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| Verdriet van Moeders |
My
sister has been here for a week and, apart from talking, we do seem
to have done quite a lot despite some low energy levels and variable
walking stamina! We loved the concert Friday week, Verdriet van
Moeders; Requiem for Mothers, which focussed on the grief of the
'earth mother', Kathe Kollwitz, mentioned before in this blog. It
used her words as the epitome of maternal distress in WW1, and
extracts from her writings were read during the concert by actress,
Chris Lomme. The music of Vaughan Williams, Sibelius and Ravel,
played by the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, wove director Petra
Vermotes' creation around Kathe Kollwitz's words and was enhanced by
stylish, on-screen images by Klaas Verpoest. The evening was part of
the cultural commemoration of WW1 in West Flanders, Gone West, and
was profoundly moving, the more so when one thinks of the
contemporary indiscriminate slaughter in, for example, Aleppo. And then of how little humanity seems to have learned.
Among
other visits in Bruges, was a trip, courtesy of friend Luc, to a
marvellous garden in Sint Kruis belonging to a member of his wife's
family. It is enormous and the history involved gives a shining
example of the family continuity still possible her among ordinary families. The present garden
had been the family farm belonging to Paul's
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| One small end of Paul's garden |
grandparents and his
mother had been born there; the little school she attended was
still visible just beyond the perimeter of the land. Paul had inherited
part of the little estate and, I think, bought out his siblings to
gain full ownership so that his passion for gardening could have full
rein. Over the years, there has been a gradual and almost organic
development; the animals he once kept there, sheep and
rabbits, have gone and there is simply an extraordinary garden now,
with quite a large house and other buildings, one a reclaimed cow
shed. Outside the latter is a huge stone table on sturdy concrete
supports; it is made from four majestic stone tablets each of which
used to mark the boundary of the space in which each milking cow
stood. It is the most extraordinary garden I have seen, especially
one which somehow captures some of the history of the place while
being aesthetically beautiful. The house remains renovated and extended but empty
waiting for Paul's retirement next year. In the meantime, he and his
wife focus on their labour of love, to maintain and gradually modify
this historical and magical place.
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View from the garden of one room adorned with
heraldic columns painted by Paul's daughter. |
Paul is
an admirer of English gardens including Sissinghurst and Great
Dixter, with Christopher Lloyd's marvellous sense of colour judged
masterful. Paul loves Sissinghurst but judges it as a 'beginning
garden' because the concept of 'rooms' with one colour [the White
Garden] seems to him too simplistic. I love Vita Sackville-West's
sophisticated notion of a garden divided into rooms through which one may wander,
with seasonal variations in colour and form to delight the senses.
However, I was unable to justify it to Paul's satisfaction! He does
have firm ideas for his own kingdom, absolutely necessary to achieve
the on-going transformation so far, particularly as he employs no
help beyond that of his equally energetic wife!
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| Luc Vanlaere |
A
much enjoyed visit we later made was to the Oud Sint Jan site to see and to hear Luc Vanlaere give one of his popular, free concerts. He is a superb harpist but has added to his collection of harps, other musical instruments like Chinese singing bowls, and many-stringed instruments based on Indian and Japanese music which he has built himself. Luc writes his own material too, including a few haunting songs, and sells his CDs after the free concert. It is difficult to describe the music which appeals on several levels; it is atmospheric, soothing, musical in the best sense, and spiritually nourishing in the same way. I am always surprised when I go, to see how very many tourists are in the audience, that is until I have just been online and discovered that Trip Advisor ranks him as the No 1 attraction in Bruges! Other splendid works of art like the Memlings near to his little concert room, might take exception at that billing, but Luc is undoubtedly and deservedly, both talented and popular.
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| The White Garden, Sissinghurst |
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The Orchard Garden, Great Dixter
|
grandparents and his
mother had been born there; the little school she attended was
still visible just beyond the perimeter of the land. Paul had inherited
part of the little estate and, I think, bought out his siblings to
gain full ownership so that his passion for gardening could have full
rein. Over the years, there has been a gradual and almost organic
development; the animals he once kept there, sheep and
rabbits, have gone and there is simply an extraordinary garden now,
with quite a large house and other buildings, one a reclaimed cow
shed. Outside the latter is a huge stone table on sturdy concrete
supports; it is made from four majestic stone tablets each of which
used to mark the boundary of the space in which each milking cow
stood. It is the most extraordinary garden I have seen, especially
one which somehow captures some of the history of the place while
being aesthetically beautiful. The house remains renovated and extended but empty
waiting for Paul's retirement next year. In the meantime, he and his
wife focus on their labour of love, to maintain and gradually modify
this historical and magical place. 
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