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Vampire rat?

The skull of a rodent with bright red teeth was discovered by a Brussels researcher in … wait for it …

Transylvania \7

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Vacation!

Summer cycle

Like the rest of you, Flanders Today is taking a few days off. So you won’t find a 29 July edition in your postbox.

But don’t worry, we’ll be back on 5 August

Limburg’s outstanding bike path network turns 20 this year; our correspondent finds four perfect routes for a summer’s day \ 10

© Jonas Roosens

Life is art

From left: Sofie Decleir, Koen van Kaam and Jorgen Cassier of Theater Zuidpool

Flemish theatre company transforms TAZ festival into birthday bash Tom Peeters More articles by Tom \ flanderstoday.eu

The Antwerp collective Theater Zuidpool is celebrating 10 years of socially conscious, boundary-pushing work at Ostend’s annual theatre festival this summer. The group is reprising some of its seminal pieces as well as paying homage to a Russian musician close to their hearts.

T

he opening night of this year’s Theater Aan Zee (TAZ), Ostend’s 10-day summer theatre-and-more festival, is a tribute in song to Vladimir Vysotsky. For the organisers, the late Russian musician, poet and actor personifies the artist as a rock of integrity, a rebel and a force to be reckoned with, given all the political and economic storms he weathered and his enduring popularity with the general public.

“His anger and his lust for life are so familiar,” says Koen van Kaam of Theater Zuidpool, the Antwerp-based theatre company that is curating the festival. After De Roovers in 2013, Theater Zuidpool is the second Antwerp collective to temporarily set up camp in Ostend in the middle of the summer holidays to curate the festival.

Both troupes share a deep commitment to socially and emotionally conscious plays. And rather than focusing on whatever headlines are dominating the news, they take a much broader perspective and tackle the works of famous and lesser-known playwrights in their contemporary pieces.

Zuidpool was also able to convince stage and screen actor Jan Bijvoet (Cordon), who left the company in 2009, to join them on stage once more for its Vysotsky homage.

For TAZ, which kicks off on 30 July, Zuidpool will revisit a handful of its most haunting pieces, including MACBETH, a sonically intriguing remake of the classic Shakespeare tragedy, and Al te luide eenzaamheid (Too Loud a Solitude), an acclaimed monologue that was recently selected for the upcoming edition of Het Theaterfestival. But Vysotsky’s songs, above all else, will offer audiences a reminder of where Zuidpool comes from – and is headed to.

Theater Zuidpool was founded in 1985 as the successor of Reizend Volkstheater, the official theatre company of Antwerp province. From the mid-2000s, Bijvoet, van Kaam, musician and actor Jorgen Cassier and actor Sofie Decleir took over from Koen De Sutter and breathed new life into the company, starting with their 2005 production Siberië continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Antwerp activist groups file complaint against Oosterweel Plan to connect the port city’s Ring Road goes before Council of State Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

T

he two main activist groups opposing the Oosterweel connection on the Antwerp Ring, stRatengeneraal and Ademloos, have filed a complaint with the Council of State to have the regional planning permission for the link declared void. “We have been warning the government for a year and a half, but all of our alarm bells were ignored,” the organisations said in a statement.

The Oosterweel link, named after a village on the left blank of the Scheldt that was bulldozed to make way for expansion, would

© Noriant/BAM

Architectural drawing of the Scheldt tunnel from the Linkeroever side

close the circle of the Antwerp Ring and allow traffic leaving the port area better access to roads

heading east to Germany, north to the Netherlands and south to the rest of Belgium and France.

But the connection has been contested from the start: the original plan for a long viaduct over the docks area – dubbed the Lange Wapper by opponents – was overturned by a referendum.

Opponents still contest the plans that replaced the viaduct, claiming it will be too costly, cause health problems for people living along the route and will not solve the traffic problems for which it was conceived.

According to the complaint, the government of Flanders failed to follow its own guidelines in approving the plans. The government, the organisations said,

Police unions find National Day military parade “a risk” Police were due to take part in the traditional military parade in front of the palace on National Day on Tuesday this week as usual, despite a call from unions to cancel their appearance, federal interior minister Jan Jambon has said.

Police unions had called for their section of the parade to be cancelled, describing it as “an unnecessary risk”. The unions were referring to the ongoing terrorist threat, which has been specifically aimed at police officers. If they were not allowed to withdraw, unions warned, they would take action to disrupt the event.

They also called for the cancellation of the “police village”, which presents the force’s work to the public on Poelaertplein in front of the Justice Palace.

“It’s not for unions to decide whether the event will be held but

for police management,” Jambon told the federal parliament. He had asked the risk-assessment office OCAD for an evaluation of the terrorist threat, which remains at level three, while the risk for the parade was level two (out of four).

Police unions said they were unhappy with the decision. As Flanders Today went to press, a spokesperson said they were looking into what action could be taken “without compromising security during the festivities”.

Meanwhile, it was announced that King Albert and Queen Paola would not be present to see the parade in front of the royal palace this year. They declined to appear last year, a year after King Filip had taken the throne. They said they also preferred to allow Filip and Queen Mathilde to appear without them this year. \ AH

280,000 test animals used in Flemish labs last year Scientists used 280,416 test animals in 129 labs in Flanders last year, according to the Flemish department of environment, nature and energy. It’s the first time that the government of Flanders has tracked the figures on test animals in the region, which used to be done only on a national level.

Animal welfare became a responsibility of the regions just last year, with the appointment of the first animal rights minister, Ben Weyts.

The majority of animal testing in Flanders is related to research.

This can be fundamental research, such as on the nervous system, or applied research, like on cancer. The other 24,000 animals were used for safety and toxicity tests ahead of vaccines and drugs being introduced to the market.

Mice, rats and zebra fish are the most-used test animals in Flanders, with mice coming in at nearly 137,000. Mice are used for neurological research on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, ALS and Parkinson’s disease. Rats are used in many cases for research on epilepsy. Zebra fish are increasingly used for research on toxic chemicals.

More controversial are the 38 rhesus monkeys used for fundamental research on the nervous system at the University of Leuven.

Animal welfare organisations are demanding a ban on testing on primates.

Before researchers can carry out tests on animals in Flanders, they need to obtain permission from an ethics commission, which also examines alternatives to using animals. \ Andy Furniere

children from abroad adopted in Flanders in 2014, half as many as in 2012, and the trend continues this year, with only 11 cases in the first quarter, the majority from Uganda and Poland

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Scrapping night bus to Brussels Airport “a bad idea” A plan by Flemish public transport authority De Lijn to scrap the night bus service between Anderlecht in Brussels and Brussels Airport in Zaventem is “a bad idea,” according to Paul Delva, fraction leader for CD&V in the Brussels parliament.

Line 620 runs from Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht through Molenbeek, Sint-Joost, Schaarbeek and Evere to the airport. It only carries 75 passengers a night, said De Lijn, at an annual cost of €650,000.

According to Delva, the bus is particularly important for people who work at the airport. The timetable corresponds with the starting and finish times of the night shift. And he contested De Lijn’s figures. “The number of passengers has gone up in recent years. At the last monthly count in November, 2,696 passengers were counted,” said Delva.

De Lijn, meanwhile, is considering alternatives.

“The line could be partly taken over by taxis, perhaps in co-operation with other transport companies,” suggested Dominique Renders of De Lijn in Flemish Brabant. “We could also look to see if the line could be taken over by another line.” \ AH

1,190,000

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candidates for entry to study medicine and dentistry at a Flemish university passed the exam, from a total of 4,886, a success rate of 10.6%, which is comparable to last year

holders of a Mobib card to travel on Brussels’ public transport since the end of sales of five- and 10-trip paper tickets on 1 July. About 340,000 Mobib cards are not registered to the owner by name

did not thoroughly investigate proposed alternatives, while the management company BAM acted as judge and jury.

The two groups stress their action is not designed to oppose a solution to the mobility issue and are happy to enter talks to discuss alternatives. “The government need not wait for a ruling from the Council of State,” said stRatengeneraal’s Manu Claeys. “They can decide tomorrow to repair the mistakes they’ve made.”

The Council of State is not expected to announce a ruling before the second half of next year.

18,000,000,000

people last year had permission to travel free on Brussels public transport network MIVB, mostly staff of the network. Other free users include police officers and the visually impaired

Belgian francs never converted to euros – the equivalent of €450 million, according to figures from the National Bank. The most common lost notes are those worth 100 francs (€2.50)

jULy 22, 2015

WEEK in brief Lifeguards at the Flemish coast have warned parents not to allow their children to dig deep holes in the sand, after a 14-year-old boy from France was buried when a tunnel he was digging collapsed on the beach in Oostduinkerke. He was rescued by bystanders and life guards from under one metre of sand and is still in hospital in critical condition. Holes more than knee-depth can be dangerous and collapse in on small children, the lifeguard service warned.

The introduction of the so-called white cash register, designed to eliminate the use of undeclared workers – will cost the food and drinks service industry in Flanders 11,000 to 13,000 jobs, according to a study commissioned by sector federation Horeca Vlaanderen.

That’s equivalent to seven to eight percent of all jobs in the sector. The figure, however, is lower than the 20,000 predicted when the same two Leuven professors carried out the exercise two years ago, thanks to compensatory measures introduced since then, including tax-free overtime and flexi-jobs.

The Flemish hunting association HVV has warned motorists of the danger of deer crossing roads in Flanders from mid-July to midAugust. That period is the rutting season, when male deer become “careless” of anything not involving the search for a partner, according to the organisation. Drivers are asked to be particularly cautious in wooded areas, especially in the late evening or early morning. The deer population in Flanders is estimated at about 25,000, mainly in Antwerp and Limburg provinces.

The Flemish government’s free information line 1700 has been swamped in recent days with questions about the new home-renovation premium, announced on 3 July. At the same time, the page on the website vlaanderen.be deal-

face of flanders ing with premiums has seen a 400% increase in visitors. The government had been expected to replace the premium with a tax credit, but in the end decided to keep the premium format.

Management-level employees in Flanders are able to find time for hobbies outside of the office, according to a survey carried out by Ghent University Master’s students Sander Carels and Johannes Huysmans. The average manager is keen on recreational sports and spending time in nature, but notably less interested in competitive sports, collecting or taking a management role in running a club, for example. Popular hobbies include reading, cooking, spectator sports and cultural events.

Brussels-City opened up 10 new terraces on Sint-Katelijneplein last week, extending the existing restaurant terraces on the square with matching tables and chairs. The action was immediately opposed by a Facebook group protesting at the takeover of public space for private gain. Part of the reason for the new terraces was to deter people who gather on the square in front of the church in the daytime, consuming alcohol. “The square no longer belongs to everyone, but only to those who pay,” the page reads.

Belgium counted 103,630 foreigners among its total of selfemployed in 2014, according to sector federation Unizo – the equivalent of one in 10 of all selfemployed. Four in 10 are in Flanders, and the same number in Brussels, and their numbers are led by Romanians, followed by Dutch and French. Just under one-quarter of all start-ups were foreigners, twice as many as in 2006.

The foundation for burn injuries has issued a warning of the dangers of

hogweed, a familiar roadside weed currently popping up all over the Brussels area. The plant’s sap is toxic and can cause burns, the foundation said. Belgium has two types of hogweed: common hogweed reaches a height of two metres; giant hogweed reaches five metres and has red spots on its stalk. The public is advised not to touch the plants and to report to the municipality if it is found growing where children are likely to be, such as by playgrounds or in woodland.

Els Deslé has been named as the new director of Huis van het Nederlands in Brussels, the organisation that organises Dutch lessons and integration courses. Deslé, currently co-ordinator of language policy at the organisation, replaces Gunther Van Neste, who is moving on to lead the agency for integration. Deslé already served as director of the Huis, from 2003 to 2008, when she took a six-month sabbatical and returned as deputy director.

The city of Antwerp has extended its free wi-fi network to 16 new locations, including the MAS museum, Park Spoor Nord and all municipal town halls. The service was already available on the route between Central Station and the river, including in de Keyserlei, Grote Markt and Steenplein. The connection (_Antwerp Free Wi-Fi) is open to all on registration.

Fifteen percent of office workers are at risk of suffering a “bore-out”, a phenomenon whereby boredom with a job can, like its opposite, the burn-out, lead to health hazards.

According to Dr Luc Swinnen, quoted in the employment magazine Jobat, the responsibility often lies with the company’s management, which creates the conditions for a bore-out by not delegating responsibility down the chain, by underusing staff and by failing to create new opportunities or to seize those that present themselves.

OFFSIDE Sauce wars Did you know that the mayonnaise on your fries is governed by a law passed 60 years ago? If you’d ever thought of cutting down on the fat content of the delicious condiment, you can’t: It would be against the law.

By a royal decree, mayonnaise made in Belgium must be composed of at least 80% fat and at least 7.5% egg yolk – whether you like it or not. The food industry doesn’t because if they can introduce less expensive ingredients, like water, for example, and sell it as a healthier lo-fat product, their shareholders will be happy.

“The situation is no longer tenable,” said Nicholas Courant of the food industry federation Fevia. “Our manufacturers are facing discrimination. Foreign competition is

© Ingimage

allowed to market mayonnaise containing less fat, making it possible for them to meet the demand for

sauces with fewer calories.”

Mayo in Spain, for example, only has to contain 65% fat, and it can legally be sold here as mayonnaise.

“If Belgian sauce makers want to sell a similar product, they have to market it as ‘dressing’,” Courant complained.

Earlier this week, consumer affairs minister Kris Peeters agreed to bring the various parties to the table to hammer out a new proposal. That’s likely to be in the favour of producers, which argue that their new pact to cut sugar and fat in processed foods is being undermined by the old law.

“We fear that the changes will come at the cost of the taste and the quality of the mayonnaise,” warned Els Bruggemann of Test-Aankoop. \ AH

© Dieter Hautman

Noel De Schrijver Though it’s always been a bit of controversy who first said: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, then man would have only four years left,” it’s still a sentiment worth considering.

In recent years, the main topic of conversation in the bee world has been Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which has caused the sudden deaths of hundreds of millions of bees.

The disappearance of so many bees has been blamed on the varroa mite, on pesticides called neonicotinoids, on loss of habitat and food diversity and on a combination of these factors.

Now, however, the work of Flemish beekeeper Noel De Schrijver has shown great promise in removing at least one of those risks.

A bee hobbyist from Schepdaal, Flemish Brabant, De Schrijver has succeeded in creating a cross-bred bee that is tolerant of the varroa mite, estimated to be responsible for about 40% of bee deaths. Until now, the mite has been tackled using various medications and organic acids, with limited success.

De Schrijver’s work concen-

trated on the creation of a “hygienic” breed of bee formed by crossing particular varieties that are not only resistant to the mite but can rid themselves of a varroa infestation. By artificially inseminating the queen bee, he created a tolerant population and then went on to breed new queens he could supply to other keepers.

He has now asked permission from the mayor of neighbouring Dilbeek to place his hygienic bees in the Wolfsputten nature reserve so that they can follow nature’s course and breed with bees from surrounding areas that come to the reserve to feed.

“I don’t think I’m the saviour of the bees,” he replied to a question posed by VRT radio. “But I do think I’ve taken an important step in the right direction.

Still, there’s a lot of work still to be done. The varroa mite is not the only bee killer: There are also pesticides, and beekeepers could go some way in improving conditions of their hives. Once we have all that sorted out, we’ll be on the right track towards putting the bee back on top again.” \ Alan Hope

Flanders Today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the Flemish Region and is financially supported by the Flemish authorities.

The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr 815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the content of the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement between Corelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.

Editor Lisa Bradshaw DEPUTY Editor Sally Tipper CONTRIBUTING Editor Alan Hope sub Editor Linda A Thompson Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Mediahuis AdPro Contributors Rebecca Benoot, Bartosz Brzezi´nski, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Julie Kavanagh, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Daniel Shamaun, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Débora Votquenne, Denzil Walton General manager Hans De Loore Publisher Mediahuis NV

Editorial address Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 373 99 09 editorial@flanderstoday.eu subscriptions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu Advertising 02 373 83 57 advertising@flanderstoday.eu Verantwoordelijke uitgever Hans De Loore

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\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN Cruel Summer

At the one-year mark of the new government of Flanders, newspapers are publishing lists of measures it has taken so far.

Most people will feel the financial impact of curbed tax benefits on mortgages, increased higher education fees and more expensive childcare.

The federal government, too, has limited unemployment benefits, raised the retirement age and plans on skipping an index adaption, which automatically links the wages to the cost of living.

In spite of all these social and economic measures, normally the playing field of the socialists, SP.A has hardly made itself heard in the past year. Instead, it has mostly been struggling to find itself.

A bitter fight for the party leadership broke out, after sitting president Bruno Tobback refused to resign following the party’s electoral defeat.

The party went into a state of hibernation, leaving opposition work to Groen.

Topping off the annus horribilis was the death of Steve Stevaert, the former socialist party leader who took his own life after allegations of rape.

Stevaert was the last socialist to lead SP.A to electoral victory.

SP.A’s new party leader, John Crombez, has his work cut out for him, as the Flemish socialists are no longer seen as the propagators of progress but as the defenders of vested rights – unlimited unemployment benefits and early pensions – that may not gel with this century’s problems.

The same holds true for trade unions, with which SP.A is heavily associated. A socialist leader once said: “With every train strike, the people on the platform become more rightwing.”

Crombez had pledged to “speak without handbrakes”, without fear of scaring off voters. The first situation he addressed was the popular company car – or “wage cars”, as they are known – which have resulted in the massive pollution and traffic problems facing Flanders today. Also, Crombez has shown that he sympathises more with the Spanish Podemos party and Greece’s Syriza than he does with the Dutch social-democrat Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Whether that will be enough to regain the 20% of the vote that Crombez dreams about remains to be seen. Especially since a small railroad union has announced strikes every single Saturday of the summer, hitting daytrippers and the tourism industry at the coast hard. It will be a long, cruel summer for Crombez, a man from the coast himself. \ Anja Otte

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Flanders and Vienna co-operate for Bruegel anniversary Bourgeois and Weyts in Austria to discuss cultural collaboration Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

F

lemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has completed a two-day visit to Vienna, with a view to strengthening the cultural ties between Flanders and Austria in the run-up to the 450th anniversary of the death of artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Bourgeois was accompanied by Flanders’ tourism minister, Ben Weyts.

The ministers met Austrian culture minister Jozef Ostermayer and visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna (pictured), which is collaborating with several Bruges museums and with the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (KMSKA) on a number of projects.

These include the restoration of paintings and tapestries, loans to the KHM and the Bruegel anniversary in 2019.

The high point of the anniversary will be an exhibition in KHM, jointly organised with the KMSKA. Bruegel the Elder lived many years of his life in Antwerp and Brussels, and KHM has

an extensive collection of pieces from the Habsburg empire, which ruled the low countries during Bruegel’s life.

Flanders will follow with a Bruegel memorial to coincide with the re-opening of KMSKA, which has been closed since 2011 for renovations.

“With this visit to Vienna we are turning our attention to the cultural bonds that exist between Flanders and Austria,” Bourgeois said.

Proposal to ban trans-fats in Belgium Federal MP Nele Lijnen (Open VLD) plans to propose a bill banning the use of trans-fats in all foodstuffs in Belgium, following the US example.

Trans-fats are unsaturated fats of animal or vegetable origin that have been partially hydrogenated – treated with hydrogen – to make them solid or semi-solid. That makes them appealing to the food industry for processed foods because the texture is perfect for baked goods and because trans-fats have a longer shelf life. Trans-fats are also used in deep-frying and in margarines and other spreads.

Consumption of trans-fats, which have historically been marketed as a healthier alternative to animal fats like lard and butter, has been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has given the industry three years to eliminate trans-fats from its processes completely, arguing that the products are “not generally recognised as safe”.

The US decision led the European Cardiology Society to press for a similar ban in the EU. Lijnen said that there is a consensus within the government coalition in the Belgian parliament. \ AH

Homans promises action on controversy around mayor of Linkebeek Flemish minister for internal affairs Liesbeth Homans is sending a government commissioner into the municipality of Linkebeek in Flemish Brabant in connection with the controversial issue of the status of mayor-elect Damien Thiéry. The commissioner will attend the next meeting of the city council to determine if valid nomination papers have been tabled for a new mayor.

Three years after the last municipal elections in 2012, Linkebeek, one of the municipalities with language facilities in the Vlaamse rand, or Flemish periphery of Brussels, still has no mayor sworn in. Thiéry was nominated twice, but his nomination is not accepted by the government of Flanders because he broke laws regarding electoral language during the election.

“The problem in Linkebeek has been dragging on since 2007,” Homans said. “Since the elections of 2012, Damien Thiéry has been put forward twice as mayor. His nomination has each time been refused by the Flemish government, and each time that has been upheld by the highest administrative tribunal of the land, the Council of State.”

Homans’ decision was condemned by Thiéry’s Frenchspeaking party MR, a coalition party in the federal government, which also includes Homans’ party, N-VA. MR pointed out that Thiéry was elected by a comfortable majority in 2006 and 2012 and cannot be reproached for the way Linkebeek has been run under his authority. The council, the party said, does not have an alternative candidate for mayor. \ AH

“We are extremely proud of our co-operation with the Kunsthistorisches Museum, an institution with collections that transcend national and regional boundaries. I look forward to the Bruegel exhibition in 2018 and hope that the ties between Flanders and Austria might become even stronger in the future.”

While in Austria, Bourgeois also paid a visit to Wienerberger, one of the world’s biggest brick manufacturers and Austria’s largest investor in the Flemish region. Wienerberger employs 1,100 people at 12 facilities in Flanders.

“Wienerberger is an excellent example of a classic industrial company innovating in sustainable materials, new construction processes and energy efficiency,” Bourgeois said. “The company is thinking about liveable cities and working towards alternative means of transport, such as the catamaran on the Rupel,” he said, referring to the project to transport goods by water on the river, a tributary of the Scheldt.

Anti-doping charter adopted for fitness centres Flemish sports minister Philippe Muyters has reached an agreement with the fitness industry on an anti-doping charter. The number of people found using performanceenhancing drugs in fitness centres has risen steadily in recent years.

The charter commits staff of gyms to raise awareness among employees and customers about the dangers of doping but also to communicate any suspicions of doping circles to authorities. The document was presented and signed at the Fitopia club in Edegem, near Antwerp.

“The sector is accepting its responsibilities, which brings us to this widely supported charter with its clear commitments that will also let people know which clubs

put their health and safety first,” Muyters said.

Inspections in the fitness sector are carefully targeted and mainly take place in clubs where there is already a suspicion of doping – one of the reasons why the numbers are so high. The peak was reached last year, when the number of those found to have used performanceenhancing drugs reached nearly 38% of those tested.

“It would be a pity if the fitness sector were to become identified with doping as a result of that,” commented Eric Vandenabeele, director of sector federation fitness.be. “Those fitness clubs and users who do it right deserve recognition.” \ AH

De Croo in talks with mobile internet providers about free test project The federal government is planning a test project in October to offer free mobile internet during the weekend, Alexander De Croo, minister for the digital agenda, has announced. According to figures, Belgium is far behind its neighbours when it comes to the use of mobile internet.

De Croo is in talks with mobile operators to provide free internet access for a limited number of weekends, with the aim of enticing people who are not yet using mobile internet. “I think a lot of people will be convinced if they can try it out without having to worry about the cost,” De Croo said.

In Belgium, 57.5% of the population uses mobile internet, less than in neighbouring countries like

© Ingimage

the Netherlands and France, and around the same level as Eastern European countries.

The price of access, De Croo said, has come down from a high last year to a more attractive level. “Including the virtual operators, there are about 45 operators, so there’s plenty of competition, which has a good effect on prices,” he said. “There are a variety of plans, including mobile internet from €10 a month, but a lot of people don’t realise that.” \ AH

\ COVER STORY

jULy 22, 2015

Life is art

Antwerp theatre group offers new voices and friends a stage at TAZ festival

taz2015.be

continued from page 1

(Siberia), a theatrical concert with Vysotsky songs.

Their first years as an artistic team were no walk in the park as subsidies they received from the government of Flanders were cut in half.

“We had to fire people and pay severance,” van Kaam says. “I think the government assumed that our structure would disappear. Vysotsky’s howling somehow suited that initial struggle.”

for new angles and collaborations and trying to give a stage to young playwrights and artists.”

Fitting with the festival’s traditional focus on young talent, the Zuidpool threesome invited a few masters to teach summer classes to Belgian and Dutch art students, including Paul Koek of the Leidenbased Veenfabriek, British choreographer Jonathan Burrows and the Antwerp-based British painter

The people who inspire us are full of wonder, making something big out of the smallest detail In spite of those initially difficult days, Zuidpool has produced more than 20 plays in the last decade, both contemporary – taking on, for instance, the traumatic Heizel stadium disaster of 1985 – and classical, as well as musical theatre and even dance.

“Being here after 10 years, having done what we’ve done, feels like a victory,” says Decleir.

And it’s a victory the artists want to share with their friends. “Having our own venue in downtown Antwerp, we’ve always been a free haven for artists of different disciplines,” van Kaam explains. “Our selection for TAZ illustrates that mentality – we are difficult to label, but we’re happy with that and always looking

Nick Andrews. “All will be sharing their artistic knowhow with future generations.”

One of Zuidpool’s seminal works is 2009’s OPUS XX, which they’re also reprising in Ostend. Based on Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century by Czech author Patrik Ourˇedník, the piece is a grim deconstruction of the previous century, packaged into a compelling monologue.

“Written from the perspective of someone who’s not familiar with our planet, the accumulating list of events – seemingly dry, objective facts – becomes far more emotional than you would expect,” explains Decleir.

“While not making any distinction

© Wendy Marijnissen

Koen van Kaam will perform Al te luide eenzaamheid at TAZ: “A portrayal of a good soul, but you wouldn’t want to sit next to him on the tram”

between, for instance, the discovery of Barbie and the concentration camps, it’s a heavy trip into our collective memories,” continues van Kaam. “It is reminiscent of

Our picks at Theater Aan Zee VYSOTSKY

Theater Zuidpool Vladimir Vysotsky initially gained popularity in the former USSR with his performance as Hamlet. But it was with his songs – full of poetry, humour and raw social commentary – that really conquered people’s hearts, and drove the establishment mad. Ten years ago, Theater Zuidpool paid homage to him by performing a selection of his (600) songs in Dutch. At TAZ, they’ll revisit his catalogue with a few musician friends. (In Dutch) 29-30 July 20.00

The Cow Piece / Body Not Fit for Purpose Jonathan Burrows & Matteo Fargion This double bill of hilarious theatre, music and dance by British choreographer Jonathan Burrows and composer Matteo Fargion asks pertinent political and philosophical questions. Witness for yourself how 12 plastic cows serve as a metaphor for our lives and how this

comic duo succeeds in making you guffaw with the tiniest variation in tone and rhythm. (In English) 30 July 20.30

L’un d’entre nous (One of Us)

Tristero & Transquinquennal It was Zuidpool’s explicit wish to include a French-language play in their selection for TAZ. In this collaborative effort of the kindred spirits of Tristero theatre company and their Brussels colleagues from Transquinquennal, the actors stay in bed to discuss politics and life. A brilliant piece with which to begin the weekend. (In French with Dutch subtitles) 31 July 21.00; 1 August 15.00

Drijven en overdrijven (Drift and Exaggerate)

Gerard Herman Every two years, Zuidpool organises the interdisciplinary RECUP festival. This was how they met young poet and visual artist Gerard Herman. They liked what they saw,

and have now invited him to take up residency in a little boat in the Leopoldpark pond. Visitors can drift with him to the other side and may even be treated to a drink or poem. (In Dutch) 5-8 August 14.0022.00

MACBETH Theater Zuidpool This year’s TAZ ends with the 2012 ground-breaking collaboration between Zuidpool and musicians Mauro Pawlowski, Sjoerd Bruil and Tijs Delbeke. Their take on the Shakespearean nightmare (pictured), ruthlessly composed by Pawlowski, shows how power can lead to paranoia. Noisy, dangerous and sharp in its original Elizabethan English. (In English with Dutch surtitles) 8 August 21.00

the opening scene of In Europe, the acclaimed book by Dutch author Geert Mak.” That opening scene of Mak’s book (who will participate in a panel at the festival) focuses on Frans Reicholt, an Austrian tailor who jumped from the Eiffel Tower in 1912, positively convinced he could fly. “A few years before the First World War, optimism was on the rise, and this man, wearing a selfmade costume, was going to make a statement and – very soon thereafter – a big hole in the ground,” van Kaam explains. “Before he jumped, you could see him hesitate: ‘Fuck, it’s not going to work out, but there’s a camera on me; it’s too late to stop’.”

Reicholt crashed to the ground and died.

For van Kaam, this type of hopeful destruction characterises humanity and is a constant in the work of Zuidpool. “So we try not to react too much to what happened the other day,” he explains. “Our plays will never be political pamphlets.

We choose to work from a much broader perspective.”

This perspective on humanity also characterises the work of the late Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, whose mark is all over this year’s edition of the festival. Zuidpool has invited his translator, Kees

30 July to 8 August

Mercks, for a living room debate, while Greet Jacobs will perform the monologue De bloedmooie Julinka (Gorgeous Julinka), which is based on one of the writer’s short stories.

And van Kaam will perform Al te luide eenzaamheid. “A portrayal of another good soul, but you would not want to sit next to him on the tram,” he says.

It’s these kind of people, who have tried to make artworks of their own lives, that continually resurface in Zuidpool’s oeuvre. “They are full of amazement and wonder,” says van Kaam, “making something big out of the smallest detail but failing over and over again, surrounded by obstacles or threatened by the authorities … just look at Vysotsky.”

So, yes, you can read Zuidpool’s work as a plea for the right to fail, and preferably in a limitless world at that. “We just don’t respect borders – not between languages, not between disciplines, not between generations,” van Kaam says.

He offers the example of this year’s festival poster, which shows a large empty surface. “It needs to be filled, but there’s no format to do it. This open field is where we like to meet people. There’s a good reason why our opening words in the festival’s brochure are ‘Leave your passports and discount cards at home’.”

Across Ostend

© Raymond Mallentjer

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\ BUSINESS

week in business Air Brussels Airport The identity-checking automatic doors at Brussels Airport broke down last week just two days after coming into operation. The doors use facial-recognition technology to compare the passenger’s face with the passport photo. The six gates are for EU passengers travelling from outside the Schengen area. They are now back in operation.

Air Ryanair The low-cost airline expects to handle eight million passengers this year in Belgium, an increase of 30% on last year, according to CEO Michael O’Leary.

Ryanair is active at Brussels and Charleroi airports.

Development Uplace The Flemish government has reached an agreement with the planned shopping and leisure centre Uplace in Machelen over mobility arrangements for the site.

The agreement sees the cost to Uplace for mobility works increase from €12.9 million to €14.5 million now.

Fashion Natan Brussels-based label Natan has presented its design for a pink ribbon in support of breast cancer charities. The ribbon, in the form of a pink tape-measure, will be sold for €3 to be worn during breast cancer month in October.

Mobile Mobistar The information provided to the telecoms regulator BIPT by mobile operator Base for compiling a new map showing 2G, 3G and 4G mobile coverage was not complete, Mobistar has claimed. The map shows Base to have the best 4G coverage in Belgium, but Mobistar claims 4% of Base’s data is incomplete, making a fair comparison impossible.

Retail Basilix The Basilix shopping centre in Brussels has been sold to the French group Primonial for a reported €64 million.

Retail Van Dalen The Dutch shoe chain, with five stores in Flanders, has declared bankruptcy. Talks are underway for a partial takeover but not all shops will be saved.

\6

Cartamundi to manufacture Hasbro’s board games

Turnhout-based company to produce Monopoly and Cluedo for US firm Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

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artamundi, the playing card manufacturer based in Turnhout, Antwerp province, has reached a provisional agreement to take over Hasbro’s two board game factories. The American firm is the creator of such seminal board games as Monopoly, Cluedo, Risk and Trivial Pursuit.

The factories are in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, in the US and Waterford in Ireland, and together employ 510 people. The financial details of the deal have not been revealed, and a definitive agreement is expected in the autumn.

“We will be financing the takeover on the basis of our own resources and cash-flow, as well as bank financing. But we will not require any special financial techniques,” said Cartamundi CEO Chris Van Doorslaer.

© Courtesy William Warby/Flickr Commons

Hasbro plans to stop producing board games but will continue with development. “We’ll carry on hammering away at worldwide development of new brands driven by storytelling

and innovation,” said vice president Duncan Billing.

Cartamundi is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of playing cards, with sales of €199 million in 2014 and a workforce of 1,600 people at facilities across the world, including Belgium, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan and the US. The company had already supplied cards for Hasbro games, including the famous Get Out of Jail Free cards for Monopoly. The latest deal now makes Cartamundi a world leader in the manufacturer of board games.

“We were a bit active in that sector through our factories in Germany and the United States, where we produce three million board games a year,” Van Doorslaer said. “Now that figure goes up to more than 40 million.”

Electrabel to build 100 new windmills by 2020

EU to provide aid of €6.2 million for former Ford Genk workers

Electricity provider Electrabel is to build more than 100 wind turbines between now and 2020, doubling its existing capacity in Belgium, the company said.

At present, Electrabel has 94 turbines in operation in 26 locations. They have a capacity of 175 megawatts (MW) and produce enough electricity to supply 100,000 households. By 2020, Electrabel intends to increase capacity to 400 MW. “In the coming five years, we’ll be building as many windmills as we did in the last 15 years,” the company said. This year alone, 25 new turbines will come into operation at six locations in Flanders and two in Wallonia. Construction will continue at the rate of

The EU Commission has offered €6.2 million in aid from its globalisation fund to help former Ford Genk employees find a new job. About 4,500 workers were made redundant when factory in Limburg closed down at the end of last year.

Those eligible for assistance include Ford workers as well as employees at 11 companies that supplied the factory with parts.

The aid was proposed by work and social affairs commissioner Marianne Thyssen of the Flemish party CD&V. It still has to be approved by the governments of member states and by the European Parliament.

The globalisation fund was set up to help workers in EU member states affected by changes in the global labour market, which have had a particularly strong effect on the car industry: Europe’s share of that market has fallen from 32.2% in 2007 to 23.2% in 2012.

The money is intended to be used

© Ingimage

about 20 a year after that.

The project requires an investment of about €400 million, with half coming from Electrabel and the other half from project partners, including private investors grouped together in the Electrabel CoGreen co-operative. \ AH

Ghent-based Bubble Post expands into Wallonia, Netherlands The Flemish company Bubble Post, which offers eco-friendly goods transport services, is extending its activities in September to Wallonia and the Netherlands. The expansion will be financed by a capital injection of €2.35 million.

At present, Bubble Post, based in Ghent, employs 65 people in “last kilometre” logistics: goods arrive by conventional means (generally rail and road) at Bubble Post depots on the outskirts of towns.

The goods are then transported by electric vans and cargo-bikes into town centres, easing traffic, noise and air quality problems.

Bubble Post is active in Brussels and several Flemish cities, including Antwerp, Bruges and Kortrijk. It opened a new distri-

© Francois Lenoir/Reuters/Corbis

for individual support and assistance, for training programmes and for hiring bonuses to companies for taking on older workers.

The total cost of the programme is €10.4 million, of which the EU will provide €6.2 million.

“Recent years have seen the production of motor vehicles decrease markedly in Europe, and the car industry is at present undergoing structural changes as a result of globalisation,” Thyssen said. “The proposal to make more than €6 million available will help 4,500 redundant workers prepare for a new job to see them through these difficult times.” \ AH

Olen company makes breakfast shake for people with dementia © Courtesy ecoplan.be

bution centre last month in Ostend. By the end of this year, the company plans to add 19 more cities in Wallonia and the Netherlands, including Charleroi, Liège, Mons, Amsterdam and Utrecht.

The workforce is planned to increase to 200 to handle the extra business. A partnership with a Spanish company is also on the agenda. \ AH

People with advanced forms of dementia often have problems swallowing, which led Tops Foods, based in Olen, Antwerp province, to co-operate in the development of Topshake, a nutritionally sound breakfast with a pudding-like texture.

“Because people with dementia have difficulty swallowing, they often do not have a balanced diet,” Michel Tops, CEO of Tops Foods, told Gazet van Antwerpen. The company, which specialises in ready-made meals, is targeting its new product at rest homes and home health-care organisations.

The shake was developed by research groups at the University College Thomas More in Geel and the University of Leuven, which determined ingredients, flavour and texture and carried out a test project in rest homes. Mass production of Topshake is planned to start later this year, and the shake will be brought onto the market in seven different flavours. \ Andy Furniere

\ INNOVATION

jULy 22, 2015

Vampire rat

week in innovation

Brussels scientist uncovers creature with blood-red teeth Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

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palaeontologist working for the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels has discovered a 70-million-year-old mammal with blood-red teeth that lived on an island in the region of Transylvania in what is now Romania.

According to researcher Thierry Smith, the fossil of Barbatodon transylvanicus (pictured) is the oldest known example of a mammal with iron in its teeth, and its skull is the most complete mammal fossil from the Upper Cretaceous period.

Transylvania. Blood-red teeth.

Could it be? But no: The red in the enamel of Barbatodon’s incisors and on the surface of its molars is not from sucking blood but from the presence of iron in the enamel.

Although Barbatodon was discovered by the river Barbat, just 200 kilometres from the castle of Vlad Dracul, the creature apparently

© Thierry Smith/RBINS

didn’t drink blood.

“This rodent-like mammal had long incisors and ate very hard food, like grain,” explains Smith.

“Thanks to spectrometric analyses carried out using an electron

microscope, we observed that the red enamel was composed of 6.88% iron, which provides teeth with protection from wear and tear. This was particularly important for the animal as it couldn’t

grow another set of teeth.” Some present-day rodents have also been observed with iron in their tooth enamel.

It’s significant, Smith says, that the unusual find came on what used to be Hateg Island, a part of southern Europe that was an archipelago 70 million years ago. Barbatodon lived there with a population of dwarf dinosaurs, and the specimen found is at least 15 million years older than the one previously thought to be the oldest.

“Islands are often a refuge for primitive species,” explains Smith, “They survive longer on them than on the mainland, and often natural selection on islands favours smaller species, like the Flores Man or Sicilian pygmy elephants.”

Smith’s work was in conjunction with Vlad Codrea of the university of Babès-Bolya in Romania, and their paper on Barbatodon transylvanicus appears in the latest edition of the journal PLOS One.

Closing nuclear plants will push up CO2 levels, says study Closing the country’s nuclear power plants and moving away from energy generated from fossil fuels could cause an increase in carbon dioxide emissions of up to 147%, according to a study by Ghent University. A large-scale change in that direction, however, remains a distant prospect, according to energy experts.

Even if the share of renewable energy were to increase to 57%, which would require an investment of between €20 million and €40 billion, the increase in CO2 emissions created by electricity generation could be held to 60%, economist Johan Albrecht, author of the study, concludes.

Albrecht studied various scenarios for a replacement of nuclear and fossil energy, assuming growth in demand of 0.5% a year, to 95 terawatt-

hours by 2030. At present, electricity produces 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions; under Albrecht’s forecast, that would go up to 37 million tonnes.

“We can perfectly well close our nuclear plants and deal effectively with the climate problem,” according to a statement issued by environmental organisations Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Greenpeace and WWF. “80% of our CO2 emissions come from buildings, transport, agriculture and industry,” they said. “That gives us a lot of ground to be won. The key element in the fight against climate change is energy efficiency, and there lies the problem. Belgium is one of the worst energy guzzlers in Europe.”

“We would be avoiding our responsibility if we

© Alexandre Jacquemin/Wikimedia

didn’t undertake a thorough renovation of our buildings, together with smarter mobility and a less CO2 -intensive industry and agriculture.” \ AH

Michiel Dusselier is a postdoctoral researcher in bioscience engineering at the University of Leuven. He’s developed a cost-efficient and greener method of producing PLA, one of the best-known plastics derived from renewable sources.

What’s different in your method?

It’s a radically new process that only takes one step to make lactide from lactic acid, thanks to a zeolite catalyst. This has many advantages: It allows us to skip a step, needs mild temperatures and pressure conditions and has minimal by-products. The purity of the lactide building blocks is very high, eliminating the need for additional expensive purification. The process is also – in theory – waste-free, as the few by-products formed can be recycled, and the zeolite is reusable.

How biodegradable is PLA? Can I just drop a cup made from it in the street?

In the first four months of 2015, twice as many solar panels were installed in Flanders than in the same period last year, as a result of stricter rules for new buildings and the decreasing price of the technology. In the period to 30 April, there were 2,836 new installations of solar panels of less than 10 kilowatts.

The same period in 2014 saw 1,293. The market in Flanders had come to a standstill following a boom between 2005 and 2012, because of the phasing out of subsidies. The new rise is being attributed to tighter regulations for new buildings.

Intelligent mobility app to be launched Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts is preparing an intelligent app that provides traffic information in real time and could help commuters avoid trouble spots when driving to and from work, for example. The app will gather information from public transport authority De Lijn, Flanders’ traffic control centre, rail authority NMBS and Brussels public transport system MIVB, among other sources.

“I believe in combimobility – making a trip with different means of mobility,” said Weyts. “But smart combimobility can only work on two conditions: quality alternatives for the car and knowledge about them among the public.”

Doel power station on the banks of the River Scheldt

Q&A

First of all: what’s the problem with the current method of PLA production?

The current production process is expensive because there are lots of intermediate steps. First a low quality PLA is made from lactic acid that is then broken down again to yield lactide molecules – the building blocks of PLA. Those building blocks are then polymerised to give a good quality PLA. Part of the lactic acid feedstock, however, is wasted in this process, as it needs certain conditions – high temperatures, costly vacuum pressures – that create by-products. In short, the current route presents an expensive detour that’s inefficient.

Twice as many solar panels installed

The degradable aspect is also useful in medicine. For example, there are stitches made from PLA that are gradually absorb into the body.

Furthermore, PLA is renewable, as the lactic acid is made from sugars from plants, not from oil or gas.

No. Chemically speaking, perhaps, but it would still take a very, very long time to decompose. However, PLA is easily degradable via industrial composting. Also, if collected and sorted, it can readily be recycled into lactic acid, which can be used again to make new PLA. It’s very hard to do this with classic plastics.

Can your method be applied to other plastics?

Our technology is indeed not only applicable to PLA, but also to other polyester plastics. As such, the process can facilitate the synthesis of underexplored and even new renewable polymer building blocks. These can lead to novel polyester plastics with different and enhanced properties. We hope polymer researchers worldwide will pick up on our technique, as until now, it’s been very hard to make some of these building blocks in the lab. \ Interview by Senne Starckx

New prospects for Fragile X and autism Flemish scientists have discovered that a specific protein plays an important role in the development of Fragile X syndrome (FXS) among newborn babies. The discovery opens new possibilities for treating both FXS and autism. FXS is the most common hereditary form of intellectual disability and the most frequent cause of autistic spectrum disorders. Through experiments on mice, researchers connected to the Flemish life sciences research centre VIB and the University of Leuven determined how the lack of a certain protein leads to an excess of the protein APP and the enzyme ADAM10. By using an experimental molecule, researchers succeeded in influencing the enzyme in mice with FXS, with positive effects on behavioural disorders. \ Andy Furniere

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\ EDUCATION

jULy 22, 2015

Figure of speech

week in education New funding for learning assistance

Antwerp students design robotic interpreter for the deaf Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

PROJECTASLAN.BE

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or their dissertation, three Antwerp students have designed and built a robotic arm that has mastered sign language.

Attach the arm to a lifelike robot, and you have a fully robotic interpreter for the deaf.

Stijn Huys, Jasper Slaets and Guy Fierens created the device as part of their Master’s studies in electromechanical engineering. It was Huys who came up with the idea. “For my thesis I really wanted to create something that helps people,” he said. “Through a friend I learned that it’s really difficult to enrol in sign language courses in Flanders as there aren’t many available places.

So I decided to sink my teeth into that.”

The robotic arm, which they named Aslan, can express every letter of the Flemish sign language alphabet and can mimic every number from zero to nine. Official Flemish Sign Language is used by about 6,000 people in the region.

So how does Aslan do the job? “Aslan knows the complete Flemish manual alphabet,” explains Huys. “That means it expresses words and sentences by spelling out every letter. Of course, using this method, it would take ages to express just one sentence. That’s why the manual alphabet is only a small part of sign language. Deaf people use it to express proper names or words that have no separate sign. In sign language, whole words have separate signs.”

We want to add another arm so Aslan can extend his manual alphabet with a real vocabulary Aslan is still a prototype, a first step towards a full robotic interpreter. “In the coming years, we want to add another arm so that Aslan can extend his current manual alphabet with a real

Pupils to become archaeologists for a day

The students hope to expand on their invention and come up with a robot that could work as an interpreter

vocabulary,” he explains. “In the end, we even want to add facial expressions, maybe by attaching a monitor. Facial expression is very important in sign language, as it acts as the intonation that we put in our sentences to give them context and feeling.”

The team also wants to develop a new interface for the interpreter. “Now we key in every letter separately in an attached computer,” says Huys.

“Later we want to put in whole sentences and let the computer split them up into words. We also want to add software that transforms the grammar of spoken Flemish into that of Flemish Sign Language.”

In an ideal scenario, a robotic interpreter would be equipped with speech recognition so that it can really be used as an interpreter, alongside a speaker. “I don’t see any difficulties that can prevent us from doing this,” says Huys. “The software we’re using now is already fast enough to keep up with spoken language, and Aslan is quick enough to move its arm with the rhythm of the speaker.”

The team has a number of ideas for how Aslan

would be put to work. “When you have a class of schoolchildren with only one or two children who are deaf or hearing impaired, the robot could help diminish the gap between them and the rest of the pupils by simultaneously translating the teacher’s words,” he says.

It’s also a lesson in mechanics. “It would be nice for the children to put the robot arm together themselves. We’ve developed it as a collection of pieces that are 3D printable and that click together.”

Hospitals could also benefit from engaging a robotic interpreter, says Huys. “Doctors or nurses who work in a department where patients with hearing disorders are treated often don’t have the time to learn sign language themselves. So a robot could facilitate the communication with patients.

“A lot of people think that deaf people can read and understand doctors through written text.

But that’s often not the case. We learn to read by coupling sounds to letters, and obviously, for people who are deaf from birth, that’s not possible.”

Q&A

VWO.BE

Paul Igodt is a professor of mathematics at the University of Leuven.

He’s one of the founders of the Flanders Mathematics Olympiad (VWO), an annual competition for secondary school children that turns 30 this year.

You and Frank De Clerck from Ghent University recently received a career award from the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts. Were you pleased with that?

Yes, of course I’m happy. But I’d like to stress that the whole team behind the Olympiad – about 20 people – deserves to be celebrated.

This award is also for them. And I’d like to mention all the maths and science teachers in Flanders, without whom we wouldn’t be able to organise such a large-scale competition.

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits has earmarked €115,000 for seven initiatives that see students in higher education helping younger pupils study and choose an academic path. The initiatives, she said, will go a long way to developing learning competences and self-confidence among students. The mentors are mostly studying teaching, pedagogical or didactic subjects, while the pupils they assist are underprivileged or have a learning deficit. The older students will help them with homework, provide extra tutoring and guide them in their choice of study streams.

Can you tell us how it started, back in 1985?

Competitions between pupils go back a long way. The international equivalent of the VWO, the International Mathematical Olympiad, was first held in 1959. Ten years later, the first Belgian team participated. The members of the team back then were selected by teachers because we didn’t have any national or regional competition – and the results in the 1970s and ’80s showed it. So that was one of the reasons we wanted to start a proper competition in Flanders.

Since 1985, our participation in the

final of the international Olympiad has been more successful, with several top-30 finishes.

What’s the value of the Olympiad?

The academy gave Frank and me the award for our achievements in

science communication. That’s an important feature of the Olympiad: It’s an excellent way to present the dry subject of maths – as it is often taught in secondary school – in a vivid and exciting way. The questions our participants have to solve are full of inspiration, and often they are quite tricky – real brain teasers. They are absolutely not like normal exam questions. The Olympiad allows students to see maths from a different perspective.

Take this together with the competition element and the fact that the first round is held at the schools – after that there’s a second and a final round – and you get an event that’s appealing enough for 20,000 students to sign up each year. I think that’s impressive.

Students in the last three years of primary school and the first year of secondary school will get the chance to be archaeologists for a day this autumn. The pupils will help professional archaeologists to find relics from Roman times in Ypres, West Flanders, with the inter-municipal archaeological service Archeo7. Recent research at an industrial site in Ypres brought to light relics from the Second World War and from the Roman period. The findings have been unearthed but not yet thoroughly examined. Archeo7 will teach students about the work of archaeologists and about the Romans in Ypres before letting them sift through the soil in search of relics.

Transition period for inclusive education From 1 September, pupil support agencies will have to refer more children with disabilities to mainstream education. To allay concerns about how the process will work in practice, education minister Hilde Crevits has written to the agencies explaining that there will be a two-year transition period. The agencies play an important role in giving advice about the best option for a child, in consultation with parents and schools. If pupils are moved into regular education, they must receive sufficient support and schools should not be forced to introduce unrealistic adjustments.

There is concern about the move in the sector, so Crevits has promised a transition period of two years, during which the inspection service will play a more supportive role. \ Andy Furniere

\ Interview by SS

\9

\ LIVING

week in activities Royal open house The official residence of the Belgian royals is open to the public for a few weeks each summer. In addition to the state rooms, see temporary exhibitions about insects and paintings of ancestry. 22 July to 6 September, 10.30-16.30, Royal Palace, Paleizenplein, Brussels; free \ monarchie.be

Pikkeling A traditional harvest festival in and around Aalst with folklore groups, farm activities and local food specialties.

Highlights include parade and performances in the city centre on Friday, and a weekend farm festival with tractor pulling, animals, craft demonstrations and more. 22-28 July; Across Aalst; free \ de-pikkeling.be

Elferiëen The woods of Flavirama Park in Tervuren become a magical wonderland for a night of elven music, fantastical costumes, a fairy parade, and food and drink. The evening ends with a unique light and music show.

25 July, 18.00-midnight; Flavirama Park, Jezus Eiklaan 74a, Tervuren; free \ flavirama.be

Loon Swings Annual party for young and old alike in the centre of Borgloon, with bands performing on outdoor stages and in participating cafes. 25 July, starting at 20.00; Borgloon (Limburg); free \ loonswingt.be

Kids Allowed A super-cool afternoon at the beach for kids 14 and under.

Games, street theatre, circus workshops and more. 25 July, from 14.00; Epernayplein, Middelkerke and other location in West Flanders; free \ tinyurl.com/Ktoegelaten

Alken harvest festival Draft horse championships, sheep shearing, gypsy rodeo, falconry, craft demonstrations, music, kids’ activities, singing milkmen. Potato harvesting with horses. And “New in 2015: DOGDANCE” – whatever it is, it sounds awesome. 2 August, 11.0018.00; Eikenbosweg 1, Alken (Limburg); €3 \ alkenseoogstfeesten.be

\ 10

The beauty of biking Flanders’ most famous cycle path network turns 20 Diana Goodwin More articles by Diana \ flanderstoday.eu

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his year, Limburg province is marking the 20th anniversary of its pioneering bike path network with contests, giveaways and special cycling events. By all accounts, there’s plenty to celebrate: the network has been a resounding success, copied all over Flanders as well as abroad. It has made Limburg a prime destination for recreational cyclists and has given a boost to numerous cafés, accommodations and tourist attractions located along the network.

The bike path network is a system of intersecting segments joined by numbered junctions. These can be strung together to create a customised route, giving users freedom to choose where (and how far) they want to go. The system was devised in 1995 by a former mining engineer named Hugo Bollen. It’s hard to believe now, but at the time there was little support for such a network.

In 1995, there were already local and regional cycling routes, indicated by small white signs which can still be seen around Flanders.

But these were limited to a single trajectory and allowed no possibility for deviating from the indicated path, extending the route, or joining up with other cycle routes. The use of numbered junctions was a breakthrough that permitted recreational cyclists to create their own routes.

And yet Tourism Flanders dismissed the idea, convinced that people didn’t want to follow numbers.

Limburg got permission from the federal roads authority to use rectangular, blue signs, which are technically traffic signs, to mark the network instead.

Today, there are over 2,000 kilometres of bike paths in Limburg, joined by 390 numbered junctions. And the province continues to expand and improve the system, 20 years

later. Almost 70 new junctions were added last year alone.

It’s not just the bike path network that makes Limburg a self-styled “cycling paradise”, however.

Limburg has created special designations for bike-friendly cafés and lodgings located near bike paths, giving a boost to local businesses while helping cyclists find refreshment and lodging. The province has invested in infrastructure along the paths, such as picnic tables and benches, and signboards with overview maps.

Unlike other Flemish provinces, Limburg doesn’t have famous battlefields or “art cities” (such as Bruges, Ghent and Leuven) to attract tourists. So it has done a lot to promote the bike path network, albeit primarily in Dutch.

There’s a handy map of the entire network and maps of several themed routes available for purchase, and a new, free smartphone app to help cyclists find the best routes and discover points of interest along the way.

I’ve long been a fan of the cycle paths around my hometown of Hasselt. I have my favourite routes, and I often take visiting friends on

toerismelimburg.be/nl/fietsen

bike rides into the countryside.

This summer, I decided it was time to explore the path network beyond Hasselt, so I signed up for one of the cycling events organised this year as part of the 20th-anniversary celebrations – the first-ever Limburg Fietsvierdaagse (Limburg Four-Day Cycle Event).

By the end of Day Four, I had a good grasp of what makes Limburg’s bike path network so successful Earlier this month, cyclists could choose from three routes of different lengths in and around Lanaken, a town on the Meuse river next to the Dutch border. Participants were also encouraged to visit points of interest along the route, with free admission and guided tours included as added incentives.

I arrived at Lanaken’s Community Centre on a cool and overcast morning and found the registration desk.

BITE Meetsies brings together people and food in Brussels Live in Brussels, love to eat and like to meet new people? Enter Meetsies, a new online platform where you can invite people to your place for a meal or join others for dinner and drinks. On the menu next week: finger food in Etterbeek and burgers in Elsene.

Meetsies was founded by Ségolène Martin, Nik Subramanian and Peter Heremans. They’re in their 30s, love to cook and have busy enough social lives – drinks with colleagues, chats at the gym and dinner out with friends. But they found that enlarging their circle of friends was a challenge. And, as every expat certainly knows, if you’re new to Brussels, you can’t find friends soon enough.

The three of them agreed that food was the solution. It brings people together around the same table, gives them the time to share information about themselves, and it’s a lot cosier than a drink at the bar.

Martin knows all about vegetarian cuisine as she used to run a food blog, Heremans enrolled in cooking classes and Subramanian worked at night to develop an online platform that would support their newborn idea. After a couple of test sessions, the site was ready to be launched as a pilot version.

The concept is simple: browse the available dinner options, book, pay (15 % goes to Meetsies) and patiently await the evening of the

The woman behind the table asked which route I wanted, and I replied “vijfentwintig” (25), feeling slightly shamed in the presence of all the other participants, most of whom seemed a decade or two older than me, and who were requesting the 60-kilometre routes.

But I knew that if I was going to

© Courtesy Meetsies

dinner. Those inviting people have to announce what they’ll be cooking, describe themselves in a few

make it to Day Four, I needed to pace myself. I’d never done anything like this, and cycling four days in a row was going to be a challenge.

The map of the route consisted of a series of junction numbers, with symbols indicating places where the route deviated from the network, or where there was a point of interest that could be visited.

Each route also included one or two checkpoints where you had to get your card stamped. All three routes started and ended at the same point each day, with the longer routes simply adding more junctions and following progressively wider loops.

I followed the yellow arrows from the community centre until I joined up with the bike path network. The route took me out of the city centre along the Zuid-Willemsvaart, which soon fed into the Albert Canal.

Eventually the path ascended to the top of a dyke alongside the canal, giving me a beautiful vantage point over the water and surrounding landscape.

It wasn’t long before I realised why all those 55-plussers were keen to

meetsies.com

words and indicate what languages will be spoken.

They can even decide on a theme for the evening. Topics can be anything and range from “African food” to “new in Brussels”. When the event is over, guests can rate their host – and hosts can rate their guests.

At the moment, most events take place in and around Brussels. In the future, Meetsies organisers would love to see dinners popping up all over the country. Don’t worry if you want to become a host but don’t know what to make. The website includes lots of recipes and inspiring food stories. It is as much about the food as it is about meeting new people. \ Katrien Lindemans

jULy 22, 2015

do the 60km route. They whizzed past me on their electric bikes, while I huffed and puffed on my sevenspeed. As they passed me, I envied them the greater range their motors gave them, but I consoled myself with feeling virtuous for doing it old school, on pure muscle.

The checkpoint was located at the Lieteberg Gateway to the Hoge Kempen National Park. Park rangers were on hand all day to give participants information about the park, including hiking trails and activities.

Since I was already familiar with Lieteberg, I got my card stamped and continued on my way. The 40 and 60km routes continued through the Hoge Kempen, but I was headed back to the starting point.

Near the end of my route, I passed through another gateway to the National Park, Pietersheim in

Lanaken. The Waterburcht there was another featured attraction, and I was excited to explore the 12th-century water fort for the first time. A tour of the site, which also served as an aristocratic residence and hunting lodge over the centuries, was the perfect way to end a lovely ride.

The next day’s route passed through some of the most interesting scenery and included an attraction along the way that was as fun as it was unexpected. I cycled north from Lanaken to Oud-Rekem, a picturesque and historic village with cobblestoned streets and a handsome Renaissance castle in the middle of town. From there, the bike path skirted the Meuse, with stunning views over the river valley and surrounding countryside.

But this was also the day the weather took a turn for the worse.

A stiff wind made pedalling difficult, and at times I struggled to make progress, despite putting my bike in the lowest gear. Rain showers only added insult to injury. This is the downside to cycling in Flanders: the climate is unpredictable at best, challenging at worst.

I was already beginning to feel defeated by the gusting wind when I spotted a banner directing me to De Nostalgie agricultural museum, located down a nondescript residential street. I groaned to myself.

Did I just push my aching quads all this way to see some guy’s collection of old tractors? Still, I needed a break so I resigned myself to taking a quick look.

Well, De Nostalgie turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole experience. Ivo Smeets, the proprietor, has amassed an astounding collection of vintage farm

tools, farm equipment and yes, tractors, but also vintage bikes, toys, kitchenware and all sorts of household items. What makes the museum special is how everything is displayed: in artfully arranged vignettes evoking Flemish life of yesteryear.

Thursday’s ride took me to Maastricht in Dutch Limburg, with a bike path network that joins seamlessly with Flemish Limburg, making cross-border cycling a breeze. Along the way I visited the new Neanderthal site in Veldwezelt and learned about Limburg’s earliest inhabitants.

On Friday, my route passed by the new Second World War museum at the bridge in Vroenhoven before continuing through the fields of Haspengouw.

By the end of Day Four, I felt I had a good grasp of what makes Limburg’s

50 Weekend in Flanders: Cycle out of Ghent Flanders Today has launched an e-book with ideas for how to spend a year’s worth of weekends. Visit the link above to get your free copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too.

It’s Gentse Feesten time in Ghent, so if you’re looking for a little peace and quiet, try following local cycle routes out into the countryside using the knooppunten, or junction points, network. Once you understand how the numberbased system works, it’s easy to plan your own personal route. Find yourself a Fietsnetwerk cycle map covering Gent en omgeving, which marks the knooppunten as well as bikefriendly cafes and farmhouses that sell food along the way. \ fietsnet.be

Along the BRUGES TO GHENT CANAL Follow the Coupure canal out of Ghent to reach the village of Vinderhoute. You pass several castles as you cycle through the flat Flemish farmland. Stop at one of the cafes in the village of Drongen before heading back into Ghent.

bike path network so successful. For one thing, it’s a great way to explore a given area. Because the network is so extensive, you can reach every corner of the province and discover hidden gems that you might not have visited otherwise, while the main tourist attractions and historical sites are well signposted.

It’s easy to use and adaptable to every type of cyclist, from the serious enthusiast with a racing bike to families with kids. The network is well-maintained so the biking is effortless and enjoyable, and the paths are mostly car-free, or along back roads where you encounter few vehicles.

But mostly, it’s fun. There’s lots to see and do along the way, and you’re never far from a bike-friendly cafe. I can think of no better way to spend a summer afternoon – weather permitting.

tinyurl.com/50weekends

Down the Leie to AFSNEE Follow the Leie river out of Ghent to reach the sleepy village of Afsnee, where a small ferry takes bikes and hikers across the river. You can stop in a bike-friendly cafe near the ferry crossing before heading across meadows to a suspension bridge that crosses the river Leie to Drongen abbey.

Along the Scheldt to MELLE You find a well-marked cycle route to the south of the university quarter that follows the Scheldt to Melle. You can then head across meadows to the village of Laarne before following the river towpath back to Ghent.

Down the Leie to SINT-MARTENS-LATEM South of Ghent, you can follow peaceful country lanes to reach the village of Sint-Martens-Latem. These slow routes take you through woods and meadows that were painted in the early 20th century by the Latem School of artists.

Along the Scheldt from ZWIJNAARDE Follow the quiet Visserij waterfront out of Ghent to reach the village of Zwijnaarde. From here the cycle route follows the Scheldt towpath for several kilometres. You then cross a bridge to return to the starting point along quiet cobbled lanes that run through rolling countryside.

\ 11

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jULy 22, 2015

The dark side

Playwright Peter Perceval has created a Flemish detective to remember Rebecca Benoot More articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu

P

eter Perceval has had a long and extensive career in theatre. He had translated, adapted, directed and written numerous plays before starting his own production company, 3Pees, with his wife, actress Ann Nelissen, in 1997, focusing on comedy.

After numerous plays such as The Vagina Monologues, Penis Monologues, Mother Monologues and Men Monologues, Perceval (pictured) was ready for something new. “I love detective fiction,” he says, “and I thought, why not have a crack at it?”

His debut novel, De Hollywoodfactor (The Hollywood Factor), focuses on Alessandra Vaccaro, an inspector at the federal homicide department. She’s a tough cookie whose heart always lands her in trouble, which is why she has dedicated herself to her job.

When philanthropist and exchange broker Georges Waltz is found murdered, nailed to a tree, Vaccaro takes charge but is soon confronted with her own past – especially when the killer decides to make things personal.

“The story had been lingering for some time,” Perceval explains. “I just needed an incentive to start writing. And then I read the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. The main character is such an incredibly strong woman, and I felt that was something Flemish crime fiction hadn’t personified yet.”

Inspector Vaccaro is indeed a strong, intelligent and intriguing character. “I wrote her biography,” he says, “to have a clear picture of her to work with, and, by doing so, I created someone who offers me a lot of opportunities. I’m now working on the second novel, and it’s a

progression of her life story as well as a new case.”

At first glance, comedy and thriller are two very different genres, but De Hollywoodfactor tackles subjects you’d find in both genres: prostitution, identity theft, tax evasion and delinquents.

“In comedy you have to try to surprise people,” Perceval says.

“People laugh at the unexpected.

And it’s the same with thrillers; you thrive on the unexpected.

Comedy is only good when you observe the world from the viewpoint of annoyance and surprise.

Those two features also make the main character of a thriller intrigu-

ing, because then they perceive the world from a fresh perspective.”

But there is one big difference, he says, when it comes to writing for

neighbourhood are just a few of the Antwerp locations featured in the book. Perceval gives us a vibrant and atmospheric depiction

Writing for theatre is like a sprint.

A novel is more like a triathlon theatre and writing a novel: “Writing for theatre is like a sprint. Writing a novel is more like a triathlon.”

The cathedral, the Grand Bazaar shopping centre and the Jewish

of the city by the Scheldt and its surroundings, places the Antwerp native holds dear.

“I’ve lived in Antwerp my entire life, so I know the city inside out,”

he says. “It’s not just about writing what you know; I also wanted to give people who aren’t familiar with Antwerp a clear and tangible depiction. I’m a big fan of Norwegian author Jo Nesbo, and I love the way you get to experience Oslo through his work.”

Perceval’s background in theatre is the initial reason why dialogue plays such a vital role in De Hollywoodfactor, but it goes further than that. “I’m a big fan of Anglo-Saxon crime fiction,” he says. “I’ve read a lot of Mo Hayder, Nicci French, Elmore Leonard… and when I read a Flemish novel, I’m always disappointed when it comes to dialogue.”

Flemish crime novels, he says, “lack that spark of authenticity that you find in English thrillers. So if I wanted to set myself apart, that would be the way to go.” And he has succeeded: His debut novel is filled with sassy, snappy small talk.

He’s currently writing the second instalment in the Alessandra Vaccaro series and will continue to combine theatre and novels; he has several shows starring Nelissen and comedian Bert Kruismans planned for this autumn.

De Hollywoodfactor is an exciting read, a roller coaster ride of great characters, playful dialogue and twists that keep readers on their toes. The lead in particular draws you not only into the plot but also into her own world, as she has several secrets waiting to be uncovered. The book took Perceval six years to write; let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long for the next one. ) is De Hollywoodfactor ( published in Dutch by Witsand

More new crime fiction this month De doos (The Box) Pieter Aspe • Manteau In his 36th crime thriller, Pieter Aspe focuses on revenge. Barend, son of a Second World War collaborator, is found dead in his house. Several days later, Robert, son of a war hero, is brutally murdered. Coincidence? Or payback? Everything will be cleared up when the unstoppable detective Van In finds a box that was left in Elounda on Crete, the place where the TV series Who Pays the Ferryman? was filmed. De Doos is classic Aspe: light and mildly entertaining, ideal fare for a heat wave.

Het laatste oordeel (The Final Judgement) Toni Coppers • Manteau On a hot summer night, a 12-year-old girl disappears from her home in Berchem.

Everyone thinks she has run away, but she didn’t take her mobile phone or medication with her, creating a whole lot of suspicion and doubt for detective Liese Meerhout. When a 13-year-old disappears several days later, the hunt is on for a kidnapping psychopath. The deeper authorities dig, the more shocking it gets.

Het laatste oordeel is another Liese Meerhout adventure: bold, riveting and an ideal poolside read.

Teek (Tick) Luc Deflo • Borgerhoff & Lambrigts The body of a young girl is found buried in a garbage bag in Hofstade. Inspectors Nadia Mendonck and Dirk Deleu want to keep her identity a secret, hoping to lure out the murder who lives in the gossipy town of Zemst. When a suspect is identified, the girl’s on-off lover, things get out of

hand and he, too, winds up dead. Teek is an average thriller with the occasional plot twist and some smouldering suspense, and Deflo excels when it comes to the psychology and motives.

Stille grond (Silent Ground) Hilde Vandermeeren • Singel Hilde Vandermeeren is one of the few female crime writers in Flanders, and Stille Grond is the former children’s author’s third thriller. On a stormy night in 1983 Glasgow, six-year-old Rosie vanishes without a trace, leaving behind her twin sister, Ruby, and baby sister, Eve. Thirty years later, Eve, who is now a maths professor, gets a message from someone saying they are sorry for what happened to Rosie. Since the police won’t do anything, Eve takes matters in her own hands, in a fresh and fluently written page-turner.

\ 13

\ ARTS

week in arts & CULTURE Tiger dies at Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo is mourning the loss of Kharlan, its Siberian tiger, who died last week at the age of 16. The only remaining Siberian tiger in Antwerp is 17-year-old Yessie, but since the tiger is normally a solitary beast in the wild, that should not present a problem, the zoo said. The zoo intends to continue keeping tigers in the future and has even drawn up plans for a new tiger enclosure, a spokesperson said.

“Festivals should offer free water,” says SP.A Flemish socialist party SP.A and its French-speaking counterpart PS have asked Belgium’s summer music festivals to offer free drinking water. The parties are threatening to create legislation around the matter that would see festivals’ licences to sell alcohol revoked if they do not offer water. They noted that many festivals to not allow drinks to be brought onto the grounds, including water.

Fabre wins Michelangelo Prize Flemish artist Jan Fabre has been awarded the Michelangelo Prize for Sculpture in a ceremony at the San Lorenzo basilica in Florence.

The prize is awarded annually to an artist who recalls the work of the great master in their own work. Fabre’s “Pietas”, which premiered at the Venice Biennial in 2011, consists of five large-scale pieces, one of which is a copy of the famous work by Michelangelo – except that Mary’s face is a skull and Jesus is Fabre himself.

TRAM 41 is immovable heritage The Turnhout Route Archives and Museum, known as TRAM 41, has been recognised as official immovable heritage by the government of Flanders. The organisation encompasses Turnhout’s Begijnhof Museum, the National Museum of the Playing Card, the Taxandria Museum and the City Archives. TRAM 41 documents and assists researchers with historical information about the social and industrial life of the city and the area of the Kempen, as well as serving as a repository for archaeological findings.

\ 14

No grease, no glory Rural meets rockabilly as Flanders’ Sjock festival turns 40 Mark Andrews More articles by Mark \ flanderstoday.eu

Sjock, one of Flanders’ wildest rock festivals, has just turned 40.

Flanders Today took a peek behind the scenes.

D

eep in rural Antwerp province, past fields of corn and a pig farm, in a dark wood of birch and oak, lurks the Sjock festival – the self-proclaimed rock’n’roll highlight of the year.

It’s an odd location for a festival laden with leopard print, Gretsch guitars, bull fiddles and pomade.

And tattoos, a lot of them – since Sjock’s clientele is mainly from Belgium and the countries that border it – on skin that gets pinker and pinker as this hot Saturday wears on.

Sjock, which took place last weekend in Gierle, part of the municipality of Lille, serves up a heady brew of punk, garage and rockabilly over three days on its main stage, in the Titty Twister tent (the name a throwback to the postTarantino wave of surf music) and a Newcomers stage.

This year, Sjock is 40 years old. To celebrate, programmer Gunter Daems has spent nearly double the usual €100,000 budget, dipping into the reserves built up over several successful years. Much of that went to the headliners, Imelda May and The Hives.

Daems is part of the 10-man committee of the Gierle Youth Club, which organises the festival; 400 volunteers and other nonprofit organisations are needed to run Sjock for its 2,000 to 2,500 visitors a day. In that sense, Sjock is part of that deep-rooted Flemish tradition of confraternities and clubs of enthusiasts who band

together for a shared cause.

Daems’ involvement goes all the way back to the disastrous Sjock 18 in 1992, with Radiohead and Aztec Camera. “We spent a lot of money on that bill, and we had very bad weather,” he recalls. “Sixteen degrees and rain all day; not many people showed up, so it was a big loss. All but two of the guys in the organisation stepped down.”

That left room for change. “We changed our whole way of thinking,” says Daems. “We wanted to appeal more to young people. We added acid jazz and techno; we wanted the final band to be danceable. Hardcore also came into the picture.”

SJOCK.COM

was set. The festival spread over three days and multiple stages, the dance acts and the reggae had given way to a bill dominated by rockabilly, punk and garage: For Daems, that was going back to his own roots.

As the musical flavour has settled, so have the logistics. Sjock rents parking and campsite space from farmers, and the actual festival site is on recreational ground belonging to Lille.

The backstage catering is in the wood-panelled clubhouse of the St-Ambrosius Guild of Archers, so the bands eat their spaghetti and vol-au-vents next to the pennants, trophies and official

The audience mix is unique in European festivals. Sjock is the only one bringing them together When Daems’ involvement with Sjock began, the location was even odder than it is today: in the back garden of Gierle’s priest. Back then, there were Flemish acts in the singer-songwriter mode. In 1979, Wilko Johnson was the first international act, and in the early 1980s, punk made an appearance.

“During the ’80s we always had punk rock and garage, but we always had one reggae band in the line-up, too,” says Daems.

As for Sjock’s current identity, he says, “to be honest, I think it started with me.”

By Sjock 26 in 2001, the pattern

group portraits of the archers in period costume. Another archery guild – St-Sebastiaan – provides dressing room space, as does a Sunday league football team. This is supplemented by several temporary units loaned by a construction company.

For this 40th edition of Sjock, as well as the 40 bands, there are also a few old-timer cars and bikes, a barber and stalls selling specialist CDs, retro clothes and rock’n’roll accoutrements. Along with The Cramps belt buckles and T-shirts with Jerry-Lee Lewis giving the middle finger, Sjock’s punters

are tempted by dresses from Hell Bunny and Voodoo Vixen and a range of hair products from the US, Germany and the Netherlands.

“No grease, no glory”, proclaims Tata Wax. Apparently, on a day as baking as this, one’s pomade should be Psycho Hold rather than regular Heavy Hold. You could also buy some Gentleman’s Stiffener – Captain Fawcett’s moustache wax.

The core of Sjock’s audience is definitely niche. “We have three types,” says Daems. “The pure rockabillyminded, the punk rock/garage people and those who like both.

We have a very loyal crowd that comes every year. That mixture is unique in European festivals.

There are a lot of rockabilly weekenders in Spain and the UK, and plenty of garage events going on, but Sjock is the only one to bring them together.”

Yet, as this Saturday heads for sundown, and the festival site becomes even more carpeted in crushed Pepsi and Primus plastic cups, the tattooed ladies with their retro hair and polka dot headscarves and the dudes rocking a ’50s garage mechanic vibe become a minority.

But even at its most mainstream, Sjock’s audience remains united in cutting loose and letting off some serious steam; it’s always beer o’clock at Sjock.

My highlight of 2015? An age- and shame-defying tour de force from New York’s The Fleshtones: crack garage rock with great dollops of freaky dancing and shtick. Their set ended with singer Peter Zaremba crowdsurfing and being groped by a woman half his age. That would make her about 31.

\ AGENDA

jULy 22, 2015

A local – and global – anniversary

CONCERT

Sfinks Mixed 23-26 July

Blankenberge

Molenveld, Boechout sfinks.be

A

t a time when the world wasn’t considered a global village yet, Sfinks used to bring exotic sounds from all over the planet to the small village of Boechout. Although the organisers initiated the festival in 1975 with a rather folk-oriented line-up, throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the festival site between Antwerp and Lier was the place to see a quality mix of Latin American, African, Middle Eastern and Balkan artists.

Locals got to know the music of Youssou N’Dour, Gilberto Gil, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Femi Kuti, Cesária Évora and Goran Bregovic among many others through their gigs at Sfinks, then mainly known as a world music festival.

In the meantime, the world has changed, with everyone listening to anything and going everywhere. Sfinks dropped the term “world music”, but kept embracing their mission as a global village.

© Bernard Benant

Grooves, DJs and local artists became more important to attract a younger audience. An enormous Kidz Village and a Baby Bar seduces families. But the biggest change came in 2013 when the organisers decided to make the entrance to the festival

free.

Spread over four days, last year 80,000 visitors dropped by, illustrating that the renewed focus on both local and global was a success.

This year’s 40th anniversary edition includes local heroes such as Slongs Dievanongs, Bart Peeters and Jan Leyers, who’s launching a Dutch-language album in September, along with spiritual melodies by the Senegalese star Cheikh Lo (pictured), dub grooves by reggae legend Bunny Wailer and explosive Mexican party beats by Los de Abajo.

Urban grooves come from NoMoBs, straight from the Kiel underground, while the talented ZwartWerk, a foursome from Mechelen with Congolese and Angolan roots, present a solid mix of Afro house, hip hop and Zouk. DJ duo Discobaar A Moeder will surely stick to their popular vinyl dance floor killers and dirty Antwerp slang. \ Tom Peeters

FESTIVAL

FAMILY

Moods!

AVS Balloon Meet

24 July to 6 August Last year, Bruges’ music festival Klinkers metamorphosed into Moods. The concept remains the same: national and international headliners are invited to perform at several open-air concerts in the city’s most scenic squares over the course of a fortnight. This second edition boasts appearances by

Across Bruges MOODSBRUGGE.BE

French-Moroccan torch singer Hindi Zahra (pictured), veteran Flemish folk-rock singer Guido Belcanto and up-and-comer Bony King. The main stage is erected on Burg Square while the more intimate concerts take place in the courtyard of the Bruges Belfry. \ Georgio Valentino

John Mayall

The Big Raft 2 August, 14.00 The adventure seekers of Flemish outdoor sport-and-leisure organisation Route du Soleil have organised an urban regatta of epic proportions. Thousands are expected to participate in their Big Raft, a DIY flotilla departing from the Graslei in Ghent’s city centre and floating 2.5km down the Leie

Graslei, Ghent ROUTEDUSOLEIL.ORG

to the yacht harbour Portus Ganda.

The event is free and strictly BYOB – bring your own boat. No motorised vessels, though: paddle power only, preferably inflatable. The first to reach the finish line gets a prize, and everyone gets to enjoy the street party at the Big Raft’s destination. \ GV

Brussels Hang & Handpan meeting: Bring a cushion or blanket to sit on for an intimate concert by the Brussels Hang player Gérard Spencer and more players of the special drum.

28 July 20.30, Café Kafka, Visverkopersstraat 21 \ gerardspencer.com

Mortsel (Antwerp province)

MEETJESLANDSEBALLOONMEETING.BE

Flanders’ annual hot-air balloon meet is upon us. Every year the region’s balloon enthusiasts meet to show off their rides and compete for prizes, and this 30th anniversary event is bigger and better than ever. In addition to the competition, there are balloon shows a-plenty, from the designer exhibition ( for those who’ve never seen a giant lobster-shaped hot-air balloon) to an after-dark light show set to contemporary music. On the ground there’s food, drink, live music and appearances by hamburger impresario (and balloon hobbyist, apparently) Ronald McDonald. \ GV

CONCERT

EVENT

\ flashback-elvis.com

FILM

Sporthal, Eeklo

25-26 July

Flashback Elvis: Tribute show by the Flemish Elvis impersonator Steve Ryckier, accompanied by the Rico Zoroh Band, Las Vegas showgirls and a reconstruction of Elvis’ famous Aloha from Hawaii concert. 28 July 20.00, Het Witte Paard, Vissersstraat 53

Film evenings: Cinema M and CC Mortsel present a series of free, semi open-air film screenings, with blankets provided, featuring The Lunchbox (28 July) and Into the Wild (18 August). 28 July to 25 August, Bar4, Fortstraat 100

\ tinyurl.com/FilmavondenMortsel2015

FOOD&DRINK Ghent Medieval Breakfast: Enjoy the most important meal of the day in a medieval setting, with various choices, including rye bread, cheese, ham, pâté, eggs, honey and mustard with coffee, tea, buttermilk, juice, wine or table beer.

Until 26 July 8.30-11.30, MIAT, Minnemeers 9 \ miat.gent.be

get tic

2 October, 20.00 John Mayall has been firing on all cylinders for decades and, with a marathon two-month European tour scheduled in the autumn, the British blues legend shows no signs of slowing down. His influential 1960s group the Bluesbreakers was a who’s who of rock royalty, featuring

kets n ow

Het Depot, Leuven HETDEPOT.BE

members of Cream, Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones. Mayall has since retired the Bluesbreakers and performs under his own name with a trio of hand-picked blues players.

Mayall carries much of the show on his own shoulders, playing keyboard, guitar and harmonica. \ GV

FAMILY Leuven Leuven Zingt (Leuven Sings): 15th anniversary edition of the public sing-along featuring a mix of classic Flemish songs and international charttoppers, including Gorki’s “Mia” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Gerry & The Pacemakers. 25 July 19.30-23.30, Oude Marktplein \ leuvenzingt.be

FAIR Bruges Boekenfestijn (Book Feast): The popular book fair makes a stop in Bruges, with thousands of books in Dutch, English and French and hobby items for all ages. 23-26 July & 30 July to 2 Aug, Beurshal, Hauwerstraat 2 \ boekenfestijn.com

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\ BACKPAGE

jULy 22, 2015

Talking Dutch Streets ahead

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

In response to: Patients insufficiently informed about risks of MRI scans Sierra Bernier An MRI is a painless radiology process, which has the advantage of avoiding x-ray radiation exposure while scanning body.

G

hent is always that little bit ahead of other cities when it comes to new ideas for urban living. It was the first city in Belgium to create a car-free centre, first to launch the idea of Donderdag veggiedag – Veggie Thursday, a pioneer in planting rooftop vegetable gardens and the first to use sheep to cut the grass.

So when I saw the headline De Gentse leefstraten zijn terug – The Ghent “living streets” are back – I naturally wanted to know more.

Here’s what Het Nieuwsblad had to say about the plan: Een leefstraat is een sociaal experiment dat bewoners stukken van hun eigen straat zelf laat inrichten – A living street is a social experiment in which residents can design their own stretch of street, met nepgras – using artificial grass, banken – benches, bomen – trees, straatbarbecues – street barbeques, speeltuigen – play equipment. Alles kan – Anything is possible.

The idea was launched three years ago by the nonprofit Lab van Troje, which Het Nieuwsblad described as een mix tussen een denktank en stadsguerilla – a cross between a think tank and urban guerrilla, die een andere wijze van stadsleven onderzoekt – which looks into alternative ways of living in the city.

The project kicked off in 2013 with just two streets, but then it caught on with the locals. Vorig jaar groeide de lijst aan tot tien straten – Last year the list had grown to 10 streets. Dit jaar doen er meer dan twintig straten mee – This year more than 20 streets are participating.

So how does it work exactly? Bewoners kunnen zelf hun straat kandidaat stellen – residents can propose their own street, explained Pieter Deschamps of Lab van Troje. Wij gaan met een groepje trekkers in elke straat na – We set off with a group of ramblers to look at

CONNECT WITH US

In response to: Rare corpse flower attracts 1,300 visitors to UGent Patrick Moynihan Blooming missed this rare event!

© Courtesy Het Nieuwsblad

each street, of er steun is – to find out whether there’s support for the scheme, en of het verkeerstechnisch mogelijk is – and whether the traffic situation allows it.

Belangrijk is dat er rekening wordt gehouden met de belangen van iedereen in de straat – It’s important to take account of the needs of everyone in the street, handelaars – shopkeepers, oudere bewoners – older residents, mensen die moeten verhuizen – people who have to move house.

The idea is now spreading to other cities – and countries. Deze week liet zelfs de Nederlandse stad Rotterdam weten dat ze ook begint met leefstraten – Just this week, the Dutch city of Rotterdam announced that it is also launching the idea of living streets, naar Gents voorbeeld – following the example of Ghent.

So watch out. The idea might be coming to a street near you. All you need is some grass, a heap of old wood and friendly neighbours who don’t mind giving up their parking spaces for a few weeks.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. No. I have better things to spend €27 on than food that’s been saved from a dumpster. Supermarkets should donate it to the poor

50% b. Sure. Restaurants frequently serve food that’s on the point of going off. What’s the difference?

42% c. Absolutely. I’ve made a reservation. Food waste is a serious problem, and anyone doing anything about it deserves to be rewarded

8% you have no interest in a restaurant serving you food not fit to sell in a supermarket. And most of you in favour didn’t show a whole lot of enthusiasm for the idea. Only a few were keen enough to promise to go along; the rest took a non-committal attitude.

For the majority, price seems to

count for a lot. Nobody thinks it’s a bad idea to give rescued food to the food banks, but half of you draw the line at paying for it at restaurant prices when the supermarkets are giving it away. And how do other restaurants that pay for their supplies feel about the competition?

\ Next week's question: The government wants to test free mobile internet connections to try to convince the 42.5% of people not using it – far more than in neighbouring countries – to sign up. What do you think?

Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

\ 16

In response to: The festival that never sleeps starts in Ghent next week Noe Kidder Here it comes tree lovers!

The IG @ig247 There was so much to love about Antwerp that we ditched a day in Bruges for this.

Katarina @KatarinaRodri The Belfry of Bruges City with my bestie. So much walking around we passed on the 365 steps to the top.

Ciaran o’Lionaird @GoCiaran Quinoaffles. A healthy alternative for the #ussummertf athlete living in Leuven. Putting a patent on this idea now

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the last word

Would you eat at a restaurant serving food being thrown out by supermarkets?

Our question last week was inspired by Rekub, a pop-up restaurant in Antwerp this summer serving “rescued food” – food that is about to be thrown out by supermarkets. Food waste is a hot topic lately, and Rekub is tackling it head on.

Or is it cashing in? A full half of

VoiceS of flanders today

Party animals

Eye of the beholder

“Like zebras in a herd of horses.”

“We paid €27,000 for this, and people think it’s some washedup driftwood.”

Federal health minister Maggie De Block describes the situation wherein adult inspectors check on youth clubs suspected of serving alcohol to minors

People power “Who is this guy who follows me around at night?”

The six million Facebook fans and one million Twitter followers of British singer James Blunt helped him identify his stalker, one Dominique D from Brussels, a would-be paparazzi on Ibiza

Eddy Gryson, mayor of Bredene, whose coastal city is unhappy about the Beaufort art installation it has been allotted

Flush with victory “An old amateur who out-bluffs these young geniuses, the best players in the world. Actually it’s a miracle. I can recommend it to all pensioners.”

Pierre Neuville, 72, from KnokkeHeist, is the oldest player and the only Belgian ever to make the finals of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas

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