Geef mij maar Amsterdam en God bescherm de Koningin

Queen's Day in Amsterdam

I just read the news that a would-be-assassin targeted the Dutch Royal Family at the "Queen's Day" parade in Apeldoorn this week by driving his car at the royal bus. In doing so he instead hit the crowd, killing five people (and himself). Apparently he was a security guard who had recently been sacked. [What is it with security guards and doormen? So many murderous rampages seem to be committed by gentlemen of this profession lately.]

I have always wanted to go to Queen's Day - it sounds like loads of fun, with massive carnival parades (Amsterdam's being mainly on the canals), everyone dressed in the Royal colour orange, and a general party atmosphere (and a lot less pompous than the Trooping of the Colour here). My friend Richard lived in Amsterdam for a while and said the crowds can get quite scary as they try and cram through the narrow streets, however. Still, murderous madmen aside, I would still love to experience such a spectacle in my favourite city.

Trivia alert! Back in 1981, a recording surfaced of the Dutch Royal Family singing(!). The song Loo-Show-Trend is a strange find indeed, and of course was featured as part of the infamous 365 Days Project a few years ago (a web-based music project I followed avidly, and from which huge swathes of my utterly bizarre record collection originate).

And here's the link to the MP3



Loo-Show-Trend vocals are sung by (then) Princess Beatrix, Prince Claus (her now deceased husband), Princess Margriet (her sister) and Pieter van Vollenhoven (Margriet's husband, who also plays the accompanying piano). On the single they were named Boa Trix, Margriet, Claus von A. and Pieper van V. (pieper meaning potato head).

Read more about this bizarre record at the 365 Days Project site