Well Spring has definitely arrived and after the first day on around Feb 26th which was followed by two weeks of near constant rain we can officially declare that the "green shoots" are appearing everywhere and with apologies to former Chancellor Lord Lamont the site is working but its not hurting et ce soir le dimanche 10 mars nous regretons absolut rien.
For those readers in the UK Spring may be a little late this year but not perhaps as late as certain crucial decisions. By the way the EUR 100 notes are my favourite not that I hold them enough to appreciate the design.
February 26th and some people are still hanging on to Winter by the Hofvijver and Parliament building.
We begin with a surprise. I arrived at the normally gentile Lange Voorhout with the intention of photographing the crocuses but was greeted with the spectacle of some non violent attention grabbing action action which kept the crowds amused and made them stay longer than they would have done had they just come to see the flowers.
Crocusses on Plein 1813
Pansies.
Before you think I've gone soft (or another adjective literally meaning a French sofa) the attitude to flowers and men is different here and yes championship winning football teams are presented with bouquets though I'm pleased to say the commentators don't switch to Dimblebey-style royal speak at the presentations.
Daffodils just after pulsating organ (local joke don't get exited) has only just got round to crocuses. It pays to be first boys !!
Ferns in Scheveningen.
By way of contrast the surf at Scheveningen. I do have some other shots and plan to combine them into a postcard - type multiple shot but due to reasons too boring to go into here can't bring the image to you until Tuesday.
I had to get away from the howling gale and quickly find shelter. Thankfully I was close to the Kurhaus so was able to recover quickly with the aid of some suitable refreshment.
And now for something completely different. A slight departure from the usual format a couple of photographs in keeping with the season.
Feel free to try this at home though the advice is not to do it on an empty stomach if you are prone to dizziness or sudden blackouts.
A long long time ago when people in offices made jokes and occasionally managed to work efficiently people used to put photographs on the walls and people were invited to write captions to amuse their colleagues while they were queuing for the coffee/photocopier.
Here are mine ...
To avoid any misunderstandings I ought to point out a few cultural differences. In Holland the saying goes De vrouw is de baas (The woman is the boss) this is the same in all cultures of course and the cause of much discussion in all male domains such as the Long Room in Lords, The Garrick etc. and a certain place in my home town where a former junior health minister and prospective MEP was not allowed to see if she could pot more reds than Steve Davis.
The point is that in general they make better bosses than the the ones at work and if you have a hobby or play sport you probably spend less time with them. Despite Britain's late decision to enter `The Euro plans to begin a pilot matrimonial exchange programme will be raised the next time Britain has the chair in the European Council of Ministers (they'll do anything to try and get elected.)
The poster actually looked stupid in real life as it was too large to take seriously or even laugh at for that matter though looking at them in a more natural way they do make rather a nice couple don't you think.