ECCENTRICS, OBSESSIVES AND FANATICS

simply eccentric through and through. The Belgian Alfred David was one of these. His obsession with penguins gave him recognition far beyond the Brussels suburb where he was known as Monsieur Pingouin. Whenever he left his house he was dressed as a penguin. His home was a ‘penguin museum’ with 3,500 exhibits featuring penguins. There were photos and paintings of penguins everywhere. He had penguin dolls and fig ­ ures made of china, wood, cotton, glass, plastic, metal, cardboard ….

There were cups and plates bearing pictures of penguins and loo paper embossed with their images; lamps and a kettle in the shape and colour of penguins. There were stone penguins mounted on the pillars at his house entrance and a large one in the garden.

Several times a week he would go to the zoo to watch the penguins at feeding time,