Amsterdam Russ

I wonder - would that have been an overwintering swift or a very, very early summer arrival?

For five years now, I've run a Facebook group called the European Soul Club Network. It's a listing of soul events that are held in 'mainland' Europe (including Eire). For several of those years I've collated all the listings to give an annual summary of the number of events held by country, town and city. It's far from scientific and relates solely to events posted within the group, but it does provide an interesting snapshot of what happens where. One clear observation is that there were less events (297) in 2019 than in 2018 (325). Also, we see an increase in the number of events in some countries (Ireland, Germany and Spain, for example) and a notable falling away of events in others (for example, The Netherlands). In the country ranking, Germany is yet again the clear leader. And not only does it hold the most soul events annually, but it also has the most towns and cities that host soul events. Berlin continues to be the hottest spot for soul action with 39 events recorded there during 2019 as opposed to 25 the previous year. ESCN Soul Index 2019 Most soulful countries of 2019 by number of events recorded in the European Soul Club Network: (+ ranking & number of events for 2018, 2017 & 2016) 1 = Germany: 132 events (#1/119 + #1/85 + #1/65) 2 = Spain: 32 events (#5/25 + #4/23 + #5/16) 3 = Italy: 28 events (#2/32 + #2/33 + #3/23) 4 = Ireland: 22 events (#6/15 + #7/14) 5 = Sweden: 20 events (#4/27 + #5/22 + #4/19) 6 = The Netherlands: 15 events (#3/28 + #3/27 + #2/32) 7 = France: 13 events (#5/25 +7/14 + #6/10) 8 = Belgium: 11 events (#7/10 + #10/8 + #8/7) 9 = Denmark: 9 events (#6/15 + #8/11 + #7/8) 10 = Czech Republic: 4 events (#9/6 + #10/8 + #9/5) 10 = Greece: 4 events (#8/9 + #11/7 + #11/3) 11 = Switzerland: 3 events (#10/4 + #12/6 + #10/5) 12 = Portugal: 2 events (#10/4 + #13/5 + #12/2) 13 = Austria: 1 event (#11/2 + #14/2 + #13/1) 13 = Russia: 1 event (-/-) Total = 297 events (325/266/195 events) Most soulful cities/towns by number of events recorded in the European Soul Club Network, plus position in ranking 2018: (+ number of events for 2018, 2017 & 2016) 1 (1) = Berlin (DE): 39 events (25/18/13) 2 (3) = Hamburg (DE): 27 events (21/20/20) 3 (5) = Dublin (IE): 20 events (14/13/-) 4 (2) = Amsterdam (NL): 13 events (22/25/27) 5 (15) = Munich (DE): 10 events (2/2/-) 5 (6) = Stockholm (SE): 10 events (12/13/11) 6 (4) = Copenhagen (DK): 9 events (15/11/8) 7 (13) = Düsseldorf (DE): 7 events (4/2/-) 7 (9) = Milan (IT): 7 events (8/7/4) 7 (7) = Rome (IT): 7 events (10/4/-) 7 (16) = Valladolid (ES): 7 events (1/-/-) 8 (12) = Bilbao (ES): 5 events (5/4/-) 8 (11) = Brussels (BE): 5 events (6/3/3) 8 (8) = Cologne (DE): 5 events (9/2/1) 8 (14) = Dresden (DE): 5 events (3/3/-) 9 (11) = Barcelona (ES): 4 events (6/7/7) 9 (15) = Bologna (IT): 4 events (2/-/-) 9 (12) = Darmstadt (DE): 4 events (5/1/-) 9 (11) = Nice (FR): 4 events (6/4/1) 9 (10) = Tübingen (DE): 4 events (7/5/4) 10 (-) = Duisburg (DE): 3 events (-/-/-) 11 (9) = Gothenburg (SE): 3 events (8/7/6) 11 (-) = Leon (ES): 3 events (-/-/-) 11 (16) = Malmo (SE): 3 events (1/-/-) 11 (12) = Nüremberg (DE): 3 events (5/4/5) 11 (11) = Prague (CZ): 3 events (6/5/5) 12 (16) = Aachen (DE): 2 events (1/-/-) 12 (15) = Albufeira (PT): 2 events (2/2/-) 12 (15) = Antwerp (BE): 2 events (2/1/-) 12 (9) = Athens (GR): 2 events (8/7/-) 12 (15) = Bamberg (DE): 2 events (2/1/-) 12 (-) = Bruges (BE): 2 events (-/-/-) 12 (16) = Falun (SE): 2 events (1/-/-) 12 (-) = Leipzig (DE): 2 events (-/-/-) 12 (14) = Mönchengladbach (DE): 2 events (-/-/-) 12 (12) = Örebro (SE): 2 events (5/-/-) 12 (14) = Paderborn (DE): 2 events (3/-/-) 12 (14) = Saint Gallen (CH): 2 events (3/3/-) 12 (13) = Stuttgart (DE): 2 events (4/5/4) 12 (16) = Töging am Inn (DE): 2 events (1/-/-) 12 (13) = Villingen-Schwenningen (DE): 2 events (4/4/-) Locations with one recorded soul event: Benidorm (ES) I Bordeaux (FR) I Bremen (DE) I Calvia (ES) I Calvisson (FR) I Carpi (IT) I Collecchio (IT) I Corfu (GR) I Donostia (ES) I Dortmund (DE) I Eindhoven (NL) I Erfurt (DE) I Fontanafredda (IT) I Fucecchio (IT) I Galway (IE) I Genova (IT) I Hagen (DE) I Ibiza (ES) I Inchicore (IE) I Kassel (DE) I Lavarone (IT) I Leuven (BE) I Linz (DE) I Los Alazarez (ES) I Los Alcazares (ES) I Lucerne (CH) I Lyon (FR) I Madrid (ES) I Malaga (ES) I Marburg (DE) I Marseille (FR) I Mojacar (ES) I Monterotondo (IT) I Ninove (BE) I Oviedo (ES) I Pamplona (ES) I Passau (DE) I Plzen (CZ) I Rhodes (GR) I Rimini (IT) I St Petersburg (RU) I Tomelloso (ES) I Turin (IT) I Utrecht (NL) I Valencia (ES) I Vienna (AT) I Weissenhaeuser Strand (DE) I Wittmund (DE) I As mentioned, it's ultimately a bit of entertainment. At the same time it does show there's a thriving soul scene across Europe, and long may that continue!

No problem here. It's all relevant chat.

Thanks. That’s really quite amazing!

Somehow doesn't surprise me, although authentication would be preferred (not from you, but from the actual source). Over the Christmas period I've seen two bees and one wasp around our still-flowering balcony geraniums. And earlier today saw a ladybird. Weird!

Thanks to everyone for another year of fantastic photography. This thread is now closed and the new one - for 2020 - is here:

A New Year means a new Soul Source photography thread! Starting in 2013, "Show us your great photos" has proved to be a long-lived favourite - all because of the continued contributions and involvement of its enthusiastic participants. Here's looking forward to yet another year of fab photos - and don't forget that you don't need to be a photographer to post up pics. Whether taken with top-of-the-line gear or the camera on your smart phone, if you've got interesting pics, please feel free to share. To kick off, here's a batch of pics I took today while out on a cold and misty walk in a place called the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. I'd not heard of it until just very recently. Apparently it's a natural water table from which Amsterdam gets most of its fresh water. At the same time, it's a nature reserve, so now that I know of its existence, I'll have to make a point of visiting regularly. It wasn't a good day to be out with a camera, especially with a zoom lens. The light was poor, it was misty (heavy fog overhead - we could hear geese flying over but could barely see them, even though they were quite low), and it was cold. Hopefully conditions will be better on my next visit. Here's wishing you all a happy New Year and lots of happy shooting across the next 12 months.

Amazingly, the first thread, called “Show us your bird and wildlife photos”, came to life in 2013. I hadn’t realised it was that long ago! Indeed, thanks to Mike for allowing the thread to continue, and I have to agree that it’s a real privilege to have seen so many great photos. Everyone, please keep them coming! Here’s a moody sunset shot taken from our balcony with my iPad a couple of days ago.

Courtesy of Billboard magazine, 20th April 1968...

My early doors set on Saturday 14th December at the 3rd Amsterdam Rare Soul Weekender at Café Batavia… Betty Wright - Open the door to your heart - RCA (Italy) Margie Joseph - I can’t move no mountain - Atlantic Caffey Bros - Make me over - Aura Sunny & the Sunliners - I’m no stranger - Key-Loc Joe Bataan - Cycles - Vampi Soul Joyce Jones - Help me make up my mind - Vee Eight Shirley Caesar - Stand the storm - Hob The Salem Travelers - Give me liberty or death - Checker Gospel Travelers - Jesus is watching you - Hy Sign The Jubilee Hummingbirds - Same thing it took - Messenger Mary Alice McCall - Wade in the water - E&C Kindly Shepherds - Lend me your hand - Checker The Gospel Pearls - Two little fishes - Liberty (France) The Swan Silvertones - If you think your god is dead (try mine) - Hob The Meditation Singers - Don’t you want to go pt1 - Checker Bobby Gale - River deep, mountain high - Bell Sound Studios acetate Unknown - Ring around the rosie - Tower Sound Studios acetate Barbara Harris & the Toys - I got a a man - Bell Sound Studios acetate Unknown - I don’t believe it - Beltone acetate Gates Intino - She just said no - Audiodisc acetate Unknown - I’m through with you - unlabeled acetate Unknown - Eyes of love - Audiodisc acetate Nat Hall - That’s why - Acetate Duke Turner - Friendship or friends - Acetate Ebony’s Band - Hang loose pt1 - RPL acetate

If we’re talking air ambulance, here’s my footage of a helicopter that responding to an incident that happened outside our place recently - a cyclist who had an epileptic fit and hit their head when they fell. The helicopter landed in the car park at the back of our building, and my footage of it speedily making an exit is from our balcony, about 50m away from the helicopter. IMG_2601.MP4

Nothing to master, Ste. Not if you're using the inbuilt time-lapse function on the iPad's camera. I'm sure other phones/tablets have similar things, and there are plenty of apps out there. With the iPad function, there is only one time setting - one frame every six seconds. That's too fast for a short clip like mine, but OK if you're doing something over a good number of hours or the better part of a day. I imported my clip into iMovie and then slowed it down by half - from 30 to 60 seconds - otherwise it's almost a blur. All I had to do was set the device up, make it secure, and press the 'shutter' button - and then turn it off again when finished. I think the greatest consideration needed is in what you're looking to achieve. As mentioned, the 'lighting up' at the end is too brief, so a bit more thought at the start would have told me to let the time-lapse run for a while so the finished tree could be properly seen. Live and learn, but have fun while doing so.

Looks lovely. We put up our tree at the weekend. Now this isn't really the place for moving images, but we did make a time-lapse video of us doing it. And as that's made up of lots and lots of photos, maybe an exception can be made. With hindsight, I shouldn't have switched off so soon after finishing. Instead, the time-lapse should have run for a couple of minutes more so that there would have been an extra second or two showing the tree all lit up at the end. As it is, blink and you'll miss the lighting up ceremony! 🤣 Still, it's all good fun!

The winning images in the 2019 British Ecological Society photography competition are well worth checking out. Link here: https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-50602795

Fast, funky and very short...

Every year in the run-up to the festive season, we head to our local garden centre where they put on a massive display of Christmassy things. It's an almost surreal experience: some things are more Christmassy than others, and some things have absolutely no connection to the season at all. But it's very much worth the effort to go visit if you're in the Amsterdam area at this time as it's great fun! These pics were taken with my aged iPhone 5...

It’s ticket touting, but for records instead of tickets.

One from my archives... Seen on the island of Kos when we were there for a couple of weeks some years back. As you can see from the background, 'Funny Land' was nothing but a bit of disused industrial land. Not much funny about that!

A few pics from an autumnal afternoon stroll around a part of the Veluwezoom national park in the east of the Netherlands, close to the border with Germany.

Heard George Carrow first, but there's something about the over-layering of his vocals that I don't like. Darryl's take does nothing for me, likewise with The 3 1/2. And Stevie sounds as if he's trying too hard. In fact, they all do. But, if I were forced to choose one, then I'll go with Stevie.

No harm in having more than one copy of the same tune...

Can you be more specific about the record?

If you do make it over, make sure to give me a shout.

Absolutely gorgeous. Obviously the sun sets very rapidly, so I needed to work fast in taking pics before the light faded too much. The Amsterdamse Bos is a wonderful place and well worth visiting any time of the year.

Thank you kindly!