Alternative Evening

Last night was one of those evenings when you really feel like you're in Amsterdam. Parties like that just don't happen in England. I felt like I was crashing someone else's life (if only for a couple of hours) and had a lovely time.

We went by bike to what looked like an old boathouse or warehouse by the docks. It is apparently part of the Amsterdam 'squat scene' and is run by a group of artists (although is now under threat of closure - an expensive housing development or something). You have to understand that I am a little vague on the details of the evening, despite being the only person in the room not drinking or smoking (I have a big race to run this afternoon!). The reason for this is that the Dutch guy who was there with me provided the commentary and his English was slightly patchy (by Dutch standards) plus there was this amazing drumming going on that made hearing what he said difficult. Perhaps some things got lost in the translation, or perhaps it really was as bizarre as he explained. The theme of the evening was 'a woman losing her virginity' (see what I mean?). The room was decorated with a 12ft high white hoop that had several big white balloons attached to it. These balloons had been filled with confetti and every now and again one of the dancers would burst one, showering everyone in red petals. The Dutch guy is studying a four year course in Alternative Healing and some Russian Shamanists who had come to his college to do a workshop had invited him to the party. I guess it's a Shamanist thing (she says, trying to sound like she knows) but there was some pretty amazing dancing going on. The Dutch guy was trying to educate me about Astral Karate and the finer points of Mirrorology (am still none the wiser), but I just wanted to sit and soak up the ambiance.

Maybe it was the marijuana smoke that was hanging thick in the air and I was getting passively high, but I was enchanted by these people.