Life as a tributary



My life is a tributary, serene and chiefly separate  from the whirling of the greater river nearby, swirling along with the never-ending traffic and events driven by myriad influences and urgencies. Occasionally, as now, comes a Brexit tumult which threatens to swamp me, but I cling on grimly and wait for the optimistic calming of the choppy seas. Backwater financial calm hasn't yet arrived but I am learning to manage it and in the meantime, to keep enjoying my privileged life here in Brugge. This edition of my blog is late because it has been waiting for a week or more for images to be added but I am about to remedy that.


 Caldarium Musica

To finish the last week, I went to another concert, a free one this time [which suits my post-Brexit frugality] in the Munt, in de Orgelzaal of the Conservatorium. Een Podium voor de Passie  [A Stage for Passion] is the general title of these concerts on the first Saturday of September, October, November, January, February and March. Organised by Alexander Makay and Patrick Pieters they offer a wide variety of music. Last Saturday, we heard Caldarium Musica with viol, piano, flute, piccolo and clarinet, playing a marvellous selection from Arvo Part, [Spiegel im Spiegel], Claude Debussy's Sonata for viol and flute; Mozart's trio for piano, clarinet, and viol; Beethoven's Sonata for Piano No. 14 and Sjostakovitsj's Waltz for piccolo, clarinet and piano, plus the Adagio from his Sonata for viol and piano. A richly satisfying evening with the proceeds from the retiring collection going to Plan Belgie, a marvellous charity which does important work with children in Africa. I happen to be a contributor to Plan UK and send letters to Sandra, a fourteen year old in Zimbabwe. Plan does much excellent work in Africa and in Asia 

 The back entrance, across a little terrace, of
the Oud Huis Amsterdam across the square from me.

 

My usual week has sped past yet again; too much time trying to introduce myself to Dutch in pursuit of which, I have been to two Praatgroups where I stumble through the proceedings. Plus Anna Maria and her grammar and Bart Moyaert readings on Monday mornings. I do have several high spots in the week; my coffee with friends in a group of English-speaking women, in Hotel Martin's, where this Wednesday I saw my totally favourite Belgian waiter Martin, who speaks English with an Irish accent, learned working in an Irish Pub here. He says that everyone comments on his accent but the Irish claim not to recognise it! Another high spot is my Thursday evening group which meets to drink coffee, tea and beer and chat in English. Belgians all, indeed Bruggelingen all, their English is super and their company, delightful. They don't need my input really but I am grateful to meet up regularly with a lovely group of friends.



 Not an image of modern Bejing nor a realistic interpretation
of our weekly female sessions but it does suggest
the historical background of Mah Jong. And our
enjoyment is suggested and mirrored here.

  Fast becoming a bit of an obsession is Mah Jong on a Thursday morning where four or five of us meet up with Nancy, a Chinese girl, who adores Mah Jong and manages to teach us without any apparent condescension for our stuttering efforts. She is, in fact, charming but strict, which paradoxically, adds to the fun, but it will be aeons before we reach the speed of the frequent little groups of scruffy men playing Mah Jong with a rapid intensity, in the gutters of streets in Beijing. I admired them when I watched them; now I know how difficult it all is, the retrospective admiration is boundless!

 Geert Bourgeois

This Thursday, I sped off at lunch time to a talk in ENGLISH at the College of Europe not far from here. Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of the Flanders Government and Flemish Foreign Minister spoke to the title: 'I Want My E.U. Back'. He referred to the existential crisis in the EU and said that structural reform was necessary. The Union however could not proceed at the pace of the slowest and he underlined the way the EU complements national identities which are so important though nationalism could be destructive. He mentioned the wish of the EU to be sympathetic to possible requests to join, from small countries which might break away from a larger mass, like Scotland and Catalonia. Though in a question from the floor about Macedonia possibly joining, M. Bourgeois said that overall, the EU wished to allow no more new entrants at present but would rather concentrate on deepening the relationships, implying attempts would be made to reorganise some structures and procedures. Clearly the UK Brexit had been unexpected and disagree able and he hoped that a soft Brexit would be possible. The deadlock in the refugee crisis must be resolved according to the principles of the Founding Fathers of Humanism, Human Rights and Solidarity, though he suggested no concrete remedies for resolving the impasse with Hungary and others apart from acknowledging the need for a humane return policy. M. Bourgeois summed up his view of the EU by emphasising that it is a global actor with a leading role in the search for conflict prevention. It inspires; it respects diversity; it unites and protects. He mentioned that a European Defence Force is a goal and I smiled inwardly as I remembered the horror with which that idea has been greeted in the UK. As political speeches go, I found this one impressive, delivered faultlessly in what is probably Meneer Bourgeois's third language! It was so pleasant to listen to an hour of a positive attitude to Europe compared to the relentless rubbishing in Britain. I asked a question and introduced myself as a post-Brexit refugee and afterwards a lovely girl student came up to me and said she was another such. We had a good chat and, at her suggestion, a coffee a few days later. She was so Keen on Europe it made my heart sing!! 
 

 DO hope that this is not Politically Incorrect!

As I have walked around the centre this weekend, I have noticed with pleasure that there are still many tourists visiting. Instead of last year's irritation at the slowness of gait, the barriers to ordinary walking as groups stop and gaze, or stop and point, this Autumn I am grateful that tourist numbers have increased again in August and September, following the disastrous emptiness after the Brussels airport explosions. However I think I detect very few Japanese and American tourists still; those twin pillars of tourism in Europe. From their distant perspective, one imagines Brussels seems too close to Brugge for insouciance.