Car-free Sunday, H-free Monday

I wish I had been quick enough to take a photo yesterday of the line-up I saw at a red light on Rond-point Schuman, consisting of a guy on horseback, half-a-dozen cyclists, and a skateboarder... but I wasn't, so this will have to do.
Of course the reason for this error is that "th" in French is pronounced "t", as in Thomas, so they think the h is redundant. Hence, also, "tongs" for what in English are called thongs or flip-flops (or, to me, chappals); not to be confused with an item of underwear, for which the French, strangely enough, is "le string"!!

Musical notes on boats

Today I very much enjoyed a lunchtime concert given, in the context of the Klara Festival, by a Belgian-Turkish singer, Melike, and mixed Turkish-Flemish band led by her Iraqi husband Osama Abdulrasol. It was held on a barge next to the Kaaitheater, on Brussels' Canal du Midi, and the curiously precise starting time of 12.05 turned out to be due to the fact that these concerts are broadcast on the radio, and so start when the news, which we had to listen to first, finishes.
Conditions were unfortunately not ideal for photos..


I found out that they are performing again at the Vooruit in Ghent on Wednesday 20 September (Melike studied at the Ghent conservatoire), so I might, depending on evening classes that I haven't yet decided on, try to see them again there. It would be nice to enjoy the music without the seat lurching occasionally with the wash of passing vessels!

Went to Ghent

Summer has returned! So I went to Ghent to see my friend L., and spent a very happy day eating, drinking and wandering around the city and in particular the begijnhof (béguinage).