Life in Lasne

Obsession - Alfred Kubin

2006-04-13T07:03:00.000+02:00

This week, with the WIC, I went to see “L’Obsession” a very strange art exhibition. On the occasion of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, this exhibition is now on show at the Brussels City Hall. Alfred Kubin, born in 1896 died 1959, was a major Austrian graphic artist and is known for his drawings of dreamlike and morbid subjects. I realise that he had a poor childhood but all his work is sombre, nightmarish with violent and pervert sexual subjects. He was obsessed by death although he lived a long peaceful life, successful and without too many monetary problems. He really hated women. In all his drawings they are depicted as witches, femmes dominatrices and provocatrices.

He was a big collector of drawings, lithographs and engravings of his time. At this show you can see part of his collection of artists like Honoré Daumier, James Ensor, Paul Goguin, Max Klinger, Edward Munch, Odilon Redon and Félicien Rops. All their works are as dark and brutal as his are.
Brussels Belgium

Obsession is a wonderful title for this show because since I have been there, I also cannot stop thinking about it. At first I did not even like it but I bought the book and I kept reading it. A very nice book actually. And now in retrospect I realise what a special exhibition it was. It is on until the18 June. I recommend it.

Nonna and I are upset with CODITEL

2006-04-03T14:38:00.000+02:00

Last Tuesday Nonna called in panic to say that the RAI has disappeared suddenly from her TV together with a lot of other foreign stations. It looks like the TV operator for Brussels, CODITEL, daughter company of Altice, has sent a note, to all the 150000 subscribers to tell that as off 28 March several TV stations were going digital and taken off the analog mode. Whatever that means.

Impossible to contact CODITEL. You can stay hours on the phone but they do not answer. The administration of the Residence du Golf, where Nonna lives, has sent an email to request a connection for her but it looks like there are not enough boxes and people to install digital connections. We are in the middle of the Italian election campaign and all the good debates between Belusconi and Prodi.

Following the newspaper article in Le Soir, CODITEL has received 15.000 requests for a digital connection.

I watch RAI very seldom but because I live in Brabant Wallon I can still see it because I have a different TV distributor. CODITEL covers only Brussels. I guess the Belgian fragmentation can be useful sometime.
Brussels

Brussels Opera Season LA Monnaie 2006-2007

2006-03-29T21:07:00.000+02:00

Last Monday, Les Amis de la Monnaie organised an evening where the new 2006-2007 opera season, was announced by the General Manager: Bernard Foccroulle.

We are still in the Mozart year together with the celebrations for Prokofiev . So here it is:
1. Die Entfuhring aus dem Serail – Mozart
2. Tristan und Isolde – Wagner
3 .La Traviata – Verdi
4. Ognenny Angel (L’Ange de Feu) – Prokofiev
5. L’Uomo dal Fiore in Bocca – Brewaeys – Creation Mondiale
6. Monsieur Chofleuri Restera Che Lui Le – Offenbach
7. La Mort de Sainte Almeene – Honegger
8. Fraulings Erwachen – Mernier – Creation Mondiale
9.La Vergine dei Dolori – Scarlatti
10.The Rake’s Progress – Stravinsky
11. Il Ritorno di Ulisse – Monteverdi
12. Die Zauberflote - Mozart
13. Samson et Dalida – Saint Saens
14. I Puritani – Bellini
15. Tancredi – Rossini

Now this is a really good program with something for everybody; covering all genres of music from early Baroque to Contemporary. We are absolutely lucky to have this magnificent Opera House with so much to offer.

Brussels is really a major opera venue for music lovers and music specialists. There will be two new operas in world's premier. They may not be very good but the fact that there is money and goodwill makes it already a big deal. Once in a while there is a revelation.

This will be Bernard Foccroulle last season before he goes to Aix-en Provence for a five year contract. The 250 people present in the “Salle Fiocco” were very emotional. Many of them had followed his seasons since the beginning, 15 years ago. For me it was only the second year and I also felt that I will miss him.

Cannot wait until September when the new season begins. I am already anticipating the emotions and happiness all this beautiful music will give me.

Opera Music
La Monnaie
Brussels

L'Incoronazione di Poppea - Claudio Monteverdi

2006-03-26T14:50:00.000+02:00

Last Thursday I went to la Monnaie to see l’Incoronazione in three acts. It started at 7:00pm till 11:00pm. This is one of the very first operas written when Monteverdi made the transition between the Renaissance and the Baroque music. After serving at the court of the duke of Mantova as music master and composing Orfeo and Arianna he was appointed as maestro di cappella in Venice where he worked there for 30 years. In Venice he composed all kind of music but only at the end of his life, at the age of 75 he composed Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria in 1640, Le Nozze di Enea and Lavinia in 1641 and l’Incoronazione di Poppea in 1642. Monteverdi died in 1643.

L’Incoronazione was for a long time a mythical opera. The music of this last opera was lost until two very different versions were found: one in Venice in 1888 and one in Naples in 1930. So every performance of this opera is really the version of the music director. Parts are added or cut as they wish.

This is the first time I see this opera so I cannot judge against others. All I can say is that I loved it. The setting is modern and timeless at the same time. The orchestra with period instruments created a baroque environment where the singers could perform the very special “parlar cantando” and “cantar parlando” that characterized Monteverdi operas.

Some knowledge of Roman history is recommended. It helps understand the mood of passion and perversion. Nerone, Poppea, Ottavia and Ottone all come alive. Seduced by Poppea, Nerone wants to repudiate Ottavia to proclaim Poppea empress. Poppea more interested in the throne than by Nerone, convinces Nerone to condemn Seneca, his counselor, to death. Ottavia persuades Ottone to kill Poppea with the help of Drusilla, in love with him. The plot is discovered and Ottone, Drusilla and Ottavia are exiled. Nerone crowns Poppea empress.

This is the most ambiguous “lieto fine” in the history of Opera, where the criminal lovers triumph in the end singing the famous due d’amore Pur ti miro…

opera music
Monteverdi
Brussels
Monnaie

Netizen – New Blog Paper Magazine

2006-03-20T11:11:00.000+01:00

I have just received by mail the first number of the new Netizen, a monthly blog magazine in French. I think it is a real good idea to publish such a magazine, especially for bloggers of my generation. I am still used to read on paper most of the sources I need. I read Le Soir every day, the Herald Tribune a couple of days a week, the Economist every week. I do not read my news online unless something is very urgent such as a major disaster or a war where the paper will be too late. And because it is a monthly magazine it can better look at the blogosphere without rush.

So for all these reasons I think a blog magazine is a very good idea.

The Director of the magazine is Frédéric FRANCOIS and the Editor is Cyril Fiévet.

Good luck to them.
Netizen
Blogs
cyril fievet

Promenade 17

2006-03-19T16:35:00.000+01:00

This afternoon I went for a long walk with Herman. Lasne is a walking village. First it is one of the largest villages in Belgium with nearly 50 Km2 with forests, valleys and wide countryside. Second it has a very active Lasne Nature organization to which we all belong. They organise a lot of activities, one of them is the signalisation of 26 official walks. They are 3 to 14 km long. They have also published two small books with the details of these walks.

Today we walked Promenade 17, 6.3 km. called “Plancenoit”. We parked the car in front of the elementary school of Plancenoit in the little square and walked for about one and a half hour, mainly in open field. We crossed the wide field of the Waterloo Battle. Today we have a crisp, cool, sunny day with a very cold northern wind.

On the last kilometer we passed in front of the “Ferme St Catherine”, it was open and we could buy fresh farm-made white cheese to eat home with strawberries and raspberries.

Lasne
Walking

David Susskind

2006-03-19T12:00:00.000+01:00

Friday, 10 March, Nonna and I went to the CCLJ to celebrate Purim. We had and excellent dinner with the new restaurant management. By chance we were sitting next to David Susskind. If ever Belgium should start a list of living national treasures, I am certain that Susskind would be in the top ten. We celebrated his 80th birthday last October with a big party at the Hilton in Brussels. It was the first time I even heard of him. Since then I have seen several articles in the newspapers about him. I am very happy to know him.

CCLJ

Le Villi - Opera by Puccini

2006-03-10T16:03:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday I went to the BOZAR to see Le Villi. It is described as an “Opera-ballo in due atti”. Well it really was “Opera in un atto senza ballo”. It is the first opera composed by Giacomo Puccini, written between 1883 and 1890. A great admirer of Wagner, he tried to blend Italian “bel canto” with German romantic symphonic grandeur.

This short opera is full of everything: arias for soprano and tenor, dances, lovely chorus and lots of good music. The best aria was “Se come voi piccina io fossi” for the very good soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domas. She sang with all her hart and a good voice and it is a lovely aria.

The story is known to ballet lovers as Giselle. In the Black Forest after an engagement feast with Roberto, Anna sings her love and foreboding of ill and misfortune. Roberto has to cross the forest to go and collect an inheritance in Mayence and come back to marry her. In fact, Roberto seduced by a mermaid, does not come back and Anna dies of despair.

Abandoned by the mermaid, Roberto comes back the village and hears Anna’s voice reminding him her love. He is than dragged in a deadly dance by the “Villi”, the ghosts of abandoned maidens and he dies.

I love fairy tales. When the music and voices take you like this, it is really an unforgettable experience.

The production at the BOZAR was “concertante”. That means no costume, scene or ballet. The singers stand in the front, the orchestra sits in the middle and the chorus is at the back. It is an imposing sight. You have about 70/80 performers on the stage all following the orchestra director. In the moments where they all go together you really feel this enormous sound wave hitting you.

Belgium
Brussels
opera music
Le Villi
Puccini
Giselle
BOZAR

A Grand Day Out!

2006-03-08T22:10:00.000+01:00

Today as planned Nonna and I went to the seaside for a short break. We decided to go to Oostende to book her Easter vacation at the Hotel Rubens on the haven and eat fish in a nice restaurant nearby on the peer.

We left Anderlecht around 10:30 and we arrived in Oostende via Highway 40 one hour later. It was pouring rain but it did not matter, we were happy as schoolchildren on vacation.

We were extremely disappointed when we arrived that the hotel was closed. We found out later that during the winter seasons the hotel is closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

So we went shopping for a little present for Christelle. On Monday she had a knee replacement and Nonna and I planned to go visit her at the Hospital in Zottegem in the afternoon. Because of the rain we actually went to the first shop that looked nice. We went to “Herboristerie La Provence” one of those stores that make you think of sun, heat and summer. They sell special olive oils, teas, herbs, spices, dry flowers, baskets and all kind of nice little thinks we women love. I bought a basket with a special strawberry marmalade, a pot of honey mustard with candy fruits, little napkins with sunflowers and a handmade get-well card.

With our nice little present, still under the pouring rain we went to the restaurant for lunch. Now if you are ever in Oostende please go and eat there. This is the second time we are going there and the food is superb. The Restaurant Van Eyck is right on the Visserkaai where the ferryboats arrive from UK.

Nonna had gambas and a huge sole muniere; I had fish soup and also huge sole muniere. It is not only the food that is excellent but also the presentation and the friendly atmosphere. Mathieu,the manager, is an Italian from Sardegna. Peter is in the kitchen, I did not meet him. When we told Mathieu we came to reserve a room at the hotel for Nona’s Easter vacation and the hotel was closed, he proposed to call Christiane, the hotel manager at home to tell her we where there. He did not find her at home but later he actually found her in the back alley by the restaurant and told her we were inside. She was happy to see us. Hugging and kissing us she recognised us from last year. We booked for Easter with Christiane and left Oostende happy that we had done all the things we came for.

On our way back we stopped in Zottegem to see Christelle at the Hospital. Last time I went to this Hospital was more than twenty years ago. It was then a small clinique with a few rooms. Today it has grown ten times its size and it is now a huge place.

By good luck Herman arrived at the same time at 4:30 from Amsterdam to also see his sister. I was happy to see that Christelle was looking well after her Monday operation. Philip was also there. The room was full of flowers and fruits baskets from previous visitors. She liked the basket we brought from Oostende and wed had a nice visit for an hour. Herman went back home in Lasne with his car and I took Nonna back to Anderlecht to her apartment and drove to Lasne, happy to be home.

This is Belgium at her very best: Oostende, good food, nice people, caring families and lots of rain.
Oostende
Belgium
Lasne

One minute showers

2006-03-05T14:16:00.000+01:00

It had to happen. We forgot to check the fuel tank and it was on empty in the night between Friday and Saturday. We woke up yesterday in a freezing house with no warm water. Outside it was cold windy wintry weather, snowing on and off. The fuel company is closed till Monday morning so here we are camping in our own home. We can get the kitchen worm with a spare portable heater. We can also warm the living room with the fire in the fireplace. That is nice in the evening to watch TV. The bedroom is very cold but I have an electric blanket so for sleeping we are fine.

I tried to take a cold shower but it is very hard. My absolute record is ONE MINUTE.

You kind of forget how dependent we are on heat, fuel and warm water. These things are taken for granted but it is actually healthy once in a while to miss them just as a reminder.

Ateliers Du Blog

2006-03-02T20:25:00.000+01:00

ATELIERS DU BLOG

Monday I went to Paris to participate to my very first “Blog Conference”. The conference was organised by Guillaume du Gardier working now at Edelman at the Press Club de France. I have to say it was very easy to take the Thalys; this is our TGV from Brussels to Paris, then a short taxi ride to the meeting.

The main speaker was David Weinberger. I was well worth it. He had a very entertaining group of slides and I did not notice that he actually spoke for one hour. He is a very good speaker.

Here are the main points I have found important for me:
1. Internet is a new space and our blog is our new body
2. Do not worry if you are not perfect. To be “just good enough” is OK
3. When you blog you should be generous “link a lot”

After the presentation we had group sessions to discuss why companies should or should not have blogs. The conference was well attended. There must have been about 60 to 70 participants.

I went back home very happy to meet for the first time important fellow bloggers. It gets lonely sometime in Lasne for things like this.

Blogs
Edelman
du Gardier
Belgium
Weinberger
Lasne
Thalys

Cyprus Cypress

2006-02-25T17:06:00.000+01:00

Cypress
At the moment Sarah is attending Cypress College. It is located in sunny Orange County California. Set in an urban location, La Palma, this campus looks like a sea-side resort with very modern buildings, lakes and lots of palm trees. I really liked it when I was there last week. Surrounded by large boulevards and one family houses it represents a very nice example of Southern California architecture. Sarah should be there for a few months.

Cyprus
At the moment Bart is in the island of Cyprus in the Southern part of the Mediterranean. He is there with a couple school-mates for a university project.
We can follow his progress via his blog and web site. Bart should be there for a few months

It is quite strange to have two young ones in our family far away from home in places that are so alike in name. Many of us were looking in the wrong web sites to see information about Cypress or Cyprus but we are getting used.

That is because they are Homophones – words that are pronounced the same (and may or may not be spelt the same), but differ in meaning, such as waste and waist. They are together one of the official pair in the list of English homophones (words with different spellings and meanings but the same pronunciation) in the word list created by Roger Mitton from the Advanced Learners' Dictionary of Current English.

Cosi Fan Tutte

2006-02-10T17:00:00.000+01:00

Am I the only person in the world indifferent to this opera of Mozart? I went to La Monnaie last week to see Cosi Fan Tutte with Bert. The evening was very enjoyable but if I have to rank the reasons here they are: the company, the food, the scenography (sets and costumes) and last the music and the singers.

The company: I met Bert as usual at the Cafe de L’Opera in front of the opera house. This time I invited Miriam and her husband to join us for filet American, fries, beer and espresso. Miriam and I are members of the Women International Club of Brussels . We have by chance the same opera abonnement so we meet at every performance. We talked for two hours and the time went flying. They are very charming people.

The scenography of the opera was very original. It was set in a greenhouse. The lights marking the day and night gave a real feeling of the time passing and the evolution of the story. The performers would open, close and even break the windows during the performance. This gave also a new feeling to an opera that is very static.

I appreciated the singers slightly less than usual. I do not think they were miscasted but just that the opera is a bit boring. Maybe because I saw it for the first time and I was concentrating on the story. Maybe next time I will concentrate more on the music and the voices.

Anyway I think the real problem is that with the 200 year anniversary of Mozart we have been subjected to a very heavy dose of him, I feel a little tired and bored.

I am ready for an other genius’ birthday.

Brussels
Belgium
Opera
Mozart

Luxembourg on the radar screen

2006-02-06T13:13:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago Herman and I went to Luxembourg for the weekend. We took the train from Ottignies and arrived in Luxembourg, two hours later fresh and happy of not having to drive down there. Paul came to pick us up. We went to the apartment where Raffaella had prepared a very nice lunch with soup and baked salmon. After lunch we had coffee. Raffaella was testing the new Mukka Express that actually makes coffee or cappuccino. I can really recommend it, it works.

In the afternoon Herman and Paul went to walk in the woods next to the city in cold rainy weather to talk about business. Raffaella and I went window shopping down-town. It is a lovely city with very elegant stores and pedestrian streets. All the top fashion houses are there, there is a lot of money thanks also to the banking industry.

In the evening we went to eat at the very trendy Kariboo Restaurant . All black: floor, walls, ceiling, table and chairs with neon blue lights, the restaurant has a mistery feeling. The food was excellent and the service attentive. After dinner we had a drink at the "Secret Garden" Lounge Bar. You sit on bean bags and sofas and upstairs there's a Turkish area. I highly recommend you go. Very good music. Two hot spots if you have a couple of days in Luxembourg. We slept at the Hotel le Royal probably the best hotel in town. Luxurious and very central.

Next day, Sunday morning, we had coffee and croissants at the bakery An Der Bakes in the Grand-Rue. French quality and German quantity: big croissants and big cappuccinos. Delicious! Raffaella had made reservation for a Jazz Brunch in the "Abbaye de Neumünster", which was constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries and has been restored by the Luxembourg Government and now houses the newly established Centre Culturel de Rencontre. UNESCO has awarded the Abbaye World Heritage Site status. We left Luxembourg in the afternoon happy of our weekend.

Quiet and peaceful country.

Not anymore.

In the past week the country is in the news every day. Dark clouds are gathering and you can see worried politicians trying to find solutions.

It was the discovery of the iron ore around 1850 which marked the turning point for Luxembourg and meant its economic take-off. An important steel industry came into being in the south-western corner of the country, drawing tens of thousands of foreign workers into the ore mines and steel factories, and bringing prosperity to the whole country. The steel exports constitute one quarter of the value of the Luxembourg export trade. The Arcelor group produces 90% of the whole Luxembourg steel output. In spite of severe labour-shedding during the eighties, Arcelor remains the largest private employer in the country. Arcelor is the world's biggest producer of Flat Carbon Steel and Long Carbon Steel, among the leaders in Stainless Steel production, and among the largest firms in Europe for distribution, transformation and trading.

Mittal Steel, the world's largest steelmaker, has made an 18.6bn euros (£12.7bn) bid for rival firm Arcelor. Mittal is headed by Lakshmi Mittal, one of the UK's richest men with an estimated fortune of more than £15bn. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has confirmed that his government is opposed to a takeover of steel firm Arcelor by rival Mittal. Mr. Juncker made the comments after talks with Mittal boss Lakshmi Mittal. Luxembourg-based Arcelor has already rejected Mittal's 18.6bn euro ($22.6bn; £12.7bn) hostile bid.

I cannot imagine how this Luxembourg - Indian story will end but somehow it will mark a milestone in our collective psyche.

February 2006 will be the date of an announced hostile takeover not only of a company but of a whole country.

Le Pigeon Voyageur

2006-01-20T22:18:00.000+01:00

Sunday, Herman and I went to visit Uncle Gerard and Tante Marie Louise in Zottegem. Uncle Gerard is a passionate pigeon breeder and racer. He loves his birds and now, nearly 80 years old, he takes care of them every day. For a long time pigeons have been parts of my life between Uncle Gerard and Reuters.

It all started long time ago when Noah sent out three doves after the flood; one of them returned with an olive branch, a sign of reconciliation with God and thus a symbol of peace. The great empires of Carthage, Egypt, and Rome made full use of them. China had in fact organized a postal system based upon the use of messenger pigeons.

Knowledge is power, and at one time the surest and swiftest way to deliver this knowledge was with racing pigeons. The racing pigeon was the special prerogative of kings, princes, and nobles of all kinds throughout history. In the past it was against the law for a common man to own pigeons. After the French revolution, when everybody was allowed to raise pigeons, the first races were organised in Northern France and Belgium in 1800.

In the 1850 Julius Reuter founded the news service that globally still carries his name 150 years later. The Reuters news service was actually founded as a line of pigeon posts between Aachen and Brussels. He first started with 40 pigeons and had at one point up to 200 birds going back and forth carrying news and information.

The most successful modern racing pigeons were bred in Belgium.

The homing pigeon of Belgium is the result of the crossing of the Cumulet of Antwerp with the Smerle of Liege. The Cumulet was described by Mr. Andre Coopers, secretary of one of the Belgium Societies in 1868, as being of Flemish origin with white eyes, and having a habit of flying so high that it was gone from sight for several hours. The Smerle, he advises, is of Wallon origin, with a short beak and having several recurved feathers on its neck. It did not fly as high or as long as the Cumulet, but it was much more rapid.

It pleases me that the bird is a successful cross of something from the North and the South of Belgium.

Tante Marie Louise does not remember much these days but she was happy to see us and I was very happy to see her.

Reuters
Pigeons
Brussels
Belgium

The Long Tail

2006-01-07T16:00:00.000+01:00

Looking up from the tip of the Long Tail.

I started this blog after reading, by chance, all the blogs' entries about the Web2.0 Conference in San Francisco, last year. Only then I realized that blogs were the big thing of today. I thought I was OK with email, MSN and Skype but then I understood that I must have a blog to understand all the new developments on Internet for people like me. I called myself LCD “Lowest Common Denominator” of Internet users. If I can do it then all those people out there who are trying to reach me have done it right.

So after reading and researching I now understand: Web2.0, Tags, Creative Commons, Flickr, Mashup, Feedburner, RSS, Adsense and many other new words that were totally unknown only three months ago.

I feel empowered and up-to-date. I can read all the blogs about blogs from “Les Blogs” in Paris. I might even go to the 2006 Web2.0 Conference in SF and have a look around.

I have a stand in Technorati of 1,059,666. I do not know how many blogs are tracked by this site but I feel deep inside that I am the last of the ”Long Tail” and that Chris Anderson and David Hornik would be very proud of me.

web2.0
Long Tail
web content

Helleborus Niger

2006-01-04T15:00:00.000+01:00

For the first time I have seen at the flower shop the “Christmas Roses” to plant outside in the winter. Elegant and sumptuous, nodding, pure white blooms are 2” across and centred with a crown of golden stamens. Held nicely above the evergreen foliage, the large, pure white, waxy flowers carried singly on stiff upright stems and the dark, leathery, almost untoothed foliage are a small miracle of nature.

I planted them in two elegant urns outside the house and since December they have been subjected to snow, icy rain, wind and the harshest of weather and here they are blooming and growing like a charm.

I will plant them everywhere in the garden to bring joy to these cold winter days.

lasne
belgium
helleborus

Looking for Fireworks

2006-01-02T11:10:00.000+01:00

It used to be relatively easy to buy fireworks for the New Year celebration. We never bought them because we are not very fond of them. We love watching fireworks but it never downed on us to actually buy them.

Already last year when Stavros asked to bring them from Belgium we were too late and did not buy any. But this year Stavros asked for fireworks a week ahead and we could not go to his house for New Year and say we forgot them.

So we did not look for them until Friday the day before the end of the year. Herman and I were sure to find them as usual at Carrefour as every year. In the past years you could see everywhere the colorful displays at the entrance of the stores with all kind of fireworks types from very small to super sized rockets and bizarre looking boxes.

So on Friday we discovered that contrary to previous years we could not find any fireworks anywhere. Herman by some strange idea decided to call Carrefour in Mechelen. He thought Mechelen is on the way to the Netherlands, so if we had to stop, Mechelen was a logical place. The lady that answered the phone said that it was already two years that Carrefour did not sell fireworks and we could maybe find the in a special store that sold newspapers in the Hoogstraat, downtown Mechelen.

So we went looking for the Hoogstraat and after a while we got there; after asking in the shops around we finally found the place. It turns out that two years ago the law was changed on the sales of fireworks. Only special stores with good security and a license were allowed to sell them. In the back of the store there was a display of fireworks of all kinds. All of them came from China with big letters in Chinese.

We asked the salesman for something nice but not too big, not too dangerous and not too fiery. We bought some number 1 and number 2 rockets – the smallest we could find – and a big box with ten different shapes of candles and other kinds of fireworks. Very happy with our treasure hunt we went to Bloemendaal.

On Saturday night, midnight, together with the rest of the Netherlands, Stavros and Herman started to light all the fireworks we bought. One after the other, flying in the air like fire flowers or spurting fire stars in the street, the fireworks did their magic trick mesmerizing Alexandros and Irini and making children of us all.

Good bye Old Year, hello New Year with lots of bangs and all the glitter.

Like London, Sydney and Copacabana our street was full of people going “Hoo” and “Haa” with every “bang”. Now that we know where to go, next year we will get more and better fireworks.

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/noledge/

lasne

belgium

fireworks

If this is Christmas

2005-12-28T16:00:00.000+01:00

This year, as nearly every year, we had dinner at our house the evening of the 24th. Christelle arrived on Friday afternoon from Ronse. Sacha with Sharon and baby Jolijn came around four in the afternoon on Saturday, and then Stavros, Jenny, Alexandros and Irini arrived around five from Bloemendaal, bringing the wine for the cellar and the dinner. Haut-Medoc Chateau Ramage La Batisse 1997 and Muscat de Baumes de Venise. So the house was quite full with parents and kids. All the presents we bought were already under the Christmas tree then all the others put also their presents there and the piano room was full of packages. Guido, Annemie, Stefan, Bart and Tom arrived around six and last Filiep and Guy around seven. With Herman, Nona and I we were 17 for dinner, excluding six months old baby Jolijn.

Sharon decided that baby Jolijn was sick. Sacha looked on internet for an open pharmacy in the area and went looking for medicines. Tom decided to go to sleep from 6 to 7 in Sarah’s room. He was pale and cold not feeling well at all. Philiep and I had a bad cold.

Because everybody was a bit early we started to drink beers, white wine and colas but at 7:30 sharp champagne for everybody and opening of the presents. We said no presents this year but somehow everybody got something from somebody. After a couple of glass of champagne everybody was feeling better and the baby soundly sleeping

Dinner was on time at 8:00 sharp. Every year is the same menu. No surprises and everybody like it. Salmon and foie gras to start then lobster soup. This I buy already made so it is simple. I cook the main course. Beef Wellington, green beans and creamed potatoes. This year the potatoes were not cooked enough, still a bit raw. Then cheese and Christmas cakes with coffee. By midnight it was finished. Annemie drove all her men back home. I was told the next day that Tom got sick on the way home. Filiep and Guy left a bit later. Everybody else stayed for the night.

For breakfast on the 25th we were Herman I and Nona; Stavros, Jenny, Alexandros and Irini: Christelle, Sacha, Sharon and baby Jolijn. I am glad that all the bedrooms are ready; the house is fully functional now.

We had good fun and even if some of us were a bit sick it was nice to be all together. We all missed Sarah terribly. We also missed Laurent, Gilles and Christiane. Maybe next year we will all together.

lasne
brussels
belgium
wine

Der Fliegende Hollander

2005-12-19T10:24:00.000+01:00

There is always a kind of anticipation when I have to go to the Opera. This time it was for Der Fliegende Hollander. Bert came as usual from Den Haag to Brussels. We bought two abonnements for the season, last summer, and it is always a pleasure to go to the Opera to together. Always elegant and funny, he is the perfect gentleman from books and movies. Before the Opera we eat at the Café de l’Opera, Place de la Monnaie, right in front of the Opera. This café restaurant is very romantic inside. It is all in red velvet and dark ceilings with little lights on the walls. The waiters are very well aware of the nature of the business. Everybody has to be out in time to go to the Opera.

We eat every time the same: filet American, fries, beer and espresso. This time we had time after the early dinner to go for a walk to the Grand Place to see all the displays of the Plaisirs d'Hiver . Every winter Brussels puts on a fantastic show to celebrate winter. The Grand Place is full of big balls with lighted Christmas trees inside and silver balls reflecting the lights on the City Hall. Magic.

Finally we arrived at la Monnaie and with great expectation we were ready. Wagner always gives you an introduction a bit too long for my taste. Half of the people started to doze off. Finally it started. A dark scene with dark music. The entire chorus on the floor half asleep. We dozed a bit more. It took a good hour for the orchestra and the singers to get our attention. We were all reading the text on the top of the scene to understand what was going on. I had never seen this Opera so everything was new to me.

In the second half everybody woke up with the singers the chorus and the orchestra all going and the spectators enjoying every bit of it. It all ended the way Wagner ends his pieces with the Opera house shaking on the orchestra going full blast and all of us on the edge of our seats. There was no interval so we had two and a half hour of non interrupted music. I seriously think that is the only way to do it. On our way back home all the way to Lasne we were still under the influence of the music. You feel this physical change in yourself. It is scary.

I cannot remember any melodies or arias but the music was in inside my all body not only in my head.
opera
Wagner
Brussels
Lasne

Walking the Distance

2005-12-11T15:48:00.000+01:00

We, Herman and I, reserved last June to go to Nieuport this week-end. And instead of Herman, working in Boston, I was lucky to get Annemie to come with me.

We joined in June “Les Compagnons del la Dyle Romane". It is the walking club of Wavre. Every three months they send me a bulletin with all the activities and we did not do anything at all. The only thing I did was to send a reservation in June for December hoping that by then we have our act together to go walking.

Well even without Herman it was a lot of fun. It rained all week and a hundred times I told myself what a stupid idea to go walking in the rain in December. Everyday I look at the weather report and you get a mixed feeling. It will be raining and cloudy, could get better but maybe not. Changing weather. Good luck.

The meeting was on Friday evening at the Hotel, Floreal Club, in Nieuport Bad. I arrived first; then Annemie after she finished with her last patient. She has less distance to drive. She already lives in Flanders where the coast is. From my house in Brabant Wallons it is about 140 km.

It is the kind of hotel where you make your own bed when you arrive. There is a kitchen and a nice bathroom. Normally it is for family holidays. People come for one or two weeks in the summer. Just remodeled, everything was new and very well made.

We had dinner with my new walking group. We did not know anybody. It is always awkward in the beginning. That is also the reason I did not want to go alone. My new group was about 40 people and there were two other Dutch speaking groups. This week-end is organised by the hotel. I was told that they started some years ago with a walking week-end to fill up the hotel in the winter. Now there is so much demand that they have to organise three walking week-ends every winter. Marketing tip for seaside hotel in the winter. So in total we must have been about 120 walkers.

The dinner was fine. The members of my new Club were very friendly and with small talk they put us at ease. After dinner during coffee a disk jockey gave a party mood to everybody. People danced till 1:00 am but Annemie and I went to bed early to be fresh the following morning.

Up at seven the next day. Big Nordic breakfast at eight. Everybody ready to walk by nine. The weather was stunning. Blue sky, no wind, a big sun rising from a low fog. With 2°C I was all covered with Sarah ski jacket, Micrografx hat, gloves, double pants and good walking shoes. The morning walk consisted of 10km. in the countryside with a return via the Nieuport beach. The walk was led by a guide in the front for the fast walkers and one in the back for the slow one. We were lucky.The group was quite homogeneous and we more or less arrived all together with an average of 5km per hour.
After a good warm lunch, at 2pm the group of 120 walker took two buses and went to France. Not too far, just across the border, we walked another two hours from Zuydcoote to Bray Dunes in the dunes by the sea in a natural reserve called “Dune Marchand” following for a while “la Grande Randonée du Littoral”. By the time we arrived by the sea it was sunset. Dramatic pink colors when the sea and the sky become one.

Happy and tired we took the buses back and got ready for a great dinner, with candle lights, starter, fish and to finish delicious hot crêpes with apples and worm chocolate. Again a big “Soirée Dansante” but Annemie and I were dead tired with every muscle sore went to bed by 11pm and slept like babies till the next day.

This morning, after again a big Nordic breakfast, we left the Belgian coast to go back home, happy of our walk by the sea.
walking
Belgium

One more year

2005-12-08T10:42:00.000+01:00

December 4 is my birthday. I am always looking forward to my birthday. One more year gone by and one to come. More than all the presents I receive the biggest surprise I look forward is the year to come. Full of expectations and thing to do. I have a long list of TO DO things. Books I want to read, people I need to visit or ask to come to visit us. Trips to take, lots of dreams and projects.

This year my birthday was in the weekend. It makes things easy for everybody.

Last year we went to “Comme Chez Soi”. This year we celebrated with a good dinner at “Villa Lorraine”. A very chic restaurant in Brussels. Herman, Nona and I well dressed were welcomed by the parking man. Arlette, the lady at the wardrobe, took our coats. And then we were allowed to enter the restaurant. It is a very formal and grand place, with large tables, comfortable chairs, and lots of lights, crystals and silver. Lots and lots of waiters of different grades and uniforms floating around. The dinner was delicious and the wine, a Meursault 1999, even more. The service was perfect, not too fast not too slow.

Herman bought me my very first digital camera. I know, I am one of the last to convert. It is a beautiful Nikon Coolpik S1, slim silver colored and perfect for my purse. I still have to get used to it and take a few shots. I look forward to use it. Nona gave my two huge books on Leonardo da Vinci one with his paintings and one with his drawings. Very nice books. I am very happy.

I received phone calls all day Sunday. First of all was Sarah, from California, then Bert and Peter from Den Haag, my cousin Dedi and Countess Gallina from Milano. Emails from Danilo, London, and Simone, Brussels. SMS from Filiep, Guy and from Annemie. A birthday card from Christelle.

So many ways to wish Happy Birthday. Thanks to you all.
nikon

Crosscountry skiing in Ceroux

2005-11-27T08:17:00.000+01:00

Yesterday getting up, I saw the world in white from my bedroom window. Silently through the night a thick and heavy snow had fallen on Belgium. There was at least 15 cm. of good snow and it was still snowing. Cold magic white landscape. The birds hopping around were looking for food. I threw some bread but it went quickly to the bottom of the snow and more falling snow covered it. They would have to wait until we got organized with proper bird food.

In the afternoon I went shopping at the Brico in Ottignie, bought bird food and a very tacky green plastic bird-bath. It will have to do for now. I will buy a proper one in stone in the springtime to set in the garden in front of our living-room window.

Coming back home under a clear sky, it was then that I saw two siluettes gliding fast down a slope in the open country side.
belgium
ceroux

Meaningful Legacy

2005-11-25T17:44:00.000+01:00

Monday was a very cold day. Winter started the Friday before with cold and fog. By Monday the weather was set to an icy 4°C with wind from the North. It was the fitting day for Herman’s cousin Maurice's funeral. He was a very handsome man with an easy smile. Sparking blue eyes with a lot of mischief and fun. I had known Maurice now for more than 20 years. I saw him mostly at weddings, first communion and Christmas gatherings. Always smiling.

We arrived in Haaltert by 10:00 in the morning and went straight into the main square’s café. Inspector Maigret would have been very comfortable. Dark, smoky, old fashioned and full of old locals discussing the Sunday football game in very tight dialect. We drank a coffee to warm up and waited until 10:15 to go the St Gorik church. Christelle, Guido and Filiep were already there sitting in the men side of the church. Herman joined them and I went to sit in the women side, left, with the cousins and Maria, the widow.

St Gorik is a neo-gothic church built 1870 after the previous church burned down due to a fire caused by lightning . The brothers de Noyette did actually a good job with this one. They kept the design simple and they really got the acoustic right. This was very important for the music. The front of the church, the altar, and the casket were decorated with lots white flowers. I counted more that 300 people inside. It was packed.

The ceremony lasted around an hour with lots of music. The 1870 organ, made by father and son Vereecken of Gijzegem, sounded magnificent. A chorus with eight singers sang throughout the ceremony. We were all crying in the women side. The music made the ceremony twice as moving.

After Communion, the Mass ended and we followed the casket out into the village square. We walked after the funeral car through the streets of Haaltert for more than a kilometer in the cold and wind. I was arm in arm with Christelle trying to keep each other warm. On and on we walked all the way to the cemetery out of town. A pale sun came out around noon and the cemetery was illuminated. Every tomb was full of flowers. In the first week of November all the relatives wash the tombs and bring big pots of tiny chrysanthemums flowers. The cemetery was all yellow, white and orange flowers. A very pretty sight.

Each of us put a white rose on the casket and after hugging Maria and her sons we walked back to the village. We arrived back on the main square and walked into the “feestzaal”. That is the place where you go to celebrate after church occasions. A very handy place to go after christenings, first communions, weddings and funerals. And here a couple of hundred people sat for lunch – sandwich of preparé and cheese, sweet croissants and Danish pastries with lots of coffee. Also we drank beer, cola, and white wine and after a while with food and drinks the mood was festive and relaxed. The widow Maria and the sons Rik and Hans went from table to table to talk to everyone and we all talked about Maurice, his life and his sudden death.

Nobody could forget that his 95 year old mother Maria, in the old people home nearby, did not come to the funeral of her only child. She does not know her son died.

Roses

2005-11-20T09:57:00.000+01:00

Frédéric, the gardener, came Friday with his proposal for the front garden. He will plant three kinds of roses, small, medium and big bushes all along the front. I am very curious to see how it will look next spring.

Instead of trees in the middle of the front yard grass he will plant two sorts of magnolias. He will put tree short ones of one color with a tall magnolia tree of a different color. That will take some years to look good.

In the back he has already planted a couple of hundred bulbs in the flower beds and in the forest. Yes, we have a tiny forest in the back yard. You really cannot access it easily. It is closed on three sides by the fence and one side by the giant rhododendrons so we really do not have an easy access to it. Frédédic has promised me three entrances to the forest and a man made path with dark barks to be able to stroll through. In the meantime he has planted tiny blue flowers bulbs that should appear in early springtime.

He has also filled the big long container along the tall barbecue window with tulip bulbs and on top a cover of winter violets. He promised he will clear some of the plants in the herb garden and make more room for me for extra herbs and maybe a couple of tomato plants next spring.

We are slowly slowly transforming this green garden into a flower garden. I need all the help I can get.

lasne