Brussels 30 days Around
in
May 2012 Issue #7
brussels.in30days.eu
Contains some rude words
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JAZZIN’ IT UP BXL STYLE THE END of May is always a special time of year for lovers of jazz, blues, funk and World music - indoors or outdoors - as the mighty Brussels Jazz Marathon comes to town. Held this year over the long weekend of Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27, the 2012 event will be the 17th edition of this hugely popular threeday-and-night-party. What’s more, it’s all free for everyone. There’s also a special matinée for kids, uptown and downtown shuttles and a friendly, swinging, all up-for-it-together atmosphere throughout the city. After nearly two decades, the organisers know exactly what they’re doing so the tried and trusted formula remains the same. So, as usual, during the course of the marathon a range of famous and not-so-famous musicians playing jazz (and many other styles) will
do their stuff on four open-air stages and in a host of clubs and cafes. Chuck in a bit of good weather (start crossing your fingers now) and the scene will be set for a brilliant curtain raiser to the summer. The outdoor stages will be located downtown at Grand’Place, the Sablon and Place Sainte-Catherine with the fourth at Place Fernand Cocq, just five Bite Night minutes’ walk up Chaussée d’Ixelles from Porte de Namur Metro station. Even if it rains, however, it won’t stop the fun thanks to the many indoor venues hosting gigs that are sure to be hot, hot, hot. Venues include Java, El Metteko, Churchill’s, Jazz Station, de Valera’s an Viage...but there are plenty more giving up their space all over the city. Head to the Jazz Marathon website for more programme details here.
Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 2
Open days, job days, food days ...and celebrating the ‘Zinneke’ Brussels celebrates, for the 20th time, the festival of Europe. Organisers promise “a day of surprises in and around the EU buildings”. The day runs from 10:00 to 18:00 and you can find out more by clicking here.
Here at Bxl30Days we’re not totally convinced that many of those working in the Grand Project that is the EU take it too seriously (above and beyond getting the monthly pay cheque, obviously), let alone those that don’t work in it. But for those that are actually interested in the workings of the Beast, it’s the annual Open Doors day at the European Union institutions this month. On Saturday 12 May, the EU quarter of
Now for something a bit more practical than wandering around dusty institutional buildings: Those guys at People To People International (PTPI) are launching a Job Club. For many people in Brussels, the traditional methods of looking for work are not geared towards out-of-the-ordinary roles and circumstances. Or, indeed, to those offering work that’s unusual or different. It’s clear (especially if you’re an expat) that finding a job requires a lot of networking, so PTPI and its small team of volunteers are offering the chance to meet every Thursday as part of its regular coffee morning.
This will be extended to 14:00 (starting at 9:00) and takes place in the airy and comfortable suroundings of the Aloft Hotel, close to Schuman metro. There’s plenty of space, free wifi, sofas to sink into with reading material and refreshment facilities. The first Job Club will take place on Thursday 10 May. For more about the great community work undertaken by PTPI, click here.
The week after the Belgian Pride event (see page 3) we’ve the biennial Zinneke Parade to look forward to. Over two years, Zinneke collaborates with residents, organisations, collectives, schools and artists from different neighbourhoods of Brussels and beyond, while building up to the main event (held on 19 May, this time around). The name derives from that given by locals to the small Senne/Zenne river that circles Brussels, protecting it against flooding, and is also used to refer to a stray dog. Zinneke has since come to mean a person of multiple origin (expats qualify!) and thus symbolises the cosmopolitan and multicultural nature of Brussels. Ours is a city inhabited by Zinnekes who are proud of their mixed roots. And, above all, the parade is a fantastic, colourful and noisy human celebration. Bring your camera.
Book of the Month Find us at: 38 Fossé aux Loupes,1000 Brussels Tel: 02 223 62 23 www.sterlingbooks.be
Time to get cooking as Culinaria comes around again. Sixteen Belgian restaurateurs, all of them Michelin starred, are set to team up for one of Brussels’ biggest foodie events at Tour and Taxis from 31 May-3 June. Exclusive menus, cooking demonstrations, workshops and a food market are all included in the entrance fee. Standard tickets are priced €11-16, with passport tickets costing €43-48. Meanwhile, a VIP ticket will set you back €75-80. Given the quality of the chefs featured at the event, you can rest assured that a night out at any of their restaurants would cost a packet. So, to be honest, the Culinaria prices are not bad at all. More info here.
Page 3 - Around Brussels in 30 days
March if you’re glad to .BE gay The centre of the city will be taken over on 12 May by the 17th edition of the Belgian Pride march, run by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans community (LGBT) and VISITBRUSSELS. 50,000 people took part last year (twice as many than in 2009) making Belgian Pride one of the biggest events in the country. While it’s always a blast (even though it often rains), it’s not all about partying as there’s a political aspect attached. Given that local elections will be held this year, the emphasis of the 2012 event is on citizenship, namely having the goa of increasing the awareness among visitors to Belgian Pride that they have the ability to act in their home towns for the LGBT community. They can do this by using their vote, and by making local candidates aware of the
importance they should be giving to LGBT-related issues across Belgium.
parade and, later, at the Pride Village, where information will mingle with entertainment.
The tag line this year is: ‘Visible Citizens. I want to be! Do you?’ This befits a Belgian Pride event driven more than ever by citizenship and diversity, held in a city about which VISITBRUSSELS has come out and said that it wants it to be Europe’s most gay-friendly capital. It should certainly be friendly enough during the Saturday
Meanwhile, the nearby Bourse area will be the scene of numerous artistic surprises, national and international. Down the years, Belgian Pride has been a powerful instrument, backed by a large community, and leading to the fact that Belgum is a cutting-edge country in respect of LGBT laws. ‘Pride’, indeed.
Boys keep swinging
Brussels girls on top
On arriving in Brussels, it’s hard not to marvel at the architecture of both new and old buildings. And among these fantastic structures, hidden down small cobbled-stoned lanes and alleys, you’ll find a thriving male gay scene. There’s certainly something for everyone to enjoy, from disco bars, such as Boys Boudoir and Homo Erectus, to the ‘bear bar’ Le Baroque. There are also those like La Reserve (the oldest gay bar in Brussels) and San Nicolas - bars that serve a wide range of patrons, both young and old. What they have in common is not only the wide range of beers, spirits and wines on offer but the friendly, polite and helpful staff that will serve you at the bar or to your table. With most able to speak English, as well as French and Flemish, you’ll never be stuck for information or a chance to mix with the locals. If nightclubs are what you’re after, then the first Friday of every month welcomes the club La Demence. People across Europe travel regularly to the Belgian capital for this famous night. You’ll find five floors to explore, incorporating various bars, two dance floors and relaxing rooms offering an escape from all that dancing. With all this going on throughout the city, you’ll soon realise that the Belgians know how to have a good time – and show you one, too. Hats off to them and Brussels.
Now is the perfect time to explore the wide range of LGBT communities in the city. A good place for lesbian and bisexual women to start is the group EGOW (English-speaking Gay Organization for Women). Women of all ages and nationalities meet every last Wednesday of the month at the Rainbow House (42 Rue du Marché au Charbon) to catch up and enjoy a few drinks. Join the chilled and cozy atmosphere, make friends and learn about different events in the lesbian community. There’s also a monthly online newsletter. There are a wide range of parties arranged at various locations around the city. Velvet Sixty Nine is one of the biggest and, for €15, you can dance the night away in an impressive two-storey club and enjoy performances that always ensure a memorable night out. Other groups including L party, Girls in the House, Dykes n Grrrls and Ladyfest run soirées at different locations around the city. For fitness fanatics, Brussels Gay Sport offers the chance to stay in shape through group or individual sports. If relaxing and enjoying a movie or documentary is more your cup of tea, then the annual Pink Screens and Brussels Gay and Lesbian Film Festival should do the trick. Although there is not yet a 24/7 hang-out place solely for lesbian and bisexual women, there does exist a thriving and vibrant community ready to embrace newcomers and visitors alike into the diverse city of Brussels. Kathryn Hussey
Mark Finn
Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 4
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Home is where the art is: urban gypsy gets settled in
A sound like Alex...
Pick of the live listings Bai Kamara Jnr has been around in Brussels for a long time. So long, in fact, that the ‘Jnr’ tag is stretching it a bit. Well, a lot. (OK, we know his dad’s Bai Kamara, too, but he’s got a couple of ‘juniors’ of his own these days.) The point is, what could be left for the self-dubbed Urban Gypsy, the perennial Substitute, the colourful wandering minstrel of Downtown in St Josse to do? Plenty, if his latest CD This is Home is anything to go by. We’ll be honest, having witnessed an absolute stormer of a gig recently at Botanique - ostensibly an album launch, but featuring a fantastic line-up interpreting the CD’s songs plus the best of Bai’s back catalogue in high-octane fashion - we were eager to get the shiny disc on the Bxl30Days deck, only to discover a mellow, acoustic album. WTF?!? So much for the party pants, maestro. And we absolutely hated the single I’m In Love Again - the opening track, of all things. It had all gone badly wrong. But prejudice is a terrible thing, as the man himself will tell you, so we went out for a couple of beers, tumbled back to the turntable and ‘played it again, Sam’ putting aside all memories of cranked-up live sounds (as well as visuals of bouncing bums belonging to babes dancing their lippy off ). The fact is, two days later, that title track could be heard being badly sung by Suzi the stagiaire as she made the coffee and, by the end of the week, the whole office was at it. Singing, that is. Going through the other 11 tracks, the
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stand-outs, for us, are For the Promise of Gold (single material), the rather bitchy When You Were Mine (there’s a downside to shagging musicians), This is Home (gorgeous) and, the final track, It Used To Be (that slide guitar, tears). What Kamara has done here is put together an album of songs with the themes of rediscovery, personal growth, sadness for the world (a Kamara theme down the years), love and support for family and an almost surprised acceptance that, having gone back and come around again, he’s moved forward to a point where: ‘Yep, this is it. This is what I am. This is who I am. This is who you are. This is how it is. This is home.’ Now then, a bit of an aside... Readers who know of the Stone Roses (that’s all of you) will also know of John Squire, that band’s brilliant but arguably nuts guitarist. You may also know that he went on to form The Seahorses (Love is the Law, Blinded by the Sun), having taken on a young singer-songwriter from York named Chris Helme (pictured right). During their time, the band supported The Rolling Stones, U2 and Oasis. After the band split in 1999, Squire disappeared up his own arse while Helme played in and sang with The Yards, which also featured The Seahorses’ Stuart
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Fletcher and ex-Shed Seven guitarist Paul Banks, both also Yorkies. These days, the former busker (and here we have to declare an interest, as the editor has known Helme for years and actually once gave him a quid while he was busking outside Woolworth’s) is a solo artist - albeit with a great backing band - and has just released his latest album The Rookery. The CD is full of Helme’s soulful and sometimes bluesy tunes topped by typically haunting vocals and Bxl30Days is saying here and now that we’ll move heaven and earth to get the lad to Brussels. So watch this space and, meantime, find out more here.
Friday 4 May Churchill’s: Andrew Mavin Saturday 5 May Churchill’s: Dirk de Vriendt Le Sounds: Tony O’Malley and His Band Sunday 6 May Au Sans Nom: Geezer Young Monday 7 May Bizon Jam: Andrew Mavin Tuesday 8 May Ancienne Belgique: Morten Harket (A-Ha) Thursday 10 May (and every Thursday) Music Corner: Jam Session Saturday 12 May Churchill’s: Bai Kamara Jnr Sunday 13 May Bar Rooster’s: Alexandra Maquet & Alain Monday 14 May Bizon Jam: Matt Rose Wednesday 16 May Ancienne Belgique: Thomas Dolby Monday 21 May Bizon Jam: Bob Christopher Friday 25 May Churchill’s: Nicotins Six Nations: Easy Mood Saturday 26 May Churchill’s: Leo and the New Tiki’s Six Nations: Crawlin’ King Snakes Sunday 27 May Churchill’s: Kate Carpenter Six Nations: Matt Rose Monday 28 May Bizon Jam: Madé J Friday I June Ancienne Belgique: Macy Gray Churchill’s: Steve Jones Booking now at Forest National 17 July: Paul Simon 11 September: George Michael All details were correct at the time of going to press. If in doubt, check with the venue before heading to the gig.
Bar Rooster’s, in Rue Grétry at the heart of downtown Brussels, is serving up something special on the night of Sunday 13 May in the shape of talented , young songstress Alexandra Marquet (pictured left) accompanied by guitarist Alain. The duo will be prefrorming cover versions as well as some of Alexandra’s own songs. The swish upstairs cocktail bar (‘The Roost’, as we at Bxl30Days like to call it) is smooth as you like with a laid-back atmosphere and is therefore the ideal spot for an acoustic concert such as this. For a taste of what to expect from Alexandra, we’ve linked to a couple of videos here and here. Enjoy those, and be sure to come along on the night - entrance is free.
Staying with the ladies, now may well be the time to plunge in for your tickets to see funk-soul singer Macy Gray at Ancienne Belgique. As we went to press there were still tix available here. Gray is a gifted songwriter and a dazzlingly singular singer. She’s also a mother of three teenagers and has combined her family life with overturning fan expectation and industry formula since 1999, when she came on the scene with her debut CD, On How Life Is. The classic single I Try came from that album and both the long-player and the single were huge global hits. From there came a career that has (so far) included two Grammys, two MTV awards, sales of more than 15 million units, and a thriving acting career. So, she’s not bad, then...
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Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 6
The Expats: Worth writing home about? With thanks to Sterling Books, this month’s selection is reviewed by Tony Mallett Chris Pavone: The Expats This is the first novel from Pavone, a Brooklyn-raised former book editor who, as well as certainly being able to formulate a plot, is fortunate enough to share an agent with John Grisham. ‘Formulate’ is used advisedly as The Expats is written to an oftplotted, twist-and-turn spy thriller recipe and even the title is a device: the four key characters are not ‘expats’ . Not really. Why? Because Pavone puts them in a cocooned community of mostly American, temporarily displaced, short-term (if slightly bewildered) guests. These are not ‘expats’, sorry. That takes a lot longer and involves stopping whineing about currencies, cultures and languages and actually getting out a bit. But, to be fair, Pavone describes this half-life perfectly as he was a trailing spouse for two years before returning to the States. He is also following the ‘write about what you know’ rule, having lived in Luxembourg and presumably visited Paris often (the book is set primarily in these places) and hung out with trailing US wives for much of his first year. And he’s often amusing about life in a strange land - one early line about the settings on a German oven is genuinely funny. Pavone is also honest about his motivations for welding a spy/crime story onto what could have been an everyday tale of displacement (albeit a civilised one). At a recent reading in Brussels he emphasised that a book that was only about upheaval, multi-coloured baggage, different electricity currents, plus bored housewives drinking coffee, gossiping and shagging their tennis coaches would ultimately have appealled only to these people themselves. He’s right but - hang on - there are a significant number of these who do buy books, so he’s written a spy story...and called it The Expats anyway. Thus are all bases covered. As for the plot, it is revealed as early as chapter two that Pavone’s chief character Kate was once, let’s say, quite nifty with a gun and inclined to ruthlessness. Not only is she hiding the true nature of her former job from her newly Europe-employed computer-geek hubby, but she now begins to think that her spouse is being, of all things, too secretive. Then up pops another couple (American, of course) and, easy as you like, Kate is quickly suspicious of them too.
Readers will already be suspecting that nobody will turn out to be quite what they seem, that there will doubtless be intrigue a-plenty and a few surprises strapped on for good measure. Well, go find out by reading what is a more-than reasonable thriller, its major plus point being a pretty good attempt at dovetailing dark ‘life’ secrets with those that couples often keep from each other. Just be aware that John Le Carré it aint. Nor John Grisham, come to that. And the title sucks, Chris.
For those times when you canʼt do absolutely everything yourself...
Sadie Jones: The Uninvited Guests The author of the much-praised The Outcast, Jones turns her considerable talents to a darkly amusing Edwardian tale of manners, class, snobbery and the supernatural. The household at Sterne has its own issues to deal with (family relationships, the imminent loss of their much-loved home and the eldest daughter’s birthday party) when news arrives of a terrible railway accident nearby. An ever-growing group of displaced passengers takes over half the house, with one of their number foisting himself upon the birthday party. This chap is certainly no gentleman and it soon emerges that he has a separate agenda from the other passengers, who wait impatiently to be moved on. This is a great read full of dazzle, wit and drama. Toni Morrison: Home This will not go down as the best book by any means from the near-Sainted Nobel Laureate although, over the years, she’s made something of a rod for her own back with heavyweight (and stunning) novels on racism in the US. Yet it works. This relatively short and deceptively simple tome is a tight and tense tale of tall, black, 24-year-old Korean war veteran Frank Money who, haunted by his experience and his past, traumatised by his present and treated astonishingly shabbily in McCarthy’s America, leaves the only woman who has ever given him a semblance of calm to head back home to save his sister back in Lotus, Georgia: “The worst place in the world, worse than any battlefield.” With short, sharp scenes that ping out of a nowhere like a shot from a sniper, Morrison brings us a story of unlikely redemption for a once-defeated man who finally finds something that some uf us might call ‘home’ .
Chris Pavone: The Expats €18.15 Sadie Jones: The Uninvited Guests €18.00 Toni Morrison: Home €16.50
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Page 9 - Around Brussels in 30 days
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No more Mr Nice Guy
Colin Moors and James Drew take us through their picks (five apiece) of the worst-best bad guys (and one gal) to have ever (dis)graced the silver screen. Let us know your thoughts, won’t you? Colin’s choices Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in Sexy Beast (2000) The very best thing about Kingsley’s genuinely disturbing outing as a movie bad guy is that it’s hard to shake the image of him as Gandhi. Once you do - and it can take a little while - you realize just how fine an actor Kingsley is to be able to drop what is probably the most popular role he will ever play and get you to believe him as a gangster. Surrounded by hard men like Ray Winstone and Ian McShane, he makes them all look like primary school teachers in comparison. A real force of nature, manipulative, crass and prone to explosive outbursts and spectacular cruelty. Watching tough-guy Winstone cower before him is really a joy to behold. Click here.
Ralph Fiennes as Harry in In Bruges (2008) Lovely, lovely Ralph ‘Raif’ Fiennes. Famous for being, let’s face it, a bit of a pussy. His ever-so-worthy roles in films such as The English Patient (1996), Schindler’s List (1993) and The Reader (2008) have made him the man your mum/wife/SO would go all mushy over, next to Colin Firth, of course. As with Kingsley above, the real draw here is to watch the upper-middle-class softy turn into a shouty sweary monster of a man - and he has some of the best dialogue too. Click here. Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990) Bates is very often good value but none more so than in this part, for which she (deservedly) picked up an Oscar. Annie Wilkes rescues novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) after a car accident, and it appears she is nursing him back to health. After all, as she tells him, she is his ‘number one fan’. However, when she finds out he’s killed off her heroine Misery Chastain in his latest book, things go from bad to
psycho very quickly. Murder, torture and mayhem ensue - but without swearing, because Annie doesn’t approve. Click here. Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987) The son of Spartacus, he isn’t. For me, one of Douglas’s better parts (aside from his delightful turn as ‘D-Fens’ in Falling Down (1993)). He plays Gordon Gekko, the very epitome of everything that was wrong with the 1980s. A manipulative and truly unpleasant man, he sneers, wheedles, connives and back-stabs his way through the movie with an expression that could tun milk sour. With such charming philosphies as ’Greed captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit’ and ’If you want a friend, get a dog’, he sets himself up as a ruthless, cunning demon of a man who worships at the temple of greed. Click here. Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) Of course I was going to pick him. What
did you expect? He not only single-handedly re-invented the public perception of The Joker - particularly for those who have never so much as picked up a comic book or graphic novel - but also brought his true character to life. Forget Cesar Romero, forget Jack Nicholson, this was the real Joker. The mannerisms, the half-smile and the hint of malevolence, even in times of apparent calm, alluded to the torrent of insanity going on behind the mask. There will never be a Joker better than Heath Ledger’s - and you can quote me on that. Click here.
you can have the doll! I’ll give it to you...if you’ll...if you’ll just go and...and... Roat: Yes, Susy? Susy Hendrix: Not hurt me. Roat: Say please. Susy Hendrix: Please. Roat: No, that’s not quite it. Say: ‘Please may I give you the doll?’ Susy Hendrix: Please may I give you the doll? Roat: You may. Click here.
James’s choices
Robert Helpmann as The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) I don’t think I am alone in having been seriously damaged by my first viewings of this at my grandparents’ house over Christmas in the 1970s - Helpmann’s utterly vulpine face and truly scary entreaties (’Lollipops...come along my little ones, lollipops’) would fool no-one, you would think, but Jemima Potts (Heather Ripley) and Jeremy Potts (Adrian Hall) fall into his clutches, at which point cinema’s most terrifying villain *ever* reveals his true intentions. Brrrrr. Click here.
Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988) There’s no doubt about it, cinema villainy changed forever following Rickman’s inspired and chillingly evil take on big-time burglar Hans Gruber who, as everyone must surely know by now, leads his expert team on a mission to liberate $640 million from the Nakatomi Corporation building in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve and, as we also are all by now aware, he hadn’t counted on NYPD cop John McClane (Bruce Willis). John McTiernan’s film is simply a machine and that is also the best way to describe Rickman as Gruber - a sophisticated, educated and merciless monster, as he demonstrates to McClane (who’s watching in hiding) when Nakatomi CEO Joseph Takagi (James Shigeta) refuses to hand over the password to the vaults, and has his head blown off for his pains. Click here. Rutger Hauer as John Ryder in The Hitcher (1986) Please, please, just forget Sean Bean in the same role in Dave Myers’ really rather bad 2007 remake - concentrate instead on just how good Hauer (pictured left) is as the titular force of nature in Robert Harmon’s superb original. Choosing to ignore his mother’s advice that he shouldn’t pick up hitchhikers, young Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) stops for John Ryder in the middle of a storm en route to California. Bemused at first by Ryder’s seeming unwillingness to talk or tell him where he wants to go, things get terrifying for Halsey very quickly as Ryder reveals himself to be a murderous psychopath who has already killed his previous lift and now fully intends to do the same to Halsey. But he wants to torment and torture him first... Neither Halsey nor we ever find out what Ryder’s motivations are and, given that he seems to be very hard to kill, there is the suggestion that he may be something ‘more’ than human. Jim Halsey: [despairing] Why are you doing this? John Ryder: [takes two pennies, places them on Halsey’s closed eyes] You’re a smart kid. You’ll figure it out. Click here. Alan Arkin as Harry Roat Jr. from Scarsdale in Wait Until Dark (1967) I think this is my own contender for best villain ever - as the unwitting mule for a doll stuffed with heroin, recently blinded Suzy Hendrix (a quite superb Audrey Hepburn) is targeted and terrorized by a trio of crooks, led by Roat, who are desperate to get their hands on the stash. The other two are largely harmless, muddling mugs, but Roat is a merciless killer, who will allow nothing, not even a seemingly defenceless blind girl, to stand in his way. And, although Terence Young’s film was not allowed to reveal Roat’s complete intentions towards Hendrix, she is a very attractive woman, and the subtext is quite clear. Susy Hendrix: [trembling] All right, all right you can have it...
Carl Boehm as Mark Lewis in Peeping Tom (1960) And a little sympathy for the devil, to finish - released the same year as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), Michael Powell’s disturbing and heartbreaking take on the voyeur in us all has Carl Boehm (below) at its centre as lonely young man Mark Lewis who can only get his kicks while murdering young women on film, to capture their dying expressions. He got that way as a result of sadistic experiments on him conducted by his father (played by Powell in the film) when he was a young boy into the nature of fear and, as he shows at the film’s tragic end, he is willing to die for his art. Boehm is superb. Click here.
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Scott’s Prometheus here at last Build-ups don’t come much bigger than this. Some ten years ago, Ridley Scott, who directed the world-changing Alien (1979), the first film (and zenith) of the franchise that reached its nadir with Aliens vs Predator – Requiem (2007), indicated that he was very keen on directing a sequel or prequel to his movie. However, seeing the direction that the studios wanted to go, namely the abysmal AVP films, he changed his mind and aborted the project. But his enthusiasm did not abate and, as far as we know before seeing the film Prometheus, the story is set in the same fictional universe as Alien, but is not connected in any way with the rest of the franchise. Scott’s original prequel was supposed to cover the origins of the Weyland-Yutani Company (always referred to simply as ‘The Company’, and which was fully aware of the alien’s existence by the time of the first film, indicating ‘crew expendable’ in its efforts to acquire a specimen). The project was intended to be two separate movies to be set before the first Alien movie,
written by Jon Spaihts and directed by Carl Erik Rinsch, with Scott as producer. However, 20th Century Fox wanted Scott in the director’s chair so much that he eventually accepted under the condition that the script was largely rewritten to reflect the concepts that he wanted to explore. Damon Lindelof was hired, and the resulting film has since been described as being both a prequel and an original story. Exactly how is not yet known but production photos and trailers appear to confirm that the movie has links to Alien that are very much inspired by, if not designed and built by, H.R. Giger, the creator of the original creature. Specifically, the most recent trailer shows footage of space vessels not unlike the Nostromo, an alien spacecraft shaped like the derelict ship and ‘Space Jockey’ creatures from the first film. We will all know soon enough, and Picturenose will have a review in the next edition of Bxlin30Days – Prometheus is released in Belgium on 30 May.
Director Farhadi lands EU award
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The European Commission’s head of Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, will award the first EU MEDIA prize to Iranian director Asghar Farhadi on 20 May at the Cannes Film Festival. Farhadi, known for his films About Elly (2009) and A Separation (2011) - which recently won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, pictured - and producer Alexandre MalletGuy (Memento Films Production) will be awarded the EU MEDIA prize for their new project. This will be filmed in France, and in French, in the Autumn of 2013 and the award will go towards the development costs. “I am proud to give this award to Mr Farhadi for this film project which has a strong cultural identity and illustrates the openness of European culture, which I defend daily,” said Vassiliou , adding: “He gives us a project which is committed and moving in equal measure and above all draws on universality.” Farhadi responded: “In these times when certain politicians are trying to turn the beautiful rainbow of cultural diversity in the world into differences and confrontations, I believe that this...is a very encouraging sign. “ The MEDIA prize is awarded for the best project with box-office potential submitted by a screenwriter and production company.
The work may be fictional, an animated film or a documentary but must be for cinema release. The development costs eligible for support under MEDIA include preparing the scenario, finding the main actors and staff and preparing the financing plan, initial marketing plans and a pilot production. The winner is chosen by independent experts, the European Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). This first EU MEDIA prize also marks the start of a new phase for the MEDIA programme for the period 2014-2020, entitled Creative Europe. Through this, the Commission will attempt to cover all cultural and creative sectors and provide different financing options for professionals in the world of cinema in a specific MEDIA section. The programme is especially intended to help professionals work transnationally and use digital technologies in order to improve circulation of films and other cultural works. With a budget of €1.8 billion for the period 2014-2020, Creative Europe intends to
allocate more than €900 million in support of the film and audiovisual industry and close to €500m to culture. The Commission is also proposing to allocate more than €210m to new guarantee funds intended to cover bank loans up to €1bn granted to small operators.
Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 12
Ten-up for Brussels Film Festival This year, the Brussels Film Festival (BFF) celebrates its 10th birthday, so, from 8-16 June, there will be more than enough to keep intelligent cineastes happy. As the festival’s website says, you don’t always need to travel far to travel the world and, with 50+ films featured this year, BFF is set to take you on an amazing journey. Some will feature in the Official Competition,while others will be much-anticipated premieres, and BFF is also a perfect opportunity to meet up-and-coming directors and favourite actors who will also be in attendance. And, this year, BFF is also welcoming three international masterclasses, featuring Peter Aalbaek, the producer of Lars von Trier, Jean-Michel
Bernard, the appointed composer of Michel Gondry, and Peter Greenaway. We’ll have more news on what you can expect at the festival in our next edition. Flagey Place Eugène Flagey 1050 Brussels
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Over-rated actors: Five of the worst
Bozar 23 Rue Ravenstein 1000 Brussels Tel: 02 762 08 98
En route... In Brussels cinemas soon: Out now The Cabin in the Woods Good things are being whispered about this – it’s a first directorial effort by Drew Goddard (who wrote the simply marvellous Cloverfield (2008)), and is apparently a clever riff on the unknown-things-lurkingin-the-woods, with five friends getting a lot more than they bargained for. Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison star. 95 mins. 9 May Dark Shadows And this is set to be an absolute riot – director Tim Burton and his wunderkind Johnny Depp reunite in the remake of the hoary old Dan Curtis TV series House of Dark Shadows (1970) – vampire Barnabas Collins, who has been imprisoned since 1752, is set free and returns to his ancestral home in 1972, to find it lying in ruins and his descendants faring little better...strange, as the tagline puts it, is relative, and Picturenose would be very surprised if this is not a belter. 113 mins. 16 May The Dictator Sacha Baron Cohen’s in it, what’s not to like? Cohen plays General Aladeen, who is desperate to ensure that democracy does not come to the country he has so lovingly oppressed. Larry Charles, who made Borat (2006) and Bruno (2009) directs so, again, what’s not to like? 105 mins. 23 May Men in Black 3 On the other hand, we’ll all be very surprised if this is worth the price of admission – a second sequel to one of the most over-rated franchises of the 1990s, this sees an alien criminal killing Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) in 1969, altering the timeline, changing ‘The Agency’ and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time... 106 mins. 30 May Cosmopolis Based on the book by one of America’s finest writers, Don DeLilo, this is a simply marvellous choice of project by director David Cronenberg, who is himself one of the few auteurs still working in US cinema. Robert Pattinson plays Eric Packer, a 28-year-old billionaire whose life starts to crumble around his ears when he takes a stretch-limo trip across town to get his hair cut. Watch and marvel. 108 mins. Plenty of reviews are always available on Picturenose. See you next time!
Colin Moors kicked off in the previous issue with his picks of the five most under-rated actors. This, then, is a balance piece from our man. There are actors whom I love and those I dislike quite a bit for reasons I shall describe below. I’m not going to pick on the ‘middle of the road’ set, of which there are many - those whose career swings from wow! to whoa! in two movies, no, I’m going to clear the decks and get off my chest those five who bug me the most. I won’t include Angelina Jolie because, well, that’s a given, isn’t it? Catherine Zeta-Jones (above): Good looks and an ample bosom do not a good actress make. They may help on the casting couch but that’s not a rumour I’m about to start. Famous for her starring role in ‘The Wedding of Michael Douglas to a Woman Quite Frankly Out of His League’ and also as the feisty foil to Antonio Banderas in the The Mask of Zorro (1998), CZJ has all the acting talent of a roll-top desk. I can’t comment about her Oscarwinning showing in Chicago (2002) as I have a deep loathing of musicals. Unfailingly wooden, she creaks her way through a number of unmemorable films, capping it off with probably the most unwatchable film of 2004, The Terminal. Hugh Grant: Hugh’s the kind of guy I’d really like to be able to like. I mean, there’s not much about his personality I don’t actually find amusing, from his ability to laugh at himself to his somewhat eclectic choice of partners for the game of ‘hide the sausage’. He is, however, a bit of a nuisance as an actor. He hit on the bumbling charmer routine pretty early in his career and - with the exception of maybe Love, Actually (2003) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) - has relentlessly pursued the perfection of the character ever since. I really, really hope he can redeem himself in the upcoming The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Jack Black: Yeah, I’ve finished with the Brits, and I’m taking on the US now.
Come get some! Black, for me, consistently fails to deliver anything other than some slightly overweight guy overacting things he’s cast in. Tropic Thunder (2008) is a superb case in point. An awful, awful, comedy - less funny than Pineapple Express (2008) even - was dragged down further by Black’s inability to do what he was paid for - to make with the funny. 2008 was not a particularly good year for comedy. Films are either written around or by him in order to exploit his baffling popularity as a ‘comic actor’. Kung Fu Panda (2008) is OK. Burt Reynolds: Yes, you read that right. As with Mr Grant previously, I’m sure he’s a perfectly charming guy and a thoroughly good companion for scotch and cigars but boy, do the majority of his movies suck. Seriously - aside from his sterling performance in John Boorman’s classic Deliverance (1972) and his expert portrayal of the sleazy Jack Horner in Boogie Nights (1997) - he has had his feet on the handlebars and coasted through his career. From the Smokey and the Bandit efforts to The Cannonball Run (1981), he has stuck to playing a good ol’ boy trying to outsmart the bumbling hick cops in America’s south. Hell, even Clint Eastwood made a better fist of it. From dubious appearances in the Flipper TV series to career lows such as Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business (1999), I keep thinking he looked at the pay cheque and not the scripts. A man’s got to eat, but there is a limit. Jennifer Aniston: Where to begin? She seemingly does everything possible to provide the complete antithesis to what an actor should be. While not blessed with the curves of CZJ she provides the very model of what a female actor should not do as she simpers and twitters her way through an endless production line of utterly shit movies. I’m surprised the US feminist movement isn’t at her door with pitchforks and portable gallows. Name me one film she’s been in that’s been anything more than watchable by virtue of the fact there’s nothing on the telly. Go on. See? She tried to shed her sweetness-and-light image playing a dentist sexually harassing her hygienist in the stultifying Horrible Bosses (2011) but I reckon people had stopped caring by then. I know I had.
Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 14
Page 15 - Around Brussels in 30 days
Brussels bars with balls From Friday, 8 June 2012 to Sunday, 1 July football fans are in for the four-yearly treat that is ‘the Euros’. And, like every city in the known universe, Brussels has plenty of bar owners more than happy to let you watch the action unfold. The tournament, featuring 16 teams for the last time (it will rise to 24 in 2016), will take place in Poland and Ukraine, as UEFA heads the furthest east yet for its 14th competition. And, although Belgium failed to qualify due to the fact that they’re somewhat crap - Brussels is such an international city that rustling up fans to stand in front of pub tellies toting pint pots will not be an issue. Many of the bars will be rammed regularly with dedicated followers of France, The Netherlands, Germany, England, Ireland, Italy and, of course, holders and world champions Spain. Also in the mix are Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and the two host nations. That’s pretty much as near to a pan-European party as you’ll get anywhere this summer. So, where to watch it? One of the many expat pubs that will be doing a roaring trade during the Euros is O’Reilly’s. This is the city’s biggest Irish bar and enjoys a prime location opposite the Brussels stock exchange (‘Bourse’ in French and ‘Beurse’ in Dutch). As well as a big area downstairs, there’s a large mezzanine space plus a small terrace overlooking the busy Boulevard Anspach. Soccer-watchers can get food pretty much all day while around a dozen screens (including two whoppers) provide plenty of opportunity to view the action. A little out of town, de Valera’s – which celebrated its fifth birthday in March of this year - is one of the best of the ubiquitous bunch of Irish bars in the city and is located on Place Flagey, close to the lakes of Ixelles. Food is available all the time amid genuine Irish memorabilia, flagstones, pulpits and pints of Guinness. This is not
a massive pub (although it does have a big terrace) and, arguably, has too many screens for its size. But the footie fans won’t care a jot. Back downtown you’ll find a fairly new bar called Rooster’s. Something of a one-off, this place is a disco/karaoke/ladies’ night bar after about 10pm, drawing the bright young things of Brussels who like to party until the wee, small hours – many in the fantastic cocktail bar upstairs (pictured). During the day, however, it has more of a pub atmosphere and, once Euro 2012 begins, it will become a shrine to football showing every game on its multiple screens (on both floors) plus at least one big screen that the owners have assured us they’ll be adding. A good-sized terrace with excellent views to a couple of the screens inside promises to work nicely should the sun ever deign to shine in June. Just 15-or-so metres away from Rooster’s is Six Nations which, coincidentally, opened a few weeks earlier than its neighbour (in March 2011). While primarily marketed as a rugby bar (hence the name), this English-style pub welcomes sports fans in general and will
doubtless draw its own hefty crowds for the footie. It’s not huge, but it certainly feels roomy enough with its pavement terrace to the front and sliding window/ doors that will be open in summer. There’s enough screens to keep the punters engaged and, if you can grab a table, the food on offer is way above normal pub standard. Finally, for now, up in the European Quarter close to the European Parliament on Place du Luxembourg, you’ll find Fat Boy’s. For several years, this American-style bar had pretty much zero competition (with the exception of O’Reilly’s and a couple of others) but the times-they-are-a-changin’ and now every bar on the square, as well as across town, will have fancy flat screens, Euro deals and honorary sports-bar status. That said, the atmosphere in this dedicated sports bar is second-to-none, its burgers are the best in town and it’s something special to witness a terrace so packed for major games that punters spill out on to the road clutching plastic cups. Fat’s is noticibly more expensive than even the city-centre bars we’ve mentioned - but what price all that excitement, eh?
Euro 2012 co-hosts to upset the usual suspects? Er, no... Mike Moscrop puts his neck on the line with some early predictions for those fancying a punt at Euro 2012. Group A Firm favourites to advance in the top spot of Group A are Russia. They’re in good form and any punter wishing to stick a wedge down on them winning the group would be good for his or her dough. Don’t expect fireworks, but they’ll win the group. Poland’s strong performances over the past few matches have given the co-hosts hope of qualification. There’s talent there and it shouldn’t be imossible for Poland to make it through, albeit in second place. As for the Czech Republic, how the mighty have fallen. The Czechs are no longer the force they once were, but there’s still talent enough to take the fight to Poland or Greece for that vital second spot. And what of the Greeks? Can they repeat the magic of Euro 2004? Of course not. This squad is nowhere near good enough compared to that Europe-conquering team. They might scrape through, but if they do it will be a fluke. Group B The ‘group of death’ is going to be tough. Germany’s clash with The Netherlands could provide the match of the tournament, even this early. Both sides’ young guns could prove pivotal to success, and only a very brave punter would bet against these two phenomenal powers advancing. They might rise and dip between first and second as the group stage progresses, but make no mistake, these two will go through. That’s not to say that there’s no other talent in the group. Both Denmark and Portugal are worthy opponents and will put up a fight against both the favourites. But when all is said and done and the smoke of the Eastern Front is cleared, neither the Danes nor the Portuguese have the tools to dispatch the mighty German and Dutch youngsters.
Group C Another big crunch tie sees Italy and Spain dishing it out in Group C. You wouldn’t want a bet against Spain making it a hat-trick of successes (being current Euro and World champions), but the Italians might have something to say about that. Disappointing of late they may have been, but weak they are not. The Spanish have foundered several times over the last year, proving that they can indeed be beaten. Much like Group B, it would appear to be a two-horse race but, if Italy or Spain lose a game, there could be a chance (albeit a slim one) for Croatia or Ireland to pip them at the post. OK, it’s unlikely, but whacking a couple of euro down on the Irish wouldn’t be too bad an idea for an outside bet. Stranger things have happened... Group D And so to the perennially underachieving Three Lions. Where do they stand? England could have been handed a tougher group, and obviously England and France are the favourites to advance. But you have to wonder, given previous displays, whether Les Bleus and/or the lions will choke again. England now have a fresh manager and will be taking baby steps to recovery, as will the French after their even more shambolic World Cup. Ukraine may be co-hosts but there just doesn’t seem enough quality there to get them a place in the quarters. Sweden, on the other hand, have had a good qualifying session, though the concern for the Swedes is star player Ibrahimovic. He just doesn’t seem to perform in a yellow and blue shirt, does he? Naturally, if England or France bugger it up, the Swedes will be waiting to pounce. But, as for Ukraine, I can’t see them getting through. Sorry, guys.
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Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 16
Dining in the lap of luxury
‘It’s the foodie bit, dahling...’
Breakfast of champignons By Daphne Wayne-Bough Brunch is a portmanteau word which fuses ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’ and is basically a combination of a late breakfast with an early lunch. It’s eaten usually on a weekend, between 10:30 and 12:00, has a wider repertoire than simple breakfast and is eaten in a more leisurely fashion. One goes out for brunch, whereas it is merely a late breakfast when eaten at home. Brunch is generally thought of as an American concept. New York Sun reporter Frank Ward O’Malley allegedly coined the phrase in the early 20th century, based on the typical mid-day eating habits of a newspaper reporter. However, the Oxford English Dictionary says the term was coined in Britain by Guy Beringer as early as 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for “Saturdaynight carousers”.
Standard brunch dishes should have overtones of luxury and indolence – smoked salmon, cream cheese, freshly squeezed orange juice, maybe a light shaving of truffles – and/or comfort food, such as porridge or scrambled eggs, to soothe the pounding head and jaded palate from a night of hard partying. Cornflakes are way too noisy. A divisive question on brunch is - alcohol or not? On a hungover Sunday morning, a hair of the dog is sometimes de rigueur. If you must, a Bloody Mary is perhaps acceptable. However, the French attitude to brunch, which starts with an aperitif, continues with wine, and finishes on a digestif, is sort of missing the point. ‘Champagne brunch’ is a standard Sunday treat in posh hotels, sometimes accompanied by jazz, deemed as musical Nurofen for serious partygoers. For a pleasant jazz-free Saturday
chillout or Sunday brunch after a mooch around the flea market at Place Jeu de Balle or the antiques market at Sablons, the big hotels offer top-class brunches at top-class prices: Café Wiltcher’s at the Conrad will set you back a stonking €65, which won’t do your hangover any good at all. Here are a few more reasonable suggestions: Le Pain Quotidien Without a doubt the best bread shop in Brussels, if not Belgium. All-day breakfast is served at the big communal table or at smaller tables in its nine Brussels restaurants, several of which have an outside terrace. PQ brunches are healthy and organic, and their range of products to eat in or take away has now expanded to the point you could almost do your weekly shop in there. Trendy and slightly expensive, extremely popular with expats. Now gone global I stumbled across a branch in Los Angeles. Chez Rachel A smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel is in my top five breakfast/brunch specials. Usually open most days until 16:00 and Thursday to Sunday until 22:00. Quiet gay-friendly place off the main tourist drag downtown.
If you must have a drink with brunch, a Bloody Mary is probably acceptable Chez Franz Popular local bar at the Uccle end of Saint-Gilles serving beer, home-made lemonade, cocktails and brunch Saturday and Sunday. Open every day 8:00 to midnight. L’Orangerie du Parc d’Egmont Behind The Hotel on Boulevard de Waterloo near Porte de Namur, on the edge of a lovely park with al fresco dining in fine weather. Posh brunch served between 11:00 and 15:30 on Saturday and Sunday. Impress the in-laws.
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Page 17 - Around Brussels in 30 days
Les Halles des Tanneurs Art deco cultural space near the Sablons, €25 all-in buffet brunch with wine on Sundays only. Handy for antique-hunters. La Britannique The posh catering co hosts a restricted brunch on Sundays in Forest. Join a handful of initiates and chef Alex. Restaurant opening soon. Read more of Daphne’s gourmet gallivanting at her food blog Daphne’s Dinners
By Martin Banks Opened in 1895, the Hotel Metropole sits in the heart of the historic centre of Brussels, a few minutes from both Grand’Place and the Bourse. This famous old hotel offers guests one of the most imposing interiors in the city, plus a fantastic restaurant, L’Alban Chambon. This is named after the interior designer who conceived the unique décor. The restaurant is in Italian Baroque style with gold, glittering chandeliers and leather sofas. It was redesigned ten years ago by Chantal Geerinckx and the large and bright dining room emphasises the fittings. Check out the stainedglass windows. The adjacent bar , Le 31, decorated in a unique ‘End XIX-Contemporary’ style, is just as impressive and ideal if you just want to relax for a drink or two a few steps from bustling Place de Brouckère . But back to the restaurant, which has a terrific and mouth-watering menu with all the dishes
carefully prepared by the award-winning and highly acclaimed chef, Dominique Michou. It’s ideal for that special occasion treat, with prices starting at €30. Apart from classics such as smoked salmon, foie gras, sole meuniere petit bateau and chocolate mousse, the menu is adapted every two or three months according to the seasons. Michou was born in the city of Joan of Arc, but his journey to the self-proclaimed capital of Europe has taken him to Paris, London and Strasbourg. He has proved throughout his career that the secret of good cooking is defined by the implementation of outstanding products. Bottom line, if you’re looking for something a bit different from the ordinary, then this is a touch of luxury at a relatively modest price. Its unique position, the elegance of the interior, the service, the extensive wine cellar and, of course, the excellent food make it a real gem as befits its status as a Brussels institution. If you don’t fancy a meal but still want to drop
by the hotel, the other equally fun option is to have a drink on the terrace or at the bar inside. Restaurant L’Alban Chambon Hotel Metropole 31, Place de Brouckère Brussels Tel: 02 217 23 00
A vine romance
Global Grapes is one of the most refreshing additions to the Brussels wine appreciation scene in years, and Louis Hersom and his colleagues certainly know how to run a good wine-tasting, writes James Drew. Twenty (count ‘em) little numbers were made available to your faithful scribe during Louis’ most recent oenological orgasm, which took place over a recent weekend. Readers will doubtless be relieved to hear (as my girlfriend definitely was) that I did not sample all 20, which was probably a very good idea, as Louis was as generous with his measures as he was with the sumptuous selections of fine charcuterie, cheeses and other delicacies that were perfectly attuned to the wines he was offering. However, it is a source of some regret that I missed out on the 14 I did because, if they were anywhere near as appetizing as the six I did try, I obviously missed a treat. In order of tasting, then, with three scintillating sparklers to start, here are my thoughts: 1. Cave de Hunawihr Brut - A pleasantly acerbic, refreshing bubbly, with a lot more fruit than you might think. €11.90 2. Cave de Hunawihr Blanc de Noirs - Notes of pear and even marzipan, a full and rich taste. €11.90 3. Cave de Hunawihr Rosé - Wonderfully sharp flavours, not at all what you’d expect from a rosé. €11.90 4. DSR Rousanne Barrell Sel - Very full flavoured white, almost a fruit overdose, perfect when perfectly chilled for long summer days. €11.49 5. Ziegler Gewurtstraminer - Smoother than usual with Gewurtstraminer, and not as sweet, but loses a little in the back flavour. €10.90 6. Careglio Barbera d’Alba - And a real big daddy to finish. A huge red, perfect with meats and cheeses (of which I was served ample), with an excellent leather nose and peppery, blackurrant notes. Yum, yum. €9.85 And that’s all until next time, folks – Global Grapes holds regular tastings, the next ones being on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 June, both from 15:00-19:00. You should make every effort to put yourself on his guest list! To order wines from the guys, click here. Wine lovers can also sign up for the newsletter. Meanwhile, keep up with latest offers and other news on Facebook and Twitter.
The perfect venue for your party: Upstairs in ‘The Roost’! Call 02 201 36 56
Or come and join us for... Sports * DJs * Cocktails * Karaoke * Ladies’ Nights...and more
In the heart of downtown Brussels: Bar Rooster’s, 79 Rue Grétry, B-1000 Follow us by clicking here on Facebook and Twitter Email: brusselsroosters@gmail.com
Page 19 - Around Brussels in 30 days
Tippler’s ‘Notes on the Back of a Beermat’
Bar-related musings from our (award-winning) man in the corner
Well, it’s May all of a sudden and here we go with the Marching Season. OK, it’s not quite the same as those Orange jobbies that set the Paddies on edge - we go more for ‘rainbow’ in Brussels. That’s a colour scheme covering a lot of bases (pink among them) and one that arguably pisses off more people than the Prods, albeit without the Great Annoyed feeling the need to grab sticks, knives, guns and other implements designed to make participants go ‘Ouch, ya bastard! That fucking hurt!’ Tippler’s mate Denzil is normally too preoccupied to give out more than a ‘Pah! Bloody ponces!’ when it comes to gazillions of guyliner-wearing gay boys, loose-limbed lesbians and tarted-up trannies gallumphing down the high street of a Saturday afternoon. This because he’s usually ensconced in front of a big telly at The Oirish watching 22 men in very short shorts kick a ball around. You will doubtless draw your own conclusions. Another mate, though, Deaf Bob, has an altogether different view. While being an otherwise decent bloke, on certain topics Bob is to tolerance what Denzil’s dangler is to a girl’s naughty bits: never the twain shall meet. His view of the Belgian Pride march, for example, is this: “I can put up with the existence of arse bandits and carpet munchers (he can’t) but they’ve got their bloody rights sorted now, have had for years, so why can’t they stop poncing about, stop banging on about it, stop blocking the bloody streets and just leave it?” Any argument along the lines of “well, actually, in some parts of Belgium/the world/the universe their rights are still being ignored,” is likely to fall on deaf ears. Well, obviously. God only knows what Yer Man will make of the Zinneke Parade
a week later, when residents of this beautiful mongrel city gather together to celebrate cultural diversity. The kind of diversity that can only come about through immigration. It’s a sore point and Deaf Bob won’t hear a word in favour of it. Again, obviously. But he’s a good lad who gets his round in and, let’s be honest, it’s bloody funny getting him to shout when we all pretend that it’s too loud in the bar to hear a word of what he’s ranting on about. Anyways, Tippler Towers just happens to be slap-bang downtown, with the inevitable result that noisy marches, police and ambulance sirens plus pissed-up punters puking in the streets at 3:00 are all par for the course. Part of life’s rich vomit- and/or rainbow-coloured tapestry, in fact. So, come to that, is seeing girls kissing each other. This happens so frequently a few streets away that relocation may well be in order. A bit nearer to the action, obviously. No, what gets your correspondent’s goat - in fact the whole friggin’ farmyard - is big football matches involving (usually) Italian and Spanish teams shown live - and ‘free’ - down the pub. What happens is this, lovers of the beautiful game such as Tipps, Denzil, Deaf Bob and Sam J Weerd turn up at some palais de libation, only for the way to the bar to be blocked by three-times-a-year footie ‘fans’ talking bollocks, wearing too-tight pants and, get this, NOT drinking. It’s possible that the ‘tight pants’ bit may be more an Italian than Spanish thing but the fact remains that many southern Europeans cram the pubs, get in the way of real drinkers and fail to buy a drink themselves. They are way worse than any marchers and should be charged on the door (to be redeemed against a beverage). Alternatively, we all pop ‘round their place, turn on the TV...and block the bloody door.
Tip your hat to Le Chapeau Blanc By Martin Banks If you thought typical Brussels brasseries were on the way out, think again. Le Chapeau Blanc is a terrific example of the genre with a great, classic brasserie interior to match the wonderful food. Being so close to RSC Anderlecht - Belgium’s most famous soccer club - it is easy to use football metaphors but, really, it would be hard to find a match for this eating establishment. Having opened originally as a cafe a century ago, it has been run as a restaurant for 25 years and features all the traditional dishes you’d expect, including delicious scampi, fish soup, carpaccio and croquettes for starters, plus the likes of kidneys, fish and steak for mains. Other popular dishes, such as jambonneau with choucroute and various steaks also feature. Rest assured - all are very tasty. One to look out for is the Plateau du Chapeau Blanc, an
enormous dish, including shrimps, oysters and mussels, which is served for two people and priced at €120. Other than that whale of a platter, the house specialities are waterzooi and spare ribs. And, alongside, you’ll also find an extensive wine list. The lunch menu, which operates from Monday-Friday, offers a starter and main for just €8.50. The upstairs area, which like the restaurant-proper seats up to 75, is regularly used for functions, such as one-man shows. Coming up is one by Johnny Cadillac, the well-known Jonny Halliday tribute. That’s on 15 June. Everything is expertly overseen by Michael Sturbois, who started as a barman and has rapidly risen to become the manager. Michael has worked at some of the best restos in town so he knows a thing or two about fine dining. To once again use footie phraseology, if you’re looking to score from a good culinary night out then make Le Chapeau Blanc your goal.
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A warm welcome to our community: The ‘Capital of Europe’ is a bubbling melting pot of cultures, businesses and associations. There are people from each corner of the world and every walk of life living and working in Belgium. This makes our chapter an ideal organization to connect the dots and offer people a space to develop friendships while building strong communities. Our chapter offers activities for adults, youth and children and incorporates the work previously carried out by PeopletoPeople Belgique and Europe’s Children Our Concern. We now have a new website at www.ptpi.be We are a member-driven community, making use of some volunteer and some paid-for human resources. We take full advantage of the traditional tools of business and technology, and are designed to operate as a cooperative. We host regular events and activities. These can be found on our Meetup page.
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