ZINE #623 April 2015
Small classes and personal attention. At the British School of Amsterdam we get to know each and every student. We provide an all-round education that develops the whole person and delivers academic success. From Early Years to Secondary School, we provide top-class British schooling for everyone from expats to locals seeking an international education. With pupils of more than 40 nationalities, the British School of Amsterdam offers a stimulating and inclusive learning environment for students aged 3 to 18. Non-native English speakers are welcome. Our curriculum leads to the respected British A-Level qualification accepted by universities worldwide. In addition to the formal academic subjects, we teach European languages including Spanish, French, German and Dutch, as well as English as a foreign language. Every day is an open day at the British School of Amsterdam. Why not come along and visit us? For more information, see www.britams.nl, or contact us at +31 (0) 20 67 97 840 or info@britams.nl.
“It’s a friendly, caring community”
TEACHING PEOPLE, NOT JUST TOPICS
Federico Age 14 Italian/Dutch
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The British Photographer in Amsterdam WEDDINGS
CHILDREN
PORTRAITS
EVENTS
WALKABOUTS
Please call 06 83 94 35 52 to book your spring walkabout. I am running a BritSoc member special throughout the month of April; Just €150 booking fee* Save €50!
www.benjaminarthur.com
CONTENTS
Chairman’s Letter
7
Shakespeare Night 2015
8-9
Meeting place. Small cheer and great welcome make a merry feast
Easter in NL
Better than chocolate.
Britsoc Sailing Season 2015
Starts Saturday May 9 (Kaag.
General Elections 2015
Is this the end? Or just the beginning?
Britsoc Golf
Spring and Britsoc Golf. Unbeatable.
The Beer Hunter
We hunt the best beers in town.
Jules Holland’s Boogie Woogie Wonderland
At the Paradiso.
Home Abroad
Debut contribution from Sue Godsave.
Beth’s Books
Wonderful books for the Spring.
Waterloo
200 years on.
Texel Island Discs
Poetry
12-13 14-17
12-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 34-41
Angus Mackenzie selects his desert Island discs.
42-43
John and Dave wax lyrically.
44-45
Photography Lesson
46-47
Food
48-57
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10-11
Use whatever light is available to you at the time. NIck and Karen dish up some food for thought..
Colophon >
ZINE
Editor in chief John Richardson
Hello sailors, golfers, beer lovers, Shakespeareans, Easter Bunnies, voters, cyclists, cricketers, Jools Holland fans, homely hommes, book lovers, Waterloo Wanderers, musical castaways, photographers, poets, foodies and cooks....boy have we got an issue of ZINE for you.
EDITORIAL
ISSUE #623
EDITOR IN CHIEF John Richardson | editor@britsoc.nl EDITORIAL BOARD Alison Smith | alison@scconline.nl Benjamin Arthur | benjaminarthur@gmail.com Andy Symmonds | asymmo@gmail.com Dave Thomas | dave@nstscience.nl
ADVERTISING
ADVERTISING SALES Andy Symmonds | asymmo@gmail.com
PUBLISHING
PUBLISHED BY John Richardson | John.Richardson@me.com FLIP MAGAZINE PUBLISHING PLATFORM www.issuu.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS AND FEEDBACK John Richardson | editor@britsoc.nl www.britsoc.nl
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Internationally Curious Nurturing every child’s natural desire to investigate, question and inquire - developing it into a skill that will help them thrive anywhere in the world. www.britishschool.nl Page 6
Internationally British
chairman’s blog/ April 2015
Dear Members, I am very lucky that this function allows me to meet some very interesting people. From the Ambassador, to the Captain of a battleship, to the head of marketing for M&S. This week I met Anthony Burford, who is a musician from England – he has been here awhile and has now put a band together and will release his first CD/EP of his own songs this month. Watch this space for info and a special offer for members. Our popular and fun evening to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday is coming up on the 25th of April. This has a strictly limited capacity, so get your tickets soon. This year we are looking for songs as well as the usual quotes and readings by our bunch of jesters. Next month sees the Rugby 7’s tournament which is always a great weekend of sport and fun on the 23rd-25th . Save the date and check the website for details. I am happy to say that Jane Walmsley is pulling the Christmas Ball team together and will host the first meeting on Wednesday April 1st at 7 p.m. at Veranda, on Amstelveenseweg. If you want to be involved in any way please be there – we need many helping hands to make this a success. Or if you have any ideas we could use, let me know.
Best regards,
Ian Cherington Chairman chair@britsoc.nl
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Shakestravaganza Britsoc Shakespeare Feast 2015
Greenwoods Tea Room
Keizersgracht 465, 1017 DK Amsterdam
Saturday 25 April 8:00 pm Page 8
Shakespeare plus more @ Greenwoods English Tea Room Amsterdam Again, our broad imaginations will produce a hotchpotch of Shakespearean and other English delights: poetry, comedy monologues, stories, songs, quotes, puns, jokes – something for everyone. You too can enjoy the spectacle, and even try your hand at giving your own unique interpretation of some of those English classics.
Price (inc meal): €35 members, €37 non-members. TICKETS from THE BRITSOC eSHOP
www.britsocshop.nl Or: Paul Huxley - prhuxley@gmailcom
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Easter in NL – Bett Easter falls on 3rd – 6th April this year and, weather permitting, there are plenty of things to keep you and your family busy besides just scoffing chocolate eggs and munching Simnel cake.
For the kids
On Easter Sunday the numerous Petting Zoos around Amsterdam have egg hunts for the kids and, with the newborn lambs arriving, kids also get to cuddle and feed them. For a list of Petting Zoos to find the nearest one to you go to the Iamsterdam website: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/ what-to-do/families-and-children/pettingzoos Het Groot Melkhuis in the Vondelpark organises egg hunts for families and Artis Royal Zoo organises a scavenger hunt through the Zoo on Easter Sunday and Monday and kids can learn about young animals hatching from eggs. Nemo Science Centre has a special Easter High Tea arrangement on the two main Easter Days and there will be a funfair at the Olympic Stadium between 3rd and 12th April.
Slightly further afield, the Easter Bunny will appear at the Keukenhof from Good Friday to Easter Monday and he will be handing out Easter Eggs, plus there is an Easter Hat Parade so get decorating your Easter bonnet and you may win a prize. For other ideas outside of Amsterdam click on the link below. There are many activities including exhibitions, concerts, flea markets and car racing. http://www.vandaagopstap.nl/ rubrieken/138-138/Pasen/
Easter Brunch
If you don’t feel like boiling your own eggs, most larger hotels will have an Easter Brunch, though reservations are recommended in most places. Easter Brunch at The Bluespoon in the Andaz Hotel on the Prinsengracht comes recommended and there is live music to be enjoyed with your Easter Brunch at the American Hotel’s Café Americain on the Leidseplein. http://www.cafeamericain.nl/paasbrunch/ paasbrunch-5-en-6-april-2015
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ter than chocolate Easter Services in English The Conservatorium Hotel is organising an intriguing egg hunt in the Hotel between 20th March and 6th April, where prizes include an overnight stay in the hotel. Worth a look!
Easter Church services will of course be in full swing at the English Reformed Church in the Begijnhof and at ChristChurch in four locations around Amsterdam and Heiloo. There is lots going on so check out their websites for full details.
http://www.conservatoriumhotel.com/ sites/default/files/Easter%20Egg%20 hunt.pdf
www.ercadam.nl
For a fun family Easter Brunch check out the Hard Rock Café “Breakfast with Bunny” where there will be face painting egg decorating and great food. Sunday 5th April at 10.00 am.
However....if scoffing chocolate eggs and eating Simnel Cake still sounds appealing, I’d recommend Marks and Spencers.
www.christchurch.nl
http://www.hardrock.com/cafes/ amsterdam/events/ The Pannenkoekenboat has an Easter Brunch and a cruise around the IJ with an offer of unlimited pancakes! http://www.pannenkoekenboot.nl/ amsterdam/ For the nocturnal night owls more interested in beats than brunch the Westergasfabriek is hosting an Awakenings Easter Special on 2nd, 3rd and 4th April which starts at 22:00 and goes on until 08:00.
By Alison Smith
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Britsoc Sail T
he new sailing season is upon us – hope you will join us. The sailing dates this year will be:
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Starts Saturday May 9 (Kaag) May 9th Kaag May 30th Kaag June 13th Loosdrecht July 4th Kaag July 25th Loosdrecht Aug 15th Kaag Sept 5th Kaag
l 2015
sports/ By Geoff Dudley
M
ost will be at Kaag but two will be at Loosdrecht. Which these will be will be announced later. As last year, Kaag sailing starts with lunch/ drinks from 12:00 noon. We sail in the afternoon and there is a BBQ afterwards. At Loosdrecht we meet at 10:00 h and sail to an island for a picnic lunch. For more details see Geoff’s sailing website at: http://bit.ly/1NeZXGq Or follow the link from the British Society of Amsterdam website. www.britsoc.nl
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General Election 2015 The upcoming British General Election to be held on 7th May is set to be the most unpredictable in recent history. Barring a last minute swing in the polls to either the Tories or Labour the only certainty in this election seems to be that nobody will, in fact, “win” this election.
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But somebody needs to live in Number Ten Downing St; thus either David Cameron will serve a second (and, he claims, final) term as PM, in possible coalition with Lib Dem / Northern Irish MPs, or Ed Miliband will be handed the keys to Number 10 by the electorate and become our next Prime Minister. Miliband’s path to No.10 is most likely in coalition with either the Lib Dems or in a ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement with the Scottish National Party.
Britsoc’s Benjamin Arthur, considers Britain’s upcoming General Election and why it is likely to result in no clear winner. John Rentoul, Britain’s sole remaining Tony Blair fanboy, this week claimed in a Spectator podcast that Britain is just now suffering from a dearth of strong, inspiring leadership thus rendering coalition government more likely. A temporary condition he claims before a figure emerges – à la Tony Blair - who will inspire people and Britain once more reverts to its default state; which is electing strong, decisive majorities from one of the two main parties.
I come down firmly on the unstable side of the
But is John Rentoul right?
are properly represented in their parliaments those
Or are we now entering a dauntingly new, unstable phase of British political history?
fence. In spite of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011 and our rejection in a referendum of a change to the ‘first past the post’ voting system, insecure government seems to be in the British future and, ironically, we are becoming more European as a result. Over here, on our [continental] side of the Channel, it is really quite rare for any single party to ever garner more than, say, 35% of the vote to form a government. Within proportional systems, where smaller parties parties then usually have an opportunity to enter into a coalition arrangement with the larger party who provide the leadership and take a majority of Cabinet positions. Angela Merkel’s 2nd term as Chancellor – which ran from 2009-13 was a textbook example of this. A 33% share of the vote garnered her CDU party
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239 seats and, needing 312 seats to form a majority,
was that Tony Blair’s new Labour party accepted
she then took her party into coalition with the
neoliberalism wholesale and never challenged the
Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) and the Free
Thatcher consensus in any meaningful way.
Democratic Party (FDP).
- Blairaq:
In Britain, the single most salient fact to illustrate
The most consequential political decision in Britain
the fracturing of our electorate is this; in the 1951
of the 21st century, (so far) was Tony Blair’s decision
General election 96.8% of the British people voted
to go along with George W. Bush’s illegal invasion of
for either the Tories or Labour. In the 2010 GE just
Iraq.
67.6% did so. A drop of nearly 30 points in just 60 years. This trend away from the two main parties has been remorseless, especially in my lifetime – the election of 1970 was the last such election of modern times when 90% of people picked either Heath (CON) or Wilson (LAB).
So that is what has happened. The bigger, more interesting question is why? In my less than expert opinion there are 7 big reasons:
- Thatcher: Poor old Maggie. Gets blamed for everything right? Right. The simple fact is that the Conservative Party, the self-styled ‘natural party of government’ in Britain, has not won an overall parliamentary majority since 1992….23 years and counting. What has happened to us in those 23 years? What happened was that neo-liberal, market triumphalism became entrenched in the country.
Iraq will poison Tony Blair’s life until he goes to meet his maker and his gravestone should have that single word inscribed on it. But, quite apart from the enormous, still reverberating geopolitical consequences of that decision, for millions of Britons Iraq did two things; first, it made the Labour party untrustworthy, in some cases irredeemably so. Second, it made people feel as if their opinions not only didn’t matter but that they would never matter – even on something so consequential as matters of war & peace. Thus, to them, democracy in Britain became a sham. The process of disillusion and cynicism with the political process went into overdrive post-Iraq.
- Brussels: Like it or not – and I basically do – the EU bureaucracy in Brussels has repeatedly demonstrated that not only is it not a fan of democracy it doesn’t much like Sovereign Nation States. Most Britons don’t like the sense – cultivated by our reliably hysterical press – that Brussels
For a while some enjoyed it - the ‘loadsamoney’ era
bureaucrats meddle into every area of our lives
– and people seemed to have never had it so good.
and impose themselves without ever being truly,
Nowadays not so much. Neoliberalism has spread its
democratically accountable for their decisions.
tentacles into every facet of the British economy and
And there is no doubt that more EU regulation =
life including the NHS. Keith Joseph, Milton Friedman
less independent sovereign power to nation state
& Friedrich Hayek’s ideas rule us all from the grave.
governments. That’s the price of Club Membership.
And millions of Britons – even though they may never
But the British – almost uniquely – have never quite
have heard of the intellectual giants behind core
got their heads around that idea. Personally, I blame
Thatcherite principles – despair of what the country
Shakespeare. And Nigel Farage. His UKIP party now
has become and blame most of it on the Tories. This
polls consistently at around 15%. So with less power
condition is especially acute in Scotland. The trouble
residing in Westminster comes a wider sense among
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the electorate that elections – read votes – matter
What being always online is doing to our voting habits
less than they used to. This is helping to pave the
is likely a subject for fruitful investigation, but it is surely
way for the rise of the “none of the above party” (who
doing a lot to our sense of living life as an empowered
will, in fact, win the General) and the smaller parties.
consumer of EVERYTHING; and that includes politics.
- Financial crisis:
When there’s an app for every issue, every ache &
The big event in recent history because it affected millions of lives very directly through the loss of a job, the loss of savings or, most importantly, the loss of any semblance of fairness in the system. Where are the jailed bankers? They don’t exist. Nobody in Britain truly believes that David Cameron – as opposed to Gordon Brown – would have been tougher on the bankers or would have done anything very differently. This has helped to foster this sense, repeated ad nauseam by online commentators, of the
pain, every human frailty, it must foster a sense that all problems are soluble. For £0.79. We quickly lose patience with things – especially politicians who appear to be deceiving us. Besides, we barely pay attention to politicians anyway because of all those cat videos we are watching on our YouTube app and selfies we are sharing via social media. As for choices? Bring ‘em on! Two choices you say? That’s no choice at all. No wonder, in an age of seemingly infinite choice, we resent being told we can only vote one of two or three ways.
LIBLABCON. In other words, it’s the 3 main parties
- Scotland
– alongside their financial masters – who are the
Finally, in a way, the most depressing story of all. Last
ones who are truly all ‘in it together’. It is us, the little
year, in these pages, we extensively chronicled what
people, the workers, the taxpayers who have been
we felt might end up being the imminent demise of the
stuck with the bill. That old chestnut – privatized
United Kingdom. Turned out that on September 18th
profits and socialized losses – came vividly,
last year the UK was given one last lifeline. But it also
sickeningly true during the financial crisis of 2007-08.
transpires that most likely Scottish voters used up what
Why would anyone want to vote LIBLABCON after
was the UK’s last lifeline. The UK has now asked the
being given the shaft like that?
audience, phoned a friend and is clinging on for dear
- Parliamentary Expenses:
life to 50:50. The SNP will sweep into Westminster in
As if trust hadn’t been eroded enough after Iraq & the financial crisis, in 2009 another whopper of a scandal rocked the British political establishment. The parliamentary expenses scandal, revealed over many months by the Telegraph was just dismal. It showed our politicians as having their snouts in one gigantic trough and far too many of them gorging themselves without remorse. My only regret, your Honour, was in the getting caught. For many, the scandal severed the last of the bonds they felt for their politicians and political establishment. Why vote LIBLABCON after this? Why not try something else?
- The iGeneration: The generation of people tied to the internet 24/7 via their smartphones or tablets is the most technologically savvy of any. Ever. These days most of us awake and the first thing we now see is a small screen in front of us with news, email, tweets, likes and posts all awaiting our perusal. All of this before we hug our partner, say “good morning”, say
triumph on May 8th and from then onwards it is nothing more than a matter of time before there’s another referendum. And here’s my prediction; this time, unlike Quebec, YES Scotland will win it. Decisively. Which means no more United Kingdom.
So, as David Bowie wrote, where are we now? We are in a situation where political instability is worming its way into the heart of our system. We are going to have some sort of coalition from May 8th or another GE within 12 months. Scotland will be independent by 2020. And, above all, our electoral system is clearly not fit for purpose. First past the post suited a time before the iGeneration rose up. It is time for proper, proportional representation. That is more in keeping with 21st century homo sapiens’ expectations.
Get ready for a bumpy ride.
a prayer, exercise, make a cup of tea or rush to the shower.
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Free Britsoc Tour Through the Tulip Fields April 19, 2015 RSVP April 1, 2015
We are offering Britsoc members and friends a free tour to the Kop van Noord Holland through the Tulip Fields. You just pay for bike rental and train. We go by train to Alkmaar, rent bikes there and cycle through the Dutch meadows, and the tulipfields to art village Bergen. After lunch we cycle through the forest to Groet and back via Schoor. Date: April 19, 2015. RSVP: April 1, 2015. Interested participants should email us before the April 1 to confirm. All details can be found here on the Britsoc website: www.britsoc.nl/event/free-tour-through-the-tulip-fields/
Emai: tomstraveltours@gmail.com | Meeting time: 9:00am | Meeting point: Cafe Kobalt, Singel 2 A, 1013 GA Amsterdam. All participants need to know how to cycle for at least 3 hours or 30 km and have their insurance. To take: Camera, raincoat, a sweater/windjacket, waterbottle, traincard, about â‚Ź 20 for trainticket and bike rental and ID We will take care of the lunch! We will be back in Amsterdam around 17:00 Toms Travel Tours www.tomstraveltours.com Amsterdam,The Netherlands T: +31 (0)6 26534331 T: +31 (0)6 17932784 T: +31 (0)20 4686267
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bike tour/
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2014 was a good year for Qui Vive CC, as they were voted Dutch (KNCB) Cricket Club of the Year and Amsterdam KNCB Cricket Council of the year. All five of the Qui Vive CC teams won their competitions and got promoted. So this season will be a challenge to keep all the teams at the top level of their respective competitions. To start a positive note to 2015, Qui Vive will be the first tenants of the new multipurpose Spark United Sports Clubhouse.
Resurrecting the Annual BritSoc cricket match from the Ashes Saturday 27th June. 18.00-20:30
T-10 Game + BBQ
Tickets are available soon at www.Britsocshop.nl and www.quivivecc.com
by Grant Holton
The current ICC cricket world cup (#CWC15) has given us the motivation to restart the traditional Annual Brit Soc Cricket Match and BBQ this summer. We are playing our seventh social Brit Soc cricket game in Amsterdam West, Saturday 27th June. Please reserve the date and watch the website for more information closer to the event. The emphasis will be on social cricket ,
Whisky tasting Fish & Chips Event Date: Friday 17 th April, 2015 Time: 19.00 Where: QuiVive Cricket Club – Spark United SportPark de Eendracht, Bok De Korverweg 4 Amsterdam. Bus 21 and unlimited free parking. Cost: EUR 30,00 per person for Whisky tasting and Fish & Chips. Vegetarian meals can be provided on request. Supporters are welcome. Brit Soc members will pay 27,50 Tel: 06-250 88 301
www.britsoc.nl www.quivivecc.com Facebook: Quivivecc email: info@quivivecc.com
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laughs and a BBQ to end the evening. We will continue the theme of the Cricket World Cup
So over to you !
by having as many nationalities represented,
If you want to practice beforehand please come
on in the field or in the clubhouse, as possible.
down on Friday evenings for our weekly Tip &
The match will be a shortened version of
Run club nights. There will also be other social
T20. Children are welcome to join in. As extra
matches and events starting from 20 March 2015.
practise for all, we will have a Tip & Run
In 17 April we will host a Whisky tasting with
Friday night programme, starting in April, with
Fish & Chips, while the children play Tip & Run.
pancakes for the children.
For the 2015 cricket season we are looking for
Our hosts, Qui Vive Cricket Club, have enjoyed
social and serious cricket players. We have also
a nomadic existence but are now firmly
started a youth division and student cricket team
established in the Dutch cricket scene, with a
this summer.
base in Amsterdam West.
Look forward to seeing you there.
“
The current ICC cricket world cup has given us the motivation to restart the traditional Annual Britsoc Cricket Match and BBQ this summer. Annual Brit Soc Expats vs QuiVive CC Mini World Cup Cricket Game Date: Sat 27 th June Time: 18.00-20:30 (T10 Game + BBQ) Where: QuiVive Cricket Club – Spark United SportPark de Eendracht, Bok De Korverweg 4 Amsterdam. Bus 21 and unlimited free parking. Cost: EUR 15,00 per person for BBQ, Vegetarian meals can be provided on request. Supporters are welcome. Brit Soc members will pay 12,50 Tel: 06-250 88 301
www.britsoc.nl www.quivivecc.com Facebook: Quivivecc email: info@quivivecc.com
m o r f d 27 e g n a e h n c u J e t o a t D e 20 Jun
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Spring is in the air
By Simon Lake
And Britsoc Golf is out on the course: A
lmost every weekend on
Saturday or Sunday a group will meet to play 18 or 9 holes on
the Hogedijk course, near the
AMC and IKEA. It’s a mixed group,
On a typical playing morning, we’ll meet
aspirations. Some play most weeks,
on the range to hit a few balls to warm
Once you are on the maillist, the weekly
reception, then out onto the course, for a
fall into your mailbox at the start of the
not, as you wish. Afterwards we usually
the 12 places in the three flights for the
for a drink and a snack and share the story
different levels and a range of golf
somewhere in the carpark, the café or
some turn up every couple of months.
up. Then it’s time to register and pay in
invitation for the following weekend will
friendly game, qualifying for handicap or
week, then it’s first come allocation of
collect in the clubhouse or on the terrace
weekend.
of the round.
If you would like to try a round, or just interested in more information please drop a note to the mailbox with any
questions or request to be added to the maillist.
While the level is mixed and there’s no handicap threshold, players need to
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Here’s the BritSoc Golf mailbox: britsocgolf@gmail.com Here’s the English summary page of the
website for the Hogedijk course, with info about location, greenfees and facilities (more info on Dutch pages!):
http://www.dehogedijk.nl/dehogedijk/ de-baan/english
be able to navigate the course without
Some regular players are members of
Netherlands a “Golf license” (GVB) is
paying a yearly subscription, and options
membership of clubs in other countries is
the club site, in Dutch, but we or the club
the Dutch GVB.
http://www.olympusgolf.nl/
too much delay or risk. Typically in the
the Olympus Club based at the course,
required, but evidence of handicap/
also exist for a yearcard. Here’s a link to
also sufficient as many visitors don’t have
reception can answer most questions:
golf/
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Seeing This is the opening article in a new series for Zine. We decided to bravely venture out in the name of research to investigate some of the speciality bars in Amsterdam that have a focus on beer. With this supreme self-sacrifice in mind, we decided to call this series the Beer Hunter. We will endeavour to visit the best beer related bars Amsterdam has to offer, with the scope to venture into breweries where we feel it is appropriate (highly likely).
Our series launches with a relatively new kid on
For those of you that like food with their beer,
when you enter as the entrance is relatively
we saw looked very tasty (one evening meal is
the block, Tripel. The bar is surprisingly large narrow yet the bar seems to stretch into the
distance. This is always a good sign as it means that there is room for taps – room that Tripel
have wisely exploited, with 18 different draught beers available. In addition to this you can
peruse the selection on the blackboards on the wall or the menus that are on the tables. The
perusing process may take a while a there are
more that 150 Belgian beers available to taste,
but you can always ask the knowledgeable staff for help if you’re not sure.
After some dithering and sampling a couple
of beers that the staff helpfully allowed us to taste, we started out with an IPA style beer called Troubadour Magma. This was widely
appreciated by all that tasted it, and set the standard for the evening. A cheeky Kwak
followed, always a good beer when served
from the tap and it comes with the traditional
test tube shaped glass in its distinctive wooden support. Tripel appears to have glasses to
match most of the beers, so there is a huge
variety of glassware on the shelves. I have to
confess that there has always been something
special about drinking a beer from a dedicated glass, and Tripel managed to provide this joy
I can vouch for the snacks and the dishes that
enough‌). The spicy sausage is recommended as a snack and the lamb dishes will be on the
request list for the next visit. The atmosphere was gezellig and the music a mixture of 80s
and 90s indie for want of a better description. Most of our group had some warm memories of the music, and the younger clientele in the bar generally thought it was a cool sound so everybody was happy.
We did sample several more fine Belgian beers through the evening, including the perennial favourite La Chouffe (their Houblon special
edition was sublime but no longer available). As we were celebrating my birthday in Tripel
in the name of research, we should really have taken some notes, but as this did not occur to
anyone all I can say is that there was not a bad
one amongst them. The one beer that I wanted to sample but did not have the dedicated glass was Corne - the glass is horn shaped and also
comes with its own stand but is less known than
Kwak. The image of what could have been (from a previous visit to this fine establishment) is
included in the hope that the glass returns. We will most definitely be back.
with every beer that we sampled.
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Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra in Paradiso – 14th March 2015
Boogie Woogie
Wonderland! One of the advantages of living in Holland is that, quite often, popular UK musicians who could fill large venues in the UK make their way to Amsterdam to play more intimate venues like Paradiso and Melkweg. In the case of Jools Holland, he has been making an annual pilgrimage to the Paradiso in Amsterdam for many years and the choice of a smaller venue seems to be a conscious one, as he is certainly popular enough to fill the HMH. The size of the former church and the proximity of the audience to the stage gives a club-like effect which marries well with Jools’ musical style of Jazz, Blues, Ska and Boogie Woogie. With about 15 musicians on the podium at any one time,
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including a full brass section of 3 trombones, 5 saxophones and 2 trumpets, the stage is crowded but the energy is palpable and it is impossible to sit still and not tap your feet. Jools sets the tempo from the off, banging out number after number, his fingers a blur on the keys. We sat upstairs on the first balcony, behind his piano and watched in wonder at his keyboard skills. BB King was right when he said
“I didn’t think anybody could play like that. Jools has got that left hand that never stops”
There are always special guests to look forward to and in the past we have been fortunate to see the likes of Sam Brown (Stop! / Valentine Moon) and Ruby Turner grace the stage. Ruby was back, shaking the church rafters with her amazing voice and incredible stage presence and Sam Brown’s shoes were amply filled by Beth Rowley who performed a lovely, moody version of Valentine Moon. Louise Marshall
was missing due to illness but Jools’ daughter, Mabel Ray, took to the stage and with Squeeze drummer Gilson Lavis and The Specials trombonist Rico Rodriguez making up the band, we were in the presence of some great musicians. Jools in Paradiso is always a night to look forward to and it’s impossible not to stamp, clap and sing along to some of his
By Alison Smith standard numbers like “Enjoy yourself, ( it’s later than you think)” and “OK.. Alright You win”. An inspiring, energetic and entertaining evening and, all being well, we’ll be back this time next year for more highoctane music.
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HOME ABROAD I came to live in the Netherlands with my Dutch partner, Pieter, in 1992. I’d visited him in Apeldoorn, spent a few days in Amsterdam, and I’d read The Undutchables. I was sure I was ready. But there were plenty of differences I hadn’t foreseen, including the following things in Dutch homes.
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I
grew up in a house in the UK, decorated with patterned wallpaper and flowery carpets, and with the ground floor divided into several rooms - living room, sitting room, kitchen, and even a ‘playroom’. Here in the Netherlands the norm is the doorzonwoning (through-sun home), and the family Doorzon was the subject of a long running, satirical cartoon series, about a ‘doorsnee’ (average) Dutch family. Unsurprisingly, the living room stretches across the whole house in a doorzonwoning, and it is nice and light. The rest of the family are easy to find, and my mother-in-law gets most of her exercise walking up and down their large living room! But there are fewer walls for cupboards, and there is definitely something to be said for curling up with a book in a quiet, cosy sitting room. Most Dutch homes are decorated in white. Before I arrived in the Netherlands, Pieter refreshed the white paint on all his walls, and white walls still seem to be in fashion all these years later. Although this makes the rooms seem even more light and spacious, for me it feels less homely, so we’ve been daring and gone for coloured wallpapers whenever we’ve moved. Having said all this, when we bought our current home, it featured brown, purple, green and black paintwork, as well as patterned wallpaper!
When you buy or sell a house there is no gazumping, so the Netherlands is definitely one up on England there. After buying our first house together in Amersfoort, Pieter and I went to look at our new property and I was surprised to find that they’d left house plants on the window sill, but taken the lights from the ceiling! Dutch homes often have fancy and expensive light fittings, so their owners take them with them when they move, leaving just a couple of wires sticking out of the plaster. For many
By new Zine contributor
Sue Godsave
years we had bulbs hanging from a wire, covered by a lamp shade, UK-style. Now we also have fancy and expensive light fittings, so if we move, we’ll take them with us too. The standard pear-shaped bulbs that we replaced were, of course, screw-in instead of bayonet type. The plugs for all our electrical appliances are two pin, continental-type, and the fuses are conveniently close to the electricity meter, instead of in the plugs.
I brought several pillows with me from England, but of course Dutch pillows and pillow cases are a different shape. I can live with this. However, our daughter’s first proper bed (bought in Holland) was 1.80 metres long, and as she takes after me height-wise, it’s still long enough now she’s in her last year at school. We tried to get some new sheets a little while ago, but it was impossible in the land of tall Dutch people, as beds are now minimally 2 metres long. To buy sheets that fit properly, we had to go to England.
My husband and I both brought saucepans into our partnership. Mine all have one long handle on the side and his have two small handles, one on each side of the pan. I prefer mine. It’s easier to drain the vegetables, and if the heat under my husband’s smallest pan is too high, and not in the centre, you start to smell the melting plastic of one of the handles. Recently however, after many years of good service, the handle of one of my pans came off, taking part of the metal saucepan with it! I won’t be able to replace it here, though. I’ll have to go back to England for that, too.
Dutch ovens are also different from British ones. (No, I don’t mean casserole pot ‘Dutch ovens’). In particular, the grill and oven are usually integrated, perhaps because grilling is not used very much in Dutch cooking. The standard size is also a bit small for a Sunday roast with all the trimmings, but there are bigger ones. Of course, you may have to look a bit further than the local supermarket to find the right piece of meat for roasting, but that’s another story…. Page 29
Beth’s Book Review | April 2015 By Beth Johnson
Boekhandel van Rossum reopened, with twice as much space and more beautiful than we had ever dreamed, on March 7, 2015. We are delighted with the remodelled premises and do hope you will visit us soon.
The spring promises wonderful new books for both adults and young adults.
M
ost of you will have read or seen the film of The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. The oeuvre of Ishiguro is diverse and his most recent book, The Buried Giant, is different in tone, rhythm, and story line from any earlier works. Situated in post-Arthurian times (with Sir Gawain a minor figure), this is a tale of ancient Britain where Saxons and Britons live uneasily in neighbouring communities and have to contend with trolls and dangerous dragons. Yet this is far from merely fantasy. The principal characters, Axl and Beatrice, are an aging couple disturbed by the fact that
a mist covering the land seems to be robbing societies of their memories and their ability to care about those around them. Ishiguro has written an allegory, which partially mirrors the way bonds of friendship seem to be giving way to selfabsorption in our own times. This is a measured, beautifully reflective and yet action-filled narrative from one of Britain’s greatest authors. Interestingly, Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel’s novel Station Eleven, while apparently an apocalypse story, reflects some of the same themes of memory and loss. A virulent flu has wiped out most of humanity and the few survivors cluster together to bring back a semblance of civilization to their lives. The focus is on a nomadic troupe of actors who perform for the scattered survivor outposts of the Great Lakes Region “because survival is insufficient.” The book moves between decades as its very different characters try to use art and relationships to combat their solitude and deepen their need for connections in the world. But again, self-centredness and survival in this brave new world make the need for memories less rather than more important. As Kirsten who was very young at the time of the collapse, says of those still know how the world once was: “The more you remember, the more you’ve lost.” This appears to be a chilling statement of disconnection, yet the book is an elegant and creative tribute to humanity.
Beth Johnson is the owner of Boekhandel Van Rossum (Beethovenstraat 32 in Amsterdam) which sells a wide range of Dutch and English books. Page 30
Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You The Sun left me breathless as this dramatic coming-of-age novel for young and old is a kaleidoscope of colour and electricity. Jude and Noah are twins with a gift of telepathy for each other. They are also talented artists yet polar opposites and as they mature between the ages of 13 and 16, different events impact their lives and leave them no longer speaking to each other. Nelson’s writing style absolutely scintillates and the images jump from the pages and I would rank her with the best of young adult authors writing today. Highly recommended. I read it all night long!
In Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, author Becky Albertalli gives the reader an exuberant and perfectly pitched story of teen friendships, group bullying, and young people’s explorations of who they are and what they want to become. This book is in part the hesitant coming-outof-the closet moment of Simon but mostly a warm, compassionate and extremely funny coming to terms with the curve balls life throws us.
Brown Girl Dreaming is Jacqueline Wilson’s memoir of growing up black in the 1960s in both the Deep South and in Brooklyn, New York as the world around her begins to change. Wilson is a highly acclaimed author with numerous awards for her magnificent contributions to children’s literature. Her short lyrical chapters are poetic prose and the book is also specked with beautiful poems about how to stand strong in a messy world.
winkel@boekhandelvanrossum.nl
www.boekhandelvanrossum.nl Page 31
British Language Training Centre
bltc
English & Dutch Courses Teaching English (TEFL) www.bltc.nl Tel. 020 622 3634
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ISA campus, main entrance
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CM
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CMY
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Setting the stage. At ISA, we believe that great facilities can set the stage for great learning. ISA is housed in a space specially designed for international education. And inspiration. Our facilities include a four-floor library/media center, a 400-seat theatre, science labs and specialist studios for music, art, and drama. More than 400 computers are joined in a school-wide, online network. Students work with laptops and iPads in the classroom. Two state-of-the-art gyms, discovery oriented playgrounds and adjacent playing fields are large, well equipped and secure. ISA’s campus is not a luxury. It’s where ideas are born.
Exciting and developing young minds Sportlaan 45 - 1185 TB Amstelveen - The Netherlands - Tel. +31 20 347 1111 - www.isa.nl
Taste Life!
Kingsalmarkt, the world-famous foodstore! We are known for our wide range of products from countries all over the world. ‘Taste life’ is what we call that. Visit us for your favourite American cornflakes, brownies and soups, British jams and honey, Mexican tortillas, Spanish tapas and ham, Italian coffee and pasta and French cheese. Of course you can pick up the rest of your groceries too.
Rembrandtweg 621, 1181 GV Amstelveen-noord, tel. 020 643 37 51 www.kingsalmarkt.nl info@kingsalmarkt.nl Easily reached by car (free parking) and public transport (5 or 51 tram to Kronenburg) Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 9 am – 6 pm Saturday: 9 am – 5 pm
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Waterloo bicentenary
Painting in the Panorama
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by DaveThomas
Photography by Luc Thomas Page 35
a serious brush up on our history
Map of the battle (at Lion mound)
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at the Wellington museum
“ The Lion
Waterloo offered Luc and I a fun way to practise our French in the February half-term holiday and to seriously brush up on our history.
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“
I had a fleeting thought of football match statistics as I studied these. Played on a pitch it would have been a darned good game.
Painting in the Panorama
Wellington Museum
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Panorama building
Waterloomuseum/ The Inn where he stayed is now the Wellington Museum
18 June 2015 marks the two-hundredth anniversary of this famous battle. However, you might be wise to avoid Waterloo then, as ‘fans’ and the media will besiege it.
TIP
Opposite the museum is a church that most tourists do not visit but you should. It contains many memorials commemorating those who died in the battle.
Actually the battle did not even take place in Waterloo but in the neighbouring municipality of Braine-l’Alleud (now a non-descript dormitory town of Brussels with one of the biggest hypermarkets in Europe). Wellington stayed at an inn in Waterloo during the nights of 17 and 18 June and so the battle bears that town’s name.
The inn where Wellington stayed is now the Wellington Museum. Luc and I started Day 1 of our exploration there. A highly engaging audio tour guides you through the inn’s rooms and tells you the story of the battle. The first few rooms recount the battle itself and the other rooms offer a glimpse into the lives of Wellington, Napoleon and Blücher (commander of the Prussian army). You can see where Wellington slept and where he wrote his victory report. We did the museum once with the audio tour to get the story into heads and then we went around again to pay closer attention to the exhibits and to the maps showing the positions of the various armies as the battle progressed. I had a fleeting thought of football match statistics as I studied these. Played on a pitch it would have been a darned good game.
Church in Plancenoit viewed from inside the restaurant where we ate lunch We could almost see the famous Lion’s Mound from the bed and breakfast we stayed at. On Day 2 we walked over the bridge across the motorway and negotiated our way through a construction site (preparations for the big day in June) to get there. Whereas the Wellington museum had a gentile atmosphere, the battle site was clearly a pack-in- the-tourist commercial operation. The visitor centre has the obligatory merchandise and two cinemas: one showing a documentary about the battle and the other clips from Sergej Bondartsjoek’s epic film Waterloo. Both were a good watch but we found the visit to the Wellington museum more informative.
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a mesmerising 360o painting of the battle... The Lion’s Mound commemorates the spot where the Prince of Orange was injured during the Battle. The surrounding area is about two metres lower than it was during the battle - that’s how much earth it took to construct the ‘hill’. The view from the Lion is impressive but we found it really hard to visualise the battle. Google Glass would have been useful here as then you could watch the armies move across the fields of grass and corn. Alternatively we could brave the noise and return on a battle re-enactment day. Just a few metres from the mound is a nondescript round building, the Panorama. Appearances can fool because inside is a mesmerising 360o painting of the battle. Luc hates art museums and although I love art, I’m not a fan of military paintings. But this is in a different league. Luc took loads of photos of the painting and in vain we tried to see where the floor strewn with battle objects ended and the painting on the wall started. Best part of the day’s battle began However, the best part of the day was walking around the entire battlefield and seeing all of the monuments to various armies and specific soldiers. Unfortunately the visitor
Lion Mound
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centre does not advertise this possibility - you have to specifically ask for the map. The walk (about 15 km) gave us a much better feel for the subtle changes in the landscape such as the crest of a hill or an entrenched woodland track that played a pivotal role in the battle. Half way round we stopped in Plancenoit and enjoyed a good Wallonian lunch (now we had to use French) opposite the church that caught fire when Blücher’s troops captured the village from the French before joining up with Wellington’s forces. A few kilometres later we passed Napoleon’s last battle headquarters (now the Musée du Caillou) where outside in the garden the battle is recounted in the form of a comic story on a circle of poster boards. Near the end of the walk we almost missed the Hougoumont farm Napoleon tried to capture as a diversion to draw Wellington’s troops away from the centre of the battlefield. It’s tucked away inconspicuously at the bottom of an escarpment, alongside the motorway to the city Napoleon aspired to reach and where the seat of the “European Republic” now resides.
Comic boards Battle of Waterloo at Musée du Caillou
Waterloomuseum/
Info Info: Wellington Museum: www.museewellington.be Battle site: www.waterloo1815.be At both locations you can buy a combiticket that gives entrance to both sites (and you do not have to use both tickets on the same day). We stayed at an exceptional and modestly price B&B just 15 minutes’ walk from the battleground. Our host and hostess also gave us lots of relevant tips about things to do in Brussels (places you might otherwise never see). http://bit.ly/1EkGg0n
Painting in the Panorama
And if you want to see all the action in June then you can find out more at: www.waterloo2015.org
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Texel Island Discs
Being an avid music lover and collector for most of my life and in possession of over 5000 items (4500 CDs and 500 LPs), it has not been easy at all to select 10 songs to pack in my suitcase and take to my end destination, namely Texel. As a Beatles fan since a very young child, I will not include any of their songs as this would be for me well nigh impossible to try and pick just one. Instead I would hope to take their complete works with me as my luxury item. With a vast plethora of music to choose from, I have approached things from a different angle and instead of just picking my favourite 10 songs, I have composed my list based on musical genres and tried to restrict this to one artist per genre since genre, mood and memories go nicely hand-in-hand (and one song per artist). So in no particular order of preference, here goes:
Before being exiled for eternity on the deserted island of Texel, Angus Mackenzie chose the following discs to take with him:
1.
Status Quo: Reason For Living. As a life long Quo fan, I wanted to include one of my favourite
Quo numbers which helps me to relive a lot of memories from the past. I love the melodic driving
rhythm and boogie not to mention the lyrics which, when I was a very young boy, made an impression on me: what are we here for after all?
2.
Pink Floyd: Shine On You Crazy Diamond. While very hard to pick just one number from the
Floyd, this one has it all for me. I think most of us have a certain amount of ‘craziness’ in us. This song moves on so many different planes. Its mellifluousness takes you from one ‘spiritual’ level to another
with its goosepimple raising sequence of beautiful harmonious chord changes. Simply musical perfection which thankfully goes on for a long time.
3.
Crosby, Stills & Nash: Suite Judy Blue Eyes. While these guys came into my life later than a number of other groups, their overall impact on my musical taste both as a ‘supergroup’ and as
talented music individuals in their own right has been enormous. Fantastic guitar work by Stills supporting beautiful harmony vocals, this for me is the CSN number which luckily too is of a generous time length.
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4.
Neil Young: Out On The Weekend. The
quintessential singer-songwriter, Neil Young’s
Vince Weber: Chicago Breakdown. JThis
8.
is not a style of music that would feature on
musical style crosses so many different
most people’s desert island list but since
genres. However, for me, it is his singing alone
a very early age, I have always loved this
accompanied by acoustic guitar which moves
music and am always mesmerised as to the
me the most. His higher sounding voice and
synchronisation of the left and right hands
his laid-back playing style have a vulnerable
working at very different tempos. One of my
quality to it which, for me, is best exemplified
favourite all-time numbers is Big Maceo’s
on this early number of his.
5.
Chicago Breakdown as played by the German boogie pianist, Vince Weber. I bought my first
John Denver: Windsong. At the expense
album of his when I was about 15 years old!
of not including anyone from the jazz genre, I
I tried having lessons but was never able to
decided to include another singer-songwriter
master the synchronisation!
whose music made a very big impact on my life after university and after a love relationship broke down. His music inspired me to pick up an acoustic guitar and teach myself to
9.
Lee Hazlewood: Trouble Is A Lonesome Town. An obscure artist who had a very dry sense of humour often dealing with the absurd
play which has carried me through for the
and delivered in a very laconic vocal style,
rest of my life since. John Denver’s music
one of his earliest LPs had this title and it
has the knack to make me feel very upbeat
contained a string of songs about a small town
and positive about life. Beautiful harmony
in midwest America. With very laid-back songs
and melody are the hallmark of his songs and
interspersed with small vignette storytelling
Windsong is a song which carries me to many
between the songs, it conveys very vivid
romantic places on earth especially to the
6.
the films. This song also reminds me of when I
Eagles: Lyin’ Eyes. A song I never get
first met my wife, memories I want to love and cherish while reclining on Texel.
bored of listening to however many times
I hear it (the introduction to which is my ringtone on my mobile!), I just love the laid back and easygoing melody not to mention its storyline in the lyrics. Another song with a very generous duration to it. Beautiful!
7.
images of the Wild West, something I love in
freedom of the great outdoors.
Jerry Lee Lewis: Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On.I just love the raw sound of rock ‘n’ roll particularly when there is piano in it. And
10.
Gregorio Allegri: Miserere mei, Deus.
This choral music always makes the hairs on my arms stand-up on end not to mention the goose pimples! The soprano soloist takes me into the heavens and is probably the closest I will ever get to really believing there is an eternal life! The song is so pure and cleansing. Sheer heaven!
there is no finer exponent of this than the great Jerry Lee Lewis, a hellraiser that covered all styles of music from rock ‘n’ roll through country through gospel etc. He really gets my feet going!
Would you like to suggest your own Texel Island Discs? Please contact editor@britsoc.nl
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corner
poets
What if? I took that call ignored the phone surprise invite head buried in work dinner tonight umpteenth interruption could I make it? irritated threw down my pen dropped my schedule showered caught the next bus
wandered aimlessly in park despondent
fab meal, engaging conversation animated
got drenched in the rain
didn’t matter
pissed off
fell into bed Š Dave Thomas 2015
Dave Thomas & John Richardson Page 44
poetry
Cold Brick Warm Home A child’s red balloon stares up at its half built new hope. Its imagination casting a sunny glow on satanic concrete. The crooked builders straighten their backs. Their trowels swordfight with bricks as they battle with their conscience. A thin string slides out of a small hand Its red head snags its bobbling on the scaffolding of life.
Š John Richardson 2015
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BritPhotShot of the Month | April 2015, Barcelona Britsoc Photo Lesson #10: Use whatever light is available to you at the time
Technical details: Nikon D700. AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8. Shot at f/3.5, ISO 1000 and 1/100s.
“Turn OFF the flash and magic like this can happen.� Page 46
T
his shot was taken at a recent client event in Barcelona. Brand Loyalty are an incredible Dutch company based down in Den Bosch and are always looking for interesting ways of
making their events come to life to give them that WOW! factor. They had sponsored this Olympic rings gymnast and persuaded him to come and give an after-dinner show for guests at their 20th birthday party. Incredible! He was hanging 100 feet from the ceiling of the Museum of Catalan Art and lit by only one light on either side of him. The lesson from this shot is simply this: if I’m given a choice between natural and artificial light I’d ALWAYS choose natural first. But in so much of my work, low light conditions prevail. So then, rather than reaching for the flash, why not just use the ambient light available? Turn OFF the flash and magic like this can happen. To book me for your next conference, congress, party or corporate jamboree please get in touch via email:
Benjamin Arthur The British Photographer in Amsterdam.
+31 683 943 552 benjaminarthur@gmail.com
www.benjaminarthur.com Page 47
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NICK’S NOSH
Britsoc food correspondent Nick Nugent dips his quill in nitrogen and reports back from the cutting edge of Michelin starred food chemistry (in spooky Rotterdam) Our Nick dishes out the stars Page 49
“Waiter, there’s a Michelin star in my soup”
FG food labs ***
FG Restaurant Lloydstraat 204 3024 EA Rotterdam +31 10 425 0520 Email: info@fgrestaurant.nl
I
’ m taking you all on an excursion this month. I’m a fan of modern architecture, so as a belated birthday present my girlfriend took me to Rotterdam. While there, I combined this passion with my other indulgence:
Michelin food. I had a choice of two places. FG Food Labs is owned by Chef François Geurds. He also owns FG Restaurant in Lloydkwartier. Francois worked under Heston Blumenthal as a sous chef at the Fat Duck, and now has two Michelin stars under his belt. The chemist in me pointed towards FG Food Labs.
The place is set in an old railway arch in a ‘developing’ part of the city. Badly lit, it brought out my darkest fears about being mugged. You’ll be pleased to know we made it safely into the very modern interior. A reclaimed railway sleeper forms the main decorative theme, which tunnels down to an extremely modern kitchen exposed at the back. All the tables and stools are high, with the latter covered in smoking-room leather. Visually, it’s a very nice place to be. We were seated at the long bar area, even though I had booked one month in advance. I think this could have been because I missed their message left for me to confirm the booking, so they hedged their bets a bit and gave us a one of their flexible seats. Being in
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the bar area, we got to see some great looking food coming out of the kitchen. Thanks to a massive mirror, we also had unrestricted people-watching opportunities. The clientele are a mixture of business types, couples and tourists— which I guess was our category. You may already be wondering why I only gave three Nick Nosh starlets to a Michelin-starred restaurant. Let’s proceed. The menu is typical of these sorts of places: a surprise 3-6 course menu or a few a la carte options. It was my pseudo birthday dinner, so we opted for the full six-course extravaganza. Then the problems started to occur. The first thing they asked was about food allergies, and if there was anything that I simply didn’t like. This is my list of dislikes: • • •
• • • •
Salmon, but not smoked salmon. Mussels any way, and especially in Paella. Aniseed flavoured things: • Liquorice. • Fennel unless its shaved thinly. • Star anise unless it’s in a Chinese sauce. • Ouzo, Raki, Pernod, etc. • Tarragon. Coconut milk. Nuts in general, but I can put up with Almonds and Pistachios. Liver, Kidney and Brain, but other offal is okay. Asparagus (unless it’s the very thin green ones blanched and grilled).
There are a few more I could add to this list, but I don’t want to bore you too much. I didn’t give them the full details as it was quite long, but certainly the highlights. I think I saw the girl’s eyes glaze over. All she heard from this was blah, blah, blah “No fish”. An excellent suggestion from my girlfriend is to get this list printed and laminated for future reference. The next issue was the wine. The sommelier steamed across, and I asked if he had any matching wines with the food. “Sorry sir, we don’t do matching wines. You have to pick a bottle or choose from the selection by the glass.”
The selection by the glass was poor. We had a Cava to start, which I hoped would last us through the inevitable fish courses. I intended to choose a red later. They said they would inform us when this would be appropriate. All this was taking quite some time, and after 30 minutes all we had achieved was to order. This was going to be a long night. As with all these reviews, I will skip over some courses and give you the highlights. We matched Cava with twill bread and cheese (baked on top)— extremely moreish. This came with superb butter, excellent sour dough bread and pink peppercorns. The Amuse was tapioca with aubergine, and lime and sour dough Crostini with three types of tomato. The tapioca gave a real taste explosion for the tomato Crostini, but not so much. The soup course is really where my fussiness kicked in. The soup was basically mustard soup with pork belly, leek and potato. It was very creamy, with excellent pork. The lady had haring with caviar in the same base. We both liked our own and thought it was better than the other. >>>
nicksnosh@hotmail.com Page 51
“Waiter, there’s a Michelin star in my soup” The second starter for the lady was shrimp with pearl barley in squid ink, calamari, bisque sauce, celeriac purée and cube of celeriac. For the gentleman, it was sweetbread with pearl barley, celeriac with a bit of aniseed carrot dice and cube of celeriac. I really liked the look of the shrimp on the plate, but we both agreed the sweetbreads were amazing. At this point, I asked if they had something against serving me fish. At which point the server, who had asked me my dislikes, told me that I said I did not like fish. “On the contrary,” I said, “I love, halibut, turbot and many other fish.”
“Honesty, I am not pompous, I just know what I like.” Just in time! They made two attempts to get the fish course right. Take one: just as we were about to be served cod with asparagus, with plates almost making touchdown, they remembered my list. The plates were swiped away before we caught full sight of the dish. Take two: they brought cod coated with spicy seasoning, herb ponzu sauce, cabbage roll, pumpkin purée with cumin and carrot dice, creamy fish broth and of course with Asparagus for the lady. The fish was very well cooked, and everything else on the plate was complimentary. By this point, with all the toing and froing, we were about two hours into the meal without getting to the main course. The restaurant was only half full, yet the air extraction/cooling system could not cope. We were sweating and it was getting quite smoky. Next came a bit of theatre and DIY in the form of the Palette cleaner. We were given a mortar and pestle (I can never remember which is which) and a jug of liquid nitrogen. The mortar (or the pestle) contained herbs (including tarragon!) and pepper. Once crushed, we mixed in yogurt to create herby frozen yogurt.
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This was served alongside Chickpea purée with tahini, croutons, bacon pieces and a huge wedge of aubergine. The first bit of theatre was great and tasted really fresh, the second part, however, was palette coating more than cleansing. Now we have the drama of the red wine selection. The sommelier tried the same approach as the waitress, and asked us our likes and dislikes. My response? “I like bold, fruity, new-world wines.” He promptly suggested some Austrian thing. The wine is listed by the glass but I ordered a bottle. I looked through the menu and picked out the Ripasso, which is always a favourite. This one however was acidic and lacking in roundness. [I had a maths teacher like that-Ed] I eventually chose a De Toren Z, which is from the same vineyard. One of my favourites of last year is from Fusion V. It took a bit of time, but it delivered. The main was slow cooked beef, carrot purée, celeriac purée, onion compote with duck liver sauce. This was and incredibly rich dish, so a good job it was quite small. The meat was fall-apart-with-your-fork consistency, but lacked some flavour for me. This dish was a bit ho hum. The final piece of resistance, yes you read it right, was the dessert of mashed potatoes, grape, brioche, raspberry mousse! Yes mashed potatoes. I have experienced another restaurant trying this with a goats cheese mousse at L ’Invite. It doesn’t work, please stop. It still tastes of mashed potatoes! There are many things to commend this restaurant, and since we were the last people in there, the cleaning of the kitchen is certainly one of them. There is only Cantinetta in Amsterdam I have ever seen clean this thoroughly. However, for a restaurant of this quality there are far too many basic errors. It was hard work in there, especially with the wine selection and the trying to get things right. Also I know it was slightly my fault, but not to be seated at a proper table when I had told them it was for my birthday one month in advance is shocking. La Rive still remains my favourite Michelin starred restaurant in the Netherlands, and since I only gave them four stars for minor infractions I cannot give this place more than three stars. If you find yourself in Rotterdam and want a fancy meal, then maybe check out the other places first.
[Too much Red nick?]
nicksnosh@hotmail.com
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Tapioca Pudding with Pin Karen Vivers
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food glorious/
neapple and Coconut (Gluten Free)
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K
aren Vivers, originally from Scotland, has lived here in Amsterdam since 1997, and has set up the Cooking Coach to help inspire people to get back into the kitchen. The basis of the cooking lessons are easy, tasty, healthy recipes. Each course starts with a free introduction session, to make sure that you only cook what you like to eat. As well as cooking lessons, Karen offers Culinary Tours in Amsterdam, is a passionate Food Blogger and works freelance as a Culinary Consultant, specialising in small and medium businesses, helping them get started, grow and deal with commercial challenges.
Tapioca Pudding with Pineapple and Coconut (Gluten Free) About a month ago I heard myself saying words I never ever thought I’d utter. “I’m going gluten free.” It was a shock I can tell you. As somebody who has eaten everything and anything all my life, this would be a huge change for me, or so I thought. The reason for my decision was that I had been having some niggling symptoms, nothing serious, more annoying than anything. After taking some medical advice, this seemed like the right way to go. Before I go any further I think it is important to tell you that I am not allergic, luckily, I seem to be able to take gluten, but this was more of a personal experiment to see if it would help me. So, I decided to give it a try, see how it went, I had nothing to lose after all - except bread. Oh no, bread! What would I do without it? I came out to some friends and family with the news and set about my task. My first strategy was to scour the organic supermarkets for gluten free products. I came home, laden with quinoa, gluten free bread, crackers and pasta. Over the course of the first week I gave them a try. I replaced cous cous and bulgar wheat with quinoa, and used the bread and pasta. I have a confession, I hate quinoa. As much as I want to like it, I just don’t. Then the pasta and crackers, well, they were ok. The very worst was the bread, yuck! Gluten free bread is nothing short of awful. The texture is weird, dry and cardboard like, it’s dusty, as if somebody has wiped each slice over the sawmill floor before packaging. I needed new plan. Then I realised. What am I doing? I’m a cook for goodness sake. I shouldn’t be using these inferior overpriced replacements, I should use what I already have. What I already know. Since then I haven’t looked
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back. I’ve got back into using lots of grains and pulses instead of cous cous and the like, I buy spelt bread, and I use more rice now. That’s how this recipe came about. As a child I loved tapioca pudding. I haven’t made it for years - I forgot about tapioca. One day browsing through a list of gluten free food, I saw it, and I thought what a great excuse to re-create a childhood favourite. I have to say, I had to make the tapioca pudding twice, I ate the first batch, every time I passed the fridge, I couldn’t stop myself taking just one more spoonful. So, what have I learnt? Well my personal taste lends itself to these foods anyway, so I reckon my body knew all along what it needed. And, best of all, if you can cook you are not forced to spend hours reading food labels in the supermarket, because you already know what you put in your food. Once you have a basic grasp of real foods that contain gluten, the only thing holding you back is your imagination. Now, more than a month on, the niggling symptoms have all but gone. I haven’t missed gluten and I intend to carry on with a relatively low gluten diet. Preparation: 40 minutes Chilling time: 3 hours
Serves 4 to 6 For the Tapioca 65gr / 2.3 oz. of pearl tapioca (the smaller pearls) 250ml / 8.5 fl oz. full milk 1 x vanilla pod 200ml / 6.8 fl oz. coconut milk A pinch of salt 2 x large egg yolks 1 x heaped tbsp sugar For the Pineapple 250gr / 8.8 oz. of diced pineapple 2 x tsp honey (or to taste) Juice and zest of one lime
Method 1. The place to start is with the tapioca, the pudding is a custard. So, in a heavy bottomed saucepan add the full milk, salt, tapioca the seeds from the vanilla pod and the empty vanilla pod. Bring this mix to a gentle simmer and stir occasionally. Do this until the tapioca is translucent and tender, this takes about 20 minutes. When cooked, stir in the coconut milk.
2. While the tapioca mix is cooking you can whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl - quite big as it has to hold half of your tapioca mix too. Mix the egg and sugar together until the colour lightens. 3. Taking your cooked tapioca mix from the heat, pour half of it into the bowl with the eggs and sugar, whisk together using a metal hand whisk. Then pour this back into the pan and place on a medium heat. 4. On a medium heat keep whisking until the mix thickens, this takes about 5 minutes or so. It is important not to use too high a heat as the eggs will scramble. The mix will not become really thick, the chilling process will thicken it further. I like to check the sweetness level at this stage, you can add a little more sugar if you wish, but if you do, stir it through until it dissolves. Put your tapioca pudding in a clean, cool bowl, remove the vanilla bean and set aside to cool. When it has cooled, cover with cling film and put in the fridge. 5. Now for the pineapple. Combine the fruit with the honey, lime juice and most of the zest. Keep back a little lime zest to dress. 6. Place half of the mix in a food processor and whizz up until smooth. Transfer this back into the bowl with the rest of the pineapple and stir together – check the flavour and add more honey or lime if you wish. 7. Once your tapioca has chilled, place some of the pineapple mix in the bottom of your serving dishes, then add the tapioca and top with a little pineapple and some lime zest to finish.
food glorious/ Learn How to Cook the Healthy, Tasty Meals you WANT to Eat! Love Food, Live Healthy is ideal for those of us who really enjoy our food, but want to eat consciously without compromising on flavour. This book contains over 100 recipes and is packed with lots of practical cooking and healthy eating tips. Designed for cooks of all skill levels, whether you love cooking or just love eating! This book is a compilation of recipes used and created by Karen Vivers who, after overcoming a Binge Eating Disorder, started her own business teaching others to cook healthily. The realization that the key to sustaining the healthy weight she reached after losing 40kgs lay in cooking was the inspiration.
Tips and Variations •
Try with other exotic fruit like mango. I really like a mix of mango and passion fruit. In this version I don’t purée the passion fruit.
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I like to make the component parts in advance and then construct the dessert when it is time to serve, but you can construct it a few hours before hand if you prefer.
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There have been times when I need to make the custard a couple of days in advance, in this case I use pasteurized egg yolks and not fresh.
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This is a great dessert if you are looking for a gluten free pudding.
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I like to use goat’s milk instead of cow’s, I think it gives a fuller flavour, but that’s just a personal preference as I really love goat’s milk.
Karen’s COOKING BOOK “Love Food, Live Healthy” now available on Amazon. http://amzn.to/1rcOpYa
The Cooking Coach Love Food, Live Healthy www.thecookingcoach.eu Mobile : 06 1424 0009 Email: karen@thecookingcoach.eu Page 57
AMSTERDAM www.amsterdam.angloinfo.com
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