Wahoo! We all wish we could be there.

That'll teach me to go away for the weekend!!

Whee!

Belated Happy Birthday to Teresa, and advanced Happy Pearl Anniversary to pnh and tnh!

So how was the beer?

I'm sorry I couldn't make it - looks like you had a fun crowd! Next time...

The beer was excellent. I started with a Brugse Zot, a very nice light Belgian beer, and went on to an Affligem. "An abbey ale," I observed. "Well, yes, I drank it," said Ms. Sutherland.

Hmm, Steve Glover looks remarkably like someone I know in Edinburgh.
GOod to see you all had fun. I've made several good friends online and then confirmed that they are good friends when I met them in real life.

"I've made several good friends online and then confirmed that they are good friends when I met them in real life"

You won't have any trouble selling that proposition around here. Teresa and I met online, or rather, in the pre-online version of online. (As Teresa has said, when she first met me, I was black mimeo ink on brown Twiltone paper.)

PNH @7:
Yes, I picked up on that quote as good for generalizing myself, but I was going to apply it to you and Teresa.

You all look so well-adjusted. A good time was had by all, one hopes.

I knew I picked the wrong day not to happen to go to Amsterdam.

I raise a metaphorical glass to you all. Speaking of friendships made on the internet, and said friends seldom met in the physical world... The worldcon is but little more than 4 months away. Yay!

Thank you for a very enjoyable afternoon! (Or as we Dutch from the northern parts would say: I've had worse.)

A pity I had to leave so soon, but there were two young children waiting for me at home (one two-and-a-half years old, one just two months), so what can you do...

Auke @11:
It was a pleasure having you come to the meetup for the time you could. I do know the pressures of having small children to take care of.

And soon they'll be borrowing your books and quoting films at you. Both of my kids already do, at 7 and 5.

abi @ 12.. soon they'll be borrowing your books

How your son get hold of that Girl Genius book I had given you? Little did I know that I'd be corrupting a young mind.

Serge @13:
I showed it to them because one of Fiona's classmates looks exactly like a young Agatha Heterodyne (Patrick can confirm; she lives across the street from us and he's seen her).

Alex likes it, but the next installment is not available in an omnibus and is fairly expensive on Amazon. I keep hoping they'll do anther collection soon...

abi @ 14... one of Fiona's classmates looks exactly like a young Agatha Heterodyne

Giant robot rampages thru Amsterdam!
Mysterious woman stops it with the abiveld!

I swear Steve Glover has a picture in his attic which must age for him. He looks just like he did when we first met in 1988.

Abi's jacket looks like it came straight out of "The Matrix" wardrobe trailer. Abi you're not making PNH and TNH bike everywhere are you?

Looks like fun! Sorry Amsterdam is beyond my means for the moment - living day to day in London is hard enough...

Patrick @7 -- "As Teresa has said, when she first met me, I was black mimeo ink on brown Twiltone paper."

Now that's what I call creativity!

Looks like a very decent day - sorry I couldn't make it. I was actually just down the road in European terms, here...

It does seem that a good time was had by all, and the punning level was not diminished by the unavoidable absence of Serge, Ginger and myself.

ajay #20, re-posting your link. The http:// was probably missing – causes problems.

The nightly event there is deeply respected here. One thing I'd like to experience if'n I'm ever in the region.

I'm confused. You mention that you and TNH are hiding behind cameras, but I can't see any cameras in either picture.

Seriously, it looks like fun was had by all. And running the pub's page through Google Translate leads me to be jealous of the drinks, as well as the company.

22: thanks. The nightly ceremony was why I was there. Account and related thoughts no doubt to follow at (ahem) new website.

ajay @24:
(ahem) new website.

...for which congratulations (I read it from time to time), and why isn't there a "yay we can haz an ajay" announcement?

abi @25, wasn't #24 the (rather subfusc) announcement?

Earlier comments didn't have fistfulofeuros linked in the name.

I am so glad I've aged. I recently saw a photo a friend took of me, about 22 years ago.

Wow. I mean, wow in a good way (because I have few photos of myself from then) but I was so YOUNG!

Epacris @26:
I was hoping A Fistful of Euros would have an announcement on their site, introducing their newest front pager, so I could go there an cheer and whistle.

That would be in addition to the clapping and stomping my feet here, of course.

Guthrie@6: there's a reason for that....

...and it has to do with Embra's proximity to the Roslin Institute...

Thanks, abi! I suspect the reason there isn't an announcement up there is that I haven't written it yet...

Abi@30 - Very droll, but no: I'm in Edinburgh, and suspect that Guthrie's just not matched name and face. (Oh, and Edinburgh buses? The city buses (once council-run, and now a private company called Lothian Buses) were always purple, and are the "town" buses. The outer areas of the Lothians and (I think) all the way to the Borders were served by the SMT buses which were green when I first lived in Edinburgh - they have since been taken over by FirstBus. Unlike Glasgow, who used to change their buses from Blue/Red to Green/Gold when there was a change of council, there was never any "religious" or even football-related coding)

Sandra@16: sadly no. There's a lot more to me than in those high and far-off times. Maybe a slowly crumbling statue that gets lighter year-on-year as I do otherwise.

Abi @ 30... Coming soon, The Boys from Scotland, a tale of scientific horror about mysterious young men all named Bruce.

34: Not Scotland, surely...

Fourth Bruce: Gentleman, I'd like to introduce man from Pommyland who is joinin' us this year in the philosophy department at the University of Woollamaloo.

Everybruce: G'day!

Michael: Hello.

Fourth Bruce: Michael Baldwin, Bruce. Michael Baldwin, Bruce. Michael Baldwin, Bruce.

First Bruce: Is your name not Bruce?

Michael: No, it's Michael.

Second Bruce: That's going to cause a little confusion.

Third Bruce: Mind if we call you "Bruce" to keep it clear?

#35: (Sheila enters room silently, observing Bruce, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce and Micha- er, Bruce)

ajay @35, ruddy Poms. At it again. Don't they know it's Woolloomooloo (NSW 2011). Like the Missa-, er, Mississ-, … that river in the USA everyone learns about.

There's probably a lively Netherlands-Australian Brewing Student Exchange Scheme, she lamely bravely (enviously) attempts to tie back to original topic.
[Note to Paula Lieberman: to strikethrough here, use <strike>text</strike> – gives text]

Steve @32:
I elided a few details, but I think my point stands.

The maroon color of LRT buses are a direct reference to the Heart of Midlothian (as in, the plaque on the Royal Mile, which marks a spot important in the Sir Walter Scott book of the same name). The Heart of Midlothian football team (Hearts) shares the color scheme, and is Protestant in its associations. I used to audit them; they weren't shy about this.

And that particular color is the "Protestant" color in Edinburgh, in my experience. It's also the dominant "official" color in the city, but that's just a reflection of the outcome of the Reformation.

So naturally if there was another bus company running, its buses would inevitably be green. I don't recall perceiving the SMT buses as being "out of town" as opposed to "in town" buses, but then I lived in town for the entire fifteen years I was in Embra, and didn't know much about the wider bus service. The furthest I went out of town on public transport was Dalkeith, and my local number 3 LRT bus took me there.

Abi@38: Yup, HMFC are distressingly "Protestant". A few years ago I used to steward for Rock Steady and some Hearts fans just couldn't get it into their heads that Hibernian, once the "Irish"/"Catholic" team in town, had rebranded themselves as the team for North Edinburgh and Leith, doing their best to lose their sectarian overtones (this used to cause problems at Celtic matches).

For quite a while the colour of the Lothian buses was officially described as "madder" to add a little distance from the HMFC colours (this is kinda sorta similar to Dundee Utd playing in tangerine (if you had to draw a religious line between the two Dundee teams, City would be the "protestant" one), but the purple and cream livery has been being phased out now for a good few years.

[Thinks: it may be that growing up in Norn Iron has selectively both blinded and sensitised me to some aspects of sectarianism]

ruddy Poms. At it again. Don't they know it's Woolloomooloo (NSW 2011)

But apart from that it's accurate, right?

guthrie (#6): Hmm, Steve Glover looks remarkably like someone I know in Edinburgh.

Aaron-from-Boston looks even more remarkably like someone I know. Of course, since the person I'm thinking of is named Aaron and from Boston, this is not as surprising as it may seem.

Is the Steve who is so knowledgable on Edinburgh Soccer teams and Buses the same steve's who's daughter was christened in Edinburgh and son was christenend in Leeds.
An old friend c.1980's

@Hazel #42 - indeed, yes....

@Hazel #42 - Forgive me, but which Hazel, please?