackpool Airport and that, my dear readers, is the story of my birthday treat in Amsterdam. Roll on next time!

Tulips from Amsterdam - Saturday

The next morning, I was hungover. Sammy went out for a coffee and some breakfast and I got out of bed gingerly and showered. Then Sammy got back and showered herself and we hit Amsterdam. First, we went into a piercing/tattoo parlour where Sammy and I looked at belly bars and what not. I decided that I wanted to have my tragus pierced and I wanted it done there. First though we walked down to Central Station.

On our way there, we met some punks. One of them had an Anti Nowhere League t-shirt on and I complimented him on it. He returned the compliment about my Goldblade t-shirt and told me they were playing that night. I decided I would love to see Goldblade play and Sammy was fine with the idea because it was my treat after all.

First we went to the Sex Museum. I had wanted to do 2 things in Amsterdam. Smoke some dope and see a sex show. Sammy didn't fancy the sex show but she was kind enough to let me visit the museum instead. It was a strange collection of erotic, disturbing and sometime hilarious exhibits. Sammy took my photo outside it after we had been round. It had been an eye opener for me.



We then went to an Internet Cafe to look for Clog shops and I checked out exactly when Goldblade would be playing and where. I noticed that the Anti Nowhere League were playing straight after and I suggested we see both bands and then leave.

I then went back to the piercing shop to have my tragus pierced and Sammy went to look for clogs. The piercing was an interesting experience. It took about half a second and no anaesthetic was used. It didn't start to hurt straight away and when it did, I was sat in a coffee shop drinking smoothies and using a good analgesic for the pain (the analgesic also reduced my ability to text my sister with any speed but, then again, it reduced my ability to care about it.) Here's a picture of the coffee shop.


Sammy joined me some time later - at least 2 smoothies later. I finished off my drink and analgesic and while I was doing this, she went to a noodle place for her tea. I joined her there and sat down to eat my noodles.

We then started off in the direction of the Melkweg to go to see Goldblade, who were to start their set in about an hour's time. We stopped off at a bar to have a beer on the way and I watched Chelsea win the FA Cup on the television there.

After that, there was no stopping me and as we drew near, my heart was gladdened by the sight of punks and skinheads. We went and got our wristbands and went in. We went into the Old Room first and saw the last couple of songs of (I presume) Church of Confidence (I have since checked the running order – I had no idea who they were at the time).

We then went into the Max Room and I went straight to the front so I could get liberally showered with John Robb's sweat (it has magical properties, I can assure you). Their first song is arguably my favourite - "Fighting in the Dancehall, F***ing in the Street" and I screamed along at the top of my voice, pointed vigorously at the band and jumped up and down and generally danced like a loon.

Part way through the set, I turned round and saw my great friend Anna. She loves Goldblade and so do I. We gave each other a big hug and then set to the serious business of dancing to them. Various people had got up on stage and John, as he invariably does, invited some more girls onto the stage. Anna got up. I thought about it for all of 3 seconds and decided, what the hell. I may not have been a girl for about 30 years but I'm still female. I got a leg up from a couple of gentlemen just in front of the stage and there I was. On stage with one of my favourite bands. Wow!!!! At one point, the audience was lit up and I saw Sammy waving at me with a huge grin on her face. Here is a picture of my view from the back of the stage. Not very good but I'm not a particularly good photographer at the best of times...



That's John Robb's naked, sweaty back there so don't get too excited, ladies! Well, the rest of the set passed in a haze of exhilaration and complete star-struckness. After they had finished and I had had my big sweaty hug off John Robb (I'll never wash my t-shirt again!), I got down off the stage and found Sammy. We went out for a breath of fresh air and then back in to see the Anti Nowhere League.

As we were going back into the Max Room, I saw Charlie Harper. I did what any sensible woman would do and tried to persuade Sammy to have her photo taken with him (he's always there in the crowd at these dos). She was too shy though so I had to do the necessary! As you can see, the alcohol I had so far consumed plus the analgesic I had purchased at the coffee bar had had a bit of an effect on me. Charlie looks suitably embarrassed. I think I look a complete loon.



Then back in for Anti Nowhere League's set. The crowd were a little rough for my liking but I got right up against the stage and took the buffeting from drunken punks with particularly bad grace. Especially when one gave me whiplash (ouch!). There was a young Russian guy called Pavel in the crowd and he got up on stage with Animal. I took his picture and I've now e-mailed them to him. I think that really made his weekend.


When the band had finished, Pavel and I swapped e-mail addresses so I could send him the photos I had taken of him and Animal. Sammy and I then went off to the Red Light district. After walking through it and me marvelling at the girls in the shop windows, we saw a coffee shop and we went in for a drink and some more analgesic for me.

I think I finally managed to have one analgesic too many and Sammy had to get me back to the hotel after that. I can remember feeling completely dissociated from what was going on around me but finding the experience completely fascinating (although I would have preferred to have been able to shift for myself better). Sammy got me back successfully and I slept like a baby.

To be continued again...