Last week my girlfriend and I were on holiday in Amsterdam. What a great week. I had been to Amsterdam before, and to be quite honest, I love the place (for the RIGHT reasons, before anyone begins casting aspersions in my direction). Why do I love Amsterdam? The main reason is the people. I have never met such a wonderful, funny and polite bunch of people. These people make you feel welcome, go out of their way to make you feel at home, despite your tourist status. I would love to live in Amsterdam, and it was with a heavy heart that we boarded our plane at Schipol Airport last Friday , bound for Heathrow.
Heathrow. England. Home. Jesus, could there be more of a difference? Ok, granted, Heathrow is the size of moderate town, and with the amount of people scurrying about it resembles an ant hill. However, is that an excuse for people to be so shocking rude? I think not.
Here's how it goes:
Upon landing we were a bit peckish. We had 2 hours before our coach departed for the arse end of England, so (shame of all shames) we decided to get a Burger King. All the seats were taken, so I looked after the cases while the missus got the food. I was stood there, cases on trolley, clutching the old Duty Free bag when someone bumped into me. Now, I was in a CLEAR SPACE. there was loads of room around me. I turned when I felt this scrote's trolley clip the old ankle, and didn't say anything myself, perhaps foolishly expecting an apology. Then as soon as the mouth opened and I saw the look in the eyes I remembered where I was..."get out of the way you ******* **** " was what was aimed in the Spoony direction. A mood began to decend, which hasn't quite lifted since. I am in, how shall we say, my own summer of discontent. I dearly want to live somewhere else, where people value themselves and others more than they seem to here. I don't know, maybe I'm being melodramatic, I probably am, but come on people, think about it.
Another example. In Amsterdam there is a square, Leidersplein. It's lined with cafes, pubs etc, and in the middle of the square are dozens of table laid out. Street performers and the faint whiff of has coming from the Bulldog coffee shop completes the picture. People drink there, drink wine, champagne, lager, they DRINK. But did I hear any arguments? Did I see anyone square up to each other in a drunken brawl? Did I hell. Arriving home last Friday night, we saw it, not back in Devon for 5 minutes and we heard it. And it made me sick to the stomach. Why over here do so many people get so fuelled up on beer that they feel the need to fight others? True, it's really a minority but it's there, and we have all witnessed it. Also, I'm not saying it's like that all the time in Amsterdam, but I can only draw upon my own experiences.
I can't rant anymore about this, I think by now you know where I'm coming from. The only problem is, I don't know where I'm going!
Spoony.