BITS & BOBBINS

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When I had finished my 17 thematic posts I found myself still left with a whack of unused photos, some of which might be of interest. So I have included these in this omnibus bits and bobbins post - for the title of which I am indebted to my friend and former colleague, Roger O'Keeffe.

OLD RECORDER'S HOUSE

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This is the Old Recorder's House in the Burg. I have always found it impressive, the more so when I visited Brugge in 2008 and found it had been tarted up as a UNESCO world heritage site (2000/1). I remember gilt from my time in Brugge in 1967/8 but never this gleaming.

HAUTE LECTURE

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This exhibition had only one day to go when I was warned not to miss it. And am I glad I went. It was magnificent.

DE GRUUTHUSE

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Once seen, never forgotten. This is an image which remained with me since my stay in Brugge in 1967/8. At that time I just considered it from an aesthetic point of view and was not much concerned with the history of the building of which it is part.

THE 1666 PLAGUE

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There I was, wandering up SintJorisstraat, for why I can't remember, when I saw this painting on the side of a house at the corner of Poitevinstraat. So I went over for a look.

CLÔTURE 2017/18

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As an ancien of fifty years standing I was very pleased to be invited to attend the Closing of the Simone Weil Promotion 2017/18, albeit by livestreaming.

OUD SINT-JANSHOSPITAAL

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The hospital was founded in 1118 to accommodate "the impecunious sick of both sexes". It was run by brothers and nuns up to 1634, and by nuns alone thereafter. It still served as a hospital in 1967/8 when I was in Brugge but the hospital closed in 1972 and the complex is now a museum and conference/events centre.

HENDRIK BRUGMANS

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Hendrik Brugmans was Rector of the College of Europe in Brugge from its foundation in 1950 until his retirement in 1972. Over these years he left the stamp of his personality on the College.

ONZE-LIEVE-VROUWEKERK

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My guidebook from 1967 says that "the imposing tower (122 metres high) dwarfs all the other spires of the city". Surely this is at variance with what we know of Sint-SalvatorsKathedraal whose spire was raised to assure its dominance when it became the cathedral in 1834. A friend says I should think more deeply on the meaning of the word "spire" but I'm not convinced.

SINT-SALVATORSKATHEDRAAL

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Brugge's cathedral, from 1562 up to 1799 when it was destroyed by the French, was St. Donat's in the centre of town directly across from the town hall. In 1834 Sint Salvators was designated the cathedral giving rise to the need for the building to assert its new status.

JERUSALEMKAPEL

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When I arrived in Brugge, and prior to joining former classmates from the College of Europe for our 50th anniversary dinner, I decided to drop in to the college itself on the Dijver. I had two things in mind. First, just to say hello and register my presence, and second, to compliment them on flying the EU flag the right way up. Not everyone does, as you will see from another post on this blog.

FRIET MUSEUM

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While it was not there when I was in college in 1967/8, I knew from my trip ten years ago that there was a Chip Museum in Brugge. I didn't go in then, any more than I went into the Leprechaun Museum in Dublin. Tourist kitch, I thought to myself.

APOCALYPSE NOW

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This is an absolutely wonderful and really scary set of sculptures in the grounds of the Arenthuis/Groeninge Museum in Bruges representing the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

LEKKERBEKS

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As Suzanne, our resident gastronome, explained, you can get excellent reasonably priced food in Brugge. The trick is to know where you are going and to book in advance.

CHARLES II

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You really never know what is going to catch your eye next when you ramble round Brugge (Bruges).

SINT-JACOBSKERK

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I lived right next door to this church but never remember going in. That was fifty years ago, and this time I made sure to pay a visit. I was back in Brugge (then Bruges), Belgium, for a fiftieth anniversary class reunion at the College of Europe and I had some free time either side of the actual function. I resolved to spend this communing with my former classmates and otherwise blitzing Brugge. I came home with around five hundred photos and it will take me a while to process them and write them up. This post is my first completed post from the trip.

CONFESSIONALS

Sint-Jacobskerk
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The confessional has long been weaponised by the Roman Catholic church. The Protestants don't know how lucky they are, being able to sort out their spiritual lives in a one to one with the Lord himself.

FLAGS

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I have spent the latter years of my life on permanent alert for incorrectly flown flags - well, for two in particular: the union jack and the EU flag.