On A Lighter Note..
…though no less explosive: here’s video of the stunning fireworks over the Thames last night, stunningly beautiful and all very contained and orchestrated, with well-behaved, polite and cheering crowds.
I bet it was risk-assessed up the wazoo.
The next video is of the Nieuwendijk leading to the Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam at midnight last night. You might think the Dutch were nicely liberal but as staid and safety-conscious as many Northern Europeans appear to be.
Think again.
No mind-numbingly tedious risk asessments or health and safety droids here, oh no – where fireworks are concerned, the Dutch spit on your risk-asssessments, they dip risk assessments in breadcrumbs, deep-fry them and eat them with transfat-laden mayonnaise. On New Years Eve, every street is like this; unlike in the UK where firework sales and displays are strictly controlled, you can buy huge amounts of explosives over the counter here. The Schengen agreement means open borders for fireworks too.
I wonder what pyrotechnical wonderments new EU members Bulgaria and Romania’ll have in store for us next year?
Read more: New Year, Europe, Amsterdam, London, Fireworks, Video