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july 26, 2017 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

Caves closed

The Muizenberg cave complex in Limburg has been shut down to visitors after someone set fire to bales of hay illegally stored in an entrance \2

politics \ p4

BUSiNESS \ p6

Future’s so bright

Did your sunglasses used to be a refrigerator? Then you’re not wearing w.r.yuma, recycled specs that can themselves be easily recycled \7

innovation \ p7

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

Man on a mission

A new website has been launched to celebrate the wildly popular 500 Secrets series, started by one Brussels journalist five years ago

\ 11

Memories of 1917

Passchendaele marks centenary of muddy, bloody First World War battle Derek Blyth Follow Derek on Twitter \ @SecretBrussels

One hundred years have passed since the Battle of Passchendaele was fought in the mud of Flanders, but the story has never been forgotten.

n the first Monday of every month, more than 100 locals gather in the Sportsman bar just off the busy main road from Ypres to Langemark, West Flanders. They pile into this simple cafe to hold a ceremony in honour of Welsh poet Hedd Wyn, who died in fields across the road

on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the most monstrous campaigns of the First World War. The event is organised by the cafe’s owner, Marc Decaestecker, who has created a little shrine in a corner of the bar in memory of the poet. “It appears that Hedd Wyn has become a link between the Flemish and the Welsh,” a Welsh tourist noted recently in a local paper. “Two small nations who wish to preserve their culture in a united Europe moving towards peace.”

The Battle of Passchendaele began at 3.50 on the morning of 31 July 1917, when the British army launched an attack across the gentle agricultural slopes below the village of Passchendaele. Despite some initial successes, the campaign soon became bogged down in thick mud caused by torrential summer rain. Six weeks later and 650 kilometres away, at the National Eisteddfod literature festival in Birkenhead near Liverpool, judges announced the winner of its poetry competition. But continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Increased rail security checks Random screening of baggage on high-speed train services in Antwerp and Brussels Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

assengers travelling from Antwerp Central or Brussels South by high-speed train will now face random baggage searches, federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon has announced. Passengers at the two stations, as well as Liège Guillemins in Wallonia, will now be inspected by security company Securail. Access to the high-speed TGV and Thalys trains is now covered by security apparatus programmed to signal baggage checks for one in 10 passengers on average, according to a random algorithm, Securail spokesperson Hendrik Vanderkimpen said. “The apparatus is similar to the ones at the airport, but in this case we’re not looking for liquids or nail scissors,” he said. “We are focusing on weapons and explosives.” The measures are a result of promises made last year after an incident in which three passengers intervened to stop an

armed man attacking people on board a Thalys train in France. The man had boarded the train at Brussels South. Since the checks are randomly decided, they are not expected to reveal all possible terrorists, whose identification is more likely to result from police intelligence than random checks. However, Jambon said, the apparatus is intended to have more of a deterrent effect. “Terrorists always choose the path of least resistance,” he said. “They now know there’s an increased risk of being checked on the high-speed lines.” Elsewhere in the stations, police on duty will be trained to spot suspicious behaviour. Brussels South already has 10 officers trained in behaviour analysis and the techniques will be extended to other stations, Jambon said. The additional security checks will cost €15.7 million on installation and €6.6 million a year thereafter.

€1.4m haul of fake designer handbags Inspectors from the finance ministry have uncovered a haul of more than 900 counterfeit designer handbags, worth an estimated €1.4 million, at a warehouse in Anderlecht in Brussels. The bags were made to look like designs by Céline and Hermès and are the latest major find by the federal finance ministry’s Counterfeit Unit, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Since it was started, the unit has uncovered counterfeit goods worth more than €90 million. Fake goods are routinely destroyed. Federal economy minister Kris Peeters, under whose authority the Counterfeit Unit operates, warned consumers not to be taken in by the fake goods. “Although they look more and more like the originals, they are invariably of poor quality,”

he said. “These products wear out faster and can even be dangerous.” Anyone found in possession of counterfeit goods can have them confiscated without compensation and in some cases can be prosecuted. “If an offer seems too good to be true,” Peeters said, “it often is.” The unit works with international bodies such as Europol and the European antifraud organisation Olaf. Inspectors in the unit have the official status of an officer of the judicial police, which gives them significant police powers. Peeters has announced that a standing committee will be created to co-ordinate actions against counterfeiting, made up of representatives of the police, legal system, customs and food and drug safety agencies. \ AH

Illegal fire in Limburg cave complex could take weeks to burn out Fire services in Limburg have warned the public not to enter the Muizenberg cave complex in Riemst, where a serious fire continues to blaze. It was decided at the weekend to abandon further attempts to put out the fire for fear of endangering firefighters. The fire is thought to have started when a store of hay measuring 80 cubic metres near the entrance to the caves was set alight last Thursday evening. Attempts were made to put out the fire on Friday and Saturday, but continued action was later determined to present too much of a risk. A combination of fire and water was causing material from the roof of the caverns – calcium deposit known as marl – to break

off and fall. The situation is being monitored by authorities, who have called on the advice of mining specialists from Germany and Switzerland. The fire will be allowed to burn itself out, while the cave complex below and above ground is closed to visitors. The entire area around the caves, about two hectares, has been closed off. Residents in the local area were told to keep windows and doors closed if the smell of smoke and burning material became a nuisance. “It is a smouldering fire, and most of the hay has not yet gone up,” a fire specialist told Het Belang van Limburg. “So it could take quite some time for it to burn out”. \ AH

Seven finalists for design of new Brussels art museum The Brussels-Capital Region’s Urban Development Corporation (SAU-MSI) has announced a short-list of finalists for the design of the new Citroën Cultural Centre. The jury chose seven finalists from 92 applications submitted. The planned new modern and contemporary art museum will be located in the former Citroen auto showroom on Ijzerplein in the canal district (pictured). It will also serve as a gathering and educational space and house an architectural institute. The budget for the entire project is €125 million. Most of the short-listed architectural firms are teams, with at least one of the collaborators based in Brussels. The firm 51N4E, for instance, is collaborating with Caruso St John of London. 51N4E is responsible for the renovation of C-Mine, a forming mining site in Limburg turned into a cultural centre as well as new artist workshops at the Buda centre in Kortrijk.

Other Brussels firms include Lhoas & Lhoas, which has teamed up with Berlin-based Ortner & Ortner; NoAarchitecten, which will submit a proposal together with Zurichbased EM2N and London’s Sergison Bates; and Office, which is collaborating with Christ & Gantenbein of Basel. AgwA, meanwhile, is in collaboration with Ghent-based firm Advvt and London’s 6a, while JDS Architects is working with New York’s Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The only non-Brussels based firm bidding on its own is Oma, the bureau of internationally renowned architect Rem Koolhaas, based in Rotterdam. The seven finalists have until the end of the year to submit detailed proposals for the renovation of the site. The winner, chosen by an independent jury chaired by Swiss architect Roger Diener, will be chosen early next year. \ AH

€77

50,000 2%

times more health benefits from investment in cycle highways than the cost of installing them, according to estimates by the Flemish Institute for Technological Research

fine received by a man accused of travelling at 143 km/h on the Brussels Ring in a golf cart. Police admitted there had been a mistake and said no further action would be taken

increase in the price of a house in Flanders over the second quarter of the year, according to the Notary Barometer, which tracks house prices. Over the same period, the price of an apartment rose by 2.4%

foreign ambassadors to Belgium followed courses in Dutch since they were first offered free to new arrivals in 2011. Poland, Lithuania and Hungary have each had two ambassadors follow the 10-lesson course

visitors to the Belvue museum in Brussels since it opened again after renovations one year ago on 21 July. To celebrate, all visitors over the long weekend were offered a drink

july 26, 2017

WEEK in brief Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has announced funding of almost €130,000 to renovate the paths in the municipal park in Brasschaat. The 170-hectare park dates back to the 17th century and is listed as heritage landscape. The funding will be spent on removing and replacing trees lining the paths, mainly beech and English oak, which have been ruled unsafe. The Saint Jazz music festival, which takes place every September in Sint-Joost in Brussels, has been cancelled this year because of a lack of subsidy after organisers failed to submit an application for subsidies from the Brussels Region on time. It’s the first time in 30 years the festival will not take place, and it will be replaced by three monthly concerts from September to November. Supermarket chains Delhaize, Lidl and Albert Heijn have warned customers not to respond to a message on WhatsApp purporting to be from them and offering a discount voucher by clicking a link. The link gives the sender access to personal details stored on the phone. Anyone receiving the message should delete it immediately. The culture of the Belgian friet stand is now recognised as intangible cultural heritage across the whole country, following recognition recently by the Brussels region and the German-speaking community. It had previously been recognised as heritage by Flanders and Wallonia. “It took some time, but I think everyone is now agreed that frieten are important to this country,” said Bernard Lefèvre, chair of the National Union of Chip-Fryers. The federal police’s Computer Crime Unit is investigating the hack of the website Digital Wachtkamer (Digital Waiting Room), where users can arrange a doctor’s appointment. Hackers

face of flanders stole more than half a million passwords as well as messages left by patients last week, though they had no access to medical records. They demanded a ransom of 42 bitcoins, the equivalent of €85,000, from the company that operates the site. Philippe Close has taken the oath of office to officially become the new mayor of Brussels, after Yvan Mayeur stepped down amid a payments scandal. Close is the third mayor of this legislature; Freddy Thielemans stepped down shortly after being elected and was succeeded by Mayeur. Brussels region minister-president Rudi Vervoort, officiating, presented Close with an All Blacks rugby shirt and ball. “Rugby and politics are in some ways alike,” he said. “Even if you take a beating, you still gain respect.” Meanwhile, Mayeur said he had no intention of repaying the fees he had received for attending board meetings of Samusocial, the capital’s agency for the homeless. Mayeur is reported to have pocketed €17,000 in attendance fees, but federal government inspectors said they could find no evidence the meetings took place. Brussels has officially put itself forward as a candidate to host the European Medicines Agency when the organisation leaves London after the UK leaves the European Union. The federal government is backing three sites – Diegem, Louvain-la-Neuve and the site of the former Europa hotel on Wetstraat. The agency is said to favour the Europa site. A team of Belgian parachutists won gold in last week’s military world championships in Soest in Germany. They beat Qatar and Germany in the formation category, where teams have to create figures in the air while in freefall. The team is based in Schaffen, a district of Diest in Flemish Brabant.

Fashion designer Dries Van Noten, one of the Antwerp Six, has been given the title of baron in the annual honours list issued on National Day on 21 July. Van Noten is joined on the list by Edouard Vermeulen, designer for Queen Mathilde’s favourite label Natan, and former rector of the University of Leuven Mark Waer, as well as entrepreneur Michèle Sioen. The Flemish agency for health care has announced nine cases of tuberculosis in Lommel in Limburg. In the case of two men, who are regular customers at two cafes in the town, the infection was discovered several weeks ago. The other seven cases came to light after investigation among other customers of the cafes. The agency stressed that the infected people are neither ill nor contagious. Their cases will be followed up by their GP. Animal welfare minister Ben Weyts has introduced new rules on sterilising cats, which requires avery cat to be sterilised by the time it is five months old. One exception would allow registered owners to breed one litter a year. Despite stricter rules, shelters have been receiving record numbers of strays and abandoned cats. They have called for tougher controls on breeders and a duty on vets to report breaches of the rules. Flemish cyclist Thomas De Gendt said his is “very disappointed” that, after spending 10 days and 1,280km riding in breakaways, he was not awarded the Super Combative award at the Tour de France, which ended at the weekend. Race organisers instead gave the honour to France’s Warren Barguil, winner of two stages and the polka dot/ climbing competition. De Gendt came third in the climber ranking and sixth in the sprint ranking. The highest rank in the overall classification for Flemish cyclists was Serge Pauwels in 19th place Thijs Benoot, 20th overall, came fourth in the youth ranking.

OFFSIDE You have the right to remain stupid It’s always nice to see a criminal get his just deserts, even if it doesn’t happen often enough. What a pleasure it would have been to be a fly on the wall of the Brussels central police office when two members of the Trekkers Squad – who patrol the streets of the city centre looking for pickpockets and bag-snatchers – brought in a ne’erdo-well caught red-handed trying to rob a policeman. The officers were on duty on the Grasmarkt close to the Grote Markt, keeping a close eye on the terraces, which, as they’re mainly populated by tourists, are a popular hunting ground for sneak thieves. The man

was acting suspiciously, which the Trekkers are trained to spot, and was clearly looking for a victim. The officers took a seat at a table, and the man they were watching did the same – at the very next table. And just as he was pretending to hang his jacket over the back of the chair, he was observed to be

rifling in the pockets of the jacket of one of the officers. His haul: one empty spectacles case, which he did return. He then moved off, with the Trekkers – the name comes from slang for pickpockets, and has nothing to do with space missions – in leisurely pursuit. Along the way he is said to have made further attempts to dip his criminal mitts into other people’s belongings. The police caught up with him at North station, by which time they had enough evidence to bring charges. The man was questioned and released to appear in court later. \ AH

Mélanie Englebin As negotiations with business owners in Brussels’ pedestrian zone reach the final weeks before new infrastructure is added this autumn, one of its staunchest opponents has decided to leave. Cécila restaurant will be moving to another location in Brussels, chef Mélanie Englebin has announced. Englebin made headlines last year when she refused to serve then BrusselsCity mayor Yvan Mayeur, who came in for lunch. Mayeur, who recently resigned, was largely responsible for ushering in the controversial zone around Aanspachlaan and including several streets to the east heading in the direction of Grote Markt. Englebin opened the restaurant in 2013, naming it after her mother. It is located in Hoedenmakersstraat, just southeast of Grote Markt and now included in the pedestrian zone. Englebin had an impressive CV, having worked at two-Michelin-star Sea Grill and at Le Chalet de la Foret, both in Brussels, as well as with

French chef Joel Rebuchon. Cécila has just 16 tables and a reputation of being worth the wait. Englebin’s dishes are adventurous and daring: ice cream of gazpacho with an eel crumble, a shot glass of pea soup with anchovy and coriander, giant Nigerian prawn with cauliflower and a jasmine emulsion. “I object to the way the pedestrian zone was approved,” she told De Standaard after the incident with Mayeur. “I lost 40% of my income. I have nothing against such a zone, but I do have something against the amateurish way it was implemented.” The pedestrian zone, however, is not her sole reason for leaving the city centre, she told Bruzz. Though she hadn’t intended to leave this soon, she has been considering a larger location in another municipality of the capital. She has yet to find it, but the name Cécila will remain, she says, and the current location will shut its doors definitely on 31 August. \ 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.

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\ CURRENT AFFAIRS & POLITICS

5TH COLUMN A summer place

No holiday yet for prime minister Charles Michel (MR), who is working hard to achieve a “summer agreement” with his coalition government. The agreement will include next year’s budget, as well as a number of rather prickly issues. The talks at Hertoginnedal Castle in Oudergem, where the government retreats to get away from the press, is reminiscent of last autumn. Then, too, Michel tried to find a compromise between N-VA, who demanded lower company taxes, and CD&V, who demanded a capital gains tax. Vice-prime minister Kris Peeters (CD&V) abruptly left the talks, and the prime minister even had to reschedule his traditional state of the union. The discussion has been pushed back ever since, but now is back on Michel’s table. The prime minister wants to avoid another humiliation by his Flemish coalition parties at all costs. He did not succeed in getting an agreement before the Belgian national holiday last week, as is customary, but there are reasons for optimism. For one, CD&V is no longer demanding the capital gains tax. The Christian-democrats are now willing to settle for a “fairer taxation”. Michel has proposed a tax on stock accounts to get CD&V to agree to lower company taxes. But N-VA is refusing that proposal as well, and so is Open VLD. The liberals fear that the proposed tax will hit the middle classes through their pension funds, which have been tax deductible for years. While Michel, of the only French-speaking party in the federal government, carefully manoeuvres to find a way out of the stalemate, relations between N-VA and CD&V remain chilly. On 11 July, Flemish Community Day, the presidents of all three Flemish coalition parties were seen chatting at the official reception, which was considered a good sign. In a recent interview with De Morgen, however, minister of state Mark Eyskens (CD&V) mentioned how difficult it is to be in a coalition with N-VA. The nationalists’ views on migration and asylum, as voiced by secretary of state Theo Francken, are the hardest to live with for the Christian-democrats, he said. “But bringing the government down is out of the question,” Eyskens added. N-VA and CD&V have no option but to give the federal government another go. That is one thing Michel has going for him. \ Anja Otte

More support for volunteers New government policy recognises importance of ‘glue of our society’ Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

ith more than one in five people in Flanders working as a volunteer, a new policy recognises their importance to regional life and provides better support for those who give their time. Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois and youth minister Sven Gatz have presented their colleagues with the broad lines of the new policy, which includes creating a knowledge and expertise centre to oversee the thousands of volunteer workers in the region. Volunteer workers form an important part of Flanders’ associative life, and many sectors of the community would cease to function without their efforts. The Flemish government recognises the

Sven Gatz putting in some volunteer time

importance of the sector, and the two ministers have been working since November to come up with a plan to provide more and better support.

“We are now ready with the development of our vision regarding volunteer policy,” Gatz said. “Volunteers are everywhere in Flemish society. They fulfil a fundamental role in making society warmer and creating more solidarity. To bring together all forms of support for our volunteers, we are planning a central knowledge and expertise centre that will supply information, provide training and promote volunteer work to make the public more aware of its importance.” “Volunteer work is of inestimable value,” Bourgeois added. “More than one in five people in Flanders works as a volunteer. They are the glue of our society, and for that they deserve our respect and support.”

Weyts welcomes Associations World Congress to Antwerp

Antwerp campaign to take action against urinating dogs

Flemish tourism minister Ben Weyts has welcomed the announcement by the Associations World Congress (AWC) to hold its 2018 convention in Antwerp. AWC is one of the world’s biggest gatherings for the Mice industry, which stands for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. “We’ve pulled off a real stunt by bringing this leading congress to Flanders,” Weyts said. “This is a golden opportunity to present ourselves as a unique congress destination.” Mice events have proven to be lucrative for host cities. While an average tourist spends €147 a day, an average conference attendee spends €230. Also, since conferences and other events are organised long ahead of time, hotels are also booked well in advance. “Business people are generous sponsors of our economy,” Weyts said. “We have to work harder to tap into this growth market.” While AWC, which takes place next March, is a prestigious event in itself, it will also bring big names in the Mice industry to Antwerp to see for themselves the facilities the city can offer. Chief among

The city of Antwerp has launched a poster campaign aimed at stopping people from letting their dogs urinate unrestrained in public. The campaign makes posters available to residents fed up with having dogs pee on their doorstep or their mailbox. “Dear beast, don’t pee here!” reads the message. “Don’t let your dog pee against the front of houses.” Dog urine, the campaign points out, is not only a source of bad smells, it is also damaging to plants, street furniture and buildings. It is also unhygienic in places where children play or others sit, live or work. In the worst case, it can infect other dogs with parvovirus, which can be fatal. “We’re trying to make life with a pet as pleasant as possible in the city, for dogs as well as their masters,” said Nabilla Ait Daoud, councillor in charge of animal welfare. “But we also expect them to respect their neighbours and the neighbourhood.” \ AH

them is the new Flanders Meeting & Convention Center Antwerp (FMCCA), located in the Elisabeth Center inside the city’s zoo. According to Weyts, the original idea was for Antwerp to apply to host the AWC for 2020, but it was later decided the city was ready to go for 2018. He praised the work of the FMCCA (pictured), Toerisme Vlaanderen and VisitAntwerpen for their success in winning next year’s slot. “We will be grasping at this unique opportunity to put Flanders’ tourist treasures on display,” Weyts said. “The AWC brings together the trend-setters. If we can convince them, then we will be firmly fixing Flanders on the map as the place to organise your next international congress.” \ AH

Trial traffic lights alert vulnerable road users to oncoming trams The Brussels government has installed traffic lights that warn pedestrians and cyclists about oncoming trams. The lights, installed in Koekelberg, are part of a test to improve traffic safety at places where there are no traffic lights or where trams can be difficult to see. The initiative was taken by Bianca Debaets, the secretary of state for road safety, mobility minister Pascal Smet, public transport authority MIVB and mobility agency Brussel Mobiliteit. The lights work using vehicle detection sensors. They will go out when there is no tram around and will start to flash when a tram approaches. Two kinds of lights will be tested in Koekelberg. One will feature a red figure telling pedestrians to stop; the other will display an image of a tram. The two will be tested at the same time at two roads. The goal is to install the lights at specific spots where the danger for pedestrians and cyclists is the greatest. “It may seem like a detail, but there are no small measures when it concerns the protection of vulnerable road users,” Smet said. \ Andy Furniere

Cycle highway improvements to encourage commuting by bike The government of Flanders is to invest €8.2 million of European funding in cycle highways. When added to other sources of financing, it will allow projects worth €22 million to go ahead. Cycle highways are stretches of cycle path intended to provide uninterrupted and fast links between major residential and business centres, to encourage drivers to travel to and from work by bike. The latest investment mainly concerns “missing links” between sections of existing cycle highway. Mobility minister Ben Weyts (pictured) plans to see Flanders criss-crossed by 80 cycle highways in the long term. “The Flemish are undergoing a culture shift in realising that sport and exercise are not just for the weekend, but also before and after work, and even during,” he said. Economy minister Philippe Muyters, who is also minister for sport, said, “Why not take the bike to work? It lets you use the time you would have been sitting in traffic exercising. We want to invest more in our cycle highways, to make the decision even easier.” The €8.2 million comes from the

European Regional Development Fund and will pay for 11 projects across Flanders. The Flemish government will pay 40% of the total bill of €22 million, with provinces and municipalities also making a contribution. The works should be complete within three years. The European financing also makes €1.5 million available for cycle highways between Brussels and the Flemish periphery, including the link between Brussels South and Halle, and a cycle highway along Haachtsesteenweg between Brussels and Steenokkerzeel. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

july 26, 2017

Commemorative ceremonies are planned at the Tyne Cot war cemetery, home to 12,000 graves, many without a name

Memories of 1917

Thousands expected in Westhoek for centenary events of the Battle of Passchendaele PASSCHENDAELE100.ORG

continued from page 1

no one stepped forward to claim credit for “The Hero”, submitted anonymously according to tradition. The author was Hedd Wyn, who had fallen in battle in Flanders just a few weeks before. Once his identity was known, the ceremonial bard’s chair was solemnly draped in black cloth. In another section of the 24km front, a popular English rugby player called Edgar Mobbs died in a muddy shell hole after being shot in the neck. At the end of this month his relatives will travel to the spot where he fell, in a wood known as Shrewsbury Forest, to unveil a memorial exactly 100 years on from his death. The Welsh poet from Gwynedd and the rugby player from Northampton were among the first casualties in a campaign that would go on to cost more than half a million lives. Officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, the fighting coincided with the wettest summer in Belgium for 30 years. Within a few days, the rain had turned the rich Flemish soil into a sea of mud that clogged rifles and prevented tanks from moving. The mud eventually became so deep that men and horses drowned in it. To make matters worse, the German army had constructed a solid line of concrete bunkers filled with machine guns. The unimaginable battle dragged on for three months but achieved limited success, until finally, British and Canadian troops captured the remains of Passchendaele village on 6 November. One million shells had landed on the village during the 100-day battle, and virtually nothing remained except for a pile of pulverised brick and shattered wood.

Hundreds of thousands had died to capture what was little more than a heap of rubble. “My impression was that we had won the ridge, but lost the battalion,” one Canadian soldier said shortly after the capture. The attack should have continued until the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge were captured, but the military command decided to call off the offensive in the village of Passchendaele and claim it as a victory. But the name Passchendaele, hard as it was to pronounce, has become an enduring symbol of hopeless struggle and reckless leadership. It is remembered in letters and diaries, and in the works of writers and poets who lived through the dreadful battle. “It was murder not only to the troops, but to their singing faiths and hopes,” wrote the poet Edmund Blunden. Another war poet, Siegfried Sassoon, put it more simply: “I died in Hell. They called it Passchendaele.” The advance from Ypres to Passchendaele, which you can drive in 10 minutes, took more than three months and claimed an estimated 35 Allied lives for every metre of ground gained. The sheer scale of the slaughter meant it was impossible to recover many of the bodies. Most were simply left to sink in the mud. Thousands of artillery shells were also abandoned, slowly sinking into the deep ground. One hundred years on, local farmers ploughing their fields still uncover rusting shells and sometimes even human remains. You can drive along the N303, following the ridge that cost so many lives to capture. The road passes through modest farming villages, where the red-brick houses have been rebuilt

and the churches carefully restored, leaving hardly any trace of the war. “If the Belgians had their way, it would look as if there had never been a war there,” wrote Piet Chielens, director of the In Flanders Fields Museum, in an article on the landscape of war published by cultural institution Ons Erfdeel. But there are museums where you can learn about the story. The In Flanders Fields Museum is the best known and most visited. The Passchendaele Memorial Museum focuses on just one battle. Opened in 2013, it occupies a reconstructed manor house in the village of Zonnebeke, a few kilometres from Passendale (the modern spelling). It tells the story of the war in a series of dark rooms filled with uniforms, old diaries and photographs. The most impressive section of the museum lies deep underground, where you can

on the back wall of the cemetery, recording soldiers whose bodies were never recovered. In 2006, the Flemish government built a striking new visitor pavilion outside the cemetery. Designed by the Bruges architects Govaert & Vanhoutte, it’s a simple low pavilion with a glass wall that looks out across the battlefield. The most haunting feature is a woman’s voice reading out the roll call of the dead as you approach the cemetery. The German soldiers who died in the Battle of Passchendaele are not often given much thought, but at least as many died on the other side of the barbed wire. The evidence is just more hidden, and you have to make an effort to find the cemeteries. The most impressive lies hidden in trees near Menen. It is a vast, sombre place. And it’s much larger in terms of numbers. More than 48,000 soldiers are buried here, many of them brought from the battlefield to

I died in Hell. They called it Passchendaele wander through a vast reconstructed dugout while shells seem to be exploding right above your head. A narrow country road leads from Zonnebeke to Tyne Cot Cemetery out in the fields east of Ypres. The largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world, it contains 12,000 graves standing in long rows, many of them with no names. But the white stone graves are far outnumbered by the 35,000 names carved

the hospitals near the little town of Menen This is Germany’s Tyne Cot, but there are no ceremonies planned here. The German commemorations are much less visible, though equally poignant. On the website of the German war graves commission, you can read a roll call of soldiers who died on that particular day, 100 years ago. The list is accompanied by a simple message: Darum Europa! – That’s why we have Europe.

Weekend of tributes War horse

The Wipers Times

War images

Tyne Cot ceremony

A new exclusive short story by British writer Michael Morpurgo will be performed on Ypres’ Grote Markt to mark the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele. Morpurgo’s live reading of From Farm Horse to War Horse, written for the anniversary, will be accompanied by the horse puppet Joey from the National Theatre’s production of war play, War Horse. 30 July, Ypres

Extracts from The Wipers Times, a play by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, will be performed as part of the same event, based on the satirical trench newspaper published by British soldiers fighting around the Flemish town. “The Wipers Times captured the defiant black humour of the British Forces in the face of overwhelming adversity,” said Hislop, whose grandfather fought at Passchendaele. 30 July, Ypres

Images from the war will be projected on to the reconstructed Cloth Hall on the main square in Ypres. At the same time, interviews with war veterans, diary entries and letters will be read out and projected on to the walls of the building. 29-30 July 21.40, Grote Markt, Ypres

A ticket-only ceremony at Tyne Cot Cemetery brings together thousands of people descended from soldiers who fought in the Battle of Passchendaele. Relatives and serving soldiers will read out letters and diaries from 1917 during the service of remembrance. 31 July 13.00, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Tynecotstraat 22, Zonnebeke

\ BUSINESS

week in business Banking Rabobank.be The online bank is selling off its investment activities to Keytrade Bank. Rabobank.be has announced it will focus on savings and term accounts from now on because increasingly stringent regulations have made it too costly to offer financial investment services to customers.

Pharma Janssen Pharmaceutica The pharmaceutical giant has announced a €40 million investment in geothermal energy. Janssen Pharmaceutica will use the money, which includes own funds as well as Flemish and European subsidies, to drill 2.4 kilometres under Flemish soil in the Antwerp town of Beerse to tap geothermal heat.

Retail Standaard Boekhandel The leading Flemish bookselling company saw its net profits drop to €4.3 million last year, a 50% decrease from 2015. The bookseller, which has 140 shops across Brussels and Flanders, has announced it wants to open new smaller, “express” stores to better compete with online shops like Bol.com.

Supermarkets Carrefour The supermarket chain is ending its collaboration with postal company Bpost and joining forces with Dutch competitor PostNL instead. The move is part of Carrefour’s plan to expand its online product offer and provide more door-to-door deliveries.

Retail Kringwinkel The Flemish charity shops drew 5.8 million customers in 2016, a 7.6% increase from the previous year. According to the Kringwinkel management, the surge in popularity is due to the opening of five new stores as well as a growing interest in second-hand goods from the public.

Media Roularta The publishing group has acquired the marketing companies Bright Communications and Bright Communications Antwerpen. Both companies organise networking events and publish custom magazines such as Bouwcampus and Lifestyle. \ Linda A Thompson

Farmers seek compensation for ‘exceptional’ drought Nine in 10 West Flemish municipalities suffered crop damage Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

he Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI) has classified the dry weather of the first half of this year as “exceptional”, meaning farmers should be able to claim compensation from the Agricultural Disaster Fund, the farmers’ union Boerenbond has announced. The KMI compared rainfall figures for the past 20 years and showed that this year’s rainfall was exceptionally low in 150 Flemish municipalities. Previously, the KMI had said the period from the beginning of May to 15 June was not exceptionally dry, but Boerenbond asked Flemish agriculture minister Joke Schauvliege to look at the wider context of the longer period from 1 April

to 30 June. West Flanders was the worst affected, with nine out of 10 municipalities suffering damage. In East Flanders seven out of 10 were affected,

while in other provinces the damage was less: 26 municipalities in Flemish Brabant, 13 in Limburg and nine in Antwerp province. “The KMI’s advice is an important first step in recognising an agricultural disaster,” Boerenbond said in a statement. “We are now asking the minister to work rapidly to take the next steps in recognition, so that the situation of our farmers and growers becomes clear.” The impact of the drought will now be considered by municipal evaluation committees. To be recognised as a disaster, the total damage needs to be higher than €1.24 million, with the average of each individual claim at least €5,580.

Samsung offers €380 million for Brussels office building

€1 million boost to improve youth hostel appeal and access

South Korean electronics giant Samsung has made an offer worth €380 million for a building in Brussels that currently houses 2,000 Engie Electrabel employees. The bid is one of the largest property deals ever in the country. The 14-storey building on Simon Bolivarlaan near North Station is owned by Belfius Insurance and AG Insurance, and houses Electrabel and a number of subsidiaries of the French energy group Engie. The owners previously told Electrabel that they were intending to sell and allowed Electrabel to exercise its priority option to buy. Electrabel decided not to take up its option, saying that property ownership is no longer a company priority. Under a long-term rental contract, Electrabel’s occupancy of the 75,000-square metre building is not at risk. The bid for the building, constructed in two parts in

Flanders’ tourism minister is to invest €1 million in 53 recognised youth hostels in Flanders, in an effort to make them more attractive to visitors and more accessible to anyone with a disability. The hostels are intended to provide accommodation for youth groups, rather than to be open to the wider public. The investment will allow the facilities to be modernised. “With this financing, operators can invest in comfort, accessibility, fire safety and family-friendly facilities in their infrastructure,” Ben Weyts said. The investments will mainly concern sustainability projects, renovations, adapting premises for people with disabilities and in some cases a thorough rebuilding. Special attention will be paid to accessibility, Weyts said, as this is lacking in many cases. At De Brink (pictured) in Herentals, Antwerp province, a subsidy of

2011 and 2014, was reported by South Korean financial media, according to De Tijd. The financing comes from Samsung Life Insurance and property division Samsung SRA Asset Management. The high price suggested is a result of the building’s age, its top location and its guaranteed occupant, with a 20-year rental contract. The building is also energy efficient, with triple glazing, solar panels and geothermal heating. \ AH

around €40,000 will be spent on making buildings and sanitary facilities accessible to wheelchair users. At Hoge Duin in Oostduinkerke at the coast, €100,000 will go towards creating family rooms and making accommodation accessible to wheelchairs. Toerisme Vlaanderen will cover up to 40% of the costs of renovations. The new funding brings the amount of money Flanders has invested in youth hostels in recent years to €32 million. \ AH

Media minister recognises 35 radio stations for licences Flanders’ media minister has officially recognised 35 local radio stations, which will now be able to request a broadcast licence from the Flemish media regulator VRM and start broadcasting from January next year. The move is part of Sven Gatz’s reform of the radio landscape in Flanders, which also includes preparing region-wide stations like Q Music, Joe FM and Nostalgie for the switch from analogue to digital (DAB+) in 2022. The plan includes rationalising the numerous local radio stations by bundling radio frequencies into packages, a move designed to prevent competition for any one frequency while still allowing maximum diversity across the dial. Frequency packages will give stations a wider reach while still allowing them to maintain their local character, Gatz said. Potential radio stations were allowed to apply until 14 June, by which time 236 applications had been received, 14 of them for region-wide networks. That led to the recognition of 35

stations, with more to come. “These are local radio broadcasters who were in the main the only bidders for a particular frequency package,” said Gatz. “They can now prepare their case to submit to the VRM for a broadcast licence.” Meanwhile, the Flemish government has approved a white paper Gatz prepared on the future of regional television in Flanders, aimed at assuring the survival of local TV stations.

The governing media decree charges local TV with providing television coverage of news and culture in a defined area, such as Antwerp or Limburg. The stations are meant to be independent and pluralistic and to draw most of their income from advertising and sponsorship. Under a previous regulation, stations were allowed to work together to pool resources and extend their viewer reach, and receive a subsidy of €185,000 a year. Cable distributors Proximus and Telenet were required to pay a total of €6 million to carry their broadcasts, in an effort to extract the stations from financial difficulties. Gatz’s new paper covers matters such as allowing local TV stations to work with other media organisations to achieve multi-platform presence – radio, print and online – in an effort to create economies of scale. It also opens the door to more co-operation between local TV and the Flemish public broadcaster, VRT, as well as providing better access to the advertising body RTVM for more accurate viewing figures. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

july 26, 2017

Slave to the algorithm

week in innovation Easier software for digital prescriptions

Got writer’s block? Ask for help from a robot designed in Antwerp

Federal health minister Maggie De Block is planning the launch of a new software that will help doctors with the transition to electronic prescriptions. The software is especially intended for older doctors who have criticised the existing system for being too complex, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Starting next year, all doctors in Belgium will be required to write out electronic prescriptions, and patients will no longer receive prescriptions on paper. Once the doctor uploads the prescription, the pharmacist will be able to access all the information with the use of the patient’s electronic identity card. In response to the criticism, De Block has announced a simpler, cost-free software called Paris. It is expected to launch in October.

Daan Bauwens Follow Daan on Twitter \ @DaanBauwens

“I

t’s your fiction that interests me,“ Herbie the robot says in Isaac Asimov’s groundbreaking 1950 short story collection I, Robot. Now, researchers at the University of Antwerp have taken Herbie’s words to heart and designed the first creativewriting robot. Named AsiBot, he’s spending his summer days alongside human writer Ronald Giphart while they attempt to collaborate on the first-ever hybrid book. Their story will be added to a reissued version of I, Robot as part of the Dutch library promotion campaign Nederland Leest (The Netherlands Reads), which runs in November with robotics as its theme. Although it’s a Dutch campaign, the brainpower behind the human-robot collaboration is found in the labs of Antwerp University research group CLiPS. However, the pair responsible for creating the literary machine are two non-Dutch speaking researchers, Spaniard Enrique Manjavacas and Ben Burtenshaw from the UK. They have warned against an excessively literal interpretation of the “robot” concept. “To make it clear, there is no physical robot at work,” says Majavacas. “We have designed a programme based on an algorithm.” Moreover, the technology used is pretty basic from the point of view of a computer linguist, he adds. “It’s not rocket science, it is conventional programming, but it had never been applied to literature in a creative set-up.” AsiBot is not taking over the creative process of writing, he insists. “The robot doesn’t want to express anything artistic. Instead it gives a serious boost to human creativity.” When an author fills out a string of characters on the robot interface, it will give a few suggestions on what to write next. Burtenshaw adds: “The writer Ronald Giphart told us that

normally, when he’s stuck, he looks at the ceiling for an answer on how to proceed. Well, the interface we’ve designed is that ceiling. It adds fluency to the process of writing.” Mike Kestemont, supervisor of the project at the department of literature, goes one step further: “We hope for a form of serendipity, that machines will come up with unexpected solutions and authors experience the machine’s assistance as liberating.” To teach the robot which suggestions to offer, it was “fed” 10,000 books, totalling around 750 million words. Based on the statistics it compiles, the machine calculates what the most probable next character will be. It’s no coincidence that it mostly “read” science fiction, which automatically influences the language it

uses. So while not expressing anything artistic, the artificial writer does have a distinct style. The researchers are currently looking at ways to turn AsiBot into an online, open-source tool for anyone to use. There are some concerns that while the robot is merely an aide to the author at this initial stage, nobody knows where it will lead. Will writers eventually lose their artistic autonomy? “Not any time soon,” Burtenshaw says. “For the moment, this is a new way of experiencing writing. We will have to wait and see how literature changes with technology. But did the technological revolution in print destroy the role of graphic designers? Quite the opposite. This will lead to an explosion in possibilities and jobs in writing.”

Towards zero waste, one pair of shades at a time One day we will look back at this time in history and shake our heads in disbelief about how wasteful we were. But change is coming, and Antwerp entrepreneur Sebastiaan de Neubourg is working on it. De Neubourg launched a start-up that will launch the world’s first circular-economy sunglasses. His company, w.r.yuma, is named after the American city of Yuma, said to be the sunniest place in the world. “Not only are our sunglasses made from recycled materials from old car dashboards and refrigerators, the glasses themselves are designed in a way that makes them easy to recycle at the end of their lifetime,” de Neubourg explains. “That’s the concept of a circular economy: waste becomes a thing of the past. We will encourage customers to hand their glasses back to us by giving them a discount on future purchases.” De Neubourg is a sunglasses enthusiast himself, but the choice to produce them has another purpose. “Sustainability has to become a cool thing, not just something for people who care for the planet’s future. Sunglasses are a perfect tool to carry out this message,” he says. “It’s a common product with a high cool factor. I want to make sustainability trendy and fashionable and make people look differently at the issue of waste. Sustainability has to go mainstream, in the interest of the future of our planet.” W.r.yuma’s production method uses 3D printing

Ghent tests vaccine for Lyme disease

AsiBot and the team are working with writer Ronald Giphart on the first-ever hybrid book

technology, and they are currently working with plastics from discarded car dashboards, drinks bottles and fridges. The glasses are polished and assembled by hand, to original designs. Local production is another important aspect of the circular economic model, so the company is working with Flexpack, a socially oriented workplace. It helps them keep the price down and create local jobs. 3D printing is an inspiring technology, de Neubourg says. “We’re looking at new, fascinating applications. For example, next summer we plan to print live at festivals, using discarded plastic cups as our raw material. People can have a drink, throw their cup in our machine and print a pair of glasses. Fishing nets and waste products from breweries are other possibilities.”

WRYUMA.COM

De Neubourg is not a newcomer to the world of sustainability and entrepreneurship. For five years, he has been working as a consultant for start-ups and new companies, giving advice on subjects like sustainability and the circular economy. “Over the years, I’ve seen lots of interesting and inspiring projects passing by. Then there came a point when I wanted to be on the other side of the table, to start something myself,” he says. “W.r.yuma grew out of this drive. I tried to include as many of the concepts and ideas I had heard as possible. Co-creation, open source... By doing so, I hope to inspire other entrepreneurs to look differently at production and consumption, and to experiment with these new viewpoints.” The first prototypes are as good as ready, he says. The next step is to take the project to crowdfunding site Kickstarter and sell the first 100 pairs. Then the company aims to develop other models and explore new materials. The company, based in Antwerp, is about more than producing sunglasses, de Neubourg explains. “Printing is only one in a wide range of technologies available to help us move towards a zero-waste circular economy. We hope to inspire others to follow. It’s the story of the future, and Flanders has the potential to be a forerunner in the development of tomorrow’s technologies and production models.” \ Toon Lambrechts

Ghent University Hospital is helping test what could become the first-ever vaccine against Lyme disease. The study is part of a large-scale international clinical trial testing the effects and effectiveness of a preventative vaccine for the disease on humans. Lyme is caused by the Borrelia bacteria, which is spread by ticks and which, if left untreated, can result in facial paralysis, neurological disorders and arthritis. There is no cure for the disease and the candidate vaccine was developed by the Austrian biotechnology firm Valneva. Ghent University Hospital’s centre for vaccinology is the only Belgian institute participating in the international study.

Dentistry training to focus on elderly people The University of Ghent is to start training its dentistry students to treat and prevent oral diseases in people aged 65 and over, in response to the increasing oral care needs of Flanders’ ageing population. Professor Jan Cosyn, chair of the university’s Dentistry programme committee, told De Morgen that the rapidly ageing population made the course necessary, with oral care declining as people get older. The gerodontology course will be compulsory in the university’s five-year dentistry degree programme, which will be revamped in 2017-2018 with an increased focus on digitisation and new trends in prostheses and will include a course meant to prepare new dentists to work in group practices.

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IN A CHANGING WORLD,

\ EDUCATION

july 26, 2017

No strings attached

week in education

Antwerp project opens classrooms across the city as taster for refugees Daan Bauwens More articles by Daan \ flanderstoday.eu

efugees interested in pursuing higher education will soon be able to enrol at Antwerp schools across the city to get a taste of Flanders’ education system. A dozen refugees will be allowed to attend classes, submit assignments, meet other students and take exams. The only thing they won’t do is earn study credits. The project pilot, which is called Try Higher Education Antwerp (Thea), starts at the end of September and is open to up to 15 refugees. It was conceived by social work students at the Karel De Grote University College who were interns at the centre for asylumseekers in the city’s Linkeroever neighbourhood. This is not the first Antwerp project to attempt to help refugees adjust to life in Flanders. The city has also set up a cohousing initiative called Curant that sees locals living with refugees for up to a year. During the internship, many of the refugees the students met expressed a desire to visit and explore their university college. The students’ teacher, in response, opened his lessons to the refugees, even though the focus of his course didn’t match with the refugees’ own study interests. Still, everyone involved agreed that the initiative seemed to have potential, and the concept soon expanded to other Antwerp institutions of higher education. Today, the Antwerp University Association, which includes the university itself, Karel De Grote, Artesis Plantijn University College and the Antwerp Maritime Academy, is leading the pilot project, while the city’s Atlas integration centre is in charge of attracting refugees. “We don’t advertise the programme. Instead, we present the option to those who show potential and a keen interest,” said Liesbeth Dierickx, who’s in charge of the Thea project at Atlas. “There are 18-year-olds who want to start higher education in Antwerp

The Curant project brings refugees and Antwerpenaars together

and older ones who already have a degree but need to take extra courses before they can work here.” For instance, lawyers, doctors and dentists who completed their training in Syria cannot practise here unless they pursue additional qualifications in Belgium. Dierickx points out that higher

ickx said, with students often struggling to figure out what to write down during lessons. Another bonus, the organisers said, is that newcomers’ language skills improve during the project. “They will spend a year at university, taking classes and meeting other students,” said Georges

students is advantageous to them.” Refugees from war-torn regions may have gone through intense experiences and some may suffer from trauma. Their emotional and social vocabulary may also be different from that of Flemings, and some may have a supportive environment while others don’t. At the university or university college, the refugees are assigned a mentor who assesses their personal situation with just one goal – ensuring that the refugee clearly understands the programmes they want to enrol in. According to the organisers, this substantially increases their success rate the following year. Although refugees won’t earn any credits by taking exams or completing a course, professors will discuss any exam results with the prospective students. “It’s a form of protection,” Goffin says, pointing to how the Flemish credit system in higher education works. “Every student begins their studies

We show them what studying looks like here, then they can then make an informed decision education in Flanders is very different from that in places like Iraq or Afghanistan. “The refugees’ reference frame is different; they don’t know about the entry requirements, the different programmes and what knowledge is expected from them when they enrol,” she explains. “We need to show them what studying looks like here. They can then make a well-informed decision about whether or not they want to continue; whether they really want that master’s degree or to go for a bachelor’s instead.” Refugees who have enrolled in local institutions have complained about the Flemish focus on the reproduction of knowledge, Dier-

Goffin, Thea co-ordinator at the Antwerp University Association. “First of all, their social vocabulary will improve in a normal student environment. Secondly, their academic vocabulary will expand by taking courses.” According to Dierickx, the project will be especially beneficial for the newcomers’ language skills because it makes them step out of their day-to-day networks. “Refugees don’t have a network upon arrival. The first one they build is with people from their region,” she explains. “They then meet other non-native speakers in their integration course, which doesn’t really help them improve their language skills. Meeting Flemish

with a set amount of study credits. Every time they enrol for a course, they lose some of these credits. In Thea, no refugee student runs the risk of losing credit because they failed a class.” For now, a handful of refugees have enrolled in the programme – a couple of trained chemists, a medical student and one refugee who wants to become a quarterdeck officer at the city’s nautical school. According to Goffin, 10 to 15 refugees will take classes as part of the The project over the next academic year. Next June, at the end of the academic year, the association will decide how to adjust the programme.

Give pupils competitive gaming lessons, say researcher Just like children have physical education lessons, they should also have a couple of hours a week of competitive gaming, according to a researcher from the University of Leuven. ICT specialist Yung Shin Van Der Sype told De Standaard that children should spend time on e-sports, which are increasingly used in business to teach employees skills. “E-sports includes games like Starcraft, in which you have to build a whole economy and thus learn to organise and think strategically,” she said. In business, “if you oblige staff to follow lessons, nobody will listen. Give them a game and they are intrigued.” Van Der Sype works on Dogana, a European

research project that developed a game called Phishing Wars in which staff have to recognise and remove potentially dangerous emails

as soon as possible. “It’s a fun way of teaching staff how they can protect the company against a cyber-attack,” said Van Der Sype. She believes it’s essential that children get used to this way of learning from a young age, which is why she is calling for obligatory e-sports lessons in primary and secondary school. “The purpose should be that children can be creative, build something together, learn to structure and develop their agility,” she said. Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits said the use of games in class could motivate children. “Schools have the freedom to include gaming in their course programme,” she said.

‘Don’t ignore stuttering,’ researcher says

According to a PhD researcher at Antwerp University researcher, teachers rarely acknowledge stuttering among their students because they’re afraid of making it worse. As a result, students who stutter see it as a taboo subject. Over the course of two years, Stefanie Adriaensens compared the self-esteem of 12 stuttering students with that of students with no such speech impediment and conducted in-depth interviews with their teachers. She found that teachers don’t consider stuttering a problem if it doesn’t affect the lessons. This approach, however, does not prevent conflicts or misunderstandings in the classroom. During speaking exercises, for example, students who stutter are sometimes exempt from participating or receive lower marks. Adriaensens has called for teachers to acknowledge the issue in conversations with the stuttering students.

300 schools could be built on polluted soil The Flemish public waste agency, Ovam, is to investigate 300 schools that could be built on polluted soil. “Some schools were built on old factory sites, or there are indications that there may have been leaks in oil fuel tanks,” an agency spokesperson told Het Nieuwsblad. The sites may also have been levelled using polluted construction waste. Schools are supposed to look into the soil pollution themselves, but many fail to do so. They fear the costs involved in a possible clean-up or they don’t have the time. The government of Flanders has now decided to send Ovam specialists to inspect the schools.

Decree calls for highquality pupil support Schools’ ability to grant official diplomas and receive subsidies will become dependent on offering high-quality student guidance, under a proposed new decree. Student guidance should be part of schools’ overall policies and will be assessed by the education inspection services. It should involve staff, parents and students, and every school will have to appoint a student counsellor. The proposal, which the government of Flanders agreed earlier this month, also looks into the operation of the 72 CLBs, or pupil support agencies. Among their tasks are education guidance and preventive health care. CLBs are being asked to focus even more on the students themselves.

\ Andy Furniere

\ LIVING

week in activities Fireworks in Laeken On selected Fridays until the end of August, there will be a fireworks display in Laeken. This week, the theme is urban ecology, with a labyrinth, farmyard animals, insect tastings and workshops. At 21.00 there’s a country music concert and dance classes; the fireworks start at 23.00. 28 July 18.00-midnight, Belgiëplein 1, Brussels; free \ visit.brussels

Witches’ Parade This is the 45th annual parade of witches in Beselare, a village with a long tradition of ghost stories and scary tales. Local witches and stories are portrayed in the parade, as well as wellknown fairy tales like Hansel & Gretel and Snow White. A unique mix of folklore, fantasy, humour and horror. 30 July, Beselare (Zonnebeke); €6 \ heksenstoet.be

Donkey tour Take a leisurely walk through the Merode nature reserve in Antwerp with seven donkeys as trail companions. Children under 40kg can take turns riding the animals; it’s best to bring a buggy or stroller along for small children. Take a picnic as there will be a lunch break along the way. 30 July 11.00-15.00, De Merode, Cardijnlaan 1, Herentals; €6/€3 for under13s \ tinyurl.com/donkey-tour

Asylum centre open house One of 19 centres for asylumseekers in Belgium, the facility in Poelkapelle has room for 327 people. During the open house, you can take a guided tour of the centre and enjoy world music, street theatre, a flea market and food and drink. 30 July 10.0018.00, Stadensteenweg 68, Langemark-Poelkapelle; free \ tinyurl.com/ asylum-open-house

Where’s Wally? Explore Aarschot on foot while searching for Wally (in the form of stickers) along the way; he’s easy to spot with his red-and-white striped shirt. Find the three special stickers and win a cool prize. Pick up a map at the tourist office and choose from three routes. Tuesday-Sunday until the end of August, Elizabethlaan 103, Aarschot; free \ tinyurl.com/ where-s-wally-aarschot

\ 10

Against the grain

Pikkeling festival gathers the world in celebration of rural life Tom Peeters More articles by Tom \ flanderstoday.eu

n the early 1970s, residents of the East Flemish villages of Baardegem, Herdersem, Meldert and Moorsel came together to organise De Pikkeling. Earlier this summer, the harvest festival was recognised as intangible cultural heritage by Flemish culture minister Sven Gatz. “Back then, the four villages were confronted with a possible merger with the city of Aalst,” explains Steven Saeyns, who’s supervising the festival’s 48th edition. “These countrymen and women considered this merger to be an annexation of their values, so, to maintain their rural way of life, they started a peaceful countermovement.” Since then, in the last weekend of July each year, the villages – now districts of Aalst – have organised a harvest festival on the grounds of a historical farmstead. What started in 1970 as a one-day event has grown to become the Pikkeling International Folklore Harvest Festival, with eight days of activities across the region. This year’s event takes place on the Molenkouterhoeve farmstead in Moorsel. The choice, Saeyns says, is obvious. “Farmsteads were places where the farmer would throw a big party for the workers to celebrate the end of harvest.” The Pikkeling celebrations focus on the grain harvest. Before mechanised agriculture, the grain would be cut with scythes and bundled into untied sheaves. The sheaves, known as pikkelings in Dutch, were then fastened, stacked against each other and left to dry for a few days. Similar harvest festivals occur all over the world, says Saeyns, so it was only natural for the Pikkeling to eventually bring in folklore groups from abroad. To be invited, the groups must prove their dancing, clothing and music are culturally authentic. The international guests are hosted by local families. “Initially, this was done for economic reasons, but over time, we realised the added value for both parties,” he says. “The hosts feel like they’re on a holiday without leaving their own house, while their guests get to explore a new country with an insider’s perspective.” This year, the 96 foreign guests are from Catalo-

nia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, and they will lodge in about 50 houses. “Everyone is especially looking forward to the show by the Ukrainian dance group,” Saeyns says. “It’s already their third time here, but they always put on a spectacular show, with sword battles and acrobatic jumps.” Over the years, international groups’ role in the festival has expanded, with shows taking place on the farmstead and in marketplaces across the region. This year, additional evening shows have been scheduled in Opwijk, Aalst, Welle and Lebbeke. To get the full experience, however, Saeyns recommends visiting the farmstead. The Pikkeling opens with the display of a colourful flower carpet on the Moorsel market square (the region was once home to a thriving cut-flower industry), before moving to Molenkouterhoeve for demonstrations of clog-making, forging and even sheep herding. As the festival has grown over the years, so has

the interest around it. This year, several cultural organisations will be hosting their own events on or near the Pikkeling grounds. “On Saturday, some 100 horses will fill the surrounding meadows, while on Sunday, more than 250 big tractors will pull into the farmstead for an annual gathering,” Saeyns says, referring to the annual Flemish championship of the Belgian draft horse, and the Tractortreffen, or Tractor Fights, a day-long show filled with tractor pulls and parades. Saeyns believes official recognition by the culture minster will lead to increased awareness around PIkkeling’s mission. “And with the help of all the extra events we’ll surely broaden our audience.”

26 July to 2 August Moorsel

Molenkouterstraat 28

BITE Antwerp’s Beni Falafel voted ‘best falafel place in the world’ Tucked away in a side street in the middle of the Jewish quarter of Antwerp, you’ll find the best falafel in the world outside of Israel. That, at any rate, is the opinion of the foreign delegates of World Bnei Akiva, a Jewish youth movement active in 24 countries. Asked to rate the quality of their favourite local falafel, respondents from Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Mexico, the United States, Australia, South Africa and elsewhere submitted their ratings, and the winner was Beni Falafel. Falafel is a Middle Eastern dish made of chickpeas and seasonings such as coriander and cumin. It resembles a ball-shaped croquette and is often served with pita bread.

The restaurant, on Lange Leemstraat, two metro stops from Central Station, is named after Beni Barnatan, an Israeli who came to Antwerp in 1967 to see a girl he’d met when she was on holiday in Israel. He intended to stay two weeks; he’s still there half a century later. © Courtesy Beni Falafel “We started in 1968 on Pelikaanstraat, because that’s where a lot of Jewish people were training to become diamond cutters,” Barnatan explains. “Someone said to me, ‘If you’re going to stay here, you could open a falafel restaurant’. We stayed there for a couple of years and then moved to our current

BENIFALAFEL.BE

location.” The restaurant is as unpretentious as the tributes are heartfelt. Formica table tops, paper napkins and a basic menu of falafel, hummus, latkes, soup and warm vegetables in various forms. Beni Falalel has a feel that’s simple, authentic and welcoming. Though the restaurant has new owners, not much about it has changed. Harris Malkoc and his mother, who used to work here, took over from Barnatan so he could retire, but this doesn’t prevent him from turning up every day to keep an eye on the restaurant. “Everything about the restaurant is the same as it was,” Malkoc says. “We’re not planning on changing anything. I’m a big fan.” The food certainly tastes great. Everything is fresh, including the buns, which are made in-house. The hummus is perfectly seasoned and light; the products are kosher, vegan or vegetarian, and gluten-free. And so, is Beni Falafel the best in the world? It very well could be. \ Alan Hope

july 26, 2017

Hidden treasures

Atypical series of travel books that began in Brussels gets a home online Linda A Thompson Follow Linda on Twitter \ @ThompsonBXL

THE500HIDDENSECRETS.COM

hen journalist and author Derek Blyth sat down with an Antwerp publisher to discuss his plan for an atypical travel guide to Brussels, he had a hard time convincing the veteran exec that he could fill an entire book with the capital’s overlooked gems. “He wasn’t at all excited by the idea of a book on Brussels. He didn’t think it would sell in large numbers; he didn’t think I would find 500 hidden secrets,” Blyth says, sitting in the Filigranes bookshop’s cafe in Brussels, where he pitched the book to Luster CEO Mark Verhagen in the summer of 2011. “But he was prepared to take a risk, I guess.” Five years later, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels has sold more than 25,000 copies and has spawned an international series packing 16 sister titles, with Dublin and New York the most recent additions. The stylishly designed English-language book, which catalogues places and sights off the trampled tourist path across nine of the city’s neighbourhoods, has charmed Brusselaars and visitors alike. The success has perplexed even Blyth, the former editorin-chief of Flanders Today. “It’s very strange; it’s just one of those things that people seem to like,” he says. “I don’t know how that happened.” Well, for one, people love curation in this age of information overload. When picking a Japanese restaurant for dinner can be an anxiety-inducing experience – is this really the best one? – it’s a relief to have someone knowledgeable boil Brussels’ Japanese culinary scene down to just five places. Done. Blyth went on to write four local successors, covering Antwerp, Ghent, the Belgian coast and Flanders Fields, and he is currently working on perhaps the most ambitious edition of them all, The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium, which is due to hit bookstands by the end of the year. Although the publisher misjudged just how much the book, selected parts of which have been put online since last month, would resonate with readers, he was right about one thing: 500 is a lot. Blyth thought he knew exactly which curious buildings, obscure parks and cultural hotspots he wanted to introduce readers to, thanks to his extensive knowledge of a city he’s called home for two decades. But when he sat down to actually write the entries

Brussels-based journalist Derek Blyth began the series in 2008, as a riposte to the perception of the capital as boring

crowding his head, he realised what was what. “I had a big panic because I was really nowhere near 500,” he says. “I might have been up to about 120, 130 places.” To hit the targets he had pitched and identify the “five best remains of the city walls”, “five best terraces for sitting in the sun” and “five best trips on tram and bus”, he ventured into the city.

Over the next six months, he went on long walks five days a week – clocking an estimated 10 kilometres a day, hitting corners of Schaarbeek and Anderlecht he hadn’t previously visited. “I had to do research that no one else had really done, so I got to know the whole city that way,” he says. It may have taken him more effort than he originally expected, but he did achieve the

aim he ultimately had with his loving catalogue of secrets – to correct misperceptions about Brussels as a dull place. “If somebody says Brussels is boring, then you throw that book at them and say: ‘Pick 10 random places in this book and come back and say it’s boring after that.’” Blyth has been on this crusade for some time – since 2008 in fact, when, as editor of Flanders Today’s sister publication The Bulletin, he received a press release proudly announcing that users of the travel website TripAdvisor had declared the capital Europe’s most boring city. “That made me angry in a way, because you’ve got Luxembourg, you’ve got The Hague, you’ve got these seriously boring cities, so I thought: What’s going on here?” For a large part, the city’s maligned reputation appears to spring from the fact that the city hosts the European Union institutions, meaning most of its visitors go straight from meeting room to hotel room, he says, and don’t actually see the city. Tourism offices also have to do better, he says, adding that he also wrote the travel guide to show officials that their leaflets and recommendations to visitors didn’t cover the full breadth of the city. Pointing to Sint-Gillis as a vibrant neighbourhood where you could easily spend a full weekend, he said: “The tourist office would never mention that; they would be too busy directing people to Manneken Pis or the Atomium.” It’s perhaps why he has picked up the baton of sorts. Blyth, who also organises walking tours of Brussels, gives talks about the city and is working on an audio guide on the capital, is still doing what he did in that 2011 meeting at Filigranes, seated across from someone who had misgivings about a city that even he admits can be maddening at times and isn’t yet reaching its full creative potential. “My main mission in life is to destroy the preconception that Brussels is boring – person by person,” he says. “I could do something more useful I suppose, like campaign against nuclear weapons. I don’t know, you just get these missions in life and you have to follow them through.” The 500 Hidden Secrets series is published in English by Luster

Living refugee exhibition ‘designed to make you feel uneasy’ “Meet Mohammed,” says Smak director Philippe Van Cauteren, introducing one of 12 refugees living and working in Ghent’s contemporary art museum as part of an installation. “He’s from Mosul.” A brutal battle against ISIS in the Iraqi city has recently ended, and Van Cauteren asks about the wellbeing of Mohammed’s family. “All fine,” he responds in broken Dutch, with an improbable smile. “All needs to be built anew.” Meeting Mohammed is uneasy. Because Mohammed is a living element of an incongruous installation that mixes art with reality. Behind him, a dozen heads of King Leopold II stare ahead, the product of the previous day’s clay workshop (pictured) at the museum’s

refugee community centre. The centre is one component of Verlust der Mitte, an installation by Swiss artist Christophe Büchel, which also includes a refugee “camp” resembling the Calais jungle, a makeshift dormitory, a life-sized Congolese village and Congolese “investment fair”. The overriding message is that in terms of exploitation, not much has changed since the 1800s. At the community centre, visitors are invited to participate in clay workshops. Choreographer Jordy Dik teaches the refugees to tell their story by posture and movement, and visitors can join mindfulness sessions. Sometimes chocolate is made in bullet moulds. Programme leader Rens De Venter dismisses

the juxtaposition, insisting: “This is an example of how to activate a vulnerable group. We are stuck with the idea of the helpless refugee who needs feeding and housing. That’s too simple.” Refugees need to give meaning to their new lives, he believes. “Meeting people and creating opportunities remains elusive for most of them – that’s what we help them with through this.” De Venter admits their presence at Smak is a nod to the “human zoos” set up during Ghent’s world exhibition in 1913. An old poster from that year is on display promoting the Senegalese village “with 150 natives”. “It’s designed to make you feel uneasy,” Van

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Cauteren adds, “oscillating between true and false. It’s this uneasiness that will make people question their stereotypes and prejudices – both against refugees and against what they consider art.” \ Daan Bauwens

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july 26, 2017

A festival for all

week in arts & CULTURE

Wind of change blows through Flanders’ seaside theatre extravaganza Daan Bauwens More articles by Daan \ flanderstoday.eu

THEATERAANZEE.BE

The newly curated TAZ involves disenfranchised people of Ostend in an experimental year for the annual 10-day festival.

t’s become a tradition: as soon as the last tune is played at the Gentse Feesten, the city festival crowd heads to Ostend for another 10 days of live music, exhibitions and late-night partying – this time with a sea breeze. Despite the popularity of DJ Monsieur Le Selecteur and bands of the magnitude of Tindersticks, we shouldn’t forget what the Theater Aan Zee (TAZ) festival is actually about – theatre. Flanders’ largest theatrical gathering welcomes more than 100,000 people, both experts and those who have never set foot in a playhouse. But the festival’s 21st edition has its own series of innovations. This year, no central performer, director or theatre company is putting together the programme. For the first time, the festival has chosen to work with a curator with an independent perspective – with the honour going to retired director and producer Dirk Pauwels. Pauwels has been active in the national theatre scene since the end of the 1970s. He’s directed and performed with Flanders’ finest, including Alain Platel, Arne Sierens and Josse De Pauw. He founded Ghent’s Nieuwpoorttheatre in 1984 and started Campo theatre in 2008, serving as its curator until 2011. As the festival’s first curator, Pauwels (pictured) has gone to great lengths to leave a very personal mark on the programme. For the first time, TAZ will feature plays that were created for the festival or that still had to be written from scratch when they were signed up to the programme. “That’s a result of my personal relationships with artists,” says Pauwels of his experimental approach. “Instead of being led by positive reviews or popular acclaim, I trusted my instinct and the artists I signed up. It took me litres of coffee and hours of talks to decide what would work.” One piece commissioned for the festival is Misschien Marieke (Maybe Marieke), a typical example of the curator’s wish to engage in a dialogue with the most vulnerable inhabitants of Ostend. The piece comprises a monologue

Audrey Hepburn statue comes to Brussels A statue of Audrey Hepburn will be installed in the Brussels municipality of Elsene, where the actor was born and lived as a child. The monument will be transferred from its current home in the Swiss town of Tolochenaz, where Hepburn died in 1993. The Elsene city councillor responsible for heritage, Nathalie Gilson, said: “We made contact with Audrey Hepburn’s son and with the town of Tolochenaz. Both of them agreed to give the statue to us. We’re extraordinarily fortunate.” Its new home will be on the corner of Keyenveldstraat and Gewijde-Boomstraat, next to the former Solvay factory, where a new housing development is being built. It is hoped the statue will be unveiled by the end of the year.

In Stukken focuses on the relationships between parents and children, and is played by seven local children from disadvantaged backgrounds

written by Ghent photographer Lieve Blanquaert at the request of Pauwels, based on conversations she’d had with homeless mothers in the city. Another such piece, created with the city’s disenfranchised inhabitants, is In Stukken (In Pieces). The reworking of an existing piece by the late, revered Eric De Voldere, In Stukken focuses on the relationships between parents and children and is played by seven local children from

disadvantaged backgrounds. “These children would never have found their way to a stage if we hadn’t entered into a dialogue with the city’s organisations,” says Pauwels. His decision to include socially vulnerable groups stems from his pondering on the meaning of the festival. “If you’re creating a festival in a city, you have no choice but to involve the city, leaving no one out.” Leaving no one out is also the motif of a temporary exhibition at Mu.Zee, the city’s museum for contemporary art. In this show, Pauwels delves into his own, pretheatre, professional past. Having worked as a creative therapist for seven years, he’s put together a collection of art works his own patients produced in the 1970s, supplemented with recent works by therapists and psychiatric patients. In yet another innovation, TAZ audiences will have the chance to be involved in the often laborious beginnings of the creation of a play. In Is This Porn? No This is Love, actress Julie Cafmeyer will need the public’s help in finding the right form for her piece on love, porn, eroticism, lust, despair and fatigue, based on love letters, memories of real-life dialogues and chat messages. Cafmeyer is one of five artists taking part in one of the festival’s preliminary set-up shows, which last about an hour and are free. Despite Pauwels’ experimental take on things, TAZ wouldn’t be worthy of its name if it didn’t feature at least some of the best shows of recent seasons. Montaigne by Koen De Sutter

27 July to 5 August

blows new life into the brilliant 16th-century philosopher’s ideas, earning it standing ovations and unanimous positive reviews at its 2016 premiere. Vanish Beach, by Hof Van Eede, tells the tale of German intellectuals – including Thomas Mann and Bertold Brecht – who fled their war-torn motherland during the Second World War and suffer from survivor’s guilt. And Shakespeare is back from the dead, defending his approach to theatre in The Winter’s Tale by young company Kuiperskaai. As curator, Pauwels is also convinced of the need to draw a more international crowd so, for the first time in TAZ’s history, English will be spoken on stage. The British-German collective Gob Squad, known for combining audience interaction with real-time video editing, will scrutinise popular culture in Super Night Shot and Kitchen. And at the request of Pauwels, British performer Paul Clark – “a master in absurdity” according to the festival programme – will make a brief comeback in The Last Gentleman. Visitors will also be invited to enjoy a taste of the future. The festival’s alternative circuit, Jong Theatre, will be made up of works by budding artists, thanks to the efforts of recent graduates Mats Van Herreweghe and Eva Lesage, who visited virtually every art school’s end-of-year-show to assemble the programme. Meanwhile, Leopoldspark will provide respite from any cultural overload, serving as a children’s paradise by day and an open-air bar by night.

Tripfixer aims to end holiday boredom The province of Antwerp has launched an automated chat service that will direct users to local summer activities. Visitors to the province’s website or Facebook page can answer a series of questions, and the Tripfixer service will suggest suitable activities based on their interests, location and even the weather. The service is possible via a collaboration with the website Uit in Vlaanderen. Until July 28, users can also win cultural prizes, including theatre and concert tickets and the chance to meet Flemish authors. \ facebook.com/tripfixer \ provincieantwerpen.be

Opera and Ballet announced new artistic director The board of the Flemish Royal Opera and Royal Ballet have named Jan Vandenhouwe as the new artistic director of the joint institution. Vandenhouwe will replace Aviel Cahn when he steps down in 2019. He is currently in charge of opera and music programming for the Ruhrtriennale in the Ruhr region of western Germany, one of Europe’s biggest arts festivals. Vandenhouwe studied at the universities of Leuven and Antwerp, and was an opera critic for De Standaard.

Across Ostend

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\ ARTS

Twilight zone

Hilde Vandermeeren makes her mark in Flemish crime fiction Rebecca Benoot More articles by Rebecca \ flanderstoday.eu

A youth writer turned crime author, Hilde Vandermeeren has carved out a place for her work and voice in a male-dominated genre, and her latest novel explores tabloid culture, social media and celebrity.

fter having written children’s books for 15 years, Hilde Vandermeeren decided to take the plunge into crime fiction. Her late career jump has paid off. Her 2013 debut novel, Als alles duister wordt (If Everything Goes Dark) earned her the prestigious Hercule Poirot public award, and she has become one of Flanders’ pioneering female thriller authors. Vandermeeren’s new novel, Schemerzone (Twilight), is based on real-life events that she gleaned from a newspaper. “I read an article about a businesswoman who tweeted something incredibly stupid before getting on a plane,” Vandermeeren (pictured) says. By the time the woman arrived at her destination, the tweet had gone viral. “She ended up losing her job and friends, and that’s what got the ball rolling – the idea that one tweet can ruin your life.” A powerful and realistic page-turner, Schemerzone focuses on a nurse, Kate, who works in a private clinic in London. She suffers from narcolepsy and falls asleep at impromptu times and locations – something she tries to keep secret at work for fear of losing her job. Although the clinic Kate works at is undergoing renovation work, the building’s hermetic third floor can be rented out for ultra-discreet personal and private care. When a tweet is sent out from Kate’s Twitter account revealing that the clinic’s current resident is the nine-year-old daughter of a famous football player, she’s not sure who to suspect. She begins to doubt both herself and those around her, with journalists and someone more sinister in hot pursuit. Through short chapters that keep up the pace and suspense, Vandermeeren shines a light on narcolepsy, tabloid culture and social media mores in this well-plotted and multifaceted novel. But it’s Schemerzone’s intriguing and complex main character – Kate is anything but your average sleuth – that elevates this to the next level.

Hilde Vandermeeren’s latest novel came from the idea that one tweet can ruin your life

She’s an intriguing female character, who’s up against more than just her inner demons. “What fascinates me are the external obstacles as well as the internal ones that led me to the narcolepsy storyline,” Vandermeeren

explains. “It’s the perfect affliction to make the reader question the reliability of the main character.” Like many of the writer’s previous novels, Schemerzone is set abroad. Because Vander-

meeren writes standalone novels, she has the freedom to choose the setting for her story as she pleases. “I always start off with my story and then go in search of the perfect setting, and London was ideal for this story,” she said. “It’s a busy international city where you can disappear if you want to.” She was also drawn to the city because of the influence of its tabloid press. “They really hunt people down there,” she says. “And there’s the fact that a celebrity could realistically take over the floor of a hospital there. That’s probably more likely there than it is here.” Schemerzone is the writer’s fifth crime novel in as many years, but Vandermeeren is by no means a newbie – she had already written lots of children’s books before tackling crime fiction. “I decided to gracefully end that chapter of my career, as I had covered most topics and I didn’t want to repeat myself,” she explains, adding that suspense novels had been a passion of hers since she was 13. “I devoured all of Agatha Christie’s stories. And in 2012, I thought why not have crack at it myself?” she said. “I love writing crime fiction, as it’s somewhat more complex. You have to keep the suspense going, make sure the plot makes sense and that the characters are realistic. But neither genre is inferior to the other,” she says, contrasting crime and youth fiction. Vandermeeren admits that making your mark in a genre dominated by men is hard. She notes that things are changing, but nevertheless argues it’s time for female thriller writers to get their due credit. “It’s completely different in the Netherlands, but in Flanders women are an oddity in this genre, which is strange because I have a lot of male readers as well,” she says. “It’s a misconception that women only write for women. It’s challenging to be a female thriller author, but I hope to change something about our place in this genre.” She has, in any case, definitely left her mark on Flemish crime fiction; Schemerzone exceeds the work of public favourites like Pieter Aspe and Luc Deflo. Schemerzone ( by Uitgeverij Q

) is published in Dutch

More new crime books this summer Blankenberge Blues • Pieter Aspe & Koen Strobbe (Manteau) Flanders’ most popular crime author, Pieter Aspe, joins forces with Koen Strobbe, himself winner of the 2015 Aspe Award. The setting for this team effort is the cold and dark Flemish coast during winter. When a sperm whale is washed ashore, a band of misfits hatch a plan to sell the amber in its intestines, but they can’t simply cut the whale open and start hawking the substance. Unable to walk away from what could earn them a fortune, they

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penetrate the underbelly of the black market instead. Blankenberge Blues is an entertaining and occasionally funny read that casts the Flemish coast in an unexpected light.

De zomer van de doden (Summer of the Dead) • Toni Coppers (Manteau) Toni Coppers has written another classic whodunit focused on detective Liese Meerhout. In De zomer van de doden, Meerhout and her colleague Michel Masson travel to Bolsena, Italy, to investigate the murder of an Antwerp

native who’s found in the catacombs of an old church. They find few clues in Italy, but the pair receive word that a fisherman in Antwerp has found a briefcase containing the belongings of a 1993 murder victim. The fingerprints on the briefcase match those of the dead man in Bolsena. Could this really be a coincidence?

Over elk vergeten heen (Past all Oblivion) • Jo Claes (Houtekiet) Mythology and iconography are two threads that run through-

out Jo Claes’ oeuvre, and Over elk vergeten heen is no different. In this latest novel, detective Thomas Berg witnesses the sale of a bronze statue by the local sculptor Constantin Meunier at an Antwerp art auction. When its new owner is murdered shortly after the sale, Berg realises the killer is replicating the mythical iconography behind the sculpture. Packing in history, mythology and murder, this is vintage Claes.

\ AGENDA

july 26, 2017

Court in the act

CLASSICAL

The Artist/Knight Until 5 November

he pristine Gaasbeek castle, built in the 14th century to defend the city of Brussels against attack, is perched on top of a hill. Yet the museum within the castle walls has no desire to be a monument to a heroic past. “This shouldn’t be a place that evokes nostalgia,” says director Luc Vanackere. “It’s a place that should show a continuity of thinking through time.” The new exhibition The Artist/Knight proves his point. In the labyrinth of dark halls, corridors and stairs, obscure and internationally renowned artists show work inspired by the figure of the knight. “The Hero”, a taped performance by Marina Abramovic in

Antwerp

Gaasbeek castle

KASTEELVANGAASBEEK.BE

which she holds a white banner sitting on a horse, questions the stereotypical gender of the knight. Yoko Ono takes over with a chess game in which both sides have the same colour, renouncing enmity. In a film shown next to one of his green beetle-clad swords, wearing full armour, Flemish artist Jan Fabre pitches into nothing with a sword until he collapses. “He’s fighting his ego,” Vanackere says, “the ego that allows him to proclaim himself an artist, but also the thing that needs taming each day.” Young Afghan artist Kubra Khademi exhibits the feminine form-revealing armour she wore

on the streets of Kabul. Late Romanian artist Horia Damian’s depictions of dead knights flow between painting and sculpture, turning the largest and brightest hall of the castle into a monument to the unknown knight. Flemish artist Vaast Colson runs his own fan club from the castle as a true modernday knight. Pictured is Fabian Mérelle’s “Chevalier”. Other works from the collection – more than 40 pieces in total – play humorously with the concepts of the duel, narcissism, courtly love and the search for the Holy Grail. Which – spoiler alert – is found at the end of the visitor’s quest. © Courtesy Edouard Malingue gallery

Michael E Smith

Summer of Love: 50 Years Later

Michael E Smith’s solo exhibition presents new, site-specific work by the Detroit-born, Rhode Islandbased artist. Known for his manipulation of found objects, Smith’s project is a fundamental critique of the social and ecological damage caused by consumer society. He takes cast-offs and repurposes them as artistic

Until 1 October

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statements, a kind of “archaeology of humanity”. His recent exhibitions have upped the ante by exploiting the very exhibition space itself – an ambiguous gesture that either casts the museum as ally in his sociological critique or complicit in the process or consumption. \ Georgio Valentino

Flemish newspaper De Standaard and Ostend’s Fort Napoleon celebrate the golden anniversary of the Summer of Love. The hippie gathering in San Francisco’s bohemian Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood in 1967 was the pinnacle of countercultural optimism, before it was chastened by the strife of ’68 and betrayed by the violence of Altamont in 1969. This photo-

Brussels Panorama: The Art and Design Atomium Museum showcases a century of Belgian design, from the architectural splendour of Art Nouveau to the socially minded interwar avant garde to postwar modernism and beyond. Until 7 January, Adam, Belgiëplein \ adamuseum.be

Brussels Fort Napoleon, Ostend FORT-NAPOLEON.BE

graphic exhibition revisits some of the event’s iconic images and follows up with some brand new work. Twenty present-day Flemish photographers were invited to select their favourite period snapshots and create contemporary counterparts, highlighting similarities and differences between then and now. \ GV

Remigio Cantagallina: Underground exhibition of works by the 17th-century Italian artist, who documented his travels through the old southern Netherlands in a sketchbook. The images held historical as well as aesthetic value. Until 27 August, Coudenberg Palace, Paleizenplein 7 \ coudenberg.brussels

MUSIC FESTIVAL Brussels Ars in Cathedrali: Sixth edition of classical musical festival takes place every Tuesday evening in Brussels’ cathedral. August performers include Belgian pianist Thérèse Malengreau and German organ virtuoso Martin Sturm. Until 29 August, Sint-Michiel en Goedelekathedraal, Sint-Goedelevoorplein \ cathedralisbruxellensis.be

FESTIVAL

MUSIC

Bozar Open Air

M-idzomer

Until 17 September

VISUAL ARTS

PHOTOGRAPHY Smak, Ghent

\ middagconcerten.be

\ Daan Bauwens

VISUAL ARTS Until 1 October

Middag concerten: Antwerp’s lunchtime concert series offers a summer programme dedicated to young talent. This week’s session sees an up-and-coming string quartet tackle works by Franz Schubert. 28 July 12.00, Amuz, Kammenstraat 81

Bozar, Brussels BOZAR.BE

The Centre for Fine Arts, better known as Bozar, never takes a break. The capital’s top cultural institution hosts summer exhibitions, events and, most spectacularly, the Bozar Open Air festival. Throughout the summer, the neighbouring Baron Hortaplein comes alive with a skate park, pop-up graffiti wall and a programme of street art events linked to the MIXITY.brussels 2017 flagship exhibition, YO: Brussels Hip-Hop Generations. There’s also a temporary swimming pool and summer bar. Finally, Bozar collaborates with eclectic, accessible film festival System_D for a series of open-air screenings. \ GV © Yannick Sas

27-30 July M-Museum Leuven and concert venue Het Depot join forces once more for the latest edition of M-idzomer. The annual event transforms the museum’s garden into an open-air stage for an international roster of jazz, pop and rock performers while the rest of the building hosts exhibitions, theatre and other events. Headliners include American funk saxophonist Maceo Parker and Warhaus (pictured), a new project led by Maarten Devoldere of popular Flemish indie group Balthazar. Saturday afternoon is devoted to family-friendly entertainment courtesy of M-idzomer for Kids and its special guests, Kapitein Winokio and his crew of vegetablepromoting sailors. \ GV

FAMILY/KIDS Antwerp M-Museum, Leuven M-IDZOMER.BE

Zomer van Antwerpen: City festival offers loads of familyfriendly entertainment, from concerts to cinema to theatre. The festival hub is a waterfront pop-up summer bar and circus tent in Antwerp’s Eilandje district. Until 3 September, Sloepenweg \ zva.be

EVENT Ghent Critical Mass: Summer edition of urban bicycle rally launches from Woodrow Wilsonplein and ends with a party at post-industrial cultural complex Dok. 28 July 18.00, Dok, Koopvaardijlaan 13 \ dokgent.be

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\ BACKPAGE

july 26, 2017

Talking Dutch Catch the pigeon

In response to: Antwerp’s newest cafe goes all Texas Will Blackstone: As a Texan living not far from Antwerp I’ll have to try it out ... and pass judgment.

Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

t was a mystery, according to De Morgen. Belgische duivenmelkers met handen in het haar – Belgian pigeon fanciers are tearing their hair out: 5.000 prijsduiven op de dool – 5,000 prize-winning pigeons have gone missing. It was nothing less than a catastrophe: een van de ergste veldslagen ooit – one of the worst disasters ever, according to one owner, who used an unusual word – veldslag – normally reserved for military disasters. It wasn’t quite as bad as the word veldslag – literally, a defeat in the field – seemed to suggest. After all, the birds hadn’t been shot down from the sky. They might indeed still be alive. Here’s what happened, according to De Morgen. Een week na de start van de internationale vlucht uit Barcelona – A week after the start of an international flight from Barcelona zijn nog steeds duizenden duiven vermist – thousands of birds are still missing. The marathon race from Barcelona to Belgium is an important event in the sporting calendar, and was first held back in 1924. When conditions are good, the birds cover the 1,075 kilometres at roughly 66 kilometres an hour. A week after the launch, the birds should all have been safely back in their coops. But almost two-thirds haven’t made it home. Amper 2.470 van de 7.907 opgestegen duiven – Just 2,470 of the 7,907 birds that took off zijn inmiddels door hun baasjes aangemeld op de website van de nationale duivenbond KBDB – have so far been confirmed by their owners on the website of the national pigeon association KBDB. So what’s happened to the missing birds? De duiven zijn verrast door de tramontane – The pigeons were surprised

VoiceS of flanders today

In response to: High-speed rail passengers face increased security Maroun Kaye: Take BlaBlaCar... it’s more comfortable, cheaper, and there are no delays, no security checks and no BS…

by a tramontane, een felle noordenwind – a strong wind from the north die plotseling de kop opsteekt in de Franse Pyreneeën – that suddenly springs up in the French Pyrenees en snelheden kan halen tot 180 kilometer per uur – and can reach speeds of up to 180 kilometres an hour. That wind caused the pigeons to drift off course. Net zoals bij renners in de Tour de France – Just like cyclists in the Tour de France is dat voor duiven het moeilijkste weer om in vooruit te geraken – this is the most challenging weather a pigeon can face. Dan kiezen ze de gemakkelijkste richting – So they choose the easiest direction, volledig de verkeerde kant uit – totally in the wrong direction en nog verder van huis – and even further from home. Some owners remain confident they will see their birds again. Ik denk dat hij via Duitsland gevlogen is – I think he has flown over Germany, one said. Als hij niet opgegeten is door een roofvogel – If he hasn’t been eaten by a bird of prey, komt hij nog wel – he’s going to come back home. Hij kent de weg van Barcelona naar Deurle – He knows how to get from Barcelona to Deurle.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

In response to: Antwerp takes action against urinating dogs Nick Brion: Being a dog owner myself, I hate to find so much poop on the streets.

Daniel Antón García @DaniAntonG #Antwerp never stops surprising me

Edwin Squire @domesticdeluxe After a lovely evening at #GentseFeesten We’re off to visit the @DeKoppenberg

Paul Parsons @PaulPEsq A reflective weekend visiting cemeteries, memorials & museums near Ieper.

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the last word Safety first

Trickin’ chicken

“We take this sort of offence very seriously. You’re playing with your own safety.”

“For years, I dreamed about taking part. But it’s was with mixed feelings. If those two succeed in figuring out your trick – which happens regularly – then you have to find something new. But Curry was wonderfully successful.”

Last year the rail authority NMBS handed out just under 700 fines to passengers who boarded after the whistle sounded, spokesperson Dimitri Temmerman said

Royal advice “Talk to someone from your neighbourhood who you don’t now. You’ll find out that you and your neighbours share the same concerns, the same doubts, the same hopes. Look beyond the differences. It’s as simple as that.” © Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA

HERE THEY COME Belgian soldiers march across Paleizenplein in Brussels during a military parade to mark the country’s National Day on 21 July. The day began with a traditional Te Deum service at the Brussels cathedral and ended with a fireworks display in front of the royal palace

King Filip offered an optimistic message in his 21 July speech

Magician Jo De Rijck of HeusdenZolder managed to fool the world’s most famous conjuring duo on their TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us with his mind-reading hen Kip Curry

Never too late “Lucien went down on one knee, but that was symbolic. We don’t need that piece of paper to be happy, you know?” Clothilde, 88, met Lucien, 89, in a rest home in Tielt-Winge, Flemish Brabant

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