Since 2003, Tuesday evenings in July and August mean: Valkenbergconcert! It’s our weekly ‘Party – slash picnic – in the Park’. If it’s not raining – sun and warmth are optional – we go. During the day, e-mails and text messages are sent to and received from friends. Who goes? Who brings what? For example, we always provide the picnic – one side is fleece, the back is plastic : ideal for wet grass -, seatsing for four; Xtal always brings great tapas, everyone brings a bottle of rosado…
Anyway, at 8-ish PM, I take the bottle of rosado out of the fridge, put it in my ‘Valkenbergconcert-grab bag’ (with cloth, plastic cups and – very important – an opener for the bottles) and jump on the backseat of my bicycle. MyLove drives, off course. On the way to the park, we both ring friends to check their whereabouts. Normally, we sit at the same spot every week.
There’s two groups of people around, very easy to distinguish from each other. The music lovers and the ambiance lovers. We belong to the latter, without doubt. The first group stands, or even dancespreferablyly close to the podium. The second group sits, on their cloths, behind the first group. As long as the music can be heard, we’re ok. The music lovers buy their drinks at the bar, the ambiance lovers bring their own. Bottles of rosado, cans of beer… In fact, they bring a lot of stuff, anything that enhances the ambiance. Food – mostly pringles and tapas, but last year I’ve seen BBQs and lobsters – candles aincensence sticks – smells nice and annoys the mosquitoes.
At 11 PM we went home, slightly tipsy. The music was very ‘Buena Vista Social Club’, the ambiance was chill. We said hi to several friends, the conversation varied between very profound and absolute nonsense. We had a great eve.
Same time next week?
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