Oostende in the Wind.

 The Pulpit. Leon Spilliaert

 Drawing by James Ensor

 De Mangerie, Oostende.

A lovely day out with friend to Oostende to celebrate his birthday. Hopefully-judicious checking on the Internet produced a booking at De Mangerie on the Albert 1 Promenade and the promise of its presence in the list of Top Ten Fish Restaurants in town, lived well up to expectations!! The meal was both wonderfully tasty and aesthetically beautiful and the service, exceptional. I thought it

extraordinary also, that I had an email this morning asking me to rate our welcome, the food and the service, in retrospect. De Mangerie, Oostende, definitely earns a second visit!

 Albert 1 Promenade, Oostende.

This was my fourth or fifth trip to Oostende in as many years and I have never enjoyed it. Always grey and gloomy; generally cold and misty; often with showers or continuous rain. Yesterday, in February, it was cold with a very strong wind but the sun shone, the sea glistened immense and distant, and I could understand why people might go there for a holiday. As in Brugge, out-of-season roadworks and re-laying of cables and pipes seemed everywhere, but even so, Lots of Room along the Promenade for games and fish stalls, couples trying to stroll, leaning against the wind, and children running in circles. It was a photo opportunity of almost summer proportions!

 Interior. James Ensor

After lunch, to the Mu-zee, the local Museum of Modern Art, Oostende’s own MOMA. I had never seen it before and was delighted with the white interior on different levels displaying a number of pictures by Leon Spilliaert, one of the local Masters, and James Ensor, already known and loved in this parish. Coincidentally, there is a Leon Spilliaert exhibition on now in the Royal Academy, a place I love and of which I was a member for countless years. I had never known that Spilliaert was virtually a local boy in Flanders. It is an excellent exhibition in the Mu-zee and I shall keep note of further exhibitions there. I really should explore more of Flanders!

 Self-portrait, Leon Splliaert, 1881-1946

 The Rower. Leon Spilliaert



"To me, the only thing that counts is my individuality; it is everything
to me; I am not so certain that all the other things exist. It is like a
phantasmagoria, when I view the life that goes on outside myself, it
is often with abundant fantasy."
Leon Spilliaert. 1925









"The mask loomed large in the work of Ensor from 1888 onwards. It became
the hallmark of his work and his most notable contribution to modern art
is the integration of carnivalesque iconography into his oeuvre.. In his work,
the mask became an instrument by which to expose human nature."

                   

 James Ensor 1860-1949.
by Rik Wouters.

 

James Ensor; Self-portrait with masks.
1899.

Cobblestones, Tartan and Puppets.

Soon to be an elegant new square

I haven’t written about the general life in Brugge recently, caught up instead with other notions and happenings. BUT I have kept an eye on the area outside the wonderful Bike Shop which serves beers from Brussels and coffee at its chic black tables on the pavement outside. The gleeful owner told me months ago that the Commune would transform the area in front of his shop, into a square, a plein. It is a small area and I did wonder quite how the miracle would occur. Well, I still don’t know but work started there about a month ago and Philipstockstraat has been closed to traffic at that corner for a fortnight now. All is upheaval at that end of Philipstockstraat at present, as in this photograph But the eventual result will be revealed soon.

Broken jaw avenged, after three years!

Meantime, I noticed this morning [18/02/20] that two workmen were busy Doing Something in Woensdagmarkt. Closer inspection revealed that a cluster of upstanding cobblestones were being dug up to be re-settled and I saw immediately that they are The Ones over which I tripped in 2016, fell and broke my jaw in two places. I did report the state of that little group of cobblestones to Officialdom at the time, but while my jaw took only six weeks to heal and permit talking and eating again, it has been much longer for the cobbles to be restored to a safe state! On Wednesday February 19, further cobblestone renovation outside my building, is occurring. Good news; pensioners will soon be able to almost glide confidently across the cobbles in Woensdagmarkt! The battle to keep pedestrians safe over the cobbles in Brugge, must be an ongoing Tremendous Effort.

Inexpert Highland Fling

And so to a Tartan Birthday Party for a young man of 70. Last Thursday, following Mah Jong, a great Scottish-themed party was held, attended by around 30 people most dressed valiantly if amateurishly, in touches of tartan; some in kilts; some in Scottish blouses, shirts, ties, berets, sashes. The house itself

Tartan cake.

 was suitably draped and dressed with two birthday cakes, one iced in tartan, the other shaped in a 7 and 0. Lots of super food and bubbly and, on the stroke of noon, came the distinctive sound of bagpipes and drum from the street outside. There, an impromptu concert was held [I wonder if one needs a permit for music in the street as in Britain?] for both the party people and quite an assortment of passing pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. After which, the musicians came into the house for food and drinks and further performances and one hoped that the near-neighbours were bagpipe lovers! The birthday boy was enchanted by it all as, indeed, were the guests.

 Concert on the terrace

And to cap an eventful week, a visit with friends to the Poppentheater Uilenspiegel on Sunday morning to enjoy a three person dramatic presentation of everyday life and politics in Brugge. I understood only a little though my companion helpfully whispered key phrases from the Brugge patois of the dialogue. The puppets were enchanting and the audience was amused and delighted. I did approve of the appearance of a splendid young man, a Green Party schepen [councillor] who gamely answered questions and dealt with complaints mainly about money wasted by the Brugge town council! I believe this puppet theatre is a revival of an earlier feature of the town and the three dozen or so seats were full; each seat cost 5 euros to include a beer or water after the performance. Amazing value which will surely be difficult to maintain!

 Just one of the memorable characters

One of the most endearing traits of life in Brugge is its ability to surprise and entertain. It never fails!!