Public transport

In Derby you go to the train station and they quote you somewhere around sixty pounds for a return to London (they even stopped giving free tea and coffee on Midland Mainline – what more sign could you need of a credit crunch?).

In Brussels you rock up at Gare du Midi station and they charge you forty euros (around thirty pounds) for a return to Amsterdam on the Thalys network. I even forgot my passport and didn’t have to worry about it as I travelled to another country, a definitely very un-British experience.

So while you were pondering whether you might just take the National Express instead, off I went to the orange city, mixing it with the locals as they beat Italy 3-0. That’s all I have to say about the Dutch capital, in the interests of brevity and diplomacy. Suffice to say the orange men were less jubilant on Sunday night when the amount of honking on the streets made it appear as if Moscow had moved to Brussels for the night. At least I didn’t see anyone getting clubbed over the head, a nice continuity of non-violence which I am hoping is not just a coincidence during my time here (although I have probably just guaranteed that I will be writing next week’s piece with a drip sitting in A&E).

Faites de Musique also took place this weekend, where amongst other things ‘musicians’ are allowed to just set up on any street and play to their heart’s content. In the Parc area revellers were treated to a huge concert, Hollywood Pornstars being among the best performers. We also accidentally walked into an ambient little jazz place in Saint Gery, The Music Village, and caught the last set by the Marc Demuth Quartet (featuring Sofia Ribeiro, finalist in the Brussels International Young Jazz Singers 2006) which was a real treat. Apparently there are Young Talents Concerts every Wednesday.

Which all just goes to show there is always something going on in this not-so-dreary place, contrary to what I had expected before I arrived. If you’re a real policy wonk then there’s plenty to keep you busy. This morning, admittedly as part of work, I was finally treated to an audience with the Commissioner himself (Mandelson, not Gordon). The man certainly knows his stuff.

With all of the units underneath his charge, he has to. Also, tomorrow morning you can find a discussion on politics and security in Afghanistan, and in the evening the former Thai Prime Minister is giving a talk as part of the Amartya Sen Lecture Series. Unfortunately I have a French exam tomorrow and my football team, Catenaccio, is currently flying high at the top of the table and we are due to play the team behind us, so my priorities will have to be juggled. If it’s anything like last week’s game then we’re going to see more bruising and more cursing, as stagiaire diplomacy is put aside in the interests of testosterone satisfaction, which I am more than happy to do my part and simultaneously represent my country in, despite the perplexing comment by an opposing German player last week of, ‘Dude you are so English’, presumably referring to my inability to accept the blatant fouls, penalty claims and petty whingeing that we were subject to.

No matter, we still won 5-3, so if we didn’t get to the Euro 2008 finals I will do my best to make sure we are represented in the Stagiaire 2008 finals. At least my German friend will have to find a new criticism to make.

On a final note, I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t make a mention of the unfortunate passing away of the actor George Carlin, who among other more notable achievements also played Rufus in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. George, you really did make a contribution to history. I think my ten year old cousin learned more about important historical figures watching that film than in four years of junior schooling, so I’ll be lobbying for an EU directive to have it placed on every national curriculum.