Around Brussels in 30 Days #9 by Tony Mallett

Brussels 30 days Around

June 2012 Issue #9

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Contains some rude words

Café society in full Couleur FEW FESTIVALS combine the finest World music with the best of European football, but Couleur Café will be doing just that. As if three days (29/30 June and 1 July) of magnificent music and partying were not enough, a big screen will be in place for the Euro 2012 Final on the Sunday evening. Couleur Café, based at the sprawling Tour & Taxis site, has built a huge reputation since its first edition back in 1990. Offering urban sounds to include R ‘n’ B, hiphop, world, dubstep, afro, soul, reggae, ragga, dub, dancehall, reggaeton, latin, salsa, rock, electro and more, the event is rightly legendary in Belgium and beyond. Reflecting the cultural mix of its Brussels home, it also provides an art exhibition, 50 world kitchen stalls, a flea market, dance classes, brass bands and a Solidarity Village. Yep, it’s got the lot and, as well as keeping up with the times culturally and musically, it’s bang-up-to-date environmentally too.

For several years, the festival has worked hard on sustainable development by bringing down its carbon footprint. In 2008, this equalled 345 hectares (1,415 football fields or the annual footprint of 61 inhabitants of Belgium). Food, waste and transport made up 80% of that amount. Since then, Couleur Café has been working annually to lower the figure, through strict Bite controls on sorting and Night recycling. This year, while again working with an Ecofest advisor, the organisers have 300 environmental volunteers onsite for two weeks plus a ‘maximum sorting’ policy that even includes two large sorting zones in the backstage area. Also, every meal will be served with 100% biodegradable cutlery, using organic materials and alternative energy. You can find out more about the festival here and view a full list of artists on Page 3 of this issue. Hope to see you all there!

Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 2

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Couleur Café listings

Art’n Bloom!, African chic, apéros and more This Saturday, 23 June, sees the latest Art’n Bloom! event at the Hotel Bloom! near La Botanique. For this ‘On the cover’ edition, all rooms on the ﬁrst ﬂoor will have unique works of bed-cover art, many designed by the young artists who created the original hand-painted frescoes in the rooms in 2008, when the hotel opened. The event takes place from from 16-21:00 and entry is just €5. An after party will end the night in the hotel’s cool bistro, SmoodS, with DJ TANG E spinning the sounds. Bxl30Days will be there, too, as we’re staying the night to review the hotel for our next issue. Woo! More info here. Staying all ‘arty’ for the moment, up-andrunning right now is an expo called ‘L’Afrique c’est Chic!’ (see photo, top right). The award-winning, talented and inspiring artist Ingrid Baars combines two opposing worlds by playing with the contrast between classic African art and contemporary creation. The exhibition runs until 9 September at the Fine Art Studio at 13, Rue des Sablons, 1000 Brussels.

And yet more art: Sense of Place is the pivotal exhibition of the Summer of Photography, which takes place every two years. The 2012 expo brings together some 160 landscape photos by more than 40 contemporary European photographers, among them Olafur Eliasson, Carl De Keyzer, Elina Brotherus, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Marianna Christofides, Andreas Gursky and Massimo Vitali. The theme of this year’s Summer of Photography is landscape photography and Sense of Place focuses on the similarities and differences across Europe, both in the landscapes and in the attitude of people towards them. It runs until 16 September at Bozar, Rue Ravenstein. You can tell that summer’s (almost) here as the Apéro Saint-Gilles is back. Both ‘urban chic’ and organic, each Friday from 22 June until 31 August offers a musical evening plus drinks in the wooded surroundings of Place M. Van Meenen in front of the Maison Communale. Each event sees five hours of meeting, greeting and partying from 17:00. More info here.

Fancy helping out the community with a bit of volunteering? Well, there’s never a dull moment when you join up with those cool guys at Serve the City. From 30 June to 7 July, the organisation will be getting stuck in for Big Volunteer Week (BVW) across Brussels, with a street party thrown in on the last day. Activities you can help with include ‘Game On’, ‘Clean and Green’ plus ‘Arts & Crafts’ and you can register and get more info here.

Pick of the live gigs Thurs 21-Sunday 24 June Fête de la Musique Friday 29 June- Sunday 1 July Tour & Taxis: Couleur Café (see top right)

Friday 29 June Titan stage: Psy4 De La Rime/ Magic System/ Jessie J/ Erykah Badu Univers stage: Collie Buddz & New Kingston/Nas/Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings/Lee Perry & Omar Perry alongside Adrian Sherwood & The HomeGrown Band Phoenix stage: Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar/Imany/Tinariwen/Joshua Move stage: Sarah Ferri/Excitements/ OPMOC/Son Of Kick Dance Club: Workshops from 17:45 until 23:15 then DJ Radio Desperado Saturday 30 June Titan: Admiral T/Gentleman/ De La Soul/ Sean Paul Univers: Caravan Palace/Le Peuple de l’Herbe/Ruzzo & Roldan (Orishas)/

Chinese Man/The Subs Phoenix: La Chiva Gantiva/ Beverly Jo Scott/Jali/ Bomba Estéreo Move: Kaer/Sarah Carlier/ Asham meets Collieman/ DJ LumberJahk/Mokoomba Dance Club: Dance workshops from 16:45 until 23:15 then DJ GrassMat Sunday 1 July Titan: Zebda/Gogol Bordello/Ben l’Oncle Soul/Stephen Marley Univers: Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® feat. Omara Portuondo/ Brigitte/ Ayo/Public Enemy Phoenix: Sebastian Sturm/The Peas Project/Childish Gambino/Hypnotic Brass Ensemble/General Elektriks Move: Madé J/Joshua Alo/Les Boukakes/ DJ Gaetano Fabri ft. Renaud Crols Dance Club: Dance workshops from 16:45 until 22:45 then Kumbia Beats.

Friday 29 June Churchill’s: Dirk de Vriendt Thursday 5-Sunday 8 July Les Ardentes, Liège Friday 6-Saturday 7 July Cactus, Bruges Friday 6-Sunday 8 July Rock Zottegem - with Human League, Alanis Morissette, the Cult, Sepultura and Soulﬂy www.rock-zottegem.be

● Expatriates coaching - making Expats feel at home ● Helping you to establish a new life ● Smoothing the integration process ● Partner support ● Strategies to carry on your own career ● Family support ● Preparing for the return home

Friday 6 July Churchill’s: Steve Jones Saturday 7 July Churchill’s: B-Sides Booking now at Forest National 17 July: Paul Simon 11 September: George Michael

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All details were correct at the time of going to press. If in doubt, check with the venue before heading to the gig.

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Rock of (Middle) Ages…

By Bxl30Days rock writer Sir Edward Carson One of the beneﬁts of living here is that, for a small country and population, Belgium punches well above its weight when it comes to summer festivals. Rock Werchter, Pukelpop and Graspop have world-class line-ups year on year and there are a whole slew of smaller themed festivals catering to most tastes from techno to rhythm and blues. One of the punchiest festivals, Werchter Boutique, was held during the last long weekend in May. Featuring heavy metal’s royal family, Metallica, with reunited 90s grunge band, Soundgarden and resurrected 90s Belgian heavyweights, Channel Zero – the festival was targeted at me: just-turned-40, not interested in camping for three days any more, but happy to reminisce about the ‘golden age of rock’ that everyone remembers their 16-25 year-old life as being. So, clutching my Bxl30Days platinum credit card (yeah, right - Ed), I stumped up €75 for a ticket and hoped it wouldn’t rain. The show itself was a sell-out – 55,000 middle-aged (mostly) men, reliving the heady summer of ‘93. There was a greatlooking stage, but if you wanted to get close, you needed to buy a ‘black circle’ ticket for an additional €40. I was happy to stay back and sip my drink, hoping the booze would, miraculously, substitute the sun block I had managed to forget.

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I’m no-longer much of a beer drinker, but with this festival’s audience they had laid on a Jack Daniel’s bar. You are still served with the same bovine indiﬀerence but asked for €7.50 instead of the €2.50 required for a small plastic cup of beer. If a dash of Bushmills in your coﬀee makes it ‘Irish’, a glug of JD in your cola makes it distinctly rock’n’roll. There were a few bands before Channel Zero, but I didn’t get to see them. I wasn’t going to run. I just don’t do that anymore for bands I don’t know. Most of the crowd had felt the same and there was a surge as soon as the band hit the stage. Channel Zero are Belgium’s premier metal band and have an army of local support. With a solid, thrashy sound, their rise was perfect for the late 1980s but they couldn’t get past the ‘grunge thing’ and went into hibernation, arising better than before only two years ago. Their opener, Hot Summer, was pitch perfect and they made the enormous stage their own, immediately sounding superb. The hits from 20 years ago rolled out and, in spite of the ferocious heat, the stage’s huge screens projected the front of the crowd moshing for Europe. Next up was the American band, Mastadon. The turnaround seemed quick, but they didn’t keep the energy that CZ had and I lost interest, choosing to wander in search of shade and more drinks. About 90 minutes later the sun was dipping behind the trees, Soundgarden were up and I was feeling better – if a touch sunburned. I’m not a Soundgarden fan, but if you’re old enough to remember when MTV showed music videos, you’ll probably have fond memories of their hits: Spoon Man, Fell on Black Days and Black Hole Sun. They played all these and more, with some style but not much chat or crowd interaction. It was all a bit introspective for me – like I said, I’m not really a fan and the fake 70s overdrive guitar sound didn’t do much for me in the 90s, let alone this century. After a few drinks at a festival you always

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have some existential questions. Questions about what on earth you’re doing standing in a field watching these grown men whining on about their women/drink/ heroin-induced problems, that they turned into songs and now get paid to perform. But I’ve been doing this a long time now and I knew that these questions soon pass. Like clockwork, the stage was cleared and some very noisy guitars were soundchecked, bass drums were thumped periodically and the crowd were treated to some AC/DC through the PA – which went down very well thank you! At this point, you’ll expect me to go into some detail about Metallica’s impressive set list and lace the paragraphs with flourishes along the lines of, “guitars that sound like a man stirring a bucket of gravel”, but I respect you too much for that. If you’re a fan you’ll know that they’re touring Europe on a promise of playing their (hugely successful) 1991 Black Album in its entirety – on the somewhat dubious grounds that it is now 20 years old. Anyway, they burst onto the massive stage, replete with its ‘ego ramps’, high ledges and enormous screens, like men possessed – playing with an energy and gusto I have rarely seen anywhere else. (Maybe Ozzy in his prime?) It was a well-rehearsed and visually enthralling show without it seeming too clinical, as they chugged towards a finale of Enter Sandman – the song that replaced Stairway to Heaven as the bane of guitar shops, and still heats Metallica’s swimming pools, no doubt. There were the grand rock clichés too. The compulsory encores were festooned with laser shows, fireworks and flamethrowers and the usual showstopper, Seek and Destroy, was enhanced by hundreds of black beach balls dropping from the lights. Wonderful stuff. And with the show ending at 23:15 as promised, that would have been the end of it. Nope. Although we made it back to our cars within half an hour, it was 02:45 before we got out of the traffic jam in the car park. This is just not on, Werchter! And on a Monday night, too! Maybe the kids will put up with this but we middle aged shouldn’t have to do it anymore. Next up is Graspop to see Ozzy and Friends, but it will have to be by limo....I may not be too old to rock’n’roll but I am too old to sit in a traffic jam for three hours.

Raising cash for new ‘Born Free’ A Brussels bar owner and one of her loyal customers will run 20k around the city on 7 October to help continue the work of George and Joy Adamson, made famous by the book and movie Born Free. Neither Kelly Steel (who runs the bar Mini Louise) nor Paul Hanley are runners. In fact, Kelly says she would “happily get in the car to go to the end of the street”. But the pair (pictured below, er, talking ‘tactics’) are now out running nearly every day to raise cash for lion cubs in Kenya. Here’s a bit of background: The charity is called George Adamson’s Wildlife Preservation Trust, and the lion cub unit at Kora National Park in Kenya is being run by Tony Fitzjohn. ‘Fitz‘ (pictured right, with Kelly in Kenya) worked for 18 years with George and Joy - who raised the orphaned lion cub Elsa, before eventually returning her to the wild. After Adamson died, his camp (at Kora) closed down but it has happily now been re-opened by Fitz and his crew. They are taking care of Mugi (pictured above - cute, eh?), named after the lake he nearly drowned in before he was rescued – and he‘s the ﬁrst lion cub in 24 years to beneﬁt from the programme. One day, hopefully, Mugi will be released to start his own pride. But, before that, he’ll be joined by two young lionesses currently living in an orphanage. Without the programme, there’s no way the trio would ever be returned to the wild.

As readers probably know, lions are on the endangered species list and are still being poached and poisoned. This, and her general love of all animals, is what persuaded vegetarion Kelly to get in shape to dash for cash. She told Bxlin30Days: “In front of astonished customers, Paul and I decided we were going to run to raise money for lion cubs in Kenya. It must have been a full moon but it seemed like an absolutely brilliant idea. “For a couple of fitness-avoidance types like us it’s going to be a bit of a challenge. We’re in training every morning and I’ve only been sick twice. OK, three times. “And I’ve certainly turned a few heads while bombing up Avenue Louise in my pyjama bottoms - an easy mistake to make bleary eyed at eight in the morning. “Any money you can donate - and any bit of help you can give to spread the word - will be deeply appreciated by ourselves, Fitz and of course the lion cubs!” Donations and messages can be left at Kelly and Paul’s page, which you can find by clicking here. Meanwhile, you can find more info on the Trust here. Go, guys!

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A cold edge, but it’s not chilling It is a somewhat vexed genre these days, the ghost film – gone is the time when shivers could be raised by phantoms going ‘woo, woo’, hence the works of Susan Hill (The Woman in Black, which was filmed succesfully in 1989 with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale and also in 2012 by James Watkins starring Daniel Radcliffe) and Ramsey Campbell, none of which feature gentle spiritual visitors, but rather shades with deadly agendas and intentions. And Nick Murphy’s film The Awakening (2011) (his first feature) does try very hard to follow this example – it’s set in 1921, with England still in the pall of the loss and grief wrought by World War I. Supernatural hoax exposer Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), who is driven by her own demons that are gradually revealed as the film progresses, takes up the invitation of Cumbrian

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Legendary ﬁnal bows buﬀoon of a character and turn it almost single-handedly into a frightening bag of crazy took someone special.

It’s curtains as Colin Moors picks seven of his favourite last great turns. John Wayne – The Shootist (1976) Probably one of Wayne’s best works. Partially mirroring his own plight, he plays J.B. Books, a man diagnosed with terminal cancer (although it’s not known for sure whether Wayne knew that he had cancer when the ﬁlm was made). A gunslinger, famed and feared for killing tens of men, he takes a room in Carson City to live out his last few weeks. He realizes that his natural end will be painful and seeks a way to minimize the pain and die with honour. A must see. Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight (2008) No list (of mine, anyway) would be complete without a mention for Ledger’s absolutely sublime portrayal of The Joker in what has to be the best interpretation ever of Batman. For all the pedants out there, I know his last ﬁlm was technically The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009), but as he managed to contribute not a great deal before he unexpectedly left us, I’m not going to count it. He will always be the lisping, squealing, twitching and generally barking mad Joker to me. To take what was essentially a camp, giggling

Peter Finch – Network (1976) Purists will shout me down here as technically, Finch’s last role was as Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister, in the TV movie Raid on Entebbe in the same year. However, we all know that TV movies are a different animal from ‘real’ films – even though Raid on Entebbe was actually a damn fine effort. For his role as a deliciously off-his-head news anchor in Network, Finch won the only (to date) posthumous Oscar in the ‘Best Actor’ category. Interestingly, the only posthumous award for ‘Best Actor in a Supporting Role’ is held by a fellow Aussie, Heath Ledger. Working with legends such as Sidney Lumet (director), Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall and Ned Beatty, Finch absolutely stole the show in this polemic against being told the network version of ‘the truth’. Set against ratings wars, Howard Beale (Finch) has a dead wife and a job he’s about to get fired from. He announces that he will kill himself live on air, and his transition into a people’s messiah is something we can all relate to. John Cazale – The Deer Hunter (1978) A real loss to film-making, Cazale was blighted with bone cancer and only lived to see his 42nd birthday. His amazing legacy – aside from his numerous stage appearances – includes The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975). His role as Stan was as good as anything he’d ever done. Hell, if you haven’t yet seen this film, get to your video shop, Apple store, or whatever way you prefer to rent or buy your films and do yourself a favour. Spencer Tracy – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967) Tracy was apparently so ill during the shooting of GWCTD, the producers and cast weren’t sure he’d make it all the way

to the end. Luckily for them, us, and Tracy himself, he did and left the legacy of one of the best and definitely the most controversial films of that year. In 1960s America, inter-racial marriage was prohibited by law in many states. GWCTD tackled head-on the utter stupidity of such a situation. Sidney Poitier and Katherine Hepburn are wonderful, and Tracy shines as the father coming to terms with having a black man marry his daughter. Superbly played, and a very important film. Bruce Lee – Enter the Dragon (1973) This one had it all – martial arts action, a ‘mysterious’ death chock-full of conspiracy theories, a charismatic star and, er, did I mention the martial arts action? Lee’s first and only full-on Hollywood effort, he died in Hong Kong during post-production. The story itself seems kind of simple these days – Lee and a couple of other guys are hired to infiltrate the island of the reclusive Han, in order to uncover his opium trade. Yes, it looks cheaply made, and the story is simple, but this, for me, was really the zenith of martial arts films that spawned a huge swathe of imitators. Richard Farnsworth – The Straight Story (1999) A stuntman for many years, Farnsworth performed stunts for such movies as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), High Plains Drifter (1973) and Blazing Saddles (1974) before turning his hand to ‘proper’ acting. His acting career was as eclectic as it is possible to be, with a wide range of supporting and character roles. Although a famous face, he never really got top billing, until David Lynch’s biography of Alvin Straight, the old man who set off on an epic 300-mile journey across America to see his ill brother. On a lawnmower. Lynch’s careful hand, some excellent cinematography and top performances all make Farnsworth’s swan song something special. Sadly, he shot himself soon after completion of the movie when he found out he had terminal cancer.

Coming soon... Out now The Raven When a madman begins committing horriﬁc murders inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) joins forces with Poe to stop him from turning his stories into reality. James McTeigue (V for Vendetta (2005)) directs. 110 mins.

27 June Ice Age 4: Continental Drift For my money, the best animation franchise ever, so there’s no problem with a fourth installment - Manny, Diego and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world. Go on, you know you’re going to love it! 94 mins. Plenty of reviews are always available on Picturenose. See you next time!

boarding school teacher Robert Mallory (Dominic West) to explain the sightings of a child ghost that is apparently terrifying all his pupils. Upon arrival, she is greeted by housekeeper Maud Hill (Imelda Staunton) who tells her that she doesn’t ‘hold with any of this ghost nonsense’ and then, of course, the fun begins. The screenplay, by Murphy and Stephen Volk, does a very good job in recreating an era with credible, well-tuned exchanges, but where it ultimately fails, in this reviewer’s opinion, is in its failure to deliver genuine scares to match the ﬁlm’s earlier hints and whispers, and in its insistence on maintaining a cold distance between the audience and its central character. True, there are some excellent set-pieces and the twist, when it comes, is rather impressive, but one is left with the overall impression of a missed opportunity, rather than the rattling-good tale-around-thecamp-ﬁre that this could so easily have been. 107 mins. James Drew

Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 10

Euro 2012: Still in it to win it Tony Mallett reflects on the Euro 2012 tournament so far It’s fair to say that I’ve been around a while and witnessed a few football tournaments - some good, some bad - but Euro 2012 has been absolutely fascinating. Who really saw co-hosts Poland and many people’s dark horses Russia taking an early bath, especially after the latter’s demolition of the Czech Republic on the opening night? And the fairy-tale that is Greece at these Euro tournaments seems not to want to go away...few would begrudge the nation a break given all its financial woes. There’ll definitely, definitely, definitely be no repeat of their shock win in Lisbon at Euro 2004 but, in an echo of the euro currency crisis, they won’t make life easy for Germany. The poor form of The Netherlands surprised many, especially after a World Cup Final appearance two years ago. But let’s not forget that they tried to kick the Spanish off the pitch that day and, while there is undoubtedly some talent in the side, they were rocky in defence and the static pair of Van Bommel and De Jong doth not a world-beating team make. And for some reason the gifted attack couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo this time out. The Dutch make a habit of screwing up at major tournaments with in-fighting and often bad attitude, which is why the talented but arrogant Arjen Robben gets no sympathy in this quarter. Portugal, meanwhile, clearly need a centre forward and while they can’t really be described as a one-man team, many will applaud Cristiano Ronaldo’s attempts to carry the side - especially after he finally did the biz against the Dutch. Many more, however, think he’s a total nobhead and will be eagerly awaiting the Portuguese skipper’s inevitable tears, probably after a semi-final against the Spaniards. I fancy he’ll shine against the Czechs, though. Germany, meanwhile, look the real deal and remain this man’s prediction to lift the trophy. We’ve seen a work-in-progress over the last four years and I reckon they now have the nous and speed on the counter-attack to beat all-comers to the cup. Denmark surprised pretty-much everyone with a win over The Netherlands and two further spirited performances, but they were never going to have enough class to get out of the so-called group of death - although they went damn close. Nevertheless, a pretty good tournament for the Scandinavians. In Group C, Ireland, the first team to be eliminated, were simply outclassed - most notably so by a Spain side that still oozes class and is probably worthy of the ‘favourites’ tag. At least the Irish - the worst outfit in the tournament by a country mile - had the usual enthusiastic travelling fans. The fabulous support was great to see

but doesn’t mask the fact that they were dreadful on the pitch. Italy, on the other hand, were determined to scrape through. They’re a long way away from some of the class Azzurri teams of the past but still managed to qualify behind the Spanish, finishing above a stubborn Croatia side who nearly, so nearly, nicked a draw against the World Champions. Finally, remember that ‘England Expects’ had already turned to ‘England Doesn’t Expect Very Much’ with a new manager, some key injuries and a two-match ban for talisman Wayne Rooney. And the Three Lions were rarely pretty in Group D, yet the returning hero done good. They finished top of the group...and the Italians await. France, who had been frustrated in their opening match by either a well-organised English side or eleven men playing antifootball, depending on your point of view, were the form outfit coming into the tournament and definitely have loads of class. But they drew a Blanc against a determined Sweden side to finish second behind the detested English. Spain, next, is their punishment. Ukraine just didn’t quite cut the mustard. And, while the co-hosts gave a reasonably good account of themselves, nobody really expected them to be running out onto their home pitch come Sunday, 1 July. At least they don’t have far to travel home. High spots so far? Loads. But for this writer they include Greece beating the Russians, the amazing show of rain and lightning that caused the referee to take the players off the pitch in the Ukraine versus France game, Ronaldo missing a hat-full against Denmark then rallying to sink the Dutch and, of course, Danny Welbeck’s brilliant finish to win England’s game against Sweden. With seven matches still to go, there’s every chance that Euro 2012 will rank among the best tournaments I’ve ever seen...and I can’t bloody wait for the rest of it.

The Old Oak 26 Rue Franklin, 1000 Brussels All games shown Food available every day

Celtica 55 Rue du MarchĂŠ aux Poulets 1000 Brussels Showing all games Happy hours, live music and disco Opens 13:00

de Valeraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 17 Place Flagey, 1050 Brussels All games shown on our many screens Great traditional Irish food available every day

Michael Collins 1 Rue du Bailli, 1000 Brussels See all 31 games Happy hours every day! 100-seater terrace with big screens Kitchen open daily

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Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 16

Where to watch in Brussels OK, we’re down to the last eight teams now and there are plenty of places in the city showing all the games. Here are our faves. One of the many expat pubs doing a roaring trade is O’Reilly’s. This is the city’s biggest Irish bar with a prime location opposite the Brussels stock exchange. 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. 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 22:00, drawing the bright young things of Brussels who like to party until the wee, small hours – many in the fantastic cocktail bar upstairs. During the day, however, it has more of a pub atmosphere - especially when the footie’s on. A good-sized terrace promises to work nicely should the sun ever deign to shine in June. Just 20-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 open in summer. If you can grab a table, the food on offer is way above normal pub standard. Something a little bit different is taking

place in Parc Cinquantenaire at the Autoworld Brasserie (formerly Espace 53), where you’ll find the EURO 2012 Village. This is building on the success of a similar project organised during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Also somewhat unusual was the plan at the Aloft Hotel, near Schuman. Since kick-off, the area around the WXYZ bar has become a shrine to football - and especially to the Netherlands team as the hotel teamed up with the Dutch community to become ‘Holland House Brussels’. The Dutch are now out, of course, but it’s still a cool place to watch the games. Another bar, this one downtown and soon to celebrate its first birthday, is Scott’s. Located near to the ‘Cat on a bike’ sculpture in central Brussels, Scott’s has two flat-screen TVs around the bar and a projector screen on its mezzanine. For those who need to clang off the odd cigarette while watching the footie, this bar has an exceptionally cool smoking room, also with a screen. Very close to Scott’s is Churchill’s. As you’d expect from the name, this bar is Englishthemed and features some very tasty bottled English beers. It can get extremely atmospheric in here when the Three Lions are doing their stuff, and there’s usually some post-match music at the weekends. Not far away and also in the thick off it all downtown are two bars that combine

sports with partying, big time. Nua is part of the O’Reilly’s stable and is located just a few doors away from its sister pub. You can watch any and all of the games while enjoying cocktails and after-match discos. Across the street and on the other side of the Bourse you’ll find Celtica. It has plenty of screens, ridiculously cheap happy hours, discos, live music and the kind of atmosphere that keeps going all night. On the corner of the posh Avenue Louise you’ll find the Michael Collins. Recently extended and with a large terrace area, this bar serves the Chatelain area but is well worth the trip wherever you are. Or head back to the Schuman area and The Old Oak. This is a traditional pub on two levels, also serving food and with a big screen plus several others. No matter where you sit, you’ll always be able to see a television. There’s occasional live music, too, to keep the party going. Close by is Kitty O’Shea’s, yet another of Brussels’ many Irish pubs. Kitty’s seems to have been around forever, is slap-bang in the middle of the European Quarter, has a couple of big screens plus some smaller ones and serves food pretty much all through the tournament. Finally on our tour of footie bars, up in Place du Luxembourg, in the shadow of the European Parliament, you’ll find The Grapevine, with its large screen, great food and fabulous terrace. Enjoy!

Watch all the games with us! Thursday 21 June (A) Czech Republic v Portugal (20:45) Friday 22 June (B) Germany v Greece (20:45) Saturday 23 June (C) Spain v France (20:45) Sunday 24 June (D) England v Italy (20:45) Wednesday 27 June Semi-ﬁnal: Winner A v Winner C (20:45) Thursday 28 June Semi-ﬁnal: Winner B v Winner D (20:45) Sunday 1 July Final (20:45) Bar Rooster’s 79 Rue Grétry Brussels 1000 On Facebook here

Showing all games throughout Euro 2012 Opening Hours: Sun - Thurs 10.00 - 01.00, Fri & Sat 11.00 - 03.00 Food served until 18.00 every day (pastas, sandwiches, paninis and soups - all available for under €5) Two TVs at the bar, plus projector screen on our mezzanine Smoking room with ﬂat-screen TV Plus ‘Regular Customer Card’: 20% discount on all drinks (except hot) before 22.00 daily. New customers are welcome to a card Email: social@scottsbar.be Facebook: ScottsBarBrussels Website: www.scottsbar.be Foursquare: Scotts Bar Twitter: @ScottsBrussels Rue Montagnes aux Herbes Potageres 1000 Brussels

Join us for every game! Inside and out on our large and lively terrace. Happy hour 6-7pm

The Grapevine Restaurant and Apero Bar 11 Place du Luxembourg 1050 Ixelles Tel: 02 280 00 17 www.the-grapevine.be

GROUP A

GROUP B

Friday 8th Ju n e

S a tu r d a y 9 th J u n e

Poland v Greece Russia v Czech R.

18.00 Holland v Denmark 20.45 Germany v Portugal

18.00 20.45

Greece v Czech R. Poland v Russia

18.00 Denmark v Portugal 20.45 Holland v Germany

18.00 20.45

Czech v Poland Greece v Russia

20.45 Portugal v Holland 20.45 20.45 Denmark v Germany 20.45

Tuesday 1 2th Ju ne

Saturd ay 1 6th J u ne

W e d n e s d a y 1 3 th J u n e

S u n d a y 1 7 th J u n e

QUARTER FINALS 21st to 24th 20.45 SEMI FINALS 27th & 28th 20.45 EURO 2012 FINAL July 1st 20.45

GROUP C

GROUP D

Sunday 10 th Ju n e

Mo n da y 1 1 t h J u n e

Spain v Italy Ireland v Croatia

18.00 France v England 20.45 Ukraine v Sweden

18.00 20.45

Italy v Croatia Spain v Ireland

18.00 20.45

Ukraine v France Sweden v England

18.00 20.45

Croatia v Spain Italy v Ireland

20.45 20.45

England v Ukraine Sweden v France

20.45 20.45

Thursda y 14 th J une

Monday 18 th Ju n e

Fr i d a y 1 5 th J u n e

T u e s d a y 1 9 th J u n e

RUE DES BOGARDS, 28-40 BRUSSELS 1000 Tel: +32 2 511 52 69, Fax: +32 2 513 51 70 info@liquidoma.be www.liquidoma.be OPEN: MONDAY-SATURDAY 10:00-18:30

Page 25 - Around Brussels in 30 days

Castle hopping in the Loire By Daphne Wayne-Bough The Loire Valley is a mere three-and-a-half hours from Brussels on the train (including a Metro journey across Paris) or a steady five hours by car. You can visit it in grand style, staying in a chateau, or on the cheap, as I did. I chose my hostelries mostly from the Logis de France guide, small hotels in the €65-85 bracket, with good restaurants attached. In the run-up to Easter, when I went, most of these hotels were underoccupied so you could just turn up, although these days my nerves wouldn’t be able to stand the uncertainty of finding myself without a bed. I worked my way downstream from Orléans to Chinon, stopping off at Bourgueil, Vouvray, Saumur and Chinon. Just to see the chateaux, you understand. It’s purely coincidental that all these towns make stonking wine. Orléans is an elegant town built mostly in white stone. It’s smaller than you would expect of a regional capital, and most sights worth seeing have a Joan of Arc connection. It’s got quite a bourgeois feel to it, and it’s the sort of place where well brung up young men take their ancient mamas out for lunch. I stayed at Le Pavillon

Bleu, a delightful hotel-restaurant in Olivet, just south of Orléans, on the banks of the peaceful Loiret. During summer weekends it turns into a Guinguette - one of those olde-worlde riverside open-air restaurants with accordion music and dancing, as seen in Auguste Renoir paintings. I arrived mid afternoon to ﬁnd the place shut up, and a sign saying that the hotel opened at 17:00, so I went for a walk along the river path which was popular with the old dears from the old people’s home along the road. I could think of worse

The castle is the last resting place of da Vinci - reason enough to visit places to retire. There are only four or ﬁve rooms, which overlook the courtyard and the river. My room had a gorgeous walnut lit bateau, or sleigh bed. The €33 menu gourmand comprises no fewer than six courses - an amuse-bouche

to get your gastric juices going, a starter and main course of your choice, then a prédessert before your chosen dessert, and finally mignardises - which I think used to be known as “petits fours” in the better class of Harvester, with the coffee. I fell into my sleigh bed a happy bunny and dreamed I was riding through the snows of Siberia wrapped in furs with Omar Sharif, the tinkling of the rain on the surface of the Loiret transforming itself into the sound of sleigh bells. The next day I swung by Chambord and Cheverny to Blois, and then on to Amboise. That’s four castles just in that last sentence. Amboise on the left bank is a delightful town stuffed with history. The castle is the last resting place of Leonardo da Vinci, which is reason enough to visit. I paid my respects to the Maestro, whose presumed remains, as far as they could tell after they had been chucked unceremoniously into the communal pit by the revolutionary hordes in 1789, are interred in a special chapel under a marble slab engraved in French and Italian. Nice touch. About a mile down the road is Le Clos Lucé, the mansion where Leonardo lived for the last three years of his life as a guest of King Francis I.

But can’t hang about, on to Tours where I stayed in the Hotel du Manoir, a small hotel with its own (small) car park, although it’s only five-minutes walk from the main railway station where you can park a car underground for €10 a day. This hotel didn’t have a restaurant, so I had dinner in Le Bistro du Chien Jaune, an old-fashioned bistro next to the tourist office which does a pre-theatre menu for the Salle des Congrès across the road. While I waited my turn, I tipped my head back and looked at the original artwork on the ceiling. I had the €19.50 three course menu gourmand and treated myself to a half-litre of Chinon for €12.50. Tours is an eminently pleasant town which behaves as though it was the regional capital, although that honour falls to more sedate Orléans. It has a university, a cathedral, a big Préfecture, an opera house, an old quarter, a market, a big station, the TGV, and, more importantly as far as I was concerned, a Monoprix, a Galeries Lafayette and a Printemps. The old quarter around Place Plumereau is delightful and stuffed with restaurants. My next stop was Saumur, which I reached via Bourgueil and St Nicolas. You can tell you’re in a wine-growing region when the road into town is lined with wine shops. The Hotel Cristal in Saumur has rooms overlooking the Loire with a 180 degree view. They are clean and quiet, but I had to open the bathroom door to turn around. The hotel restaurant Au Quai de la Loire offers a €19 gastronomic menu which did not disappoint. I washed it down with a half bottle of Réserve des Vignerons white Saumur for €11 extra. From Saumur, my westernmost point, I headed back east via Azay-le-Rideau, one of the fairytale castles. It sits in the middle of its own lake and has lots of pointy turrets where you might expect Rapunzel to stick her head out the window and empty her chamber pot (‘let down her hair’, surely? - Ed).

The roof space of one wing has been opened up to show off the magnificent eaves. French roof timbering has been classed as of exceptional cultural importance by UNESCO. In fact, the whole Loire Valley has been classed as a World Heritage Site by them. It struck me that maybe UNESCO is not situated in Paris for nothing. I stopped by Rigny-Ussé where there is a gorgeous chateau that allegedly inspired Charles Perrault to write The Sleeping Beauty. They are milking that for all it is worth, wanting a whopping €14 to visit, and you can’t even get into the grounds for free. All of the chateaux charge, but usually €8 or €9. I veered away from the Loire to spend the night in Chinon at the Hotel Boule d’Or which is situated on a pedestrian street. There is free parking on the riverbank, a few minutes walk from the hotel. The town was gridlocked the day I arrived by a huge crane on the river road. I read in the local paper over breakfast the next morning that the crane had been fishing out of the Cher a car which had been stolen from the very car park where my car had spent the night. Fortunately it was still there when I arrived. The hotel restaurant is called At’able (geddit?) serving a superb menu for €22.40, with excellent service by a charming young waitress who spoke good English. I had the honour of being the first person to taste the first asparagus of the season, which came from a local supplier and melted in the mouth. Only three tables were taken on a Good Friday evening, two by British people, one by a young American couple. Some French people came in at 21:20 and were seated without a murmur. There’s not much else to do in Chinon so it’s unlikely you’ll be out past midnight. En route to Bourges I made a detour to visit the stunning Chateau de Chenonceau which is actually on the Cher river, although generally included in the

Chateaux of the Loire. The €11 entrance charge here is entirely justified, as it is truly magnificent and extraordinarily well maintained, down to the fresh flower arrangements in every room. If you only do one chateau in the Loire region make it this one. It has a wing built out right across the river, which of course makes the river unnavigable. You couldn’t get planning permission like that these days. During the Nazi occupation of France, the Cher formed the boundary between Free France and the Occupied Zone, and resistance fighters were smuggled to safety through the basement of the Great Hall and the door that opens onto the opposite bank of the river. Chenonceau is the most visited castle in France after Versailles, and the car park was full of tour buses. However, the gardens are vast, and there was no crush inside the castle. I must say the Loire region ticked all my boxes. The climate is temperate, the landscape is gentle and green, and the city of Tours has everything you could need, including not one but FOUR Irish bars; property prices are alarmingly reasonable; it’s an hour and a bit from Paris on the train, has good public transport (like all French towns) including a new tram network under construction, and the food is amazing. You could eat your way round Tours every night of the year and never come back to the same restaurant twice. Every village in the region has at least a couple of top class restaurants. And then there is the wine. Oh yes, and I nearly forgot -- the chateaux.

Find a hotel: Logis de France Or stay in a chateau: Relais Chateaux Nuit au Chateau

Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 26

Page 27 - Around Brussels in 30 days

Sounding out beautiful Bruges - with bells on!

Mining Belgium’s golden seam Martin Banks avoids the blindingly obvious and heads oﬀ to Limburg Visitors to Belgium invariably all know places such as Brussels, Bruges (see facing page) and Ghent. But for an alternative short break it’s worth considering Limburg. This is a particularly go-ahead province wuth several exciting visitor attractions, including the C-Mine; a 1960s theme park at the Bokrijk open-air museum; and the Manifesta 9 international arts exhibition. Limburg is little over an hour’s drive from the centre of Brussels and an excellent base for a short stay in Genk, one of the region’s main towns, is the Carbon Hotel, which is a member of the Limburg Diﬀerent Hotel Group. This is a region with a rich industrial heritage, particularly coal, and the hotel is named after one of its ingredients. Naturally, then, black is the predominant colour inside this chic building with its mix of originality, luxury and design. Take for example the beds - they were designed by local man Stijn Helsen, who has created bespoke suites for celebrities such as Hugh Grant and Robbie Williams. The four-star hotel, opened four years ago, has 60 rooms and impressive spa treatment facilities. During the week it caters mostly for businessmen and women while hip, young couples predominate at weekends. Nearby, the M-Hotel, owned by the same group,

is more suitable for older people or those with children. Limburg used to attract countless Italian migrants to its mines and the legacy remains with several good quality Italian eateries, such as La Posta, a particularly child-friendly trattoria. The region is currently singing the praises of three new attractions. Nostalgia buﬀs can relive the golden 60s era at Bokrijk, the ever-popular open-air museum at Genk which had focused on the late 19th/early 20th centuries. One part of the museum, The Old City (with rebuilt houses from Antwerp), has

Relive the decade of ﬂower power through stories and original shops been transformed using 1960s decor relive the decade of ﬂower power through stories, original shops and suchlike. Another ‘must-see’ attraction is C-Mine which tells the story of the old Genk coal mine, Winterslag, via an adventurous journey through a former corridor used by miners as they emerged from the bowels of the earth. This has been reconstructed by contemporary architects.

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It has taken five years to complete the project with its interactive sound chamber and a giant headframe which affords great views of the surrounding countryside. Last but certainly not least on Limburg’s tourist trail is the Manifesta 9 art exhibition which runs until the end of September. Situated at the former mining site of Waterschei, on the outskirts of Genk, it features different exhibitions telling the stories behind historical works of art and allowing visitors to see new perspectives on heritage. Each Sunday, there’s a special kids workshop. Limburg is a great destination for families and a great stopover is Franciscushof at Neerpelt, just a few kilometres from Genk. Here you can take the kids on an hourlong pony ride then relax while eating one of the delicious home-made ice creams, courtesy of owners Linde and Dominique Verbeek-Cox. They took over what used to be a farm in 1995, refurbished it and, since last year, also offer B&B accommodation, costing €45 per night, per person. With its numerous attractions and rolling green countryside, Limburg makes for a terrific short break for city dwellers. But arguably the best thing about this relatively undiscovered region is the warmth and hospitality of the people. Little wonder that, in Limburg, it’s always a touch warmer. More information here.

Bruges is one of the most popular places for overseas visitors in Belgium. The Venice-style canals, olde-worlde charm coupled with historic monuments such as its Belfry and Markt all make for a wonderful day out. But when it comes to visitor attractions, ‘sound art’ is the city’s new (and ultra modern) kid on the block. Odd though it may seem, the Sound Factory in Bruges really is packing them in. Situated in the Concertgebuow’s lantern tower between the Markt and the railway station, the Sound Factory is an interactive room for ‘sound art’, featuring 21 carillon bells which used to hang in the Bruges Belfry. While having a good old clout on the bells you can also admire what is a great view right across the city’s landscape. The factory includes other innovative sound art creations such as a mushroomshaped installation that responds differently to each touch. It holds an enormous database of sounds, including percussion, brass instruments and spacey electronic noises. Cool! Other than the Sound Factory, there’s so much to do and see in this city it would be a shame not to stay at least one night. If you do, then one good place to lay your head is Martin’s Relais Hotel, which comprises four wonderfully-restored old merchant’s houses and is an exquisite excursion into the past. Each of the 44 huge and luminous rooms and suites has a great view and guarantees a stay full of character in surroundings steeped in history. The bedrooms are divided into three categories (‘charming, great and exceptional’) and each is unique, with 16 of them offering a view over the canal. This ‘Oud Huis Amsterdam’ hotel has five meeting rooms for five-45 people and,

as such, is also a wonderful location for exceptional seminars. The 17th century townhouse, close to Martin’s Brugge and Martin’s Orangerie, is the 11th in the Martin’s chain (it joined in July 2009) which also has hotels in Brussels and Genval. Booking breakfast online saves €5 per person, per day, with the charge dropping from €20 to €15. With hotels such as this, it’s little wonder that Martin’s is consolidating its position as Belgium’s leading hotel group. When it comes to eating out in Bruges, one excellent option is De Bottelier. If, as the saying goes, you are a clockwatcher, then this is the place for you. As well as serving up delicious food, this restaurant offers something different: it is absolutely crammed full of clocks. Owner Hans Golsteyn has a thing about time and has been collecting clocks since 2000. He now has some 1,300 time machines in this comfy eatery. Even if you’re not staying in Bruges, it’s well worth a relatively easy excursion from Brussels, mostly for the quality of the food, lovingly prepared by Hans’ wife Hilde, who’s clearly highly talented in the kitchen. Starters include camembert, curry soup and snails while mains dishes comprise fish kebab, salmon, lamb and duck and some delicious steaks. Veggies are catered for too. Tourists are regulars here with many telling Hans “it’s like coming home” when they visit. The couple have been running the place for 22 years now but it is as popular as ever. It is not difficult to see why. Much the same could be said of a trip to Bruges, the so-called Venice of the North. Fashions may change but this Flemish city remains, and is likely to remain, one of the best things about Belgium. MB

Have a good old clout on the bells while admiring views over the city

Photo: Paul Willaert

Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 28

To the Manor born… Martin Banks hops on the Eurostar to Ashford and beyond ‘Ashford - best placed in Britain’ is the regeneration brand for the future of this go-ahead Kentish town which lies halfway between London and the continent. Actually, it is also best placed for people from Brussels and elsewhere in Belgium seeking a short break without having to trek too far. Ashford is close to junctions 9 and 10 of the M20 motorway and just 44 miles from London, while Ashford International Station, near the town centre, has twicehourly high speed trains to St Pancras in England’s capital city. The area around the town has more than enough to keep you (and the family) fully occupied and a good place to start - and stay - is Eastwell Manor, a delightful hotel and leisure complex set in an impressive 3,000 acre estate in the heart of the Kent countryside. On the outskirts of Ashford and just 30 minutes or so from the shuttle car terminal, the complex provides the perfect place for a relaxing get-away-from-it-all break. Step over the imposing entrance to this rambling country manor house, which dates back to the 16th century, and be welcomed by warming log ﬁres,

magniiﬁcent panelled rooms, luxurious bedrooms and acres of beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. The place actually dates from when

Eastwell was run down before a renovation in the mid 1990s Richard Plantagnet, the son of Richard III, lived on the estate. The majority of bedrooms and suites have ﬁne views of the grounds and a further 19 self-contained and beautifully appointed mews cottages and apartments overlook a nine-hole golf course and heated outdoor pool. The place was previously owned by a hotel chain, and was somewhat run down when the current owner, Turrloo Parrett, took over in the mid 1990s. He set about a major restoration, including converting stables into cottages. The England cricket team were the ﬁrst to stay at the Manor when it opened in 1998. The Pavilion Spa, which features the very

best in health, beauty and ﬁtness, was added in April 2000 and Eastwell Manor is now as popular for its business conferences and wedding and birthday parties as it is for visiting guests. These have recently included a large group from Ghent Rotary Club as well as Belgium’s ambassador to the UK. The Manor’s award-winning restaurant is a perfect setting for that ﬁne dining experience and, for the less formal, there is also another restaurant, open seven days and featuring live jazz. The owner, born in nearby Folkestone, likes to keep up good old English traditions and the afternoon teas, which include cakes and scones (and a doggy bag for takeaways) are a big hit with locals and guests alike. The majority of guests are UK-based but an increasing number are from Belgium and The Netherlands. As Sue Cross, from Eastwell Manor says, it really is not an exaggeration to say that when it comes to accessibility, tradition and luxury this place has the lot. “I think you can say without fear of contradiction that we have a bit of everything to meet every taste,” says Sue. One of the nicest places to visit while in the area is the nearby seaside town of Hythe and, while here, you should try

Page 29 - Around Brussels in 30 days

to quench your hunger and thirst at the Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant which serves terrific fresh seafood. Back in 2003, Ashford was designated one of the four growth areas of the south east of England with the plan being to build 31,000 new homes and create 28,000 new jobs. Tourism is another boom industry here and among those helping to lure those all-important tourists is nearby Port Lympne animal park which is run by the Aspinall Foundation, a charity devoted to the conservation of endangered species. In May, it opened is brand new family ‘glamping’ accommodation, which provides luxury overnight tents. Its safari rides offer visitors the chance to get up-close-and-personal with animals which include endangered gorillas and one of the world’s most distinctive cat species. Another attraction well worth a visit is the Kent and East Sussex Railway, which takes travellers on a vintage steam train through the Kent countryside, from the delightful town of Tenterden to Bodiam. A five-minute walk away is the romantic Bodiam Castle, surely one of the most picturesque in Britain, set in the heart of 1066 country (although it was actually built in 1385, as both a defence and a comfortable home). Luxury, wild animals and medieval splendour? It all makes for a great short break and it’s just a hop, skip and jump (or Eursotar) away from Belgium.

More information at : Visit Kent My Kent Visit Kent Business

Photo: Dave Rolfe

Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 30

Page 31 - Around Brussels in 30 days

Summertime city at Mini’s One of our favourite bars in all of Brussels is the small-but-perfectly-formed Mini Louise, just off Avenue Louise with all its posh stores and trendy tourists and shoppers. Run for more than a decade (11 years last April) by an English rose, Kelly Steel, there is nothing pretentious about this friendly, chatty bar, though - and the fact that it attracts customers of all ages and nationalities is testament to that. Get up early enough (Mini’s opens at 07:00) and you may even find yourself sitting next to some soon-tobe-divorcee on his or her way to the nearby Palais de Justice to untie the knot. ‘Marry in haste, repent over a coffee at Mini’s’. We’ve certainly heard worse plans! Before Kelly took over, Mini Louise had already been around for decades and its location on cosmopolitan Rue Jourdan, just inside the St-Gilles boundary, means the terrace is often busy with shoppers, a host of regulars or pre-/post-diners visiting one of the many restaurants down this busy side street. Indeed, on warm evenings, the whole of the street becomes one long terrace swarming with revellers. It’s often party central with the street being so close to the Metro at Louise and is ideal for lunchtimes (Kelly offers a range of snack toasties and baguettes, salami plates, cheese plates and mixed) and, later, people who just fancy a natter and a cold beer on their way home after a hard day slaving over a hot keyboard.

The whole street becomes one long terrace swarming with revellers Kelly herself is a dab-hand at cocktails but, if that’s not your style, then there’s a great array of spirits available too - not to mention the excellent and refreshing bottled cider that’s perfect during the (hopefully) warm summer months. But get in quick - it’s proving a popular drink right now (not least with the landlady!). All-in-all this is a smashing little bar, run by a lovely lady and full of interesting characters. There’s even a sort-of built-in security system in the form of Kelly’s husband - a Belgian cop. She’s not daft... So, behave yourselves, but be sure to drop by and enjoy a relaxed and friendly atmosphere while having a drink, snack or - why not? - both any time. The bar stays open ‘until late’ so it’s unlikely you’ll have to rush. That’s just one more perfect excuse to take it easy and visit this cracking little bar. But don’t pinch OUR seat! Mini Louise 3 Rue Jourdan B-1060 Follow and ‘Like’ the Mini Louise page on Facebook here

Enjoying the heady high life in Schuman’s Aloft Hotel By Tony Mallett Those of us who don’t spend all our time airport-hopping for work purposes tend to view staying in a good hotel as a luxury rather than a lifestyle choice even if, as in this case, it’s in their own city. So I was looking forward to spending a night in the hip Aloft Hotel (albeit for the purposes of this e-zine, so there was a ‘bit’ of work thrown in). It was a sunny Bank Holiday Sunday and a perfect opportunity to revisit some old haunts around the Schuman area, sipping a few beers with pals on a bar terrace - but not before I’d done the full ‘tourist’ bit and queued for 90 minutes (no kidding) at Maison Antoine in Place Jourdan for a cone-load of frites. The goodies were great but 90 minutes? Never again - till next time. After that, and a few well-earned beers with the lads, it was time to head back to the hotel (I’d checked in before my frites expedition) and enjoy a room not disimilar to the one in the photo above. Now, at Mallett Mansions I do have a TV, but the 42-inch job in the Aloft room seemed like a mini cinema screen (and I

found out later that all hotel TVs are fitted with a ‘black box’ that allows guests to plug in their own DVD player and watch their chosen movies on it. Neat). The bed was also huge, the wi-fi worked fine and I was delighted to note that there was a ‘rain shower’ on hand for the morning slosh about.

The Aloft Schuman is the very model of a modern hotel Aloft Schuman is already being used an awful lot by groups who plan events (daytime and evening) while the Wxyz Bar in the bright, open, comfortable and beautifully designed lobby area (plus the outside terrace in decent weather) is often used to host parties, meet-ups, job clubs and more. It’s easy to see why, as the Aloft gives out an aura of relaxation and welcome, the staﬀ are chirpy and friendly and there’s none of the stuﬃness often associated with hotels. There’s even a pool table, for heaven’s sake.

After a cracking night’s sleep I spent a good while ‘testing’ the big, walk-in rain shower. Wow! God, I love those things. Next up was a democractically priced brekkie. By that I mean guests can choose from set-price options that may include five items, ten items etc. The idea is that you don’t fork out €25 euro for a breakfast then discover you’ve only time for a quick coffee and croissant. The food was fresh and tasty, the coffee excellent (definite Brownie points) and it was all very relaxed for a Monday morning. After a quick chat with the reception staff I checked out to head for a meeting downtown. Of course, it’s only five Metro stops from Schuman to De Brouckère, so I was in the city centre in around 15 minutes. All-in-all I have to say that the Aloft is the very model of a modern hotel - it has everything for either the sleepyhead, barfly or tech-junkie and is exceptionally cool, too. And with book-early stays from just €59 between 3 August and 16 September 2012, I’ll certainly be recommending it to visitors. In fact I may even pop back myself for a bit of a treat.

Keuken Korner

Around Brussels in 30 days - Page 32

‘It’s the foodie bit, dahling...’

Wallonia-themed restaurant gets into the Spirit of things By Ed Introff Given that the usual Bxlin30Days resto reviewer Daphne Wayne-Bough recently had the temerity to take a holiday up the Loire Valley, your correspondent was asked to step into the breach. Well, Daffers can go swanning off to France whenever she jolly-well pleases if my evening at Staminé is anything to go by. The restaurant is located just off the Grand’Place and connected to the year-old shop Spirit of Wallonia. So, as you’d expect, it specialises in all things Wallonian - and good stuff it is too. Now, I knew that the region was pretty good at producing beer. Well, very good, in fact. And it produces a lot. A very lot. In fact, it even has monks getting up earlier than usual to produce some of it. That’s dedicated, that is. But I was less familiar with its foodie specialities, wines, liqueurs and artisanal bits ‘n’ bobs. Well, no longer. We (myself and a friend, who is always treating me to dinner, so fair’s fair) tootled down the stairs to an area that’s surprisingly bright, given that it’s properly underground (although work could be done to make it feel ‘warmer’ and business types may wish to know that my pal couldn’t get a signal on

Mobistar, although Proximus was ﬁne). We were easily seated on what was a quiet mid-week evening, although this is often not the case as Staminé is regularly booked for large parties. It’s worth checking in advance, especially for evening visits. Given that it opened a mere four months ago (1 March 2012), an advisory check-before-you-go is a pretty good sign.

I’m sure the snails were from Wallonia as they don’t get about much Anyway, being a couple of thirsty lads, we went straight in for a bottle of splendid Combe aux hérons to accompany starters of mushroom toast with Ardennes ham and, for me, petits gris. For some reason your blockhead writer was convinced he was about to get prawns but it’s just as well that I don’t mind snails, as that, of course, is what arrived. When it comes to culinary expertise, Daﬀers I’m not. Anyway, the snails were extremely well-ﬂavoured in garlic and herbs and I’m pretty certain they came from Wallonia as

snails don’t tend to get about much. We followed these dishes with an adventurous (ha ha) entrecôte steak (cooked to order for Himself ) and a supréme de poulet Archiduc pour moi. It’s fair to say that the chef rustled up plenty of everything and my only small complaint is that the sauce on the chicken was a little over salted. By this point the wine was a gonner so we ordered a couple of Silly beers to keep things moving. When I say ‘Silly beers’, I mean ‘beers from Silly’ rather than some 13% rocket fuel which would have made getting back up the stairs an issue. After desserts of Moelleux au chocolat et glace vanille (I can’t resist any Belgian chocolate, whichever part of the country it comes from), then coffee, our charming waitress made us an offer we couldn’t refuse by bringing over two shots of Spéculoos-flavoured liqueur. Now, any biscuit that gets you tipsy receives full marks in my book and, by this time, we were sufficiently fed and ‘spirited’ to call it a night (ish) and pop off for a couple of beers in a nearby bar. The bill for the pair of us came in at around €90, which was certainly justifiable, so I hereby suggest that you give it a go. PS Daffers, stay in France!

Page 33 - Around Brussels in 30 days

Take time out for tradition with some real Thai cuisine Are you a Thai food lover who’s grown a little tired of looking at the same old menu? If so, check out Walkin’Thai and you’ll get back to the real roots, writes Martin Banks. The secret of this place and the thing that sets it apart from mainstream Thai restaurants is that it serves genuine Thai street food - yes, the type of nosh you will ﬁnd being dished up at markets in Bangkok and Phuket. Owner and cooking expert Mathieu Damman has travelled throughout Asia, especially Thailand, and brings his knowledge and expertise of the cuisine to a range of terriﬁc dishes. The menu is the work of two Thai chefs and is small but, as they say, perfectly formed, with items such as green and red Thai curry, beef and scampi, dim sum and the house speciality, Pad Thai.

All the dishes are freshly made on the premises and come in at under €10. The restaurant only seats 20 (although there are expansion plans) and at least 50 percent of the trade is takeaway. The motto here is ‘fast, fresh and easy’ and you will not be disappointed. Highly recommended. Walkin’Thai 38 rue Lebroussart Brussels Tel 02.647.99.73 Open from Tuesday to Sunday 11:30-14:30 and 18:00-22:30 Closed Sunday lunchtime

Bari good food at Poivre et Sel By Martin Banks If you like cracking Italian food, then a great place to try is Poivre et Sel. Situated in the shadow of the European Parliament, the restaurant is run by Nicola Colucci plus his daughter and cousin. Nicola was born near Bari in Italy but has lived in Brussels for some 32 years, having arrived as a teenager with a group of fellow catering students. He’s been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years,14 at Poivre et Sel. The majority of guests work in the area and include MEPs, ambassadors, staﬀ in the European Commission (where Nicola’s Portuguese wife works) and others working in the EU. Not surprisingly, then, Nicolas has not noticed any particular drop in trade in the current economic malaise. But the quality of the food he cooks has also something to do with this. There’s a daily specials board plus a ﬁxed menu which features starters such as carpaccio of beef and salmon

tartare. Mains include sole filets with basil, grilled swordfish, tuna and monkfish plus meat dishes such as fillet of lamb with rosemary, magret of duck and calf. There’s also fantastic home-made pasta, including tagliatelle with foi gras and salmon ravioli. Nicola changes his dishes according to the season (as he does with the interior of the restaurant) using items such as mozzarella bufala and fish truffle imported from Italy. Both are delicious. Guests can order just one dish if that’s all they want, no problem. There’s also a fine wine list with the house wine being particularly good value for money. The restaurant seats 80, with two upstairs rooms which for private functions, such as weddings. There’s also a pleasant terrace seating 20. Nicola’s carefully crafted dishes can all be observed from the open kitchen. The 50-year-old ‘adopted’ Belgian is also busy at weekends when the restaurant is closed,

preparing some of his delicacies for outside events, such as family occasions and banquets. These are usually for groups of 30 or more. In general, booking is a good idea as the restaurant can get very busy, particularly at lunchtime. Poivre & Sel 2 rue du Parnasse Ixelles Tel: 02.503.46.93 Open Midday-15:00 and 18:00-22:30 Closed Saturday and Sunday

Page 34 - 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

This column is not usually known for bitching and whingeing (don’t be an idiot, of course it is - Ed) but, along with the suddenly rocketing price of eggs and the shitty weather, certain goats are being got by the behaviour of various football fans during what has otherwise been a splendid Euro 2012. No, not those in Poland and Ukraine (the authorities have got enough tear gas, pop guns and come-and-have-a-go-if-youthink-you’re-hard-enough truncheons to deal with the banana-chuckers and hooligans out there), it’s closer to home where the real issues are. As your columnist was (somewhat pointlessly) saying to Deaf Bob the other night: “Where are the water cannons when you need them, eh?” “What?!?” shouted the aurally challenged one, which is par for the course, but the point is said weapon of mass soaking would certainly help shift those three-times-a-year ‘supporters’ who turn up ten minutes after the game has started, pushing and shoving, then block the way to the bar and any view of the telly as they try to order cappucino from incredulous and very busy barmen (who, due to bitter experience, switched the machine oﬀ an hour before kick-oﬀ ). But plenty of the twats don’t even bother with the bar at all. Now here at Tippler Towers we’re obviously all in favour of democratic pricing during big match days but it’s a two-way street - the deal being that you actually buy something. It’s often said that the average Dutchman is as tight as a badger’s dangler - but not when it comes to buying beers while his team’ s playing, he isn’t. He and his mates will invariably get utterly shit-faced win, lose or (in this case) lose again. And good luck to them.

The boys (and girls) from the Emerald Isle are the same, as proven by the fact that, after the fuses went bang! down The Oirish during the Croatia game with the Republic already losing 2-1, they all piled straight to the bar for a top up. And when the lights and tellies came back on to reveal that what had briefly seemed to be an intervention by the Pope had merely shrouded the fact that the Croatians had bagged a third, most of the Irishmen just said “Feck it” and doubled their order. That’s quality by any standards and a long, long way from the behaviour of certain ‘fans’ who a) tend to be from mainland southern Europe and b) wear red or blue shirts depending upon which Romance language they were dragged up mangling. Not only do they fail to understand or play by the rules of down-the-pub-fandom but they have no manners, either. Waving your great hairy arms all over the place when your star striker goes down like he’s had an Exocet up the arse is one thing, but knocking a bloke’s pint out of his hand while you’re being a squealing, shoulder-bag swinging bell-end is another, especially when you refuse to replenish the €4.20 pint of Belgium’s Finest you’ve just sent whizzing across the pub. This happened mid-match to none other than Denzil who, as we all know, is a reasonable chap for a fat, miserable bastard. After requesting three times, albeit increasingly vociferously, that Pedro, Pablo, Antonio or whoever would be “wise to get to the bar and get me a fucking pint” he finally gave his better nature a well-earned holiday...and threw the lad straight out the door, skittling several of the miscreant’s mates in the process. Fortunately none of them had bought beers, “so no fucking harm done, eh?” said Yer Man, pissing himself laughing. He’s nothing if not an appreciator of fine irony, our Denzil.

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