Amsterdam Russ

Took a cycle ride onto the Amsterdam woods today on what was a very grey afternoon. I made a special point of going to Bloesempark to see the display of cherry trees. Most of the blossom had gone, unfortunately. Lots of wild flowers to be seen elsewhere, though. On this pic I desaturated the greens and left only the pink of the blossom and the colours of the bark. It makes for a nice effect, I thought. These were taken in a tiny nature reserve called Vogeleiland (Bird Island). The woodland authorities haven't put any signs up to the reserve, so you either know of its existence or you don't, which I think is a great idea in a place that receives something like four million visitors a year. This heron came swooping in very close to me and was slow enough for me to fire off a few shots as it came in to land.

Obviously a dab hand with the puns. Trying to think of some only makes me flounder. Best get me skates on then...

Jeez, that's terrible. On the up side though, how the hell do you safely move 700,000 fish? Anyone who says "carefully" will get a slap with a wet haddock!

I did ask if Monsieur Uptite, who's knowledgable about the French language, if he might fill us in with some more information since he's clearly in the know…

Approaching the windmills at Zaanse Schans in the Netherlands. Taken in July 2007 on a month-long holiday after I'd quit my job in London after nearly 16 years. Three and a half months after this was taken I moved to the Netherlands permanently and have never looked back.

Considering all the records I've seen branded as 'Northern Soul' on eBay, I reckon at least seven million, possibly more.

My 2nd set of the night as guest DJ at the Amsterdam Soul Club is now - thanks to the wonders of modern technology - available to listen online. Classics all the way. Here's the playlist... 2nd set: Mack Rice - Baby I'm coming home Larry Hall - Rebel heart Ronnie Forte - That was whiskey talkin' Tony Middleton - Spanish maiden Jerry Williams - If you ask me Rhonda Davis - Can you remember The Dells - It's all up to you Bobby Sheen - Something new to do Jimmy Ruffin - Gonna give her all the love I've got Cajun Heart - Got to find a way Larry Laster - Go for yourself The Royal Five - Say it to my face Larry Williams - You ask for one good reason Sam & Kitty - I've got something good The Limitations - I'm lonely, I'm troubled Johnny D - Strange love Edwin Starr - I have faith in you By the way, if any of you are looking to come over to the Amsterdam and want to take in the soul club, do give me a shout and I'll point you towards all the useful info. https://www.mixcloud.com/LomaRuss/amsterdam-soul-club-mix-april-pt2/

Don Cornelius used two syllables in his dodgy pronunciation and he was definitely trying to say it en français in my book. My comment was based on that. Let's move on to something a bit more interesting such as Soussan's second coming… What do you know?

The two syllable pronunciation was exactly what I was trying to get across… See-mon. Simone is also two syllables, hence my point!

One just come up for sale here... https://www.raresoul45s.co.uk/shop/new-arrivals/harrold-melvin?product_id=2178&category_id=2

That's how you'd pronounce "Simon" in French. I guess SS was playing up that part of his heritage.

Lovely story and pics - thanks for sharing.

"Get the money" - a cracking boogaloo release from Amsterdam band The Mighty Typhoons and released as a 45 on the recently formed Tardam record label just a few weeks ago. I played this out at the Amsterdam Soul Club last week and it went down a storm. The name Tardam combines the names Taranto in Italy and Amsterdam, the respective homes of the label's founders which include collector and DJ Goffredo Santovito. By the way, the 2nd track on this three track 45 ISN'T that Snake!

Just uploaded to Mixcloud - my first set at the Amsterdam Soul Club last Saturday night (18th April). Loma Russ Playlist – 1st set: Ben Aiken - Satisfied Darrell Banks - Somebody (Somewhere) needs you Edwin Star - SOS Stop her on sight Eddie Parker - Love you baby The Five Beltones - I can't believe it (Acetate) The Mighty Typhoons - Get the money Speedometer - Happy Maxine Brown - It's torture Inez & Charlie Foxx - Tightrope AC Reed - My baby's been cheating Carl Douglas - Something for nothing Roscoe Shelton - Running for my life Lawanda Bell - Down, down, down (Acetate) Vince Apollo - I bear witness Bobby Garrett - I can't get away NA Allen - Open the door to your heart Joe Turner - Two loves have I Jo Stance - Hey girl https://www.mixcloud.com/LomaRuss/amsterdam-soul-club-mix-april-2015-pt1/

Here you go...

The one sold by JM last December had the year 1973 on it.

For almost a year now I've been taking regular pics of the scenery through the same front window using my iPad. What I eventually want to do is string them together in a rapid slide show in the hope that the changing of the seasons might be readily apparent. If so, I'll load it up to YouTube. Had my iPad pressed up against the glass just a few minutes ago when a jackdaw came flying in my direction (there's roosting space above the windows and under the eaves). The bird got very close, suddenly saw me on the other side of the glass, did an emergency mid-air break and flew away. Nice capture, I thought!

Perfect! You could go bigger if you wanted and go for the 1000 px size. Sunsets and other landscapes always look even better when they're bigger (as long as they fit on the screen).

The image you've uploaded is full-size - it's huge. It's too big! I'm guessing that when you click on the pic it's taking an age to load on whatever your device/computer is. The best thing to do is to resize the image and make it smaller. Somewhere between 500-1000 pixels should do it. Whatever device you're using, it should come with a basic photo editing programme. When you click on your own pics are there any options? When you do resize, make sure to give the file a new name. Otherwise your device might overwrite the original-sized image with the smaller one you've made. Hope that helps. If you need a bit more help just ask away - people here'll be able to guide you through the steps easily enough.

In Post 415 I described the power struggle going on between a pair of coots an a pair of great crested grebes. In the end it looked as if the persistence and the greater aggression of the coots won the day and the nesting site. The grebes didn't entirely give up though and since that last posting there's been a sort of strange co-ownership of the nest site. The coots have been roaming farther afield for nest-building materials and when they do, the grebes take control of the nest. When the coots came back, they'd take control - and so it's been going on day after day. I said in post 415 that no matter who won the site it would all end in tragedy. Why? Because the nest was being built around a public fountain. And today that tragedy happened - they turned on the fountain. For weeks these birds - both grebes and coots – have been building a nest and fighting over who should have control of it. It's been quite an amazing thing to watch and the whole thing would have made for a great wildlife documentary. Here's one of the pics of the coots and grebes in an early standoff - with the coots trying to take over what the grebes had started. Here's the scene now. Nothing remains and no one, except me and those who've read my posts here - have any idea that this fierce, but ultimately futile struggle, took place at all.

It worked…

I find it rather funny that people want to stigmatise someone for acts committed several decades ago when the scene - and indeed this forum - is awash with stories of criminal acts that include drug dealing, drug taking, breaking into pharmacies, stealing cars to go to nighters and all sorts of other jolly "capers". Oh, what larks! In fact, there are numerous well-supported and well-read threads here that celebrate these "adventures". Why, because good or bad, like it or not, they're part of the very fabric of a scene that emerged on the borders of both "normal" society (the very thing everyone was looking to escape from, allegedly) and legality. It just seems a bit rich that some actions are lauded as great fun and "just part of the scene" while others bring out the Witch Finder General in people. The strange world of Northern Soul!

And a mackerel sky!

My sets @ the Amsterdam Soul Club last Saturday night. 1st set: Ben Aiken - Satisfied Darrell Banks - Somebody (Somewhere) needs you Eddie Parker - Love you baby The Five Beltones - I can't believe it (Acetate) The Mighty Typhoons - Get the money Speedometer - Happy Maxine Brown - It's torture Inez & Charlie Foxx - Tightrope AC Reed - My baby's been cheating Carl Douglas - Something for nothing Roscoe Shelton - Running for my life Lawanda Bell - Down, down, down (Acetate) Vince Apollo - I bear witness Bobby Garrett - I can't get away NA Allen - Open the door to your heart Joe Turner - Two loves have I Jo Stance - Hey girl 2nd set: Mack Rice - Baby I'm coming home Larry Hall - Rebel heart Ronnie Forte - That was whiskey talkin' Tony Middleton - Spanish maiden Jerry Williams - If you ask me Rhonda Davis - Can you remember The Dells - It's all up to you Bobby Sheen - Something new to do Jimmy Ruffin - Gonna give her all the love I've got Cajun Heart - Got to find a way Larry Laster - Go for yourself The Royal Five - Say it to my face Larry Williams - You ask for one good reason The Limitations - I'm lonely, I'm troubled Sam & Kitty - I've got something good Johnny D - Strange love Edwin Starr - I have faith in you. Cosy venue, enthusiastic crowd, good beers and above all, a great atmosphere!

That's why I said 'people' rather than just 'you'…