It’s queensday again!
[update]
But it may the last Queensday in the old tradtion of Beatrix going on walkabouts, and having uncomplicated fun. After the horrifying events in Apeldoorn, the whole concept will be thoroughly reviewed.
Q-day
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Category Archives: partytime
¡vamos a la playa Engel!
April 3, 4, 5: spanish evening in the Engel!
We’re ready!
Nashville
On our way back from Mexico, we spent almost a week in Nashville, on the occasion of my uncle’s 80th birthday.
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- My uncle celebrated his 80th birthday
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- Cathy and Howard
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- Peter and Dicky
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- The kids table
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- Superbowl Sunday
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- John, Peter and Patti
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- Monell’s
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- Lunch at the Mad Platter
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- Cheekwood house
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- In Cheekwood
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- The glass bridge on the sculpture trail
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- Readymade garden sheds
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- Mary’s Oldfashioned Barbecue Pit
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- The Parthenon
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- Schermerhorn Symphony hall
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- The Ryman auditorium
Oktoberfest pictures
Last Saturday was Oktoberfest in De Engel. Click the picture below to see a gallery:
Renate carries two beers
Oktoberfest – in Oktober!
Coming up on October 25 in De Engel: Oktoberfest! Bier, Bratwurst und Ich bin wie du.
Karneval 2008
I’ve made a selection of pictures, which you can see here. Or click the picture.
Ah-oh… Karneval!
We’ve just got back from another fun-filled Karneval in Cologne. It was not as busy as other years; maybe because it was the earliest in the year that Karneval could be, or maybe it’s getting all too expensive.
We did have a good time though. Weather was nice, except for Rosenmontag, when it rained on and off.
I’ll try to put some more pictures up soon; in the meantime here’s one of us (Niels, Timon, Jan, Frits) as teletubbies. Click the picture for the not-quite-safe-for-kids (anatomically correct!) enlargement.
And another year begins…
I’ve been busy today, clearing up the Christmas decorations. Not that we have that many, but it’s always more than you realise. And this year, instead of just shoving everything into a big box, I actually checked the fairylights. And then neatly stowed them in their original boxes.
You can see a couple of pictures of our traditional Christmas (well, day after Christmas for you Americans, Boxing Day for english visitors) dinner on this page.
The Merry Christmas Bells
During the Christmas Saloon, organised by the Amsterdam Stetsons, we did a little act as the Mary Christmas Belles, which got mangled to the Merry Christmas Bells – oh well.
The Mary Christmas Belles are (from left to right on the stage): Hans, Simon & Timon.
The music is The lord of the dance (Ronald Hardiman), Man, I feel like a woman (Shania Twain) and Christmas is here (Bearforce 1).
Watching the boats go by…
Last weekend the annual Gay Pride took place in Amsterdam, with the traditional Canal Parade. This year we were not in it – we thought we’d give other people a chance…
I’ve put some pictures up, taken from the Jonathan. Here’s one to whet your appetite:
Lederkerle und Fummeltrienen
…or, leathermen and dragqueens. I don’t like to pigeonhole myself, but I think that – at least during Karneval – we don’t fall into the first category. As is witnessed by most of these pictures.
Just a taster:
The Kostumball was fun, as usual. We didn’t win any prizes this time round again, but Frank and Mark did, dressed as a castle gate. The theme for the ball this year was ‘Geburtstagfest im Märchenschloss” or “Birthdayparty in the Fairytale castle”. We went as puss in boots. The boots being hip-waders, in our case. Maybe we were just a little bit more Lederkerl than Fummeltriene after all…
Christmas 2006
As tradition will have it, we had our usual Christmas dinner with friends on December 26. Click the picture for more.
Pride Pics
You can see some pictures of this years Gay Pride in Amsterdam here.
Amsterdam Gay Pride 2006 (updated)
Today was the Amsterdam gay Pride highlight: the Canal Parade. You can probably find many pictures online (flickr, anyone?). I don’t have many of our boat, on account of being on it.
The offical theme for the Canal Parade was “Rembrandt 400”, we however didn’t really keep to that motto. Our motto was “Rembrandts Greek Period”, and we went as the Nana Mouskouri farewell tour. This was the poster on our boat:
Mouse-over for full effect.
Here’s one picture to give you an idea (Thomas as Nana Mouskouri):
I’ll add more pictures later, when I get them. Now it’s off to the street party along the Amstel, and later to the Warmoesstraat…
update: Jörg and Erik posted their pictures on Flickr.
CSD Cologne 2006
Last weekend was Gay Pride (CSD, Christopher Street Day) in Cologne. Usually it’s the first weekend in July, this year – because of the Soccer World Championships taking place in Germany – it was moved to 14/15/16 July. The weather was excellent: sun, clear skies and high temperatures. A good time was had by all. You can see some pictures here.
No peace for the wicked…
We’ve just come back from a week in Portugal, and now we’re off again to CSD in Cologne. Never a dull moment. Unfortunately, Jan and I have to cut the weekend short and come back on Sunday, because my houseboat (for the Friendship BnB) has to go to the wharf for its three-yearly check-up and maintenance. So monday will be a busy day. But first some fun in Cologne. Film at eleven, or whenever I get around to it…
Gay Pride is on
Earlier this year the GBA (Gay Business Amsterdam) pulled the plug from their organising the Amsterdam Pride. After much discussion (and mudthrowing), another group stepped into the void: Pro Gay.
So after a long time of uncertainty, it now seems that Amsterdam Gay Pride (and the Canal Parade) are now definitely going to happen this year. Originally we had planned to skip this year’s parade, but we decided to take part after all. So you can see the AYOR again this year, as it wends its way down he Prinsengracht and the Amstel. The theme for the parade is ‘Rembrandt’; whether we will stick to that theme exactly will be a surprise.
See you there!
Queensday Pictures
I’ve uploaded some pictures (taken by René) on my .mac space.
Another Queensday is over
Another year, another Queensday… This year it was very cold on Queensday. The traditional pasta at our houseboat was more than welcome! But although it was cold, the sun was out for most of the time, so people still had a good time.
The next day, Sunday, Jan took a couple of guys for the first boattrip of the season. Again, it was cold, but everyone had a good time. Hopefully it will be the first of many trips this year.
Bütz mich!
..or ‘Kiss me!’. One of the features of Carneval in Cologne is Bützen. Which is kissing, but without sexual intent. Another feature is Schunkeln, which is moving to the music (and there’s music everywhere). Anyhow, bützen was appropriate for our costume for the Rosa Funken Ball: we went as Snow White and the seven dwarfs. And Show White was brought back to life by a kiss, of course. More on Karneval (in german)
Carneval was a lot of fun, of course. We seem to have come through it without losing our voices, or catching colds. But it’s only monday now, so we’ll have to see what develops.
Meanwhile, see some pictures here.
update: pictures of the Rosa Funken Ball are on the website for the Rosa Funken and photographers Viktor and Volker’s website.