Numbers
As someone mentioned, we had a great turnout last year. In fact it's been building up nicely over the past few years.
Our biggest gatherings were nearly 10 years ago now. Then we had technical problems taking the forum off air for a while, a volcanic eruption grounding planes, the death of Slimline leading to the loss of the forum's domain name and so on, all of which reduced numbers a little.
Although the post-heyday gatherings have been slightly smaller, they are also more together. Back when we had loads of people in town we tended to split into smaller bands, often according to age group, with everyone only coming together at 4:20 in 420 and to some extent in the Nes. At the more recent gatherings we've tended to keep most of the crew touring around in a single group. Over the past couple of years we've even managed to get a bunch of people way out to the far east and west of the city!
Boat
I've managed to contact Captain James who took us out in 2015 and 16. He's finished electrifying the boat we used on those years and acquired a couple of other boats of different sizes too. He's waiting to hear whether we want to make use of his services.
My preference would be for a 2-hour twilight cruise on the 20th like we did before. I think it's nice to start in daylight and finish with lights on the bridges.
When I get a moment I'll repost the history of our boat trips, pictures and so on.
Evening Bars
It's been a tradition since the beginning to designate a smoker-friendly bar where we hang out every evening. This is a great social occasion and an opportunity for new arrivers to catch up with the gang.
Originally this was the Nes but since its demise we've mostly relied on
Batavia. Batavia is good in that it's easy to find, being close to Voyagers and Centraal Station. On the other hand, it can get smoky and may not appeal to the non-drinkers. Last year the crew was often split between Batavia and Utopia.
That's why I wondered whether we should try out the new
Plug Lounge. Most of us have probably not been there yet and it seems to get mixed reviews here. Just a thought. What do you think?
Jaunts into the Suburbs
We've done several excursions down to the
Pijp over the years. Then, in 2017, we trekked way out east to the Stud and last year out west to the Baarsjes.
From my personal point of view, this was partly an exercise in trainspotting. It was about visiting and photographing shops that I'd never been to before.
I've collected most of the shops now and the ones left are widely spaced. They are: in the west
Watersnip,
Boerejongens Sloterdijk,
Bulldog Port 26,
Risky Business,
Loft and
Terminator, in the north
Atlas and
Bros, in the east
Nogal Wiedes and
Roots and in the south
DNA,
De Kade,
The Border and
Bullwackie. A mission that took in any of these would be especially interesting to me.
Other than that, I'm always up for a wander around the
Pijp and messing around on the free IJ ferries (for instance to
't Ooievaartje) is fun. Last year we tested out the longer free ferry rides via NDSM to Westerdok. This is a cool way to get to
Baba, optionally taking in
Funny People along the way.
All suggestions welcome.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I quite fancy getting in a trip to
The Hague at some point if that appeals to anyone.
