THERE are a number of things that you don't expect to see in a sleepy Dutch town, but a museum of Beatles memorabilia must be pretty high on the list.

There are four officially recognised Beatles museums in the world and, as well as the ones in Liverpool, Germany and Italy, arguably the most impressive is found in Alkmaar.

Why? Partly because the proprietor, Pieter de Villiers, is one of the foremost authorities on the Beatles in the world, having penned a staggering 34 books on the subject, and partly because Alkmaar claims to be integral to the development of one of the most famous bands of all time.

Back in the late 50s, John Lennon bought his first guitar from a music salesman in Liverpool, who imported all of his instruments from Alkmaar.

The guitar went on to feature in some of the Beatles' earliest hits, and Alkmaar's local musicians never forgot their link to Liverpool's finest.

So yesterday, miles away from the Mersey, I found myself looking at some of the clothes Lennon wore during his early appearances at the Cavern Club, some original lyrics from "She Loves You" and some tickets from the Beatles' legendary appearances in Hamburg.

The only question was whether Newcastle's players would earn a ticket to ride to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals later that night.

Not only do you not expect to see a Beatles museum in a sleepy Dutch town, you don't really bank on seeing an international cricketer wandering around the streets either.

Yesterday, though, the Newcastle fans flocking to Alkmaar's central square were greeted by the sight of Steve Harmison in his finest Magpies clobber.

Having retired from one-day cricket in order to prolong his Test career, the Ashington Express has made the trip to Holland to cheer on his beloved Newcastle United while the rest of his England team-mates prepare to open their World Cup campaign in the West Indies.

Harmison will be back in time to watch England's opening group game against New Zealand this afternoon, but the Durham paceman was worried that things have not fallen so kindly for him in May.

Prior to last night's clash, Harmison was complaining that the UEFA Cup final was scheduled for the night before the first day of the Lord's Test against the West Indies. And even though he has spoken of his dislike of Lord's in the past, even Newcastle wouldn't make him miss that one.

Holland, of course, have a team in this month's World Cup in the Caribbean, but it's safe to say that cricket fever hasn't exactly reached Alkmaar.

The Dutch side take on South Africa in their opening Group A match this afternoon, but an unscientific poll of Alkmaar's bars quickly established cricket isn't top of the sporting agenda.

Nine out of the ten drinkers polled were unaware Holland were competing in the World Cup - and the one person that was more clued up thought I was talking about speed skating!