As they say, August can be changeable. Two hours before our August lunch at the Dutch International Cricket Ground, the heavens opened and dumped 15mm of water on the Amsterdamsebos in 30 minutes. Fortunately the superb ground irrigation at the club had cleared nearly all of the water by the time we arrived, and we had a dry afternoon. We enjoyed a little cricket practice, and discovered that Alison can easily outhit the men, despite not playing cricket before. We then had a very pleasant lunch in the club library, and a talk about the club history from Paul Polock.

Economic woes continue to dominate the news this month.  I dare not look at my investments, and it seems that the EU will shortly be bankrupt. Unemployment has reached a record high in the UK, and the economy has ground to a halt. Can Mr Cameron show some mettle and turn the situation around, or will we have a winter of discontent followed by an ‘English Spring’ of riots and civil disobedience? And will the Euro collapse whilst we eat our lunch?

On the bright side, Rebekah Wade has left News International, and several senior police officers have resigned. The new Chief is a no-nonsense Yorkshireman, with a reputation for effective, good value policing. And perhaps as a result of the poor economic performance, England is doing well on the sports front, with victories in both cricket and rugby – although I suspect we may not progress much further in the rugby…

As for our own sports, the CADS golf competition took place last Friday in good weather. After a very pleasant and gezellig game we presented the trophy to John Donnelly, who has now won it twice. I hope that Ria will allow it to grace their house for many years to come, as John’s golf is continuing to improve significantly following his recent involuntary wrist surgery…  after the presentation, we had a pleasant dinner, and no doubt by the time you read this, some of our antics will have been posted on the website.

Next Friday, our guest speaker will be Millicent Odongo, who founded Computers For Development. They refurbish end of life computers donated by Dutch businesses, and send them to schools in Africa to enjoy a secondary career in education. I look forward to her sharing her story with us.