Amsterdam, Netherlands

A very relaxed Sunday today... In the afternoon I went to see this film:

Don't expect any deep story lines, no camera shots that last for longer than five seconds, so classical music in the background. But if you want to be neatly entertained, and blown away by fantastic special effects, then yes - go see it! I don't believe that the world will end on 21December 2012, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this. Two and a half hours flew by because it was just a great experience. But of course it's all science fiction. In this film, the President of the United States is black. I mean, come on! That would never happen! Hehe.

Funnily enough the evening ended in Spijker. Sunday nights with Bart behind the pinball machine have somehow become a tradition - and a very nice one, actually!

And somewhere early in the morning I also had the time to take a picture of the little Snow White figure on my desk. It's yet another marketing campaign by the country's largest supermarket chain. Well, at least the camera loves her...

Amsterdam, Netherlands

For years there has been a 'strictly no smoking' sign in my living room. It's not that I object to smoking in my living room - I never even bought the sign myself. It somehow, magically, became my property. I remember it well... I had been to Glasgow for a weekend with Ian, back in 2002 or 2003. Just before we left Glasgow again, at Glasgow Airport, Ian, Andy and me had some coffees in the Costa Coffee shop which still existed then in the terminal building (since replaced by a Starbucks). And Costa Coffee had little 'strictly no smoking' signs on their tables.

When it was nearly time for us to proceed to the gates, I used the toilets quickly, asking Andy and Ian to keep an eye on my backpack. We then said or goodbyes and Ian and me continued to the plane, leaving Andy behind in Glasgow. On the plane I wanted to get something from my backpack and lo and behold, there was one of the 'strictly no smoking' signs - right there in my backpack.

Fast forward to November 2009 and now picture a coffee shop in the Princes Square shopping center in Glasgow. Colin, Andy and me are having a coffee in the Tinderbox cafe on a quiet Sunday afternoon, just before we met up with Lynn. As we are about to leave Tinderbox, I decide to go to the toilets and - yes - I ask Andy and Colin to keep an eye on my backpack. We continue to have a great evening with Lynn and when we get back home I open my backpack... only to find a Tinderbox menu and a wooden wedge that they apparently had in use to keep open a window.

This is nothing too shocking, really. I know a host of people who have gone home with laminated menus, pepper and salt sets, whisky glasses and even pint glasses that somehow, quite mysteriously, appear in their bags or coats. I'll leave you to decide what or who the common factor is in both incidents as described above. Next time I'm in Glasgow I'll go back to Tinderbox and very quietly I'll put the menu back on one of their tables... and I'll keep an eye on my backpack all the time while doing so.