Swept away

It's been a little windy here recently. So windy in fact that Utrecht made the BBC News! I've had a few emails asking if I'm alright after it was reported that a crane crashed into a University building here injuring six. Thanks to everyone who asked; I'm fine. I'm hardly ever at the University campus as I don't have any lectures there, but by coincidence I was there yesterday, although I didn't see the crane incident. In fact, the most exciting things I saw were a sheet of iron being torn off a roof and two portaloos toppling over (presumably unoccupied at the time). For those that haven't seen, this was the damage to the building the crane connected with:


The police were stopping cyclists and ordering them off their bikes and I've heard reports of people being blown backwards on their bikes in Amsterdam. There's a huge number of branches and roof-tiles smashed on the pavements as well. Strangely it's very calm today, almost as if nothing happened!

Last night, despite the official advice to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary, we ventured to a restaurant for dinner. And it turned out to be well worth battling the gusts. The essential concept of said restaurant was that everyone got a little mini frying pan and stove, a supply of meat and vegetables, chips and bread, and was left to it. Great fun! The fact that it was all you can eat with unlimited drinks was naturally a bonus:


Thankfully, despite some rather pink looking chicken, I don't seem to be suffering any ill-effects from the venture and in fact I'm looking forward to my next visit! In the meantime I've signed up for an Italian dinner on Sunday evening arranged by the student network here, and on Monday I might be lucky enough to sample a Dutch dish that's been highly recommended and goes by the name of 'Farmer Cabbage', courtesy of Emma, a member of my mooting team. I imagine there's more to it than the name suggests, but I'll be interested to find out!