No.326, March 2024

No. 326 - March 2024
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The Editor's Bit

Did you miss me? I went down with some bug half way through delivering the January edition of the Amsterdam Stun, so I had to pass on February. It’s usually quiet around town in January, so I wasn’t too bothered about missing a month, but it did mean I couldn’t make it to the NewJursParty in Paradiso. I couldn’t let our readers miss out, so Jan the Lazyman, who was also MC at the party, let me use some of his photos; they’re on pages 16 & 17.

Because I’ve hardly been out lately, nobody came up with an answer to the last Cover Competition. If I had been out, I’m sure Big Al would have told me while he was in town for his birthday or Willy, if I’d taken up his offer of a beer when I dropped off the last Stun in Café Havelaar, because I took the photo from outside his bar! I only asked for the location, but for the purists, it’s called the Rasphuispoort and it’s on the Heiligeweg at the junction with the Voetboegstraat.

I’m not going to give up with the Cover Competition, so if you would like an Honourable Mention in the next Stun, all you have to do is tell me the location of the artwork on this month’s cover. In keeping with my new policy of looking up for the cover photos, I had to get down on my knees for this one because it’s below my eye-level and it would have been too easy if you could see the background.

After 35 years of running the oldest Irish pub in Amsterdam, Miriam has decided it’s time she took it easy and has sold Mulligan’s! Before she left, the bar was packed with all of the friends she has made over the years.
The new owners have every intention of keeping Mulligan’s as the premier traditional Irish music venue in the Netherlands, but my old friend, bar manager Sean, has decided it’s time for him to retire too. As usual, he said no to a photo, but it does mean that there’s more chance of picking up a copy of the Amsterdam Stun in Mulligan’s now.

How has Danny never been in the Stun before? I was drinking in his dad’s bar before he was born, 31 years ago, and the rest of his family are frequently in the Stun. Jen, on the other hand, has been a Stun regular since she first started working in Café Oporto, and I’m sure that she will know the answer to this month’s Cover Competition.

Despite not getting to as many bars as I would have liked, with a little help from my friends and more XL photos than usual, I’ve managed to fill 24 pages with all of your favourites, including Being Frank on Football, so enjoy your March edition of the Stun.