Goes - Sunday and Monday

Not only was it the weekend of Carnival, but the sunday night of the weekend I visited was also B's first live performance in eight months, for which I was happy to lend moral support (as well as getting a chance to clock up some Netherlands rep). B and I ran a couple of songs, me hammering out on her cheap keyboard (you don't need anything fancy to get a workable sound) and her sitting across - two friends just having a play...
Got to the gig mid afternoon - what a place! Big long rectangular room, Sunday night hang for the locals - all the trademarks of a rockin' gig in the making! The band are all right too. They run the tunes, I sit in for my little bit, otherwise hanging back for moral support.
M comes back with the baby after the rehersal, and we meet up with great friends for dinner before the gig, before returning 9pmish for B's set, the middle of three.
And she rocked the place, like I knew she would! Funny audience too but in the best way - usually these gigs people are doing their own thing and they come to the band when they want. This one, the whole audience was just standing there, watching the stage, for the whole night, like it was the focus of attention or something. I sat in on my little bit ('Don't Know Why' by Norah Jones), got my eight bar solo, clocked up my Netherlands rep, scooted back down into the crowd - party night was had by all.

Next day, M had to go to work, so B and I went into Goes (pronounced Hoo-es with a guttural G sound, for those not in the know)...bought some shirts and a box of truffles....she took me to the station and we said our goodbyes. So great to get out of the house, out of London, and across to continental fairyland with mum and dad and the baby and do things like watch TV and by clothes....

It was all so easy! Train back to Eindhoven for the flight, watching flatness and windmills (old-school brick ones, as well as the tall modern ones), changing trains...effortless. And all up, what a gorgeous place.....buildings new-looking and clean but not cold or inhuman....pretty little statutes of things like squirrels wherever you go....people were NICE to you in shops....public transport was CLEAN......the place was quite INVITING....and I'm jumping back on a plane going back to where again?....