'Dam bound

In the spirit of catching up after not taking much leave yet this year, bananablip and I have booked a relatively spontaneous long weekend in Amsterdam.

We arrived in the afternoon and struggled to find each other in the behemoth that is Schiphol Airport. The Dutch consider efficiency in planning, so Schiphol is one vast terminal. However it makes it harder for two Brits trying to locate each other using a Starbucks as a meeting point, when there are multiple in arrivals.

The weather in Amsterdam is like in eastern England, so not to be relied upon. We wandered the central area to get our bearings, soaked by some badly timed showers. I came here once with Clare in winter 2008 when it was blinking cold, and Amy, Elizabeth and I cycled through it in 2011 when we did a week on bikes in the Netherlands. It's nice to come back, as it has an immediate fun vibe, and seems to be a great melting pot of people. In what is becoming a theme (caused by my loudness) I was shushed on the train by a woman, as I was filling Hannah in on some recent escapade. I hadn't realised we were in the quiet coach. The Dutch are very rule-bound.

Someone said to me today 'politics is showbusiness for ugly people.' He had a good point. Politics would be taken more seriously by the majority if political coverage focused on substance over the 'charismatic soundbite.' It would also be great if news channels broadcasted items with appropriate weighting. On BBC News a heartfelt item on the plight of the Rohingya was followed by an earnest retelling of Manchester City dropping points to Wolves. People should care less about the second story.