Tales from the City tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2010-03-01:/talesfromthecity//1 2012-02-03T17:05:41Z Movable Type 4.361 Let it snow... tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.437 2012-02-03T17:01:21Z 2012-02-03T17:05:41Z Just went for a walk around the city centre to play in the snow. Sometimes this is when I like Amsterdam best.... editor Prinsengracht.pngJust went for a walk around the city centre to play in the snow. Sometimes this is when I like Amsterdam best.

]]> There were a lot of small boys with sledges and some with mini snowboards taking advantage of the city's 'hills'. A smell of woodsmoke from the barges and cafes with candles advertising mulled wine.

Tonight they say the temperature may be as low as 18 Celsius in places. King Winter indeed.

]]> Dutch kids flock to British school in Amstelveen tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.436 2012-01-28T12:13:48Z 2012-01-28T12:28:16Z Amsterdam's international schools are filling up with the children of wealthy Dutch parents who are fed up with the Dutch system and the way kids are categorised at the age of 12, says Saturday's Parool.... editor Amsterdam's international schools are filling up with the children of wealthy Dutch parents who are fed up with the Dutch system and the way kids are categorised at the age of 12, says Saturday's Parool.

]]> At the British School of Amsterdam, 102 of the 600 children are Dutch. Their parents fork out €14,000 a year for the privilege of sending their offspring to a school where the main language is English, where they wear a neat uniform (no make-up allowed), where the teachers are called Miss and Mr and all sorts of abiliities and nationalities are mixed up together. Not much like your average Amsterdam school then.

This Amsterdam particularly likes the school's 'Golden Rules'

We are gentle
We are kind and helpful
We listen
We are honest
We work hard
We look after property

PS. We just had a quick look at the website. They also have school meals... nightmares of boiled cabbage and 'stew' came flooding back. Perhaps This Amsterdam is not quite so nostalgic after all.

]]> Panama bankrupt? tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.435 2012-01-24T16:41:15Z 2012-01-24T16:43:09Z Trouw is reporting that Panama is bankrupt. The club has been felled by legal procedures (neighbours objecting to the noise), high ground rent (thanks city council) and the lack of parking spaces (ditto).... editor Trouw is reporting that Panama is bankrupt. The club has been felled by legal procedures (neighbours objecting to the noise), high ground rent (thanks city council) and the lack of parking spaces (ditto).

]]> The club has been open for 10 years and hopes to relaunch, Trouw states.

]]> Internet killed the peep show star tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.434 2012-01-23T17:14:42Z 2012-01-23T17:17:33Z Amsterdam's red light district has just one peep show left - a live sex show where you put money in a slot to watch girls doing whatever.... editor Amsterdam's red light district has just one peep show left - a live sex show where you put money in a slot to watch girls doing whatever.

]]> It's all the fault of internet, says the 70-year-old owner of the remaining show who plans to continue operating until he is 83. Nice shots in the clip of a bin filled with used tissue paper. Charming.

]]> No Radio 538 Queens Day party in Amsterdam tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.433 2012-01-23T17:08:55Z 2012-01-23T17:10:02Z Amsterdam city council's decision to stop the traditional Queen's Day festival on the Museumplein but to try to find an alternative location has proved to be the kiss of death for the event.... editor Amsterdam city council's decision to stop the traditional Queen's Day festival on the Museumplein but to try to find an alternative location has proved to be the kiss of death for the event.

]]> The organisers, radio station 538, had first hoped to move the event to the square outside the Rai exhibition centre but because that has limited capacity the show has been scrapped altogether.

The council wanted to restrict numbers to 60,000, but that would have meant having entrance tickets and turnstiles, which flies in the face of the 'party for the people' concept, the radio station said.

Some 200,000 people attended the concert featuring a long line-up of Dutch stars last year.

Mayor Eberhard van der Laan says the large mass of people, coupled with heavy drinking, is a disaster waiting to happen.

]]> Amsterdam fashion week 'escapes the crisis' tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.432 2012-01-22T15:42:20Z 2012-01-22T15:47:33Z The 16th edition of the Amsterdam Fashion Week kicks off on Wednesday and the organisers say the economic crisis is barely noticeable, the Volkskrant reported at the weekend.... editor The 16th edition of the Amsterdam Fashion Week kicks off on Wednesday and the organisers say the economic crisis is barely noticeable, the Volkskrant reported at the weekend.

]]> New sponsors have come forward for the event and the sale of designer clothing has scarcely been dented by the downturn, the event's director Bart Maussen told the paper.

Maussen says the ambition is to propel the Amsterdam event from sixth place to fifth place in terms of being the place to promote fashion. This year, designers such as Tony Cohen, Bas Kosters and Sjaak Hullekes are holding shows at the Westergasfabriek in the city's Westerpark

]]> Shooting in Zuid tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.431 2012-01-21T13:04:28Z 2012-01-21T13:12:46Z A coffee shop on the Churchillaan in Amsterdam-Zuid was hit by at least 14 bullets fired by an unknown gunman in the early hours of Saturday morning, says AT5. The Scylas cafe was closed at the time and no-one was... editor A coffee shop on the Churchillaan in Amsterdam-Zuid was hit by at least 14 bullets fired by an unknown gunman in the early hours of Saturday morning, says AT5. The Scylas cafe was closed at the time and no-one was hurt.

]]> AT5 says in December 2009, the owner of the coffee shop that used to be at the same spot was kidnapped by armed men. He escaped the following March and last year the kidnappers were jailed for between six months and six years.

]]> In Amsterdam, everybody's happy tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.430 2012-01-21T11:29:42Z 2012-01-21T11:43:46Z Not all of Amsterdam is pretty, tree-lined canals and elegant buildings. Take the Overtoomse Veld - a maze of post War soulless apartment blocks in the far west of the city - subject of a major urban renewal effort... editor overtoomse veld.png

Not all of Amsterdam is pretty, tree-lined canals and elegant buildings. Take the Overtoomse Veld - a maze of post War soulless apartment blocks in the far west of the city - subject of a major urban renewal effort over the past few years.

]]> But the work seems to be paying off. For the first time ever, all of Amsterdam's neighbourhoods get a thumbs up from their locals, according to new city council research in Saturday's Parool.

Some 18,000 Amsterdammers took part in the research and were asked about how safe they feel, local services, parking, public nuisance and how they get on with their neighbours.

The average mark awarded was 7.3 and even the unhappy residents of the Overtoomse Veld are now positive about where they live, the paper says.

This shows that all the effort being put into urban renewal is paying off, Jeroen van der Veer, of the city's housing corporation association told the paper.

Only in Noord are the residents less happy than two years ago. One reason for this, Van der Veer suggests, is that large items of rubbish are only picked up once a month, and that the borough council has cut back on street cleaning.

]]> Gone fishing tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.429 2012-01-20T20:45:05Z 2012-01-20T20:53:30Z Was phoned a few minutes ago by someone with a very strong accent telling me the money my friend had asked him to make over to my bank account was now there.... Luckily I could hardly understand him, but did... editor Was phoned a few minutes ago by someone with a very strong accent telling me the money my friend had asked him to make over to my bank account was now there.... Luckily I could hardly understand him, but did get message it was one of those jolly phishing expeditions so said I did not know what he was talking about.

]]> Being a good citizen, rang Amsterdam police to pass on the phone number but alas was told by the bored-sounding cow sorry copper at the other end of the line 'we can't do anything with that'.

The gist of what she said being that this happens all the time and they are not a phone firm so they cant do anything with the number and no crime has been committed.

Lady, I wish you many vile and vomiting drunks in your police station this evening

The number was 0625512357

]]> New taxi rules to cover the entire city tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.428 2012-01-20T18:09:02Z 2012-01-20T18:30:09Z Amsterdam council's new get-tough-on-dodgy-taxis campaign will cover the entire city not just designated taxi ranks in the city centre, says council executive Eric Wiebes in Friday's Parool.... editor Amsterdam council's new get-tough-on-dodgy-taxis campaign will cover the entire city not just designated taxi ranks in the city centre, says council executive Eric Wiebes in Friday's Parool.

]]> The council had been planning to limit the new rules to taxis who used central station, the Leidseplein and 22 other top locations in the city centre - leaving the rest of us who live elsewhere to deal with the morons without proper approval.

'That may have been a wrong decision,' Wiebes is quoted as saying. Indeed.

]]> Amsterdam server farm raided in Megaupload case tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.427 2012-01-20T17:55:46Z 2012-01-20T18:08:34Z The raids and arrests in the FBI onslaught on file sharing site Megaupload.com have caught more than just a Dutchman programmer - there were raids at Leaseweb server farms in Amsterdam and Haarlem on Thursday, according to the Parool.... editor The raids and arrests in the FBI onslaught on file sharing site Megaupload.com have caught more than just a Dutchman programmer - there were raids at Leaseweb server farms in Amsterdam and Haarlem on Thursday, according to the Parool.

]]> The paper says Mega Conspiracy, the company behind Megaupload, rents 630 servers from Leaseweb at a cost, according to the FBI, of €65m. Some of the money was paid via Rabobank and ABN Amro, the paper says.

'It was a pretty big surprise,' Leaseweb's Alex de Joode told the paper. 'Up until Thursday night we'd never heard a thing about Megupload committing criminal acts - not even from the American investigators.'

Finance ministry officials seized 60 servers and Leaseweb has closed down access to the others, taking Megaupload off air, the paper says. The company apparently wants to cooperate fully with the inquiry.

Little wonder. Dutchman Bram van der Kolk (alias Bramco) and the three others arrested in New Zealand face extradition to the US and jail terms of up to 50 years.

More on the story

]]> Youthful fans watch AZ put Ajax out of the cup tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.426 2012-01-19T17:43:39Z 2012-01-20T19:21:28Z These are some of the thousands of under-12s who witnessed AZ of Alkmaar knock Amsterdam club Ajax out of the Dutch Cup on Thursday with a 2-3 victory.... editor ajax az.jpg

These are some of the thousands of under-12s who witnessed AZ of Alkmaar knock Amsterdam club Ajax out of the Dutch Cup on Thursday with a 2-3 victory.

]]> Amsterdam's Arena stadium was closed to all but primary school children and their supervisors - at the suggestion of Ajax - after the football association said the rematch should be played behind closed doors.

The first match was abandoned when an Ajax fan attacked AZ's keeper.

This Amsterdam wonders how much was saved on policing costs and how many dads decided it was time to do their bit as a school volunteer.

Photo: Novum

Should not laugh but....

]]> All-night shopping in Amsterdam? tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.425 2012-01-19T14:11:31Z 2012-01-19T14:16:28Z Amsterdam city council needs to designate some shopping areas in the city to be open round the clock, say D66 councillors.... editor Amsterdam city council needs to designate some shopping areas in the city to be open round the clock, say D66 councillors.

]]> After experiments with round the clock drinking, it is time for shops, hairdressers and others to be more flexible with their opening times - its all part of a D66 plan to turn Amsterdam into a 'wereldstad' or world city, whatever that means.

'You can shop 24 hours a day in New York and Berlin, and D66 thinks it should be possible in Amsterdam too,' says councillor Sebastiaan Capel on website nu.nl.

]]> Amsterdam still popular with foreign firms tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.424 2012-01-19T08:05:16Z 2012-01-19T08:06:07Z A total of 118 international companies opened offices in Amsterdam and it surrounding area last year, virtually unchanged from 2010, ANP reports, quoting Carolien Gehrels, the city council official in charge of economic affairs.... editor A total of 118 international companies opened offices in Amsterdam and it surrounding area last year, virtually unchanged from 2010, ANP reports, quoting Carolien Gehrels, the city council official in charge of economic affairs.


]]> Most firms are active in IT, the creative industries and financial and business services, she said. The new arrivals created a total of 1,231 jobs, an average of just over 10 jobs per company.

The news agency did not say how many companies, if any, had closed down.

Most of the new firms (43) are American, followed by Asia (37) and Europe (35).

Some 2,200 foreign firms now have a base in the capital of which around 25% are either Dutch or European headquarters.

[DutchNews.nl]

]]> Amsterdam, other big cities look for alternatives to New Year firework chaos tag:www.thisamsterdam.com,2012:/talesfromthecity//1.423 2012-01-19T08:03:33Z 2012-01-19T08:04:33Z The mayors of Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam are looking at 'alternatives for the [New Year] fireworks tradition', the Telegraaf reports on Thursday.... editor The mayors of Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam are looking at 'alternatives for the [New Year] fireworks tradition', the Telegraaf reports on Thursday.

]]> The paper says The Hague's mayor Jozias van Aartsen has told city councillors officials plan to evaluate this year's festivities and set up an working party of experts to look at ways of reducing the amount of fireworks.

Van Aartsen was responding to questions from GroenLinks councillors about the number of injuries caused by fireworks.

Too powerful

Rotterdam's mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said earlier he was concerned that some of the fireworks sold in the Netherlands are too big for ordinary consumers to handle. Rotterdam organises a central firework display every year.t

Eye specialists have also called for limits to the power of fireworks because of the injury risk. Rotterdam's specialist eye hospital treated at least 23 people with serious firework injuries this year.

However, justice ministry officials have already said firework size and fire power needs to be raised at an EU level.

[DutchNews.nl]

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