THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (18): The Helmsman
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.

THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (18): The Helmsman
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (18): The Helmsman
See all my film reviews here.
If there is one type of music I really can’t stand to listen to, it is opera. Sorry opera lovers. And so, I resisted watching the French language film Marguerite for quite some time. This was a mistake!
Marguerite is a film inspired by Florence Foster Jenkins who was a true opera afficiando but who could not sing. In the film Marguerite, Marguerite Dumont is played by the wonderful Catherine Frot. Marguerite is a wealthy woman whose deepest wish is to become a famous opera singer. There is but one problem – Marguerite Dumont cannot sing for toffee. Indeed, when she does sing, she belts out one discordant and ear-splitting note after another. Marguerite’s sycophantic friends, her husband and her staff pretend to adore her singing and she waltzes along in a fantasy world believing she has the voice of an operatic angel. She hasn’t (and not by a long shot).
Marguerite is a beautiful made film with magnificent performances from Catherine Frot, the man who plays her husband, André Marcon and especially Marguerite’s highly supportive butler, Madelbos – played excellently by Denis Mpunga. I am sure that we will see much more of Denis Mpunga in international films in the future.
I now need to watch the film Florence Foster Jenkins starring Hugh Grant and Meryl Streep to see how it compares to Marguerite.
Marguerite, set in the decadent 1920s, is wonderfully constructed and photographed film and I recommend it highly.
I give Marguerite the PhotoNomad 10/10 rating plus two ticks, three stars and four cherries on top!
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (17): The VIP
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The Party Girls (and Boy)
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (15): The Girl in the Middle
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (14): The Man Up Front
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (13): The Man on the Boat
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (12): The Boat Full
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The Happy Couple
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (10): The Dance All Day Girl
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (9): The Sax Girl
This clever little device caught my eye and for around US$275, it costs much less than a drone and has interesting possibilities.
Here for more details.
It shouldn’t be this way.
“Where there is a lack of sanitation, human waste often returns to the environment untreated, affecting human health and degrading ecosystems.”
We should all be helping here.
The World Toilet Day
ing
Please click on the Soundcloud link below, close your eyes and join me on the streets of Amsterdam for the King’s Day (27 April) celbrations. Amsterdam turns into one big street party on King’s Day and boats with very loud sound systems and celebrating crew members tour the city’s canals having what can only be described as a very good time!
See all other soundscapes here.
See my King’s Day video here.
See my King’s Day Spark here.
The King’s Day, Amsterdam
A new and self-appointed king spotted in the streets of Amsterdam during the King’s Day celebrations.
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (7): The King of Amsterdam
A talented singer and street performer gives a stunning rendition of Non, je ne regrette rien by Edith Piaf during the King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam yesterday.
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
THE KING’S DAY, AMSTERDAM (7): Edith Piaf lives on!
If you are going to party in Holland on King’s Day, then party in orange!
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The King’s Day, Amsterdam (6):The Orange Crew
Please take a look at the video below which shows images from the King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam yesterday. Amsterdam was rocking!!!!
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
Kings Day Amsterdam 2018 from Richard Broom on Vimeo.
The King’s Day, Amsterdam, April 2018
When you gotta go, you gotta go!!
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The Any Port in a Storm Moment…
It looks like orange snow but it is a confetti bomb going off. The whole area showered in orange confetti – all part of the 2018 King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam yesterday
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The Confetti Bomb
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The King’s Day, Amsterdam (2): The Violinist
Bare naked ladies spotted in Amsterdam earlier today…
The Bare Naked Ladies
Two disturbing images!
Donald Trump gets pelted with eggs during the King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam today.
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The American President Pelted With Eggs in Amsterdam
The American President Pelted With Eggs in Amsterdam
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The Ferocious Orange Beer Drinking Lion Spotted on the Loose in Amsterdam
It’s the King’s Day in the Netherlands today. Amsterdam turns vivid orange!
More King’s Day Amsterdam Images HERE. King’s Day Video HERE.
The King’s Day (1)
Please click HERE to visit my Adobe Spark page – The Monochrome People Part 1 page. When you get there please just scroll down to see images I have taken of people from all over the world over many years.
The Busker
The Tourists
Please click HERE to visit my Adobe Spark page for the Hortus Botanicus (botanical gardens in Amsterdam). When you get to the page, please just keep scrolling down…
The Hortus Botanicus is one of the most peaceful places in the bustling and vibrant city of Amsterdam.
The Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam
A place I would never ever visit!
The Tattoo Shop
The Marina Sunset
The Snoozing Giraffe
See all my film reviews here.
If you’re a big softy like me, you’ll really enjoy the Indian language (Hindi) film Queen.
The film starts in Delhi, moves to Paris, then heads of for Amsterdam and ends up back in Delhi. The film follows the travels and mixed fortunes of Rani (Queen), wonderfully played by Kangana Ranaut. The film starts at the point where Rani is jilted by her fiancé the day before their wedding. Rani decides that, despite being jilted, she will go on her honeymoon anyway and heads off to Paris and Amsterdam – on her own. After a rocky start, Rani finds her feet and some surprising new friends.
This is a most delightful film and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romantic comedies.
I also enjoyed the music that came with this wonderful film.
I give this film the Photonomad 10/10 rating.
The Tree
Moral: never take a dog with you when you are recording soundscapes!
Please click on the Soundcloud link below, close your eyes and join me for a walk in the woods at Hemmeland – a wooded area close to Monnickendam, Noord Holland, Netherlands.
Hemmeland is a great place to see nature, picnics, sunbathing and for dog walks. At Hemmeland you’ll find a mixture of wildlife, flowers, plants, trees, beaches and much more. There was a northeasterly wind today blowing at between 10-15 Knots. You’ll hear quite a lot of noise generated as the wind blew through the treetops. You’ll also hear the dog sniffing around.
There’s not too much about Hemmeland on the Internet but you can look at my photographs of Hemmeland by clicking on this link to visit my Adobe Spark Hemmeland page (scroll down when you get there)
See all other soundscapes here.
The Woods, Hemmeland
The Owl
The Butterfly
The Sentry
Please click on the link below, close your eyes and join me in the main lobby in Central Station Amsterdam (a natural echo chamber). Towards the end you’ll here a station announcement but the natural echo in the main lobby makes it hard to hear what is being announced.
See all other soundscapes here.
Amsterdam Central Station
This bird is either sleeping or it has one gin and tonic too many!
The Slightly Off-Centre Bird
There are not nearly enough upstanders in today’s world.
The Upstander
The Big Chicken (3)
Butterflies just LOVE bananas!
The Banana Lunch
See all my film reviews here.
The last film I reviewed left me with a real need to find and watch a more uplifting and humorous film. I found two of them. The Spanish language Spanish Affair (AKA Ocho Apellidos Vascos) and its sequel, The Spanish Affair 2 (AKA Ocho Apellidos Catalanes).
Anyone who remembers the old British Ealing Comedies will, I’m sure, enjoy these two films and recognise the comedy format – farce, double meanings, misunderstandings, confusion, physical comedy and so on. The linked plots of both films deal with the North/South divide in Spain and the meandering and erratic love affairs between the central and supporting characters. I’m sure there are in-jokes in both films that you would have to be a Spanish speaker to understand. I enjoyed watching both films.
The leading lady of both these films, Clara Lago, can be seen in a new English language film starring Liam Neeson called The Commuter (2018).
I give the Spanish Affair and the Spanish Affair 2 a Photo Nomad 9/10 rating.
See other film reviews – click here
The Spanish Affair
The Spanish Affair 2
The Monster
I’ve never seen a bird with a moustache before!
The Bird With A Moustache
Please click on the link below, close your eyes and join me at a cafe in Central Station Amsterdam. It was a warm day yesterday and the cafe was doing a roaring trade selling iced drinks (you will hear the food processors behind the counter whirring away!).
See all other soundscapes here.
The Cafe
I’m not sure why but you never see a monkey smile…
The Miserable Monkey
Please click on the link below, close your eyes and join me at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam. Listen to the delightful weaver birds making quite a lot of noise in their enclosure as they build (weave) their nests. Also hear passers by talking about these highly active birds
See all other soundscapes here.
The Weaver Bird
Hmmmm….should I get up or should I just sit here in the shade…
The Horns of a Dilemma
You can’t beat a good stretch first thing in the morning…
The Stretch
The Wolf
The Crocodile Sandwich (and make it snappy!)
Now what was it? Left over right and right over left???
The Weaver
The Loose Fitting Dentures Just Give You The Hump!
The Double Helix
The Big Pussy
The Other Wife
The Girls Pulling Together
The Buds
See all my film reviews here.
I’m afraid this French language film just didn’t do it for me. If you enjoy gritty drama, then you would probably enjoy this film. This film portrays the lives of people who are struggling to get by in the most difficult circumstances. There are some brutal fight scenes – bare knuckle fighting – and also some distressing scenes involving a child. Overall, this film left me feeling uneasy and unsettled. This film has a very hard and unpleasant edge to it.
I give this film a Photo Nomad 4/10 rating. Simply put, I did not enjoy this film and, at times, was tempted to stop watching it. Not a story well told.
See other film reviews – click here
The Bench
The Bug
The Stump
The Nuts
Please click on the link below, close your eyes and join me at the ticket barriers in a London Underground (Tube) station. Security announcement towards the end…
See all other soundscapes here.
The London Underground
Please click on the link below, close your eyes and join me for a ride on an Amsterdam Tram
See all other soundscapes here.
The Amsterdam Tram
Some of the best stories are those based on true stories. The African Doctor is one of those stories.
This is the story of an African doctor who takes up a post in a rural backwater in France where many of the people in the village have never seen an African before. The doctor eventual overcomes a high degree of prejudice, fear and ignorance and becomes a widely respected member of his community.
This French language film is peppered with some truly colourful characters including the doctor, his family, African friends of the doctor’s family and the villagers who the doctor treats.
I give this film a Photo Nomad 10/10 rating. An excellent film.
See other film reviews – click here
The Lunch Break
Please click on the link below, close your eyes and join me on Platform 2 at Amsterdam Central Station
See all other soundscapes here.
Amsterdam Central Station
The Couple
Click on the link below, close your eyes and join me in a crowded cafe in the Netherlands
See all other soundscapes here.
The Cafe
Click on the SoundCloud link below, close your eyes and join me on a train in the Netherlands.
See all other soundscapes here.
The Train
The Security Guard
The Girls
See all my film reviews here.
It isn’t every day that you hear the words penguin and eroticism mentioned in the same sentence but the French language film Arctic Heart (AKA Le Secret des Banquises) has both penguins and some tasteful, if not slightly whacky, sex scenes. Some mouse sex even! Apart from all that, the film is interestingly different and certainly out of the ordinary. Excellent cinemaphotography. This film, staring Charlotte Le Bon and Guillaume Canet hovers, easily, somewhere between drama and comedy.
I give this film a Photo Nomad 9/10 rating.
I especially enjoyed the performance of the two lead characters. And, oddly, the off-beat and almost irregular comedy in this film works really well – science goes mad but not in a terrible way. Charlotte Le Bon gives a fine performance as a fragile and sensitive young lady. To say any more would give away the plot of this delightful film. This is a film for those with a romantic heart.
See other film reviews – click here
The Film Review (FR1) – The Art of Loving. The Story of Michalina Wislocka – Photo Nomad rating 10/10
The Tourist
The Bike on the Ferry…
An old favourite – remade
The Old Bike
See all my film reviews here.
My grandson recently introduced me to Netflix and I’ve discovered a vast treasure-trove of films from around the world including this film about a Polish gynaecologist and sexologist, Michalina Wislocka. This is a Polish language film.
This film gets the Photo Nomad 10/10 rating!
This is a film which clearly demonstrates what happens when State and/or Religion has a viciously tight grip on what little freedoms we have. The message is clear; censorship breeds ignorance.
We hear much about gender equality these days and this beautifully shot film shows us all too clearly what happens in unenlightened times when countries around the world are dominated by unsighted male dictators and politicians.
The film also shows how difficult it is for creative pioneers and people of genius to flourish in those hopelessly claustrophobic societies where hopes, dreams and aspirations can never be realised. Although the Art of Loving is a story which begins during the communist era in Poland, there are still countries where the ruling elites crush anything and everything they’re not happy with – usually citing the ‘greater good’ as their motive for repression.
We need more people like Michalina Wislocka in today’s turbulent world.
And, finally, quoting Michalina Wislocka from the film – “use your tongue!’
See other film reviews – click here
The Man Aloft
The Nest
The Moment of Relief
The Sheep’s Head
There is no escape….
The Black Sheep (behind bars)
You can’t beat a sit down in the afternoon…
The Sit Down
The Windmill
The Lamb
The Backwater
With apologies to Mr Vermeer…
The Girl With Plastic Earrings
The Big Chicken (2)
The Pooch
Some times your rear end just won’t fit!
The Big Bottom
The Big Chicken
The Back-scratch