Antwerpen part 1

Lets start with the legend of Brabo and Antigoon, no not a 15th century Eurovision song entry but, some say, the origin for the naming of the city.

This greenish chappie below is our hero, Silvius Brabo, a roman soldier. Sorry but I didn't manage to get a picture of his adversary.

A long time ago in a city far far away lived a giant named Druoon Antigoon. He stalked the banks of the river Scheldt which flows through Antwerp and was a major trade route for the city.
Antigoon demanded a toll be paid by the sailors on the Scheldt and if any refused he would cut off their hands as a punishment. (a bit harsh in my opinion but consistent with the times and the code of practice for giants).
Silvius Brabo challenged the giant and finally defeated him. He then cut off Antigoons hand and cast it into the river as an act of defiance.
Hant (hand) werpen (to throw) the act of hand throwing sprung from this legend and after dropping the "H" Antwerpen was named. Or maybe you know different.

Nice statue though. It's also a fountain and was created by Jef Lambeaux in 1887. Thanks Jef.

This is the Cathedral of Our Lady on the other side of the Grand place. Started in 1352 and not completed until 1521. A build time un-equalled until recently with that of Wembley Stadium.

In the small street to the left of the awning is an Irish bar run by a couple of Dublin's finest and the Guinness flowed like, Guinness, hence the none too sharp night shots.

Another side of the square is bordered by these magnificent guild houses.

Although the originals were destroyed by fire in 1576, they were re-built by the town architect, Hans Vredeman. Renovated again in the 19th century, the grandest is number 7 which belonged to the Guild of Archers and is crowned by a gold statue of St George.

Not sure what St G has to do with bows and arrows but there you go.

Behind the Brabo fountain is the Town Hall. Completed in 1564 it was meant to be a Gothic masterpiece but most of the building materials were used to defend against attack from the army of Maarten Van Rossern. (Rumour has it he picked on Antwerp because they spelled Martin in a silly way). I think the Antwerp defenders must have thrown bricks and rubble to repel the invaders and it took them 20 years to collect it all again.

By the time the city was in a more stable financial position the fashions had changed and the gothic style was replaced by renaissance. I'm sure Dive will reflect on the "superposition of Dorian and Ionic columns" but for the rest of us it just looks a little fussy and confused I think.

The two statues either side of the gilded coat of arms are The Lady Justitia and The Lady Prudentia, names worthy of a place in any good Carry-on film. Above them is a Madonna which was placed there by the Jesuits during the counter-reformation to replace a Brabo statue considered "too heathen" for the time.

I think this would be a good one for Dives "Look-up" series.

3 at last

This is just a quickie and a taste of Antwerp. It really is a fantastic place, if a little strange. This is a statue dedicated to the harbour workers who gave so much to build the City economy over the years. Either that or the dodgy folk who worked the docks showing sailors a good time. I think his pose is a little suspect.

The inscription "Arbeid Vrijheid" means Labour = Freedom or, depending on your point of view, "Get it Here Big Boy"

2....

So here we are again, back in Mechelen and looking the other way across the square. The best bit about this place is the absence of cars. When I started coming over about 7 years ago this was full of parked cars, so the council put up the cash and dug it all up, carried out an archaeological dig, built a massive underground car park and re-laid the original pave. You can still get taken out by a fast moving bicycle but it is a nice place to wander. Anyway, this is the view from the Town Hall across to St. Rumbold's Tower and Cathedral.



The first part of the Cathedral was started in the 13th century, around 1217 (just after lunch), and was continually enlarged throughout the 14th & 15th century with work starting on the tower in 1452 (just before afternoon tea).
The tower was to remain un-finished due to financial constraints and the Religious Wars of the 16th century.
As you can see, they still can't afford enough scaffolding to clean it all.



Today the tower stands just over 97 metres high but was originally designed to be 160 metres.
It houses 98 bells weighing in at a slender 80 tons and it all works, I've heard it.
Every Monday evening from June to mid September the bells are rung for an hour and it's very impressive.

Below is a model on display inside the Cathedral which shows the original tower design. (WOW)!!!

The inside is not too shabby either. (WOW again)!!!

Just behind the Cathedral is a smaller square with an excellent Greek restaurant called........ "Zorbas". Honestly.

Nearby is what must be the smallest balcony in the World. I think the pots contain bonsai and cress.

Now, if anyone can tell me what the f*ck this is all about I will send some Belgian choc's.

It is, as you can see, a small shiny cow tied to someones front door.
I am thinking of starting a campaign to find good homes for such unfortunate creatures. It has nothing to eat or drink and it's movement is restricted to the length of the pink string with which it is so cruelly bound.

Or maybe they couldn't afford a dog.

Just to finish this bit here is some fun with paint and half a bug.

Next stop Antwerp and the giants.

Testing, testing.....1

Once in a while my job takes me to various interesting places. I get to take my bro to Silverstone for a full Formula 1 testing session and hospitality with the Jaguar race team, I visit Aston Martin, Mclaren, Bentley, the Mini factory, trips to France, Germany, Malaysia and with luck, Japan and U.S.A. this year if I can swing it.
Once in a while I get to go to Belgium for test and development of paint systems. (Yeeaaahh).

It's been a while since my last visit so it was nice to catch up with the guy's over there.
"There" being Mechelen, a very nice market town half way between Brussels and Antwerp.

So, the sunrise finds us being all "arty farty" with Lizzie's bridge, the majestic Queen Elizabeth II bridge, taken through the windscreen of the car while trying not to crash.

We negotiate the M25 without too much trouble and meet up with Taz at Ashford in Kent.
Taz works for our paint supplier. He is the kindest, most patient person I know.
Born in Pakistan, raised in Kenya and a Muslim, living in England has been interesting for him over the last few years but he takes everything in his stride and has a wonderful sense of humour. He also makes the best spice mix in the world. (Am I right Dive)?
After a hearty English breakfast and a mug of tea, we toddle off to the jewel of the south east. Eurotunnel, a wonderful picturesque setting where we embark on our adventure.

Inspiring don't you think!

At least it's fast. The crossing takes 35 minutes and you drive off the train and onto the main motorway along the French coast which takes us all the way to Brussels. Easy peasy.
The Brussels ring (oh er misses) is a doddle and it is then 30 minutes up the road towards Antwerp and we turn off to Mechelen.

One thing I always notice when driving in Europe, besides them all driving on the wrong side of the bloody road, is that everyone tends to use the lanes on motorways correctly. If they overtake, they then pull back in rather than piss around in the fast lane and clog it up because their ego tells them they are excellent drivers and MUST be in front of you. This is standard practice for most of the wankers who use our roads. (sorry, that's a potential rant for another day).

This is the view from the back of our workshops and lab.
Now I'm no conspiracy theorist but for all those who have seen the movie Men in Black, this looks suspiciously like another not too well hidden spaceship disguised as a water tower. Didn't see any big bugs hanging around though.


Anyway, more about sunny Mechelen.

Anne Boleyn lived there for a bit and the current Mayors name is Bart (eat my shorts) Somers.

This is one end of the wonderfully named Grote Markt' or Town square and all of that is the Stadhuis (Town Hall).
It's actually 3 distinct buildings, one of which you cannot see on this photo for reasons I will explain in a bit.

The oldest part is the Gothic Lakenhalle or cloth hall built from 1320 - 1326 and modelled on the one in Bruges. This was never completed due to the decline in the cloth trade. A huge fire swept through Mechelen in 1342 but this part of the town was not badly damaged and the building has been restored and altered over the years.
In the 16th century plans were drawn up to replace the hall with a new Palace for the Grand Council. This work stopped around 1547 and the Council hung around letting out parts of the building to shop keepers, then buggered off in 1614.
This east wing was eventually finished according to the original plans in the 20th century.
The third part of the building (not in the pic cos it's round the back) is a contentious L-shaped building added in 1975 which contrasts somewhat with it's historic neighbours.


At the western end of the square in front of the Town Hall is this statue. At first I assumed it was to commemorate the joys falling down drunk or lighting farts but the truth is out there.
It is called Op-Signoorke.



Op-Signoorke is the name given to a large carved wooden doll dating back to 1647, which is carried in parades and tossed into the air as it makes it's way through the town.

In July 1775 it was bring carried at the back of a procession and, as it entered St-Katelijnestreet, the doll fell into the crowd of on-lookers. Jacobus de Leeuw, from nearby Antwerp, was in the crowd and as Op-Signoorke fell towards him he raised his arms to protect himself and was subsequently accused of trying to steal the doll.

The enraged townsfolk grabbed the poor bloke, beat him up a bit and took him before the magistrate who jailed him. Jacobus managed to escape soon afterwards and sent a letter of protest to the magistrate. (a letter indeed.....he must have been so pissed with them).

From that time on, the people of Mechelen took precautions to prevent any revenge from Antwerp and Op-Signoorke was kept locked in a large trunk.

On December 7th 1949 Mechelen was shocked to discover that the doll had gone missing. Students from Antwerp, made out to be American tourists, managed to gain access to the Municipal Museum where the original doll is kept and kidnapped it. Op-Signoorke was eventually returned to Mechelen in January 1950. (Silly buggers).

Enough for now. In the next Phlegmy extract we look the other way across the Grote Markt' towards the stunning St.Rumbold's Cathedral and you can try to explain the mystery of the small shiny cow.

Intro

Not much spare time this weekend, Leicester at home to Bath (the old enemy), last weekend of the Six Nations Rugby, first Formula one Grand Prix and St Patricks Day. So I had a pint of Guinness and a Jameson's last night.
Just a quickie before I try to sort out the Belgium stuff, I found the Carrot Museum !!!! so try the link as an introduction to all things Belgian.

Pheewww !!!

That was a busy week. Worked hard, painted lots of stuff, tested lots of stuff, analysed lots of stuff, made a presentation about lots of stuff but didn't get a chance to see lots of stuff as we were so bloody busy.

So this is just a quickie to say that spring sprung in my garden while I was away.........

.......and The outdoor "Bobs" are swimming around like "Mad Jack McMad", winner of last years Mr Madman competition.

Might feature The Bob's when the big old boys are around on the top and I can get some decent pics of them and their indoor relatives.

Will get the process engineers guide to Belgium on the go very soon.

Bad news, nobody I spoke to had heard of the carrot museum so some web searching is in order.

There is, however, a small shiny cow, some ostrich medallions, snails, Giants and the other spaceship from MIB to be considered so watch this space. (in a few days).

Off to the Land of The Phelgms... or are they The Flemmish?

Just a quickie to say I will be bloody glad to get away in the morning for a rest!

Busy time trying to fit in everything I have to do on a normal weekend into Sunday morning as I spent Saturday on a boat trying to catch some pike, and I did,.........which was nice!

Today I had to go to work, pick up a pool car, load all the crap I need for a week of testing in Belgium, get to my mates brewery by 13:00 for his opening festivities and curse the bloody rain.
Why rain today? Mark the brewer gives his used hops to a farmer from down the lane, who in turn feeds it to his piggies. (pigs love hops) The farmer donated one of said piggies in order to have a hog roast for today.
We ate the pig which ate the hops which made the beer. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
There were also some Morris dancers (sill buggers who wear bells, wave hankies around, hit each other with sticks and jump up and down) they also like real ale so that makes it o.k. and lots of free food and beer. Guess who was driving?
Picked up a couple of boxes of bottled beer for home sampling and split them with big bro as he needs his liquids to re-hydrate after his encounters with an exercise bike.
Eventually got home around 15:30, just in time to finish off the washing, then do the ironing, tidy the house in case I get burgled, (I wouldn't want them to rob a messy house), cook dinner, pack and set the alarm for 04:30 tomorrow.

I will try to get some piccies and have an adventure and solve a mystery (darn, I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids) and come home on Friday laden with french wine and Belgian chocolates. I'm sure I will have lots of friends on Monday.