Blog about it, baby, yeah!

The view from the bath tub is certainly something to write home about. And if you do not have a home, it is something to blog about...

"Harrow-GATE, darling..."

After Amsterdam, we retreated to Steve & Jacquis' place for some R&R - and to watch the Olympics. We were told to expect simple accommodation but were more than a little happy to see where we were going to be put up.




Our bedroom is a newly renovated attic with en suite bathroom and robe room. I quickly tweaked the home entertainment system, added an Xbox and broadband to make it a little more like home (I miss our Melbourne apartment). The only access is via a rickety wrought iron spiral staircase, which is quaint but not conducive to sneaking. The final touch was to set up a desk for me to spread out a map of the world and to write on. The view from the window is of 200 acres of lawn and trees, set permanently aside by Act of Parliament upon which to enjoy "full and free ingress, egress and regress" (save the Stray: website). The only downside is that the beams and trusses are head height; I have had to trace them out on the floor in white tape so as not to give my "noggin a floggin" (I resolved to do this after chasing a wayward apple that escaped from my lunch bag and knocking myself clean over and out!).

Missing Mr Jordan

Sad but true: the only local cuisine we thought we would try whilst in the Netherlands this time around was Häagen-Dazs ice-cream - and it is not even Dutch (proof)! Nevertheless, it was sickeningly delicious.




This photo was taken just before we departed Amsterdam leaving Les (centre) to finish the last leg of his mammoth tour of every dance venue in Europe with Reggie (below).

We first met Les by chance at a party in Sydney (or was it Canberra?) and he soon became very good friends with Weisie and me. Les is a champion and it was sad to say farewell. However, we promise to think of you, Les, when we attend Dance Valley - The Winter Edition!

Karen & Reggie

Here is Karen and Reggie at the infamous "grilled leg of lamb" restaurant. Reggie and Les ate here nearly every night. You were served a medieval portion of lamb that required both hands to tear strips off in your teeth. For my part, I thought it tasted particularly good, and firmly believe that the secret recipe included some fantastic fungi! After just one serve, washed down with tankards of beer admittedly, I willing subjected myself to a hair cutting session at midnight back at the hostel (thanks to Karen and Weisie) - which explains the Mohawk (see below).

Dance Valley 2004

I am not sure how excited Louise was leading up to DV2004, but it was certainly somewhere in the 9 to 10s. OMG. I must admit that I had a few hairs standing on end and spine tingles when we saw the recipe for the event:

Start with 50,000 punters. Mix it up on 18 stages with over 200 performers. Sprinkle confetti from helicopters and bake slowly in the sun for 12 hours.

The photos do not do it justice, so I will try to describe it to you: It was HUGE – it took nearly an hour to walk from one end of the valley to the other and take it all in. It was LOUD – can you say that again? And it was AWESOME - by the time they closed the gates, there were lots of beautiful people getting funky.

Probably the best thing about the event was the organisation. Amazing. The transport there and back was so efficient. Tim & Mel, et al, bravely decided to ride bikes to and from the event, which worked well too (humble pie anyone?).

If anyone is interested catching part of Ferry Corsten’s set on the main stage, follow this link (broadband).

There is only Hard NRG

We spent most of our time at this arena (photo taken from the stage). There were pyrotechnics and all when the sun went down. This was the far end of the Valley and by far the best arena (some would disagree).

Smile

Looking towards the entrance of Dance Valley. The big smiley face was the Eurodance arena...

To be funky

Mel, Weisie, Ben, Karen and Tim. Weisie still has four sun tan lines across her chest from this day. It was very hot and someone forgot the suntan cream!

Prelude to Amsterdam

At this juncture, I would like to thank Tim, Mel, Trish and Em for kindly putting us up in their comfortable home in Fulham whilst we were in London this time around and earlier in the year (we popped over for NYE 2004).

First thing we did was to drop off our bags and head for the Slug ‘n’ Lettuce in Parson’s Green to meet with our good friend Karen who moved to the UK six months earlier. Karen was without sleep having attended Gods Kitchen in Birmingham the night before. We managed to down a few Fosters and enjoy the surprisingly good weather. Not sure how Karen does it!

We also managed later to catch up with some of the usual suspects, including Martin, Adam, Sam and Pete for a brief drink before the latter made his usual early departure leaving the rest of us to enjoy a Thai dinner in London with Tim, Karen and Jennifer (a friend of mine from HK days). Sophie made a late appearance, and it was great seeing her again after so long.

The week leading up to our foray into the Netherlands was thankfully quiet, but for an afternoon at Camden markets with Karen. Louise and I had made an early reconnaissance of the district before Karen finished work, and left it to Karen to arbitrate on the funky attire we were considering for the upcoming dance festival. We both ended up with some respectably trendy strides and tops (and yes, Louise’s top is meant to be red – not sure about all those holes though). Camden market is the kind of place where you feel underdressed if you are not a walking canvas of body art and have a multitude of piercings. Cool place.