The Sentinel Amsterdam vol. 5 #14 by Consultancy Market Media

vol. 5 #14– 31 July 2012

The Sentinel Amsterdam

Integrity, heart, humour

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picnic wales amsterdam PERSPECTIVES LIFESTYLES culture TRAVEL

OPINION TECHNOLOGY ART FILM

MUSIC TRENDS RECOMMENDED SPORT

Contents

The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photos/illustrations that are subject to copyright. If you consider your copyright to have been infringed, please contact us at sentinelpost@gmail.com.

CONTENTS

In this issue feature

P. 04 TRAVEL p. 12 culture

P. 52

Picnic Amsterdam

Barcelona

Antwerp

‘A shady conspiracy to force Amsterdammers into perpetual picnics’

‘It can be as dramatic as it is beautiful and welcoming here’

‘Fill your trip(s) to Antwerp and the region with many enjoyable things to do, taste and see’

music p.54 sport p. 80 more:

The Elastic Band

The Gold Room

Travel p. 24 Cardiff Travel p. 40 Swansea and the Gower Peninsular

‘Men with beautiful instruments forcing you to tap along’

ART p. 50 S.M.A.K. MUSIC p. 56 The Elastic Band Café Review p. 58 Café Kostverloren restaurant Review p. 62 Cedars star beer guide p. 66 Ter Dolen Blond RECOMMENDED p. 68 Spotted p. 70 Where is this in Amsterdam? Film Review: Room 2c

ColoPHon The Sentinel Amsterdam e-mail: sentinelpost@gmail.com website: www.thesentinel.eu Contributors: Nadia Liefmeyer , Magenta Tuunes, Antonia Egon, Simon Owusu, David King, Dirkje Bakker-Pierre and Simon Joseph

Editors – Gary Rudland & Denson Pierre Design, realisation and form – Andrei Barburas & No-Office.nl Webmaster – www.sio-bytes.tumblr.com Webhost – Amsterjammin.com

Trends p. 72 Technology p. 76 TechBit: Sio-Bytes Sport p. 78 On the volley

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culture feature

‘You now need some sort of ‘pick-the-bargain’ app with you at all times’

Picnic Amsterdam By Denson Pierre

I have held on for as long as humanly possible on this one but what on earth is going on with the inflated prices for having a decent time out in Amsterdam? It would seem that the private and corporate owners of hospitality industry establishments are part of a shady conspiracy to force Amsterdammers into perpetual picnics in this paradoxically damp microclimate. This is not meant to be sensationalist or even funny. It truly is the case that within what can broadly be called the city centre, you now need some sort of ‘pick-the-bargain’ app with you at all times, to find the best value on individual and preferred drinks, as well as the best prices for international culinary fare. Although I am loathe to blame individual licence holders for this phenomenon, I am fully aware that they, too, are being extremely greedy in attempting to make themselves as wealthy as possible from their customers’ patronage, simply because ‘the landlords started it’. Since 2008, the well-developed myth of secure financial management has continued to be prevalent in the Netherlands and it has taken the fall of the government to highlight the austerity measures required. Residents now have to closely double-check their outgoings and can no longer feel secure about their jobs and/or inflation-linked

incoming capital streams. This level of caution and prudence seems to have bypassed the attention of the many café and restaurant owners throughout Amsterdam, however. It seems as though in this city, which is visited by high numbers of tourists, locals are being asked to pay ‘tourist’ rates for even thinking about entering some of the nicer cafés and eateries. A sort of blanket pricing exists across the city, which rather sickeningly makes it feel like the businessmen and women have decided that if so many of the visitors come from other European, Asian or American cities, which are criminally expensive, it would be a good idea to set up a similar pricing structure here. This does not work, of course, even in the medium term for most hospitality undertakings. Yes, some of the grand, fancy and in vogue places can squeeze more out of those suffocating under the need to be trendy, demonstrating the hollow behaviour of proving they can afford to eat/drink somewhere that is expensive, even though it is not particularly special (no value-for-service or -quality in this equation). They may have the expendable income to fritter away on high prices but this leads to ‘price fixing’. The situation now is that a shabby and smelly Amsterdam bar can simply and brazenly charge premium level prices for a beer and feel confident that your post-disgruntlement market research will simply show that everyone else charges the same inflated prices for café and restaurant consumables.

‘Locals are being asked to pay ‘tourist’ rates for even thinking about entering some of the nicer cafés and eateries’

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‘The hollow behaviour of proving they can afford to eat/drink somewhere that is expensive, even though it is not particularly special’

An exception does not make the rule but there are oases of fairness and reduced megalomania around. In establishments with owners who do it not to become ‘millionaires’ but because they enjoy it, and have sufficient and mature business nous to realise that they are not selling houses or cars, a mark up of 50% on wholesale prices should ensure healthy profit all round. What is actually happening in the vast majority of places, however, is that cafés, in particular, are applying stupendous mark-ups of around 125% on wholesale purchase prices. I lay the initial blame for this at the door of the property owners and their estate and business agents. Even at the far edges of the glamour sections of the city an entrepreneur can expect to pay a basic rent of €3000 per month for 80m2 of floor space. Do the math to realise why it becomes a depressing domino-into-unaffordable-hell effect once they decide that the only way to stay afloat during a recession is to increase prices to ridiculous levels. The people who suffer most are those with an addiction to the social aspects of going out for the alcohol, drugs and prepared foods that are easily obtained in Amsterdam; normal, cosmopolitan, city dweller wants. In all of this, the supermarket giants have won a tremendous victory, as the only way it seems possible to extend hospitality home or away in Amsterdam, these days, is for a group

of friends, colleagues, lovers or visitors to arrange a picnic. Make sure you have rainproof clothing, portable shelter and a good sense of punctuality, as the parks are becoming more and more cramped to overflowing these summer days. Clearly, Amsterdammers are actually an intelligent bunch and have started to abandon optional trips to hospitality establishments. They demonstrate what everyone should understand; that it makes very little sense to pay €2.40 for a standard glass of beer, for example, with a two-finger head, in a ‘reasonably’ priced cafe when, after only a short walk to one of the city’s many supermarkets, they can get the exact same measure of the very same beer brand for around 80 cents (and usually a 24-bottle crate for less than €10). As to where some cafés think they are headed with prices for a standard glass of beer, which are already just shy of €3.00 in many establishments, I have no idea. It is simply not sustainable, unless you run a prime tourist destination café or restaurant. A couple of recent research trips throughout the city centre have confirmed this. So many establishments have disappeared over the past two years and many of those still going are struggling along with 50% fewer punters. Gone are the days when we would be willing to hang around for long periods and fund the cafés’ business plans through relaxed, justifiable, fun spending. With no significant rise in earnings on the horizon and no sign of the hospitality industry reviewing its prices, it may be a long while before those days return.

‘Owners who do it not to become ‘millionaires’ but because they enjoy it’

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Amsterdammers are actually an intelligent bunch and have started to abandon optional trips to hospitality establishmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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BARCELONA

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Scenery that I doubt can be easily surpassed anywhere else within the inhabited reaches of the European continentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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TOP TO BOTTOM

By Denson Pierre

It is prudent not to exhaust your supply of adjectives too early on a trip through the province of Barcelona. During the course of our final full day in the region there were to be even more surprises, pristine beauty and further material to fuel contemplation. To descend from Sant Mateu de Bages (>800m) to Collbat贸 (388m) is to be driven through highland scenery that I doubt can be easily surpassed anywhere else within the inhabited reaches of the European continent. The mind is lightened by the stunning beauty that rolls by. Collbat贸 is on the southern

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;See close-up the natural earthen columns and subterranean colours, which are said to have also inspired the young Antoni Gaudiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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‘Moments when cliché meets blissful reality are always nice and we sat around under the shade of almond trees and large parasols’

slopes of the famous Montserrat mountain and monastery, meaning that our press group had to do some more climbing to reach a site that has been used by humans since Neolithic times. The caves of Salnitre are intriguing, to say the least, even if the level of bending, crawling and negotiating the many narrow, permanent step-ladder systems took some doing for the less nimble among our group. The local guides are relatively tiny compared to our group, who were all above average height and not wanting in terms of other physical dimensions. Nonetheless, it proved to be a worthwhile effort. To see close-up the natural earthen columns and subterranean colours, which are said to have also inspired the young Antoni Gaudi, and then to emerge from the depths to meet groups of school children, who seem to fly through these labyrinthine passages with eyes alight in the semi-darkness, is a priceless experience. This was to be the shortest day of our trip, in terms of activities, so we enjoyed a prolonged lunch that included the necessary pre-meal watering after our exertions on Montserrat. Moments when cliché meets blissful reality are always nice and we sat around under the shade of almond trees and large parasols, sipping another local favourite: Moritz (lager) beer. The delectable red wine served during the fresh and tasty lunch at El Cup Collbato provided

regional flavour but did not dampen the feeling that we were approaching the end of our remarkable journey. It was 4.00pm when we arrived at Espais Naturals del Delta del Llobregat (4m). This major protected area is at the vanguard of saving bird and animal nesting and breeding areas in this increasingly industrialised area of Barcelona. As well as being a haven for wading and fishing birds, its watery constitution provides a home for many turtles, snakes, and numerous butterflies and insects, which enjoy the natural balance of wild flowers, shrubs, grasses and trees found in unfarmed areas. Pleasant short trails guide you around the daily and seasonal habitats of the creatures that congregate within the reserve. By all means take a half day to visit, or longer, as you can also trek right out to the beach. It is a scenic area and, once you adjust to the noise, it is possible to relax and spend some time thinking about how, increasingly, our human actions, deeds and need to consume space and resources is making it impossible for other creatures to share space with us. All of this beauty and ecologically correct-mindedness actually takes place just at the end of the runway of El Prat International Airport, Barcelona’s busiest. Yes, I know... As soon as you get to the reserve the first thing you have to do

‘This major protected area is at the vanguard of saving bird and animal nesting and breeding areas’

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‘My greatest respect and admiration goes out to the naturalist and guides who administer this excellent, sprawling and educational real estate’ is get used to anything from heavily loaded Airbus 319s, operated by Vueling, which uses this airport as its hub, right up to Boeing 777s thundering away at full throttle at what seems like just 75 metres overhead. It makes me wonder how the animals cope with their behavioural evolution being in bizarre and direct conflict with humans’ seemingly incessant need to fly. My greatest respect and admiration goes out to the naturalist and guides who administer this excellent, sprawling and educational real estate. For me, it signalled the truth that the entire ecological movement needs all the help it can get at all times, as the counterforce of destructive industrialisation accesses all areas and views the consequences of this with hypocritical hindsight alone. For a chance to enjoy ‘peaceful’ bird watching of rare and outstanding species, this reserve cannot be beaten in terms of easy airport access or, indeed, the 20 minutes it takes to travel back to the grand old Barcelona city centre.

and reduced our adrenaline levels, interest in taxiing into the city dissipated. Instead, we strolled around a couple blocks from the hotel to find a terrace, have a drink and wile away a couple of hours discussing what we would all show and tell about our truly amazing journey through Barcelona Province. As we prepared to make our way back to the hotel, we heard the sound of firecrackers and triumphant shouting from nearby squares and surrounding apartments. It was not an honorary send-off for us, unfortunately, but the night that a genuine living legend of the region, Josep Guardiola, had led FC Barcelona to another major trophy, in his very last game as manager. It can be as dramatic as it is beautiful and welcoming here. http://www.deltallobregat.cat/?lang=en

That evening we returned to Hotel Ciutat del Prat, another fine four-star business hotel that promised us a 15-minute journey into the city, should we fancy it. It was Friday night, after all. That said, once we had eaten another fine dinner

‘Once we had eaten another fine dinner and reduced our adrenaline levels, interest in taxiing into the city dissipated’

TRAVEL

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‘This part of the world, which is truly beautiful and lush, with people who reflect their surroundings in the tone of their behaviour’

‘There are not many more awe-inspiring bridges than this, set, as it is, across such prominent geological formations’

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Dragon style: Cardiff By Denson Pierre

Some 20 years had passed since I last had the pleasure of visiting southern Wales. In June, the opportunity arose to do so again with a greater level of detail, supported by the fine people at Cardiff & Co. and some hosting by the Swansea Bay Tourism Authority. The first thing I should admit is that I have a bias towards this part of the world, which is truly beautiful and lush, with people who reflect their surroundings in the tone of their behaviour. The local dialects and accents are near music to my ears and remind me of my roots and the Trinidadian accent. It is lilting and always sounds like it is leading into song. Cardiff city is truly transformed from its appearance a generation ago and this change has produced a rather lively urban scene. It has all the ingredients to make it a highly recommended weekend escape, not just for Londoners and southern Brits but also for us Amsterdammers, given the easy connections from Schiphol to either Cardiff City (KLM) or, with a little extra pre-planning and lower cost, to Bristol (Easyjet). My wife and I opted for the English airport, as the drive to Cardiff from there, I remembered correctly, was one immediately filled with spectacle, especially to lowland eyes.

The route we took swept us towards, and eventually under, the spectacular Clifton Suspension Bridge. There are not many more awe-inspiring bridges than this, set, as it is, across such prominent geological formations. This wonder of Victorian engineering was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who is so revered for his genius throughout his brief life that he won second place in the BBCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comprehensive 100 Greatest Britons (2002). Upon crossing the border into Wales, signs become bilingual, in accordance with legislative imperative, and the adjustment in thinking becomes complete as we enter a country with an entirely distinctive character, which is magical considering that the crossing is otherwise almost imperceptible. The Welsh have enjoyed a command position boost to their identity since 1485, given that they have the coolest national flag in a contemporary sense and one which I am sure caused psychological anguish to neighbours and regularly invading enemies during the slower-moving olden times. It features a fearsome-looking dragon, a red one at that, forever and imperiously waving in the wind. Only Bhutan and Wales have made use of this mythical and universally feared beast as a major design element to their national flag.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Welsh have enjoyed a command position boost to their identity since 1485â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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‘A host who knows his or her area and its cultural tourism offer inside out, making it an enjoyable job to write and share the love’ Our host on this Cardiff–in-24-hours section of the press trip was the gentlemanly Ed Townsend; an affable man with an educated and infectious passion for the cultural and potential commercial wealth of the region, which is all the more welcoming and warming as he was an import to the region himself, some 20 years ago. It is all The Sentinel desires in one stop: a host who knows his or her area and its cultural tourism offer inside out, making it an enjoyable job to write and share the love in this forum. From the moment Ed collected us at the airport to our farewell handshake, I felt we were in the company of someone truly living the experience of promoting Cardiff and its environs, and doing so with such ease and humour that it has become a natural extension of his charming personality. Once into the city, which is so redeveloped that I honestly needed to view it as a new city centre and dock area, we quickly checked into the appropriately businesslike Holiday Inn Cardiff City Centre Hotel and sped off to rendezvous with Ed at the Cardiff Castle gates, just three minutes’ walk from the hotel. The professionally guided tour of the castle and compound is a must-do, as the stories of the castle’s former masters and their historical and continued influence on the life of the city and its inhabitants are profound. The tour of the architecture and accompanying anecdotes are not only enjoyable but also great value for money. An unhurried walk of about ten minutes from the castle grounds takes you to what must be one of the most undersold cultural destinations in the British Isles. The National Museum of Wales is surprisingly grand in scale but particularly pleasant in space usage. For any capital museum

to be worthy of special mention there needs to be outstandingly different content within its exhibits. This particular museum is in the process of housing the cherished content of the National Gallery under its roof, with the more childfriendly natural history hits on the lower levels. Kids do not get much fun from studying masterly portraits but they do from dinosaur reconstructions, renderings of red-haired and ancient warriors of the region and the evolution of welsh jewellery making. The history of coal mining, with images of so many sooty faces, must add to their innate desire to face paint, while their developing brains try to make sense of what old really means. In one of the most outstanding twists of fortune, the people of Wales, in general, and Cardiff, in particular, are patronised by the estate of the posthumously world-famous Davies sisters. Gwendoline and Margaret, through chance of birth into wealth and an appreciation of impressionist art of the highest order, went on to build a private collection of unbelievable richness. There can be no more impressive a collection of works by Monet, Manet, Cezanne and the Davies themselves, as well as a selection of their distinguished contemporaries, on show anywhere outside the world’s greatest museums. All of this amazing art was simply bequeathed to the city and national chest of Wales by these truly remarkable women. A trip to Cardiff to visit their gallery has to rank in the top 15 of must-see European museum experiences, in terms of its portrait collection alone. It is always difficult to drag oneself away from such inspiring art and yet Cardiff also displays the most complete, contem-

‘Stories of the castle’s former masters and their historical and continued influence on the life of the city and its inhabitants are profound’

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‘Ten minutes from the castle grounds takes you to what must be one of the most undersold cultural destinations in the British Isles’ porary painting I have come across, in terms of instant and absolute engagement with its narrative, without prior awareness. The subject matter is not out of this world but merely simple. What happens once you countenance and absorb the artistic language of local artist Kevin Sinnott in the marvellously enthralling grand portrait, Running Away with the Hairdresser, is absolute envelopment within a story you feel as if you should know. I am by no means an art critic but it is simply the most outstanding original painting I have come across in my lifetime. Completely entertaining and thought provoking, even though it takes the form of a still painting. Genius! Naturally, we also needed to hit the mean streets, since life and travel are not just about immobile art but people and libations are also important research turf. The national sport of Wales is rugby and a part of the culture around that ferocious sport (both there and in England) is good beer, and not just the ‘piss water’ commonly associated with football fans (lagers/pilsners). Once in Wales, you suddenly have an opportunity to drink in pursuit of taste and more mellow experiences with alcohol, because it is easy to find an endless supply of crafted Real Ales. This type of beer is generally low on carbon dioxide, which could be said is what regularly goes straight to and clouds the brain of volume drinkers of bubbly, cold beer. I rank truly great Real Ale alongside the best of the Belgian beers, in terms of the overall quality of experience when taking them. Beers with a story and made with craft is what educated alcoholism should be about; not mass-produced chemical swills that regularly turn those who imbibe them into violent head bangers.

Cardiff at night, and we were there on a Friday, has a buzz I can only recall in Amsterdam back in the 1990s, when good outings were still easily regular, as the cost of a night on the razz did not provoke fear of warning letters from your bank about overspending. Relatively speaking, Cardiff is cheap; so cheap, in fact, that even when we got used to the tiring conversion rate (the currency remains British Pounds Sterling), we had difficulty believing the low cost of things. Amsterdam, for those reading this who do not already know, carries prices for hospitality adventures similar to those found in central London. A persistently bizarre practice in the United Kingdom is for cross-dressed, ‘fancy’-dressed and just plain silly-dressed groups of women and men to rampage around drinking excessively and calling it a ‘hen’ or ‘stag’ party. You can normally sidestep or simply ignore these loud and gauche troupes, as you may not need to be out until late at night when they all become stuck in the inevitable mound of vomit, toxic blabbering and splayed bodies. You will have a great time out in the city, otherwise, as there are so many real pubs with staff who genuinely enjoy working in them. Cardiff city centre is hot and vibrant, and to our surprise, we were forced to give up on keeping pace with it, given that we would be heading out to Swansea City and the Gower Peninsular early next morning.

‘Cardiff city centre is hot and vibrant’

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Jacopo Palma Vecchio ‘Mars Venus and Cupid’ c.1520

Courtesy of the National Museum of Wales.

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Kevin Sinnott â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Running Away with the Hairdresserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 1995

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ClASSIFIeDS

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‘Our intention was to go simple by taking the local bus out of the city, through pristine and picture-perfect countryside’

‘Indulge in lovely, breezy walks, water sports or just sit and allow the beauty of nature and the elements to wash over you’

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Gower Peninsular and Swansea City By Denson Pierre

Clearly, the hospitality extended by Cardiff and Co. stretches to making sure their near, regional neighbours are served up with visiting journalists with due punctuality and in good humour. Ed Townsend made it his business to drive us right to the door of our Swansea City lodgings, The Dragon Hotel, smack in the middle of old Swansea town. This fine establishment retains a certain four-star glitz not entirely shared by many of the businesses left operating within the old city shopping area. There is a slightly tired look to many shop fronts here and clearly Swansea is not booming as Cardiff is, so scars of the United Kingdom’s wider and rampant recession are sadly more apparent.

as such, in this case, by having a cathedral). By any other modern reckoning, it would be considered merely a small village, but Llandaff happens to be the seat of the Bishop of the Church of Wales. The neighbourhood around the church is very nicely groomed and must be one of the more exclusive areas of greater Cardiff in which to live.

Before we actually made tracks for Swansea, Ed had another jewel up his sleeve. Upon leaving Cardiff, he first took us to one of the smallest cities you will ever come across (defined

Back in Swansea, our intention was to go simple by taking the local bus out of the city, through pristine and pictureperfect countryside, and depositing ourselves at Rhossili.

Further along, just before we spilled on to the highway to speed to Swansea, we visited an inspirational highlight: St Fagans National (open air) Museum. Despite the rapidly changeable weather in this maritime area, this museum is truly worth a half-day visit, at minimum. Youngsters will love it, since the activities are numerous and the displays and educators first class. Of particular interest is the reconstruction of period coal miners’ homes with contents that evolve over a hundred year period, or so, on a reconstructed street, with gardens and fittings, all adding up to a truly interactive and encyclopaedic experience.

‘Don’t be surprised to find the hospitality establishments serving up expansive fare and fine ales’

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‘Lined with mainly ethnic restaurants of varying degrees of chique with a variation in menus I did not expect to find in South Wales’ This protected area was the first in the history of the United Kingdom to be accredited as a region of rare and outstanding natural beauty. It is, of course, somewhere you simply have to get to yourself, rather than read what it feels like to be there. The local bus 118 from the spiffy, new, bus station in Swansea takes less than an hour to get there and it works well for the return journey, as the buses are pretty much hourly until around 8.00pm. Out on the Gower Peninsular you are enticed to indulge in lovely, breezy walks, water sports or just sit and allow the beauty of nature and the elements to wash over you. You will be happy to know that locals also leave their cars at home and bus out to the coast and cliffs for the day. And don’t be surprised to find the hospitality establishments serving up expansive fare and fine ales. Swansea City is also filled with pubs of character, characters and wide-ranging quality drinks. What we did not expect to find was that a walk along a certain street, at a time when tiny hunger pangs are sounding, can lead to a great experience. We asked a couple of locals in the hugely professional Potter’s Wheel pub where we might find the best food in town. They directed us down St Helen’s Road, which blew us away. It is lined with mainly ethnic restaurants of varying degrees of chique with a variation in menus I did not expect to find in South Wales. We surveyed what must have been at least 500 metres of display menus and aromas until we settled on Anarkali Tandoori Restaurant.

in their flavouring and spice usage; not to mention why they insult knowledgeable customers who celebrate the cuisine’s taste experience by adding raisins to any meal which has a chilli factor. Here in Swansea, we were reminded about what full-flavoured Indian cuisine is all about, outside of India that is. The tarkha dhal was smooth and the vegetable jalfrezi straightened me out with its elements of life. The flavour and chilli factors used made it hotter even than any vindaloo I have sampled over the years in the many so-called authentic Indian restaurants in Amsterdam. With cleared nasal passages, we drank a couple of Peroni pilsners during what turned out to be a waste of a couple of hours watching the Spain versus France bore-fest of a Euro 2012 quarter-final at The Wig grand pub. At the final whistle, we braved the now driving rain for at least fifty metres to the next pub along, where we dried off with another fine glass of ale and shared the company of ‘happy’, totally local folk, out doing their customary Saturday night thing. This meant an entire pub filled with both genders, sitting and standing around with huge measures of drink and no apparent regard for how the volume-drinking fixation is warping their body form over time, turning way too many people into a clumsily obese and unhealthy bunch. That sort of take on behaviour is for another trip or topic, however. Swansea has its issues but it is also the gateway to some tremendous nature and is filled with people who are generally warm and countrified, despite the city’s urban trappings and a Premier League football team thrown in to aid its pull.

At this point, it is worth saying that I have never figured out why sub-continental restaurants in Amsterdam are so limp

‘Totally local folk, out doing their customary Saturday night thing’

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S.M.A.K. S.M.A.K. is one of Europe’s more interesting and happening museums for the modern arts. Located in the popular tourist city of Ghent they are very active and always aim to organise original and contemporay exhibitions and art events. This summer their main event is TRACK, a unique art experience that takes you all the way through the city of Ghent (featured in Sentinel issue 5-12). It’s a truly ‘modern’ museum of modern arts and defenitely worth a visit after you have tried the cathedrals and tasted all of the beers (or rather, in reverse order...).

www.smak.be

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CULTURE

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Antwerp: the best beer houses By Denson Pierre

With this very short piece we say farewell to Antwerp and Flanders for the time being. In the meantime, we need to keep our options open, of course, but hopefully the information contained in recent editions of The Sentinel will fill your trip(s) to Antwerp and the region with many enjoyable things to do, taste and see.

‘t Waagstuk Stadswaag 20 Bier Central De Keyserlei 25

Duke of Antwerp de Keyserlei 29 Courtesy of Hans the brewer (http://www.pakhuis. info/), we present to you the best of Antwerp’s ‘t Antwerps Bierhuyske other specialist beer cafés, to help soothe you after Hoogstraat 14 a hectic day of shopping or working in the city: Kulminator Vleminckveld 32 Oud Arsenaal Maria Pijpelincxstraat 4 Enjoy them all and we look forward to swapping tasty stories about these vibrant places in the future.

‘The best of Antwerp’s other specialist beer cafés’

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Mechelen

Authentic and full of surprises. That’s Mechelen. Hospitable and honourable. That’s the people of Mechelen. Come and experience the city’s urban charms for yourself.

The Elastic Band

MUSIC

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Three hours later and everyone present is glowing from a music-led, good-time Saturday nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

MUSIC

By Magenta Tuunes

It is 14 July and another distinctly autumnal summer’s night in Amsterdam, so I take the opportunity to check out the much-talked-about group of friends who entertain with traditional Irish and bluegrass music a few times a year at Mulligan’s Irish Music Bar. With such a dearth of decent, affordable, live music in the city, it is a treat to join the regulars, tourists and music lovers in enjoying a group of men with beautiful instruments forcing you to tap along and enticing the more liberated to perform a modified jig. From reels and country favourites to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, sing-alongs blend in nicely with the litres of alcoholic beverages, which fly over the bar once this type of music captures the spirit of all present.

The Elastic Band has been going for some six years now and is a surprisingly shy group of men once they assume their performance personas. Two members, Barry Teehan (voice, jokes, mandolin) and Max van Gelder (Irish accordion, Irish whistle, acoustic bass guitar), also work in the pub, proving that good music does not always pay well. The other members are: Dominic Crosbie (guitar) and Siard de Jong (fiddle). Given the tight fit of this venerable Amsterdam pub, intimate to nicely crowded is the best description. Everyone is happy, so the atmosphere feels good. Three hours later and everyone present is glowing from a music-led, good-time Saturday night. The band’s objective is to record what they have clearly become so good at and it shouldn’t be long before they are picked up by a company who can package them for proper commercial gain.

cafe/bar review

Café/Bar Review Café Kostverloren

cafe/bar review

‘A large and stylish terrace allows individual style and fashion to be on sunny display’

By Denson Pierre

2e Kostverlorenkade 70, Amsterdam

In recent years, a few A-class café/bars and eateries have appeared in the small area surrounding the Kinkerbrug, in Amsterdam Oud West. Of these, one has prospered during the course of the disappointing summer, weatherwise. Café Kostverloren, either by luck or astute business foresight, opened its café and terrace a couple of years ago in an area that had been screaming out for a classy café. The owners’ chosen configuration now draws punters from across Amsterdam and even international residents and tourists. Ambiance Without being too self-consciously hip, Café Kostverloren is a cool place. A large and stylish terrace allows individual style and fashion to be on sunny display. The interior concept features an open kitchen, which is a spectacle rather than an intimidating space, and a huge saloon, themed as a living room: a great concept for single men, in particular, to spend a Sunday afternoon TV sport session with a special meal price offer. This is understanding and innovative. On Mondays there is even a pub quiz, to take the edge off the start of the working week. Rating 5

Staff/regulars The proprietors here seem to know what they are doing with recruitment and how to keep staff well motivated, always smiling and readily helpful. Things run smoothly and service is always brisk. Regulars include many residents of the nearby cluster of streets and, even though a few ‘trendies’ appear in between the groups, it retains the flavour of traditional Amsterdam and all age groups seem to blend in nicely. Rating 5

TVs showing predominantly Dutch-interest sports feature even on the terrace, as was the case during the recent Euro 2012. The café’s Ajax, Tour-de-France and Studio Sport mealon-your-lap-in-the-living-room concept makes the saloon a very appealing theatre for viewing televised sport. Rating 4

Prices This is a rare example of a café that has balanced its pricing so as not to exclude those wanting a classy, yet simple outing for social fun, including alcohol and food. Café Kostveloren’s kitchen turns out average-priced fare and caters for vegetarians. Pricier dishes are offered for those whose budgets stretch. Drinks are generally in the reasonable to cheaper category. You can turn up with €10, enjoy four premiumquality vaasjes and still take home €1.20 in change. This is remarkable in present day Amsterdam and keeps people coming back. The beer selection, both on tap and in bottles, is outstanding and the range of liqueurs and spirits more than adequate. Rating 5

Music Depends on the shift manager, so it can be a bit of a lottery, given the tens of thousands of music files available via the digital sound system. With so many of the staff below 30 years of age, they can display too much of a preference for uninspiring Dutch techno/house music but, even so, the playlists are reasonably varied. Rating 3

Smoking area provision During the summer months the café is a magnet for smokers, as the cosy terrace reduces the chance of conflict with the more than 70% of punters who do not smoke. At times of rain and cold weather, the brilliantly coloured awnings provide sufficient cover under which puffers can satisfy their craving. Rating 4

Televised sport

Total rating: 26/30

Not yet busy with international sport, banks of flat-screen

(Ratings from 1-5, where 1 = Very poor and 5 = Excellent)

cafe/bar review

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;It retains the flavour of traditional Amsterdam and all age groups seem to blend in nicelyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

cafe/bar review

‘This is a rare example of a café that has balanced its pricing so as not to exclude those wanting a classy, yet simple outing for social fun’

restaurant REVIEW

cedars

8.0

restaurant REVIEW

‘The location is actually one of the restaurant’s biggest attractions’

By Antonia Egon

Restaurant Cedars Heemstedestraat 80, Amsterdam

Lebanese cuisine has been somewhat overlooked in the Netherlands. Although they offer varied and interesting dishes, Lebanese restaurants are not easy to find in Amsterdam. Even if you’ve been living here longer than you’d care to mention, you could easily miss the Cedars restaurant, mainly due to its location. Close to the World Fashion Center and the ring road, it isn’t likely that you would ‘accidentally’ come across Cedars, unless you happen to live or work in that area. The location is actually one of the restaurant’s biggest attractions, however. The huge terrace on the water is a unique feature and, on the afternoon we visited the restaurant, it was like being on holiday far, far away from the city. By chance the summer had decided to make an appearance. It hadn’t been spotted before and was gone the next day, but on that particular afternoon the sun was shining, it was hot and the time we spent on the waterside was pure enjoyment. The enthusiastic staff treated us to a great Lebanese white wine, which was as nice and fresh as can be and a great accompaniment to the Lebanese bread that arrived at our table in bulk, along with a tasty olive oil, while we waited for the meal itself. We were feeling very lazy and enjoying the warm weather so, instead of choosing dishes ourselves, we decided to go for the chef’s set menu of vegetarian mezze and a surprise

main course. From that moment on dishes began arriving at our table and they just kept on coming. What really stood out were the great salad starters. It is hard to describe the freshness and intense flavours, but they were some of the nicest I had sampled in a while. The in-between course of lentil soup was so good it made me want to return as soon as possible. I love lentil soups, in general, and especially when I taste a new, great variation, as was the case here. It had great depth of flavour and is certainly up there with the best I’ve ever had. Then the mezze arrived. It consisted of a selection of ten different dishes, varying from great traditional hummus, a gorgeous sundried pepper puree, two types of roasted aubergine salad, two different Lebanese yoghurt combinations, grape leaves filled with rice, homemade falafel and filo pastry filled with goats’ cheese. Everything was very pure and fresh and it was all accompanied by an unlimited supply of Lebanese bread. The mezze was left on the table while the main course was served, which I think is a great system; taking a bit of this and that as you please. The main course was a simple, but very tasty rice dish with grilled vegetables, although maybe next time I will opt to stick with the smaller dishes and have as many as possible. Sitting in the sunshine on the waterside, feeling like I’d departed Amsterdam for the countryside, is an experience well worth repeating.

‘It is hard to describe the freshness and intense flavours, but they were some of the nicest I had sampled in a while’

restaurant REVIEW

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Then the mezze arrived. It consisted of a selection of ten different dishesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

restaurant REVIEW

star beer guide

The Sentinel Star beer guide By Gary Rudland

Ter Dolen Blond (6.1% a.b.v.) ‘Brewery De Dool claims that Ter Dolen Blond is Limburg’s first genuine abbey beer’ Having been a fan of Leffe Blond (6.6% a.b.v.) for many years, last year I became a convert to this ever so slightly weaker, bitterer and cloudier alternative, which is brewed in a former abbey in northern Belgium. Brewery De Dool claims that Ter Dolen Blond is Limburg’s first genuine abbey beer, a qualification that requires a second fermentation in the bottle. Delightfully smooth, velvety and refreshing, Ter Dolen nevertheless supplies a full flavour without knocking your socks off after two bottles. In 2010 it was voted the third best Belgian Abbey Beer by Belgian newspaper De Standaard.

AMSTERDAM Leidseplein, Amsterdam 19/07/12

r eCOMM

eNDeD

We ﬁnd the best, most fun, most typical, exciting, or local favourite restaurants etcetera in Amsterdam and bring them to you; an easy way to feel like a local.

To Be Seen and Tasted

Connoisseurs Delight

Fun, Drinking & Music

Cafe Tisfris Cafe Tisfris is recognisable for its landmarks, funky pillars and terrace. The modern, artistic interior with a warm, bustling atmosphere and inviting music attracts quite a mixed crowd. Tisfris offers a friendly and efficient service and is a great pit stop for “yummy” refreshments.

Opera Prima - Patisserie Bistro Traiteur The best place in town for lunch, exquisite high teas or brunches and all of your luxury catering, both private and corporate!

Mulligans Irish Music Bar Amsterdam’s best address for live Irish music : Five (5) nights a week! Check our agenda for upcoming sessions. Join the friendly atmosphere, have a good pint of Guinness and the good old-fashioned “Craic”

Tisfris Opera Prima St. Antoniebreestraat 142 Amsterdam Kinkerstraat 228 Amsterdam www.tisfris.nl www.operaprima.nl

Mulligans Irish Music Bar Amstel 100 1017 AC Amsterdam www.mulligans.nl

To Be Seen and Tasted

Connoisseurs Delight

To Be Seen and Tasted

Cafe restaurant Edel Cafe restaurant Edel is the perfect place for lunch, dinner or to simply enjoy a drink. Edel is situated in ‘Het Sieraad’ on Postjesweg. It sits in the former clockmaker and jeweller’s academy building and has a large waterside terrace. Edel is a unique place in Amsterdam.

Incanto Incanto is a restaurant with a classic Italian kitchen. Venetian chef Simone Ambrosin is known for his pure and simple style of cooking with feeling for nuance.

Café Kostverloren Café Kostverloren is a contemporary cafe offering the cosiness of a saloon, the experience of an open kitchen and the intimacy of a living room. During summer there is a large, sunny terrace and during winter, an open fireplace!

EDEL Postjesweg 1 1057 DT Amsterdam www.edelamsterdam.nl

Incanto Amstel 2 Amsterdam www.restaurant-incanto.nl

The wine list contains over 150 Italian wines.

Café Kostverloren 2e Kostverlorenkade 70 in Amsterdam www.cafekostverloren.nl

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Where is this in Amsterdam? Answer to: sentinelpost@gmail.com

Film review

Room 2c film By David King

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences never appreciated this ‘sleeper’ but who has not loved seeing the arms held aloft in victory and cried ‘escape’ out loud? This is the greatest of films and one which draws us in and never lets go. All the performances are superb but especially that of Tim Robbins. How to describe this film if you haven’t seen it? Easy, just trust me and watch it, because it still amazes me!

Room 2c film By dpmotions

The Blues Brothers (1980) “Everybody needs somebody...” is just one of the catchy sing-along lines from this rip-roaring musical comedy, which just gets better and better as time and lives pass. It’s not just the antics of 1980’s head cases Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi but where else would you find fun cameos from Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Cab Calloway? If that’s still not enough to guarantee your foot-tapping enjoyment and laughter, John Candy also features.

trends

‘‘They didn’t need any new summer clothes in the first place, since their wardrobes are overflowing with all the stuff they bought during the ‘good’ years’

trends

Change 02 By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre

The ever-changing world of fashion is on a rollercoaster ride and no-one knows where it’s going to end. The global climate is not the only thing (this summer’s record-breaking low temperatures are just one example) forcing changes. There is a broad array of things happening at the moment, none of which has anything to do with style, but which are having an overwhelming impact upon the day-to-day wheeling and dealing in fashionland. 02: The economy With the euro fighting for its life, the pound swimming around in circles, the dollar having nothing to wear but hand-me-downs, unemployment reaching catastrophic levels in southern Europe, the rising price of everything and the falling level of disposable income… Well, it’s not difficult to paint the picture and we all have a pretty good idea of what it looks like by now. The ‘multiple-dip recession’, as they are now calling it on the opinion pages, influences many a consumer trend, including the money being spent on clothes. The results are manifold; more and more people are waiting for sales to start buying clothes, which results in various knock-on effects. The sale periods are not only starting

earlier and earlier; in some cases a perpetual sale seems to be emerging (to accompany the very perpetual rain). Also, at the moment, people who go to the sales are likely to think “Well, if it is 30% off this week, maybe it will be 50% off next week,” and wait a little longer. They may end up buying nothing at all, perhaps because they realise they didn’t need any new summer clothes in the first place, since their wardrobes are overflowing with all the stuff they bought during the ‘good’ years, when credit cards still seemed unending in credit and harmless. Now they can work through mountains of never-worn dresses, shoes, jeans, handbags and other impulse bargains that remain in the untouched caverns of their walk-in closets. There is still quite a long time yet to go until next summer and maybe by that time the economy will have recovered and the cycle can start all over again.

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TeCHNOlOGY

TechBit: Sio-Bytes

Pioneers & Settlers ‘Being early is not always a good thing’

technology

By Simon Owusu

Pioneers take the arrows, settlers take the land. In the world of computing, this mantra can always be used to map the course of any new piece of technology, software or product that is first to market. The philosophy behind the mantra is that being early is not always a good thing. Being first takes an incredible amount of research, development, time, resources and effort in planning and strategy. Being early can be deadly for the pioneers and the early adopters, before a new innovation achieves success and becomes well-established. The pioneers can either be the companies breaking into a new market, establishing a new technology or premiering a new product. Pioneers also include the adopters of the new technology or product. The settlers are those who will follow in the wake of the pioneers and take the spoils: the late adopters. As with the western migration in the US, when the pioneers moved into a new land they had to battle against the arrows of the Native Americans, suffering huge losses. Once the lands were secure, the settlers moved in, building upon the blood, sweat and tears of the pioneers. The settlers, at little to no risk, concentrated on building their settlements.

‘Settlers moved in, building upon the blood, sweat and tears of the pioneers’ Start-up companies and the ‘nerds’ are synonymous with the pioneers, while the settlers are the general public or the companies that wait to build upon the successes of others. When we map the successful companies or the established technologies and products we use today, a clear path exists back to their pioneers. We are also able to see the early adopters, the group of individuals who are always quick to adopt anything, at great peril to their time and usually their sanity. The settlers, the general public, are always quick to shoot ‘arrows’ at the early adopters, mocking the pioneers with names such as geeks, nerds, dorks, etc. Settlers are usually quick to dismiss a pioneer’s new product or technology through criticism that the pioneer’s plan will never work. However, through the pioneers’ perseverance and thick skin, the general public slowly come to realise and later accept the fight fought. Settlers then come to embrace the technologies or new products they previously ridiculed. In terms of companies, settlers reluctantly adopt plans set out by pioneers and, usually to their own benefit and profit, adopt the new technologies or mimic the pioneers’ products. The mantra is evident in the many waves of technology that have been borne by and through the internet to produce

all the fancy gadgets and cool computing products we have at our fingertips today. A few examples follow of what the pioneers provided and what the settlers took and built upon. The first early adopters of the internet were traditional nerds who accessed the internet through immensely slow dial-up modems with speeds of 9600 Bauds (which would take an hour to send a 5MB file compared to milliseconds today). They accessed Bulletin Boards Systems to swap Dungeon and Dragon tips, together with images, music and software. At the same time, very popular among these nerds was IRC (Internet Relay Chat). IRC was a real-time communication protocol that allowed groups of people to exchange messages with each other in ‘channels’, as well as enabling private communication between two people. This was the realm of nerds and their world alone. They endured the slow speeds, the on-off nature of the online experience and a distinct lack of available alternatives. From 1977 to around 1989, the founding blocks of the internet were developed and brought forward by this small group of individuals that fell into the nerd category. The general public were unaware and uninterested in what was to become all of our futures, being forged in dark rooms by mostly socially inept individuals, constantly mocked about their dedication to the bits and bytes of a new land. Fast forward to today and the settlers are enjoying the spoils of the land fought for by the nerds and now woven into the everyday lives of the general public. Dial-up modems have been replaced by super-fast broadband. IRC has been replaced by numerous Messaging clients, like AOL and AIM to the likes of Twitter on the internet. The same trends follow our major social networks. Facebook was not a pioneer of the term but followed many other networks, such as MySpace, Bebo, Hi-five, etc. But these were just the halfway step from the social networks of the nerd community; the aforementioned Bulletin Board Systems of our nerd pioneers was the undiscovered land that turned into the landing ground for many of today’s social networks. This was the first social community on the internet, the sole domain of our nerds.

‘Our future is on the battlegrounds of today’s nerds, where the fights are being fought and arrows being endured’ The benefit of knowing this mantra is that it provides an insight into the technologies of the future. Our future is on the battlegrounds of today’s nerds, where the fights are being fought and arrows being endured. They are the pioneers of the technology-driven world, where everyone else is waiting to settle for the spoils without the fight. I applaud you nerds (among whom I include myself, in a small way)!

sport

‘My expectations have always been high. I’m a Tottenham Hotspur supporter’

On The Volley

sport

‘Glory, glory, Tottenham Hotspur, who last won the league 51 years ago’

By Simon Joseph

The Starting Point Here we go, then; the start of another football season. What’s in store for your team? Will you be watching? Have they made some good signings? Have they got a chance of winning anything? Do you even care? Not me. I’m giving it all up. Previously, my expectations have always been high. I’m a Tottenham Hotspur supporter. It started back in the 1970s, when I first became conscious of the beautiful game. Bill Nicholson – our most successful manager – was setting the standard. “Spurs have got to be the best in the land, not the second best,” he declared. Since then the goalposts have moved further and further away. One of my earliest memories is the euphoria surrounding the UEFA Cup victory in 1972. A glorious night in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, inventors of ‘push ‘n’ run’ and the first double-winners in English football. Glory, glory, Tottenham Hotspur, who last won the league 51 years ago, six years before I was even born; who haven’t won a single major trophy for more than 20 years; who have lost in more than 10 cup semis and two cup finals, since 1991; and have managed a top-four finish just twice in the 22 years of the Premier League. The mighty Tottenham Hotspur, the nearly boys, the almost-rans.

Ever since I was a boy, growing up in North London, my love for the club has been unconditional – until now. Long gone are the days when I stood on the terraces watching my latest heroes – Hoddle, Ardiles, Archibald, Villa, to name but a few – believing they were invincible. But my memories of relative successes are fading. Frustration has slowly turned into dejection and the vain hope of ever achieving something great again has slowly worn away, as Nicholson’s glorious ’61 and the famous double-winners must also be disappearing from the collective memories of those who were there; every year a new elegy to the fading grandeur of past glory. If I sound like I’m drowning in the depths of despair now, let me take you back to the 1980s, when I first became disillusioned. Having bounced straight back from a relegation low-point at the end of the 1970s, we won the FA Cup twice but fell short of winning the league by a few lousy points on five separate occasions! Just like Soft Cell was singing back then, my love was becoming tainted. Nowadays, frustration, detachment and alienation are symptomatic of the ‘armchair’ supporter. Your average footy fan is so far removed from the life – and wage packet – of a professional footballer that it’s bound to cause impatience, irritation and contempt; especially when, at times, it looks as though the players can’t even be bothered to drag themselves on to the pitch. What, I wonder, would your club have to achieve to repay all that commitment from its fans?

sport

‘Nicholson’s glorious ’61 and the famous double-winners must also be disappearing from the collective memories’

sport

‘Nowadays, frustration, detachment and alienation are symptomatic of the ‘armchair’ supporter’

There’s probably no need to remind you what happened at the close of last season. But for those of you who don’t know, Spurs won nothing (again) and missed out on Champion’s League football (again) by a single point (again). One point; one lousy point was all it would’ve taken to finish third and avoid the maddening disappointment caused by Chelsea winning the Champion’s League. Shortly thereafter came the rumours that our chairman, Daniel Levy, was ‘left dismayed’ by the end of season slump; subsequently – and not for the first time – he sacked the manager who seemed to be making a difference. Tottenham already have a reputation, if that’s the right word, for self-destructing and a great capacity for capitulation. So to only win four of the last 13 games was no great surprise and certainly meant that we did not merit a place amongst Europe’s elite. The turning point was Arsenal away. Having gone into this game sitting comfortably in third place, 10 points ahead of our North London rivals, and finding ourselves 2-0 up inside the first 10 minutes, we contrived to lose the game 5-2, precipitating the downward spiral that was not just disappointingly Spurs-like but utterly heartbreaking. When Chelsea won the cup, heartbreak turned into dismay and then into despair. Di Matteo showed us what it takes to make that step from almost-rans to champions – even if it was anti-football or winning ugly. Yet, as Bill Nicholson said, “It’s no use just winning, we’ve got to win well,” and, to be fair, Spurs played some of their best football in decades last season; it was a pleasure to watch. But can Spurs ever win anything again – pretty or ugly? Will it happen in my

lifetime and what will happen to me if we can’t? So, in order to avoid all further disappointment, frustration and heartache, I’ve decided to give it all up – for one season, at least. One whole season fully committed to being fully detached from Tottenham Hotspur and the beautiful game. Now, some have said ‘losing is part of the game, part of sport and you have to learn to take it on the chin,’ which I agree is a valid point. But let me just remind you of how much the game has changed. It’s not a level playing field anymore, it’s a road to nowhere for most supporters. Even that’s an understatement by today’s standards. So unless you’re a fan of Manchester City’s or Chelsea’s opulence, the arrogance of the nouveaux riche and their billions of pounds in investment, then you’re really missing the point. This life-without-football began in earnest the day after the European Championship final. Just as events reached boiling point in Kiev, I was deleting the RSS feeds from my laptop and the sport apps from my smartphone. I don’t watch the news on telly and I told the people around me that I was distancing myself from my love of the game for one year, and that they should try to avoid speaking about it at all costs. Being the middle of summer and the closed season anyway, this should’ve been easy, right? No! I’ve found it difficult from day one; difficult to keep my mind off of football or to avoid incoming news about new managers and possible transfers. Can I ever really become fully detached? Well, there you have it. That’s my challenge. And I’m sure all that extra time I’ll have on my hands can be put to better use... but to what I’ve no idea? Not yet.

‘Tottenham already have a reputation, if that’s the right word, for self-destructing and a great capacity for capitulation’

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sport

The Gold Room By Denson Pierre

Just three weekends from now we will be deep into realising, yet again, that it is not possible to second guess real-world Premier League managers. We will all have players in our FFG-CL teams who will not, in reality, play a significant role and bring us the desired fantasy points. This might mean making an early dip into the substitute allocation (12 per competitor). If and when that happens we could do worse than consider these two newcomers (one is really a returnee, having been around as a reserve team player and first team substitute) to the Premier League. Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United) It is fair to say that this Japanese footballer plays and moves with a rhythm and swagger more consistent with a top-class South American professional. He is quick, skilful and, most importantly, unpredictably explosive down either flank or even straight down the middle. His ball manipulation and ambidextrous shooting ability is exciting but his greatest assets are his timing of runs and incisive dynamism. It is not possible to easily categorise his attacking play but he is maybe best considered as a goal-scoring, ball-playing, deep-lying forward. His passing range can create the illusion that he is typical midfielder but watch closely and you will

regularly find him in the 16-metre box, on the end of attacks. Kagawa is perhaps the most complete player to come out of Japan, to date, and his European introduction as part of the consecutive Bundesliga title-winning Borussia Dortmund team has been the best possible. This is a player who just might be primed to take the Premier League by typhoon. Fabio Borini (Liverpool) Back in the Premier League and he appears to have had the necessary refreshment of his passion and ability to clinically accumulate goals, after a year playing point for Roma in Serie A. Here is a player with a very, very good goal-to-appearance ratio, this early in his career. He has been taken to Liverpool by a manager who has known him since he was a teenager at Chelsea and, while on loan at Swansea, managed six goals in just nine appearances for Brendan Rogers. This is the sort of performer a manager remembers and covets, so it was no surprise to see Rogers, now at a club of considerably greater stature than Swansea City, in terms of pedigree and player quality, ready to assist Borini beyond last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tally of nine goals in 24 appearances. He now has a full season to do his best and prove his worth. Liverpool may have found themselves one of those precise, Gary Lineker-like finishers to spearhead their attempt to regain their once formidable, stylistic standing and ability to win a higher percentage of matches than has been the case in many a recent season.

sport

the sentinel Fantasy Football League 2012-2013

The blue one is back! If you are not already signed-up to play our fantasy football game you can do so now! Mail to: sentinelfantasyfootball@gmail.com for rules and conditions. Paper forms also available from behind the bar at Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bar (Amsterdam). Act now as due to heavy demand from our regular players late reactions can lead to disappointment as we do have a preferred upper limit on managers/players we accommodate in the game.

sport

All that glistens is sometimes...

FANTASY FOOTBALL GOLD CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2012-2013

The master managers are grouped again to challenge for the golden envelope. We use this game to complement our main reporting on matches, teams and players from the English Premier League involved in their domestic and European competitions.

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CZECH REPUBLIC STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT! www.czechtourism.com