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Sounds good to me - combining these two beach boys events in the fall: the JUBILEE STOMP convention (west of London) and a fanmeeting (in Southern Amsterdam)!
And for us NON-flyers there's now a direct EUROSTAR train service between London and Amsterdam!

Hey, rasmus! Thanks for you enthusiastic promotion of both events. I’m sure the STOMP convention will be a blast! If we can make the Baambrugge-meeting definite, I’ll make it known here. And I hope to welcome you then of course  :)

Alternatively, there's the Stena Line~ferry between Harwich (east of London) and "HOOK of HOLLAND"(!) near The Hague/haag). The "Sea Cruise" lasting 6-7 hours (Eurostar: around 4).

Just a short update right before my holidays...

... to let you know that of course the Dutch meeting is still planned on October 19th 2024. So keep that date reserved in your agenda! I'm still busy finishing with the program, but it's all looking very well (it's mostly the sequencing). I expect to do the official announcement and possibility to registrate in the second half of August.

So, to be continued. And for now I wish you all a fantastic Summer holiday.

Klaas

Nice, my sister does a lot of international business over there. Hopefully I can follow her over there for this.

(https://i.ibb.co/8Ng7RqX/BBC2-2024-banner.jpg) (https://ibb.co/4KRVDzJ)

Dutch Beach Boys Convention, October 19th 2024 in Baambrugge
Official announcement – ​​registration is now possible!

We have organized a convention for fans of The Beach Boys, which takes place on Saturday, October 19th 2024.

Location and time:
Start: 14:00; end: 22:00 (at the latest)

We will gather at around 14:00 at Café De Punt (Rijksstraatweg 12, Baambrugge). There is a large parking lot opposite the café. Are you a bit early? No problem. Then you will still have the opportunity to order a cup of coffee or tea at the bar. The atmosphere and interior have hardly changed in the past 50 years. So you can still get a taste of the atmosphere of the time when the Boys themselves went there for a snack between recordings. At 14:15 we will walk to the site of the former BBC2 studio (1 minute walk). We have permission from the owner, who will be happy to speak to us. We have enough information to explain a few things about the location, the studio, etc..

Around 14:45 we will finish and move to the main location of the meeting: Dorpshuis De Vijf Bogen (Prinses Margrietstraat 10, Baambrugge). The rest of the program will start there from 15:00. As yet we will keep it to ourselves partly. But we do have a few unknown/unaired documentaries that we will show. We’ll also have a Beach Boys Pub Quiz. Of course there will be room for music and singing. And not to forget: getting to know each other, meeting (again) and reminiscing.

Registration and costs:
I ask you to officially register in advance and pay the contribution. That way, based on the number of registrations, I (and the folks of village hall) know what I have to take into account.
Participation in the fan meeting costs €15. This is needed for renting the room and showing one of the documentaries. If you want to attend, send me an email at smileholland@gmail.com to register. I will then send you my bank details for payment (within 24 hours).

Food and drinks:
I will make sure that there are snacks on the tables in the hall. You can order drinks yourself at the bar. This also applies to the cup of coffee or tea at the café by the way.
Around 18:00-19:00 your stomachs will probably be growling. You will then have the opportunity to order a simple fried snack at the bar. Or the alternative: order a pizza. I am still in contact with the owner of the nearby pizzeria about how we can arrange this most easily. The snack/pizza is also at your own expense.

Sale/swap tables:
Do you have Beach Boys (or related) merchandise, and would you like to sell or swap? Then you can. I do ask you to let me know when you register. Then I can reserve a table for you.

Travel:
- Car: I suspect that most of you will just follow the navigation. But for those who are less experienced with that: Baambrugge is located near highway A2 (Amsterdam – Utrecht). If you are coming from Amsterdam, take exit 3 Abcoude. Then drive into Abcoude and from there follow the signs to Baambrugge. If you are coming from Utrecht, take exit 4 Vinkeveen. From there, follow the signs Hilversum N201, and then (first exit on the left) Loenersloot and Baambrugge. There is ample parking at both Café De Punt and the Dorpshuis.

- Public transport. Baambrugge can be reached by bus. Line 120 runs between ‘Utrecht CS (Jaarbeurs side)’ and ‘Amsterdam station Bijlmer ArenA’. The bus runs on Saturday during the day (2x per hour) and in the evening (from approx. 20:00 hrs 1x per hour). The last bus from Baambrugge to Amsterdam leaves at 23:28 hrs. Please note: from Utrecht it takes an hour by bus! From Amsterdam-Bijlmer it only takes 20 minutes. Get on/off at the ‘Baambrugge – Dorp’ stop. Towards the café it is only a 200 meter walk. Towards the village hall approx. 400 meters.

Overnight stay:
Please keep in mind that it is quite difficult to find a cheap (hotel) room in the immediate vicinity. If you need help searching a place to stay, let me know. We might know a place a bit further away, but with the possibility to travel with another fan. Or perhaps we can arrange something with fellow fans for an overnight stay.

I hope to see you on October 19!
Klaas Jelle Veenstra

... double post ...

BUMP...

And an update.

Registrations are coming in at a nice tempo. We even expect a few foreign (= non Dutch) guests to join our convention. Very cool!

But there's room for more. The meeting is exactly one month ahead of us: October 19th, in Baambrugge. So if you you're thinking of coming over - feel free to get in contact with me through smileholland@gmail.com.

Thanks Klaas for arranging such a great "BBC2" (:BeachBoys Convention II) on 19/10 in "BeachBrugge"/"Holland"!

You're welcome ! And it was a pleasure to meet you.

Personal review Dutch Beach Boys Baambrugge Convention 2024 (BBC2), October 19, 2024

So, a week has passed. And I’m on my feet again, after a beautiful Saturday in Baambrugge. Sunday I could let it all sink in and then another busy work week started. With a new weekend and a short vacation ahead of us, I now take the opportunity to look back on last Saturday's fan meeting.
Actually, the days, no, weeks before were increasingly focused on arranging and preparing everything. With about 30 guests expecting a nice afternoon and evening, I had set the bar high to make it something special. For the most part, everything was nicely on schedule. For the surprise video though - which was not on the official program - not at all 😊. But I had expected that.
For me, the meeting started a day earlier. I had the honor of receiving some of our foreign guests. Gérard, who had come over from France especially for this meeting, I was able to greet at home for a pleasant afternoon. In the evening I could welcome Gene and his daughter Lilly from Germany. I was a special guest there during the German fan meeting last September – now I could return the favor. And – not to forget: we also had fans over from Denmark (Rasmus) and Switzerland (Marco). You can safely say that we had an international meeting. Which required some extra effort from me to make myself understood in English and German (I really couldn't speak French and Danish).
Saturday started out pleasantly drizzly. But miraculously it cleared up around noon. I was present early in to set everything up in the community hall De Vijf Bogen. Chairs, tables, the sales/exchange corner, music corner for the performances. And of course the digital heart of this day: laptop, projector, screen, audio equipment. It will not surprise you, but everything worked like a charm (at that time 😊). Around 13:45 we moved over to Café De Punt, where everyone gathered for the first official part of the program. After a cup of coffee, tea, soft drink or something stronger – and of course after soaking up the atmosphere of this beautiful café (I think the interior has hardly changed after all these years) – we walked towards ‘The Barn’ around 14:15, a few hundred meters further on. In other words, the farm behind which is the site where the BBC2 studio used to be. No, nothing here reminds of what the interior used to look like. But thanks to photos from back then and eyewitness accounts and sketches, I was able to give those present a good idea of what it used to look like.
Around 14:45 this tour ended, and we moved to the community hall. Here everyone had the chance to get acquainted, sometimes with friends we last saw decades ago. But a surprising number of fans preferred the many boxes of sales and exchange material to browse through in advance. And of course everyone was handed the obligatory button and programme booklet at the entrance. Around 15:30 the first documentary was on the program. And then the technology turned out to be a bit more stubborn at the moment suprême and the audio let us down. With help of Marnix we got an alternative connection working (thanks for that!). A documentary about The Making of Western Justice. A fascinating insight into the life and work of Jack Rieley, only shortly after his departure as manager of The Beach Boys.
Then it was time for the sing-along. Beforehand the part where I had the most difficulty estimating how we would do. Because even though we had practiced in advance – we had not yet practiced together. But that worry turned out to be unfounded. In fact – it went beyond expectations. With Gjalt and Marnix as a fixed anchor for the “1972-era” numbers we were able to put down a solid set. With true multi-part harmonies by Hans and me, and surprising newcomer Frank! But there was certainly also room for the classical work of the gentlemen. With which we started and ended. And Hans and Jelle took us along, again supported by Gjalt and Marnix, but also the surprising 2nd pianist John. What a wonderful setlist we all put together:
1. Help Me Rhonda,
2. California Girls
3. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
4. Marcella
5. Sail On Sailor
6. Funky Pretty
7. Sloop John B. (with Dutch lyrics)
8. Steamboat
9. Don’t Worry Baby
10. Farmer’s Daughter
(correct me regarding the order of the last songs, if I am wrong; I was already working on the next part)
It was almost not fun to ask our musicians to stop the music. Because we were allowed to welcome a new guest; director Monique Lesterhuis. 20 years ago she made a beautiful documentary about The Beach Boys in the Netherlands. But “Made in Holland” did not make it to an official broadcast, simply because another documentary by Andere Tijden was already in the making. 20 years later, the fans finally got the chance to see it. A real treat. With interviews with Blondie Chaplin, Ricky Fataar and Van Dyke Parks. But also insiders from the Netherlands, such as Don Willard and Mrs. Gentenaar (owner of the farm).
Afterwards we had the opportunity to order a simple meal; a snack at the bar or order from the local pizzeria. We also immediately seized the opportunity to take a group photo. And then again to browse through the bins for that one item that was still missing from the collection.
And during this intermezzo it was also time for the surprise video. The project “video greet” appeared on the screen. The audience was treated to messages from Scott Totten, David Beard (ESQ), Stephen Kalinich, Val Johnson-Howe (BBB), Karlheinz Regenberg (BBFC & California Saga), Probyn Gregory (who also spoke in Dutch – respect!), Scott Bennett (with an extra surprise, letting us hear an early outtake from the TLOS sessions)… and finally Spud and T-Bird Tim from Drifting Sand…. and Al Jardine himself (with a wonderfully sung alternative intro of California Saga - California! As an encore we also had an interview with David Leaf. A conversation that I hope to be able to share later in this FB group.
After we had recovered from that, the attendees were allowed to charge up for a real knowledge test: the Beach Boys Pub Quiz. In 6 rounds - including a picture round, a music round and a Holland theme round - the teams struggled through the questions. And those were quite tough sometimes. Where halfway through a clear victory seemed to be looming for a true BB-veterans team among us, it turned out that the music round in particular (only instrumental intros) was a real killer and it became very exciting at the end. But Gjalt and Gabriël managed to crown themselves the winners by a narrow margin. With Willem and Jo-Anne as very honorable runners-up.
And with that we closed the evening and the attendees could return home more than satisfied.

Finally - the lessons learned:
- Don't rely on wireless and bluetooth (always bring cables) 😊
- Next time I will expand the organizing committee with 2 people. That makes the preparation and the day itself a lot quieter for me (because I myself had little time to sit back and chat.
But... I enjoyed it very much !

Be sure to check out the FB group ‘Beach Boys Nederland’ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1694121897475942/), where you can find more pictures and videos.



Café De Punt

(https://i.ibb.co/DkWmN3T/1-Cafe-De-Punt-KJ.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sQRchLz)

At the site of the former BBC2 studio

(https://i.ibb.co/R9GgQR5/2-BBC2-1-Tom-S.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bPj6Ncf)

Lots to buy or trade

(https://i.ibb.co/C6V8vnC/after-docu-2-Priscilla.jpg) (https://ibb.co/nBQmfDd)

Sing along!

(https://i.ibb.co/nsXPKjT/sing-along-7-Sloop-John-B-1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/svTWXqh)

(https://i.ibb.co/7vjfmdP/sing-along-1-Willemv-Z.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fMqgwzf)

(https://i.ibb.co/tBt4WCD/sing-along-2-Willemv-Z.jpg) (https://ibb.co/31q7Lhc)

(https://i.ibb.co/zH70m11/sing-along-3-Willemv-Z.jpg) (https://ibb.co/93VCpJJ)

(https://i.ibb.co/g9K8vbP/sing-along-4-Tom-S.jpg) (https://ibb.co/02bLBpF)

BBC2 2024
 
(https://i.ibb.co/P6Jzp7w/group-picture.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jrqZKcg)

(https://i.ibb.co/Pw90LWC/just-saying-hello.jpg) (https://ibb.co/t8xFG2C)

Excellent!

One aspect of the whole HOLLAND adventure, I find strangely missing (not being Dutch myself); And that's the curious fact of the WILSON Bros having Dutch forefathers on their mother's side !?
I forgot to ask Monique about it. And I don't suppose it's even mentioned in the new dutch-worded HOLLAND~book? Can it be that it's been somehow overlooked or downplayed both by the                                                                                  
WILSON family themselves and by the dutch Beach Boys fandom & researchers nowadays ~ and if so: WHY?

I think the Wilson's Dutch ancestry was discussed in The Nearest Faraway Place book (been a while since I read it).

Yes, Emdeeh, i'm sure it was ! But stlll... Like me as a Dane, i can take some pride in knowing that both Love & Wilsons are
partly Scandinavians, also !  [:Swedish]...
And all you Brits can do the same from the fact that they are all partly British (Brian even down from Shakespeare's 1st
cousin !)  Wonder what our guys would say about all this?

 :bw  I'M AO: SWEDE, ED   :drum   EW, SO AM i !«   :santa
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 :bw  I'M A "STiR~BRO": DUTCH'e TOO   :woot    EH ?  C:  "TUDOR~BRiTS", AM i !«   :santa
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 :bw  I'M A SHAKESPEARE~ERA, e'!   PS, E*: *K?   :serenade  AHs,  AMi !«   :santa

Hope all enjoyed. What was the TLOS outtake ?

I don't have an official titel. But based on the fragment we heard, something like "Holding On, Ever Strong" (or just the first 2 or last 2 words)