Amsterdam Russ

First trip out somewhere for absolutely ages. Went to the Dutch seaside town of Scheveningen on what was a lovely afternoon. Had fish and chips and a stroll along the beach. Not too many people there, which was great. Just tonight the Dutch government announced the end of curfew and the opening up of Café/bar terraces - that’s after close to seven months. It’s a start, and hopefully means we can get out and about a bit more. A few pics from our afternoon out...

Of course, it could just be that I used Photoshop to delete my surname and address from the pic.

Hurray! Can't believe it took so long for someone to say that.

Yes. Wish I'd taken any of them!

Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award All absolutely cracking images - this is one of Nardini's winners. Source: BBC News / © Dylan Nardini Check out the winners here: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-56688163

It is the English language version ala the US WB release, although I do think a Spanish version would sound celestial.

Just one sleevely delight from me... This delightful one cosily wrapping an Argentine 7" of the Apollas classic track - Mr Creator.

Haha - what an accolade. Having said that, I'm sure loads of records have travelled many more miles than that particular one. Thought I had a screen grab of the USPS travel log, but can't find it. But here's the packaging for the 45 that ended up on a little Caribbean island and still found its way home - eventually!

Some years back I had a USPS-tracked 45 from eBay go from NYC to LA to Tokyo to LA to NYC and then over to me in the Netherlands. Not only a well-travelled 45, but it survived to tell the tale! I also had one go from NYC to the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat (10 miles long by 7 miles wide). From there it was sent back to NYC and then on to me in NL. The packaging had a local post office rubber stamp on it that says “misdirected to Montserrat” - which clearly means it ain’t the first time it’s happened. But I thought it really great that the person in the Montserrat post office took the time to do that rather than take it for themselves or just dump it. I’ve still got that packaging now.

I have an acetate with two tracks on it - Hang Loose pt1/pt2. While the mp3 is similar in that it's a funky soul groove, it's definitely not the songs on the acetate.

The recent chats about red kites and their proliferation makes this story from the BBC even more worrying... Photo source: BBC News / © Chad Brown Full story: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-56648701

Yes, I think most of us knew that already. But why play the 45 from YouTube when you can have Paul Anka singing it himself on Italian TV?

Thanks, Neil. In some respects I think the goose should get all the credit.

I'm sure this goose knew I was taking photos of it and posed for the camera to show off its full glory!

I rather like two-room events. Typically one is bigger than the other (or smaller than the other depending on how you look at things), which creates different atmospheres - that's taking it for granted you have a good crowd in the first place. Also adding to the atmosphere, and most importantly, is the music policy. I'm not so keen when there's a clear demarcation of styles/genres - having a classics room and a modern room, for example. Boundaries between genres have long blurred on the dance floor and even your average night of classics requires a multi-genre mix. For me, the best way to get a good music mix is to have a good DJ mix. Choose your DJs sensibly and you should be certain of avoiding hearing the same songs - whether in the same room or in both. A good organiser knows their DJs just as they should know the crowd - and the atmospheric potential of the rooms and the venue as a whole. Understand how to combine all three and away you go with a cracking event!

Mine doesn’t have a lock, but it would easily enough with the addition of a small padlock.

Mine was a gift on the occasion of my 50th birthday. Situations with hand luggage were different then. Don't think I would try taking that on-board now. And absolutely no way would I trust it to be in the hold!!

The Magma bag I have is – or was – specifically designed to fit into overhead lockers on planes. I guess that's why that particular design did away with external pockets.

Same here. My only complaint is that the one I've got doesn't have any pockets, which would have been useful.

On numerous occasions our visitors from the UK have had all of those! But don't get me wrong. I recall one guy (clearly a seasoned old-timer) wearing a "Wigan" vest at one of our nights. I was sure he wouldn't enjoy our tiny backroom pub set-up, but he danced all night to the varied selections we played and made a point of letting us know at the end that he'd had one of the best nights of his life. It doesn't get any better than that!

Not on this occasion. These were actually nice people. The crowd you're talking about came from Essex, stood outside the door and demanded "classics". "My wife loves Frank Wilson. I want that f*ckin Frank Wilson. Have you got the f*ckin Snake?Hope you're not playing any of that f*ckin 100 Club type of sh*t." With me politely saying such sounds wouldn't be heard, they loitered outside the door without coming in. Later in the night - and after numerous beers out of tins that they'd snuck in themselves – they asked for a discount on the door price. We (Pete) offered a small concession, but that still wasn't sufficient for them. They left rather miffed - and good riddance!

It sold out - very swiftly. Demand was - and is - high. Check Discogs or wherever. All bands are making music simply for profit and fame? Think again. You've reminded me of an old and very dated joke that goes along the lines of... "Did you here about the Irish* jazz musician? He was only in it for the money." * I apologise if anyone should be offended by the identification of any race/culture/birth or creed in what is an outdated trope, but it is used retrospectively - undoubtedly in bad taste nowadays - to emphasise a point made decades ago.

I'd be more concerned if the technology behind the eye-tracking started showing adverts in the viewfinder while you were readying your shot!

By the same token, look at the DJ and punter reaction to and demand for a couple of stand-out "newies" in recent years, namely "What I done wrong" by Big Lee Dowell (Cannonball), and Ben Pirani's "Light of my life" (Palmetto St). Both went huge, and rightly so. I could name one premier league UK collector/DJ who offered me (at the time) a princely sum after I played Ben's 45 out to a great reception in Amsterdam. But, 1) I have way too much respect and admiration for that person to name them, and 2), I declined to sell - simply on the basis that I loved the tune too much to part with it. My point is that there are UK DJs out there with an ear for the new. Over here in this foreign land, playing new releases to a local crowd is not an issue in the slightest. Mind you, that crowd doesn't come with UK "Northern Soul" baggage. Anyway, to head back to the actual topic, here's another of my fave releases from recent years - and it's one that serves as something of a contradiction to what I've said as it's a cover of what will forever be a Top 500 sound. Must admit I am somewhat biased as this is by a Dutch band; I'm friends with a couple of members, and I was privileged to be the first ever to play it out anywhere. That aside, even a few years later, I think it a truly fantastic take on a classic and still awe inspiring tune!

It's less about the Djs playing "newies" and more about a certain type of punter who only wants to hear "oldies". Several years back, at one of the soul nights I had in a tiny backroom of an Amsterdam cafe, a group of British "Northern Soul" fans came in right at the start. I always used the warm-up slot to play new or recent soul releases, When doing so, one of the entourage - a friendly lady, I must admit - came up to me and commented that the music was great, but might there be the chance that she would hear some "Northern "soul" during the night. While being British myself, my experience of "Northern Soul" fans when organising nights in Amsterdam is that "oldies" are strictly the order of the day. As a small-time promoter in a "foreign land", I eternally find that closed-minded attitude to be terribly sad. Regardless, playing "newies" at a venue is - to my mind - absolutely essential.