Vanaf vandaag gaan wij weer dansen *

What a fantastic trip we had to our beloved Amsterdam! And, for a change, there were five of us, as the usual "Tarts on Tour" (Me, Madam Arcati, Baby Steve and Houseboy Alex) we were joined by John-John - which made it all the more fun, as we were able to introduce him to things that he didn't see when he was there last [which was for my 50th birthday - gulp - thirteen years ago!]...

Five days of people-watching by day (at Trinity Cafe opposite our hotel on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, or St James Gate on Rembrandtplein, or the bar formerly known as the much-missed Amstel Taveerne, now The Mill), drinking, eating FEBO and at Eetsalon Van Dobben, wandering the grachten, more drinking, and generally enjoying ourselves - bliss.

We paid tribute to my favourite building in Amsterdam, the Tuschinski Theatre:

[click any pic to embiggen]

We "went true Dutch" at traditional bars such as De Haven van Texel, with its beautiful canal-side view, and the historic bruine kroegen ("brown café") Café Hoppe on the wonderfully-named Spui [the square at the end of the shopping street Kalverstraat; we went there for a welcome beer after trekking round loads of stores including C&A (a clothing shop that was beloved in the UK until it closed all its branches in 2000), and coming away with nothing]. We even spent an afternoon at Amsterdam's botanical garden Hortus Botanicus - with its fascinating butterfly house:

Our gorgeous student boys were back, getting up to their usual hi-jinks [often with their tops off, but we have no photo evidence of that, unfortunately] for their equivalent of "Freshers' Week":

Amsterdam Freshers' Week 2026

We [obviously!] spent a few nights in some of our fave gay bars, including The Queen's Head [which, we discovered, really only comes into its own on weekends nowadays], the sleazy-and-fab Spijker Bar, and the ever-friendly and jolly Café Montmartre [now in another new location, as part of the busy "gay village" in Reguliersdwarsstraat, and renamed "Montmartre XL"].

Our very favourite of all is - of course - the oldest gay bar in Amsterdam [and possibly the world] Cafe 't Mandje, and its raucous traditional Sunday lunchtime Dutch sing-alongs:

Cafe 't Mandje singalong 2026 - Tulpen uit Amsterdam

On our very last day, before catching our plane, it was off to the Zeedijk again for the utterly joyous Hartjesdag festival, with its street party, complete with a free breakfast on trestle tables the length of the street, more traditional sing-alongs, followed by the traditional men-dressed-as-women and women-dressed-as-men parade! We love it:

Hartjesdag 2026 - Oh Johnny

Only one thing marred the celebratory mood, however. Our lovely hosts Karl and Josef at Hotel Anco - where we have stayed every year for at least a decade - are retiring, have put the business up for sale and have a new apartment just around the corner on De Wallen! How very, very sad. They've been like family to us. We have put our reservation in for next year just in case, but Karl said he will let us know if the situation changes [if it is no longer a hotel by then, for instance].

Now... what did we miss while we were away?

Our "colander obscura" captured dozens of little crescents, as the moon obscured the sun

• Well, we didn't miss the partial solar eclipse on Wednesday. It threw a weird early-dusk-like shadow over the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers, but we're a bit too far east to have caught the best effect, by all accounts.
• We did miss the hottest day of the year in the UK on Thursday, as temperatures reached 38.1 C (100.6 F) in west London. It was hot in Amsterdam, too - but not that hot! The garden suffered, as we discovered when we got in last night at around 8pm, and I immediately needed to do some emergency spot-watering. We've done a more thorough job today. Only once things settle down we will discover if there were any casualties...
• We also missed:
  • Nigel Farage won the Clacton by-election that he called, beating a man dressed as a bin.
  • An article that explains how big penises and bigger breasts help athletes compete in sports like swimming and cycling.
  • Hot on the heels of Sky's takeover of ITV in July, another beloved British institution EasyJet agreed a takeover by US private equity giant Apollo. The future of "Cheap Flights" looks to be in the balance...
  • Yesterday (17th August) was the centenary of the birth of the magnificent Mr George Melly, trad jazz aficionado, snappy-dressing camp icon, humanist, raconteur and wit, who we loved dearly. [See my posts about "Gorgeous George" here, here and here]
  • Also yesterday, the funeral of the lovely Bonnie Tyler took place in her native Swansea, Wales.
  • ...and [one for Norma, who loves them] we missed the international Corgi Race, held annually in Vilnius, Lithuania!

But... did I bring anything back for your delectation, dear reader?

Of course - one of the Netherlands' most popular singers, whose songs were being played all over the place while we were there:

Wesly Bronkhorst - Hitmedley [Muziekfeest van het Jaar 2025]

Is it good to be back? NO!

[Vanaf vandaag gaan wij weer dansen = "From today we will dance again"; part of the lyrics of one of Mr Bronkhorst's songs in that medley, Kom allemaal maar in mijn armen]