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16th Midwinter Market in Balstraat, Brugge
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From the beginning of November, I have started Dutch class which I
enjoy though the journey, carrying heavy books, is not to my taste!!
Ivo, the school, is in St Kruis so it involves walking, waiting for the bus, then
walking some more after the bus. Would be fine were it not for my
little mobile library hoisted on my shoulder. I go twice a week to
the Writing half of Level Three; the other kids in the group all do
four times three hours a week for which I sincerely admire them.
However, it is too much for me as I also need energy for fun and
socialising!! I have decided not to do the Speaking half of the
week’s lessons though I need it. If allowed will continue, if I
reach the grade, to Niveau Vier and beyond!! Reading, writing, but hardly speaking!
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| The Homeless Jesus by Timothy Schmalz |
My first day home, Saturday 9th December, I joined a large crowd of
people in the Heilige Magdalena Church near Astridpark for the dedication and
unveiling of a new statue called The Homeless Jesus. The ceremony was in the church, fortunately because the weather was
sub-Arctic, and though I could understand nothing, I did enjoy three
pieces played by a young man, on different cornets, I think. Amazing
Grace sounded particularly plaintive. Various men spoke; the
priest in charge; someone in charge of Church Fabric; the
OCMW voorzitter, Dirk de Fauw; a lovely man
who works with refugees
here, and the Bishop, Lode Aerts. Predictably, the Bishop’s homily
seemed endless. Perhaps my non-comprehension of Flemish exacerbated
the undue length of the speeches but one hour did seem over-long!
Outside, a huge wooden crate was magically opened to reveal the
recumbent, anonymous figure lying on a bench and it is life-size and
impressive. It will remain in front of the church I believe. I will
go back tomorrow to find space and peace to look at this modern
sculpture properly. However with the help of the indomitable,
omniscient and frequently annoying Google, I discover that, since
2013, this statue, by a Canadian, Timothy Schmalz, has been installed
in major cities a round the world. Glasgow was the first to be
honoured in the U.K. The whole enterprise, speaking as it does to the
insidious homelessness problem which has grown, is
backed by Churches and homeless charities.
En route home I was impressed by the tourist throng, assuming it to
be more crowded because of the Christmas Market which is dazzling
this year. But not so. I learned from a Flemish friend that the
frequent flags and drapes in red and yellow
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| Catalan demonstration in Brussels 9th December |
seen around Brugge,
signalled the invasion of the Catalans. Apparently, the local head of
the NVR, a right-wing party seeking Flemish independence, [and therefore, one might add, fellow travellers] had invited the
Catalans to visit Brugge after the enormous demonstration they had
mounted in Brussels last Saturday, in support of Carlos Puigdemont, the fugitive
Catalan Prime Minister who fled to Brussels recently rather than face
arrest in Spain with his fellow politicians. As readers will recall,
the Catalan ‘problem’ boiled over into quasi-rebellion this
Autumn and the Prime Minister of Spain, Rajoy, withdrew Article 155
of the Spanish constitution to suspend the regional autonomy of the
Catalans. I read a recent article by Paul Preston in the New
Statesman, [December 1-7] which described in detail the history of
the Catalan situation over the last hundred troubled years. The scars
of Catalonia were revealed but also the widespread Spanish distrust
of the Catalans.
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Lea Stein's artistry
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As friends had a stall at the 16
th Midwinter Festival on
and around Balstraat in the St Anna district of the city, off I
valiantly trudged through the snow Saturday late afternoon. It was
delightful but a little less successful than normal I suspect because
of the slush and rain and cold which deterred some, understandably.
This particular market is notable for the number of craft stalls
present and it is altogether rather more upmarket than many
Rommelmarkts here. I spent ages admiring some marvellous brooches by
Lea Stein, a Parisian jewellery designer of impeccable taste and
style, practising in the 1930s. I have had one of hers and loved it
for several years. Dismayingly, I discover that they have grown in
popularity which means ‘have become more expensive’. Damn! Eventually I bought a wooden jewellery tree for my six year old
grand-daughter due here for Christmas and a sort of pale wooden
Christmas tree about ten inches tall, which magically folds flat for
transport home……
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A Catalan visitor in Brugge,
waving to a boat load of friends below.
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I stopped off at ‘Terrastje’ on Genthof nearby on my way home for
a chat with Ian and a Brugse Zot. There I learned that I had missed
‘the Catalans’ who had been in, and further, that there were
reputed to be 50,000 of them in Brugge this weekend. I had seen a
number around the streets plus two boatloads on the canals and all
were looking remarkably content. They didn’t seem to represent a
secession crisis which is threatening to rip Spain apart.
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| Terrasstje, Genthof, Brugge |
