Holland has a lot of canals . You're never far from a stretch of water . Waiting for at least one of the three or four bridges that you'll need to cross to reopen for traffic has to be reckoned on in any trip across town in the summer .
If you're not in a hurry , it's fun to see who's coming through today . Could be a bride , a skûtje full of students on holiday , a barge full of gravel , a German couple in matching anoraks , a string of kayaks , the council canal cleaner with his huge net ......
Or you'll just see some chap moored playing his saxaphone . A bit further up another moored dinghy has been turned into a temporary poker den for the lads ( none younger than 80 ) . And here's the bridal party again , each clutching a glass and passing round a tray of nibbles ....
P.S. For some reason ( probably my ineptitude ) the collage can't be enlarged by clicking on it . So , if you'd like to see it or any of the photos in it , they're in the set Dutch Boats on our Flickr site called SmitoniusAndSonata .
