lurpak34

24th June ‘09: I took a few pictures of the AC/DC show from “front of house” last night. The best “seat” in the Ajax stadium was a basket suspended from the rafters - rather like one of those window-cleaning cradles that dangle from skyscrapers. Clad in a full-body harness (nothing like a corset), I pranced gaily along a metal catwalk just beneath the roof...and looked down. Gulp! Access to the basket, as shown in the photo, was down a rope ladder. The specks below are not dwarfs; 140 feet directly underneath are AC/DC fans. They quaffed Amstel from plastic pint pots, blissfully unaware I was climbing over a waist-high railing above them. 'Nothing loose in your pockets?' asked one of the house riggers, checking I even know what a carabiner is, let alone how to clip ... read more

20th June ‘09: Remember Swedish Anna and Carl? Oh, never mind. All you need to know is that they have a summerhouse on the west coast of Sweden. They are in it, and I am passing. Today's events, then, take place at a delightful wooden getaway near Halmstad, meaning “straw town”. Like most of southern Sweden, Carl tells me, it used to be Danish. It is midsummer weekend, a big holiday up here, and people are drinking - heavily. Carl is breathalysed by the police at an impromptu roadblock. It’s an inconvenience, but nothing for an upstanding Swede like him to worry about; not a thimbleful has passed his lips yet. But he has forgotten his driving licence. Oh, tut tut, here we go. Anna is just preparing to bribe the officer with a slice of ... read more

17th June ‘09: We're having a silly day today, bar-hopping. Getting tipsy is something of a national sport in Finland - that, and suicide - so we're simply embracing the culture. And, if you happened to read the last blog, there is a slim chance of meeting a straight-talking nymphomaniac in this country. Think of Namibian and I as carrots on sticks; think of Finnish girls as donkeys. Oh hang on, that sounds dreadfully misogynistic. The sentiment couldn't be further from my mind; we are simply hanging out in bars, waiting to be approached - a social experiment, if you like. What a role reversal, eh? Well, perhaps the Helsinki womenfolk are intimidated by Namibian’s bulk, or my sunglasses, because very little in the way of skirt seems to be heading in our direction. Still, ... read more

14th June ‘09: Speed cameras in Germany are lethal. I suppose they are called “safety cameras” nowadays, which, frankly, is a misnomer. Ostensibly to save lives, the orange flash frightens the living daylights out of me tonight; there is a violent swerve and spilt tea. Could I sue the German government? After all, emasculation from scalding tea is not a laughing matter. I mean it - stop laughing. My argument may not be impregnable, however; there is quite possibly a legal school of thought that frowns upon sipping a steaming cuppa whilst at the wheel. Perhaps I’ll just grin and bear the discomfort. Hey, I bet you’re surprised that we’re travelling fast enough to trigger a camera in the first place? Ah, well there are roadworks on the Bremen - Hamburg motorway, and we've been ... read more

10th June ‘09: 'That's the building,' says Gentleman Steve. 'Look, no satellite dishes.' He grins knowledgeably. 'Or if it's not that one, it's somewhere else in Marseille.' He looks less eminent now, but his ramblings have been accurate thus far. 'No, I have it on good authority. It's definitely that one.' As it turns out, it isn't. We're looking for Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation, nicknamed “House of the Crazy”, and it isn't opposite the stadium as first thought. Steve has got the right street though; a fifteen-minute walk brings us to a housing slab, raised above ground on sculpted legs. 'Ah, the iconic street in the sky,' he says. In 1947-52, to combat post-war overcrowding, a scheme to build upwards was introduced. To be honest, it’s an anticlimax. Unless you’re an architect, the building won’t send shivers ... read more