All good things must come to an end

Today is a sad day, for today is my last, last-day. Later this afternoon I'll be driving out of Utrecht, out of the Netherlands onto a ferry to the green and pleasant land that is England. Although it wouldn't have been Utrecht without some last minute oddness. Last night after dinner Chloe, Mark, Andrew and I went out to see Shrek 3, although only Chloe and I actually ended up seeing it. We managed to walk into the wrong cinema screen, and because we therefore messed up the assigned seating (my apologies to the usher on her first night who apologised to us for the mess, little aware that it was us who caused her problem). Chloe and I ended up sitting away from Mark and Andrew. Luckily Chloe had seen the other film before, else I'd have probably sat there waiting for Shrek to start (although perhaps the murder in the other film might have given away the fact that Shrek wasn't following on). So after much stifled laughter we made our way out and found the right place. Unfortunately Mark and Andrew stayed for the whole showing of the other film, which lasted about an hour longer than ours. Apparently it wasn't worth seeing either. So much for a final group outing, but a fitting end nonetheless!

There isn't really much left for me to say, but before I sign off, there's one last thing that I need to do, something that I should have done before now, and that's to say thank-you to everyone who has made this year what its been. This year wouldn't have been as fantastic as it was without any of the people that I've met, regardless of how long, or how well, I knew them. But of course, there are people who have been friends throughout and who deserve a special mention as being those people who were the participants in the majorities of tales replicated here, and who I hope will reprise their roles in ones to come.


What follows is a paragraph hopefully less cringe worthy and slightly more irreverent than an Oscars speech to say a real thank-you to all of the people who have made this year for me. In no particular order: To Javi, for shaming me into learning how to cook. To Amadeo, for the laughs and long afternoons in front of MTV. To Mark, for sharing the pain of Principles of Good Governance and for letting me know about the free hot chocolate place. To Andrew, for introducing me to the pleasures of appelbollen, and six-hour lunches, and for always being available for both. To Natalie for being Jollyalie. To Zoe for bringing the legendary Tantes cook-your-own meal to the masses. To Tineke, for her paddling power. To Emma and Laura for willingly sacrificing their health by being guinea pigs with my cooking, and for being such great fun. To Lobke, for being my partner in crime and reminding me that being a legal conservative is OK. The Chloe, for her food monologues, and for being perhaps the most unfailingly happy person I know. To Sophie, for having an unending supply of tales available in wonderful prose. To Jeff, for being perhaps the ideal flatmate, Americanisms included. To Emma, Yu and Fajar for ensuring that the light at the end of the mooting tunnel remained firmly in sight. To Bart, for giving me the opportunity to teach, and to him and Sophia for making me feel welcome and proud to be British. To Robbert, for convincing me to come over in the first place. To Stuart, for permitting me to sleep on his floor and get in his way on many more occasions than he had to. And finally, to all the staff at Graf Floris, for their understanding and unbending tolerance on many a long afternoon.

So after 111 blog entries, 4 burns marks, 3 haircuts, 0 cycling accidents, far too many stroopwafles, far too few vegetables, and many abortive attempts to utter words in Dutch, it's time for me to say goodbye to the place that's been my home for 304 quite extraordinary days. Will I be back? Undoubtedly. So for the time being only; Tot ziens Utrecht, and Tot ziens Holland. Doie!