22nd May:

Someone vaguely famous once said that house guests are a little bit like fish - they go off after 3 days.

In other news, your congenial host recently found himself at Stansted airport at 5.30 on a Saturday morning preparing to board a flight to Amsterdam. Wearing a shirt and tie. An interesting experience given that the other passengers seemed to be either hungover rugby players going on a stag weekend or dreadlocked counter-culture-vultures with more body jewellery than teeth, whose views of the Dutch capital would be continually obscured by the small cloud of green smoke around their sizeable hats.

Amsterdam is a curious place. Even walking amongst the tourists on the cobbled streets bathed in sunlight there is still a slight sense of decadence in the air, as if somewhere not too far away there is something either illegal or immoral going on. Or being watched. Or even filmed. Of course, in this sense Amsterdam is about as representative of Holland as Tikka Masala is of Indian cooking, but it is fascinating viewing for the amateur psychologist and casual observer alike. Chocolate sprinkles, anyone?

I also wish to take a moment to eulogise about the film Solaris, which I watched again for the first time in a long time after my Dutch trip. The film is science-fiction but in the best way insofar as there are no ray guns or warp engines - the future setting simply provides the backdrop for the exploration of themes that are both touching and timeless. Dealing with love, loss, selfishness, fear, guilt and suspicion, it's a thrilling and often tense film that leaves just the right number of questions unanswered to be very satisfying and rewarding. I commend it wholeheartedly to anyone who hasn't seen it. A bargain, too, on Amazon for only 4 of Her Majesty's Pounds.