Belgian break (2) : Antwerp
September 2nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
On the second day of our Belgium break, we further explored the city of Antwerp. The morning was spent on cultural visits.
First, we went to see the Rubens House. The painter Peter Paul Rubens purchased the property in 1610 and lived and worked here until his death in 1640. After centuries of neglect, the house was rescued by the city of Antwerp in 1937 and has been refurbished and refurnished to look as it might have done in his day.
Next, we strolled round to the Rockox House. This used to be owned by Nicholas Rockox (1560-1640), a friend and patron of Rubens who was the city mayor for nine years. Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts has been closed for several years for a major refurbishment and a collection of some of the best works – dubbed “The Golden Cabinet” – is currently on display at the Rockox House, so we were able to admire an impressive set of Flemish paintings from the 14th-17th centuries.
The remainder of the day was more informal.
In the afternoon, at Vee’s suggestion (she loves animals), we visited the city zoo. It is quite extensive with a large aquarium section plus lions, tigers, giraffes, buffalo, and much more. We were in time to see the feeding of carrots and cabbages to the young elephants Kanvar and Ming Jung. Then, in the early evening, we went to the cinema to see the latest Woody Allen movie, a romantic comedy starring Colin Firth and Emma Stone, “Magic In The Moonlight” which has not yet opened in the UK. It was shown in the original version with both French and Dutch subtitles.
After a couple of days in Belgium, a few oddities have become apparent. It seems that no restaurant makes available free tap water so one has to pay for bottled water. And in a cafe and a shopping centre and even in the cinema, we have had to pay to use the toilets. Then our hotel charges us for Wi-Fi …
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Belgian break (1) : London to Antwerp
September 1st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I tend to take our major holiday in the winter (this year we went to five countries in Central America in February), but it is good to have a short break in the summer too, so this year we decided to have a few days in Belgium. We have previously had a holiday in Bruges and I have visited Brussels many times for work, so we chose to base our break in Antwerp.
Modern day Belgium only dates back to 1830. The Germans occupied the country throughout the First World War and most of the Second World War, so you can understand why they support the European Union. But, if football is a game of two halves, then Belgium is certainly a country of two halves: the Flemish-speaking north and the French-speaking south. The Flemish part is the more prosperous and indeed the Flemish rather look down on on their less affluent compatriots. Antwerp, of course, is in the Flemish part of the country.
Our holiday break was booked through the “Guardian” newspaper and includes travel and accommodation. Travel was by Eurostar from London to Brussels and local train from Brussels to Antwerp. Our hotel, the Leonardo, is directly opposite the station and we arrived around lunchtime today in pleasant weather.
During the afternoon, we had an exploratory walk of central Antwerp. This is the second largest city in Belgium with a population of 510,000 and the name comes from Dutch words for ‘hand’ and ‘throw’ which refers to a local legend.
We strolled down the main shopping street, a broad pedestrianised avenue called Meir, to the main architectural attraction of the city: the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady. This is the largest Gothic church in the Low Countries and is noted for two triptychs by the painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Just round the corner from the cathedral is Antwerp’s finest square Grote Markt which is surrounded by tall, old buildings. In the centre of the square is a fountain which depicts Brabo, a legendary Roman soldier who freed the port of Antwerp by defeating the giant Antigoon and throwing his severed hand into the river – hence ‘hand-werpen’ has become the name Antwerpen (the local spelling).
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Can you name 10 famous Belgians?
August 31st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I are spending a few days this week on a short break in Antwerp in the northern (Flemish) part of Belgium. Our guide book offers the following 10 famous Belgians:
- Gerard Mercator (1512-1594) – the inventor of the Mercator projection to represent the spherical globe on a flat page.
- Georges Simeon (1903-1989)- the writer of 400 novels including 75 featuring Inspector Maigret.
- Queen Astrid (1905-1935) – the Swedish princess (does that count?) who married Prince Leopold of Belgium in 1934.
- Georges Remi (1907-1983) – the creator of Tintin using the pen name Herge.
- Jacques Brel (1929-1978) – a singer-songwriter who made his name in France (does that count?).
- Johnny Hallyday – the godfather of French rock and roll whose father was Belgian (does that count?).
- Eddie Merckx – five times winner of the Tour de France.
- Jean-Claude Van Damme – star of action movies.
- Justine Henin-Hardenne – a tennis champion.
- Kim Clijsters – another tennis champion, now retired.
So, be honest, how many did you know were famous Belgians?
Of course, depending on your definition of ‘famous’, it’s amazing how many famous Belgians can be identified. You can find a list of 263 here.
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Reviews of two recent Scarlett Johansson movies
August 31st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The first is “Under the Skin” which I’ve reviewed here.
The second is “Lucy” which I’ve reviewed here.
Johansson is a fine actress whom I have now seen in 11 films.
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Word of the day: lambent
August 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Lambent means softly bright or radiant or dealing lightly and gracefully with a subject or running or moving lightly over a surface.
The adjective seems to be a favourite of the American author Lionel Shriver because she uses it several times in her novel “The Post-Birthday World” which I have just read.
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A review of the novel “The Post-Birthday World”
August 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just finished my first novel by Lionel Shriver – thanks to a gift from my sister. It’s “The Post-Birthday World” and you can read my review here.
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Now that the Israel/Gaza war is over (for a time), what did it cost and what did it actually achieve?
August 28th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
After the collapse of at least eight temporary ceasefires, it looks as the ‘permanent’ ceasefire between the Israeli Defence Force and Hamas is holding. So it is time to take stock of the consequences of the 50-day conflict.
What was the cost?
In Gaza, more than 2,100 were killed, most of them civilians, including about 500 children. Some 18 alleged informers were publicly executed. At least 11,000 were injured. More than 17,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Around one third of the population of 1.8 million has been displaced.
On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers died and five civilians – including a four-year old boy – were killed. Hundreds of families living near the Gaza border had to be relocated to safer homes further north. The firing of thousands of rockets from Gaza forced many Israelis to seek protection in shelters again and again.
What was achieved?
Israel launched the attack originally to stop the rocket assaults. The IDF claims that the weapons stocks of Hamas and other militant groups have fallen to less than a third of their pre-war levels of around 10,000 rockets either by being fired or by being destroyed in air strikes. Hundreds of Hamas men, including three top commanders and a civilian ‘money man’, have been killed. As the conflict went on, the IDF added the destruction of tunnels to their war aims. Dozens have been found and blasted. The Israeli Government claims that it has achieved a period of “quiet” and safety.
For the people of Gaza, there is now an undertaking to open border crossings with Israel and Egypt to allow humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter the enclave. Also the fishing zone is to be extended to six miles off the coast. Hamas claims that it has shown its ability to resist Israeli aggression and calls the outcome a “victory”.
But really what has been achieved?
The latest ceasefire terms are almost identical to those agreed at the end of the previous war 21 months ago. Prior to that conflict, we had the Israeli invasion of Gaza in January 2009 that was supposed to stop the rocket attacks and destroy Hamas.
Unless there are now negotiations and agreements on much more fundamental issues, the easing of border restrictions will simply lead to the smuggling into Gaza of more rockets that, at a tim e of tension, will be fired into Israel which will attack with disproportionate force and we will have yet another war in this seemingly endless cycle of violence.
There has to be significant concessions and compromises by both sides. The Egyptians, the Qataris and US Secretary of State John Kerry deserve thanks for their patient brokering of the current ceasefire – but the negogiating has only just started.
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10 pictures of the most colourful places on Earth
August 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The world is full of landscapes that are so surreal, and so intensely coloured, that it’s hard to believe they really exist. Take a look at some of the strangest, and most vibrant, views in the world here.
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Should Scotland become an independent state?
August 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Last night, I spent one and a half hours watching a televised debate on the future of Scotland and the referendum on Scottish independence to be held on 18 September. The debate was between Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.
It was the second and last of two such televised debates, but the first was only broadcast in Scotland, whereas this one was shown throughout the UK. I thought that Darling had the better arguments but Salmond had the more effective style. The general assessment is that Salmond won this debate whereas Darling had won the first one.
However, the debates do not seem to be making much difference to voting intention with the ‘no to independence’ around 14 percentage points in the lead.
Of course, only the Scots will have a vote in this referendum, although the outcome will have profound implications for everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well.
I hope that the Scots vote ‘no’. While I would always support independence from an occupying or colonising power, as a general rule I am in favour of devolution within states and more co-operation between them rather than a fragmentation of states.
I stand by a short essay I wrote for my web site six years ago entitled “The Issue Of Nationhood” which you can read here.
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We have a rule in Britain …
August 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
… If it’s a Bank Holiday, it has to rain. It’s almost a law of physics.
Today it’s a Bank Holiday in Britain and – guess what? – it’s raining (hard). I feel particularly sorry for all those involved in the Notting Hill Carnival here in London which is due to have its busiest day today.
We did have consistently hot weather in July, so perhaps we should be grateful. And, unlike northern California this weekend, there’s no question of an earthquake.
Footnote (26/8/14): In terms of rain, it proved to be the worst August Bank Holiday weekend in Britain since 1986 with up to 3 inches (76 mm) of rain in 24 hours. In terms of temperature, London had its coldest August Bank Holiday weekend since records began in 1982 at a mere 17C/63F.
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