Drought

I don't mean drought as a lack of posts in my blog, although that's true, too (I have actually written more this year than in the previous two years, just not here).

It's been a hot and very dry summer here, with heat waves and hardly any rain. I don't know when the drought started (I guess I could look around for statistics), but by the dry grass was very obvious during the Gentse Feesten, and by then it was common sighting.

It wasn't just in Ghent, this camp site near Wachtebeke would've been lush green but at the time (the week after the Feesten) it just wasn't.

There was some rain, a heavy shower, even a downpour for a few minutes, but those who were not present at the time but arrived later could hardly believe it.

We were originally planning to have a camp fire at night, but then we didn't, as barbecues, camp fires, any open fire were forbidden in parks, forests and fields. I think even during the Feesten there was some show cancelled that would've had fire in it.

For a long time Belgium seemed lucky (compared to other European countries, mostly to the South) but with the extreme drought and heat waves the worry was there, and then indeed it happened, and there's been the worst wild fire by area and devastation in the High Fens (I know it as Hoge Venen from Flemish news, Hohes Venn in German), at the other end of the country, in the East next to the German border.

There was some rain in and around Ghent during the summer but not much and certainly not enough. Finally, the temperature has gone down, and after a bit of rain yesterday in the morning, today it has been raining just about all day. I'm not complaining, though. I waited until the rain eased a bit to go out to buy groceries in the afternoon. I had a light jacket on and put on the hood when I felt it was a bit heavier rain on the way back, I didn't mind it much as it still felt warm, still more summer than autumn.

Grass is a good indicator for prolonged dry weather, but grass itself is a good survivor. I'm looking forward to get lush green back soon.

Not Entirely but Almost Total Eclipse

No, it's not a reference to this blog, but I mean the solar eclipse of the day before, Wednesday the 12th of August 2026, which was a partial eclipse of around 90% here, still worthy a look and an improvised let's-view-it-together meeting with friends.

Yes, I am aware that I have hardly written anything here for quite a while, I got a little reminder of how nice it is to write posts and read them, even many years later, about events, so I should really get back to it. (Seriously, there have been no posts this year, yet? not even a new year's post with a prime factorisation of the year? oh, and that while I have, in fact, written quite a lot lately, just somewhere else. But of course, everything I write, I still write myself.)

Some people specifically travelled to Spain for the total total eclipse experience (like Lieven Scheire), but that's too far for me on a bicycle. 

I'm not sure how much I would've cared about it at all, had I not already had the special glasses since May, handed to me as a way of greeting upon entering Nerdland festival (thanks to Lieven Scheire and co. for organising). 

Probably I would've noticed the buzz, it was in the news, for all the nerds and the general public, and I might have received a message in case I wanted to join for an improvised let's-view-it-together meeting. But I had already had the special glasses, and I asked S. first, and then there were half a dozen of our circle of friends (with two pairs of those glasses), and plenty other people at the "city end" of the Watersportbaan (an artificial, canal-like long lake for rowing). We are in Belgium, so beer was had, too. I prepared with a selection including non-alcoholic versions, too, considering drivers and hot weather, too.

I actually planned a little cycling trip the evening before, to cycle around at around the same time, to check for good locations, but I got a flat tyre right upon departing, so in the end I just suggested Watersportbaan based on having seen beautiful sunsets there during rounds of cycling on previous summer evenings. S agreed, scientists from the University of Ghent also agreed. And many other people. Parking bikes would've been more difficult than usually, so I didn't mind I had to walk. I could've picked up one from a bike share, but walking was more reliable and less hassle, and 20 minutes on foot is not that much anyway. 

It was a very warm (of 30-31°C) and brightly sunny day. Do not look into the sun, they said, and seriously, it was so bright, why would I want to, anyway. 

The first time I put on the special glasses was a moment of WOW. It was a big difference, and then I could see the point of the special glasses, even though the picture I could see was very simple, a pitch-black rectangle with an orange circle.

And then it began. The whole phenomenon happens gradually, the partial eclipse starts (the same way as a total eclipse starts) with a black nibble in the orange circle. And the nibble gets bigger and bigger, at some point you have an orange PacMan-like figure, then a crescent, and the orange part got smaller and smaller, at peak it was just an arc on top.

We were at Watersportbaan, and the reflection of the sun was so bright on the water that the special glasses picked that up too, and it wasn't just a homogenous black rectangle with the ever decreasing orange circle, but also a wide orange line in the water, and while it was really very bright and it lighted up the picture so much (after a second my eyes got used to the darkness) that I could even see people in front of me (their dark silhouettes). Oh, I forgot to mention the boughs of the trees made their own nibbles in the orange circle but that was just my viewing location (and the sun about to set also moved, and then I tried to move, too).

My friends left during the second half but I stayed until the end, and could enjoy a beautiful sunset afterwards. 

The Rower in the sunset at 21:02

And, by the way, I got an answer to my previous question about the not entirely but almost total, well, quite large with 90% partial solar eclipse I asked in 2015. It got noticeably cooler, as in not so hot but nice warm, and also somewhat less light but it did not get dark, not even close, the street lights didn't turn on automatically. (The street lights turned on at 21:24 when I was already on the way home, not in a hurry).

What a difference this partial solar eclipse was, compared to the one in 2015, and not just that the remainder arc of the sun was now on top :) 

(No, I don't have pictures of the eclipse itself.) 

2025

It's been a very long year... it's... well, it's a long story :)

(but as I haven't finished, I can still tell about the school that is not a school in January - although I've had the tendency to not find the time or energy to write, which was pretty much the whole year...)

Pi(e) and Pi(e)

I know Pi(e) Day was exactly 2 weeks (14 days) ago. I did bake as baking had to be done that day, as usually, I just haven't got around to write about it yet.

Oh, perhaps I should've waited until the end of April, and post on the 28th then - 4.28 would be perfect for two Pi(e)s. Which, by the way, would be suitable for this year's big change in the usual design. I did indeed have 2 π's, written on/in my Pi(e) :)

The usual round tray has exclusively been used for pizza since last year's Pi(e) Day (yes, there was a Pi(e) even though there was no post then), and showed some signs of burnt dough. I tried my best but I was not entirely sure of the result and its possible effect on a sweet dough, so I thought I'd have a look around. With very limited time and effort (just before the usual closing time on Friday afternoon), I bought a new baking tray with a different shape. And hence the re-design :)

And it seems this and my future bakes will be made in Bulgaria :D

Ah, I forgot to check whether it had any visible marks on the bottom of the Pi(e). Maybe next time :) 

I took 1 π , that is the half of it when meeting friends and whoever happens to be there for a beer or two. I couldn't be sure who exactly was going to be there and who would be interested in trying it - but then it was all gone by the end of the night :)

(I still had breakfast and dessert the weekend after, myself - the other π, of course.)

New Year's Drinks 2025

It was last Sunday (the 12th of January) when the city of Ghent invited us for the traditional New Year's Drink, as usually between 11am and 1pm. You could already see they were preparing for the event, the day before. (The little wooden huts got replaced with freight-container looking huts, but smaller than ship containers.)

the square with the drinks huts on Saturday, the day before the event

It was a cold day, with temperature around 0°C (in the morning it was still below 0, it might have gone just above when even the sun made a brief appearance in the early afternoon). I had to realise it was indeed a wise decision to get hiking boots somewhat bigger (intended not for hiking, but for regular footwear in cold winter days - it's been in use this winter a lot). I normally wear the boots with 2 socks, but this time, considering not much walking just standing outside in the cold, I swapped the outer socks to thick woollen socks, and they still fitted in the boots comfortably :)

It's an event with people out, many people out, you can bump into friends randomly, too, but of course best is when you had talked in advance and agreed on meeting there. I even had 2 groups of friends to meet to, but no worries, there is enough time within those 2 hours.

If you go there with a group, you can even have your own makeshift table. I've looked it up now, the first sighting of the ironing boards happened back in 2015, when the event moved from Sint-Baafsplein to the square with the roof / Stadshal / sheepstall (next to the old Town Hall), and I even had a picture featured in my blog the following year (after a brief converation in Dutch with some people I had never met before, asking for allowance for the picture)

As I now live close, I asked whether my group of friends were planning to have a table (thinking of offering taking my ironing board with me), but S mentioned he would definitely take his own. Taking the act to another level, jokingly :)

For the record, I asked him before I took a picture :) But it wasn't the most important communication between us that day...

When I arrived, I found them quite easily, dropped my bag there under the "table" (I took some self-baked cheesy snacks to share with friends), and then went out on a hunt with my good old mug, for glühwein.

There were way too many people, I couldn't get near the closest drink stalls, walked around the Town Hall, to get my drink from the hut at the corner, from which direction I originally had arrived (S sent a picture of the location), and then I was making my way back to the group - and couldn't find the group. Couldn't see them, couldn't find them :o

There were way too many people, I decided to stay put at a spot that is close but somewhat less crowded and easy to define exactly, so that S or A could fetch me there and lead me back to the group and ironing board. No use in calling, but one or the other might be missing me after a while and have a look at the phone and see my message for help. 

I was glad to have my mug with me, which was nicely filled as instructed (i.e. full), so I had my nice share of glühwein (the first time this winter), and then just stayed with the group, wouldn't try to go for a refill, and also gave up on the idea to try to get to meet the other group I was expected to meet there. No worries, we did meet after the event :)

(Instead of a refill in glühwein, I was served a free beer - a couple of friends returned with a few glasses after a loo break.)

New Year's Drinks 2019 - 2024

As usually, I wanted to write about this year's event (2025, that is), but, as usually, I've found a draft from last year (2024), where I wanted to write about that year's event but had found a draft from some (much) earlier year (2019). And all remained unfinished then (with the title New Year's Drinks 2019 - 2023), even in the middle of a sentence, and now I have absolutely no idea what that sentence was about... :o :D

--

The city of Ghent invites its citizens for a New Year's Drink on a Sunday morning in January. This has become a tradition, and when I say morning it is indeed: the whole event lasts from 11:00 to 13:00 sharp. So, it's like an aperitif before lunch, but of course we are in Belgium, so there's usually beer, too, on offer besides Glühwein (and tea / coffee / hot chocolate / soup (they all have been offered in one year or other, depending on actual sponsors, too).

After this year's event, I wanted to show my previous blog posts to friends who are relatively newcomers (compared to me). Yes, I have written quite regularly, but had to search back quite far in time. There seems to be a nice documentation along the years (see: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012) but somehow stopped. I've decided I should try to fill in the gaps as much as I can.

I only found a draft for 2019, without much text though, but the tags indicate I was meeting friends there and also had the free beer, for fun. Fun was surely had, I went for a comedy night the day before and arrived home late, but didn't miss the New Year's Drink. There is not much photographic proof of that, though - this might have been the year when

--

This might have been the year when... what? :D

Hmm, OK, probably, quite likely, that was the year when it was raining, and the reason is simple: I only have 2 hands, and holding an umbrella in one hand and a mug of Glühwein in the other meant no free hand for making photos. :)

Or might that have been 2020? I can't find pictures from that year, either, but surely I wouldn't have missed the event itself. That was all BC (before covid). 

In 2021 and 2022 everyone was missing the event (as it was cancelled), and so it was good to get it back in 2023 :)

In January 2023 the weather was gloomier than the atmosphere - at the beginning

It is not a long event (the stands stop offering drinks at 1pm sharp), no idea what had happened to the other half of the sign. But anyway, they did serve me Glühw(ein) :)

Don't ask me where my usual mug was, I simply don't remember. It's possible they just didn't accept external mugs when serving drinks, or perhaps I had the idea myself and decided to rather leave my own mug at home. (Mind you, it was still either very soon after the pandemic, or actually officially not yet over at the time)

The 2-hour event was still long enough for the gloomy clouds to clear away :)

It looked as if even the organisers had been somewhat surprised that the event could be held, and a mere change in sponsoring did not make them get new boards :)

The fancy side of the board was promising you Gruut Blond (from the local brewery Gruut), from some earlier years, but if you turn the board, you could just write the new beer from the new sponsoring brewery on the other side - and that they did :) (you can spot the plain white signs with black fonts on pictures above)

The year 2023 didn't turn out as hoped for, very much the opposite, so I was looking forward to the new year in 2024. Ah, well, 2024 was not my year, either, but the traditional New Year's Drink had to be attended and Glühwein had to be consumed, and my old mug wanted to return, too. And, if it's filled properly, it can hold more than the plastic cup they use at the event :) 

Again, the weather was cold and changeable with drizzly rain turning into beautiful snow flakes for a little while :) (and so, pictures were made in a very limited amount)

A bin intended to collect used plastic cups, repurposed by some as a table for their drinks. Hm, they should've brought their own table, or, rather "table" :)

(As we did in 2025, but more on that later, in another post.)

Snow, no snow

I didn't feel like going out on Friday, but I went out last night (Saturday) for a beer. I was actually writing the previous post in a pub (yes, I took my laptop with me, I also had a book but that stayed in my bag).

Yes, I know I could've stayed at home, it may have been easier and cheaper to write blog at home, but then I wouldn't have met and talked to people at the pub. And I wouldn't have seen snow.

I decided not to hurry home and had another Westmalle (the dark one), and after the barman (owner of the pub) had played Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow, I found myself just looking out the window :)

It was in the news that you could even ski in the mountains, but Ghent had rain, a lot of rain in the New Year, and then just cold. Last night it was cold and there came a bit of snow, too. It's good I stayed quite long and had at least a sample viewing of snow. As the forecast had said, the weather turned quite mild in the morning, and it went back to rain in the 10-11°C the whole day (probably it would've felt colder in the strong wind and rain, but I had a quiet day in today)

3^4 * 5^2

Or, 81 * 25, if you like (that might be easier for the non-maths-minded).

2025 seems like a nice number, 2025 should be a good year. After a couple of rough years, it really should be.

Surely better than the last one, which was not as bad as the one before (2023 was like a disaster, upon disaster), so, the bar is still quite low.

I went home for about a week, it was intense and exhausting, visiting family and friends, meeting friends, with walking on hills with snowy-icy patches, and a concert. And a late night adventure of taking the coach to my home town, with a delay of almost 2 hours on a route that should've taken 1 hour 40 minutes or so. The bus departed late, then broke down totally.

This is a different bus: the local (blue) buses of Budapest all said Happy New Year on New Year's Eve - the day I travelled back to Belgium, to greet the new year with friends in Ghent.

The 200E bus at the Budapest airport

So, happy 2025 :)

123 Piano

It's not 123 pianoes, but 123-piano is a cultural project that several pianoes at public places in Ghent, every year for a few weeks end of summer until mid September - for anyone to play.

This is the one in the city centre at the old town hall (and under the building called Stadshal that is just a fancy roof), a picture from last year's September:

and a picture from this year:

I know the two photos look pretty similar, but the point is that at different times you can see and hear different people play.

There are sometimes organised events around it, or some pop-up concert with musicians, sometimes with other instruments or singers accompanying, or some student or elderly or whoever playing a few songs, or just a passer-by tinkering with the keys for a bit, for the feeling of it and perhaps a picture.

While the weather was nice and warm, I had the habit of sitting down (there are benches next the old town hall building) and reading a book while listening to whomever was playing whatever. Sometimes it's really nice, and other times it's still more interesting than sitting at home with my book to read.

This looked like a large group of people sleeping while someone playing a lullaby on the piano. I couldn't help laughing as I myself was wearing a pyjama T-shirt (officially, but I am using the bottom half for sleeping, but declared the T-shirt part as a T-shirt, and I wear it normally). I assume it was an organised event (either official or a pop-up event for those involved), a yoga class.

Yesterday I just walked by, didn't plan on sitting down, didn't have any book with me either, I just enjoyed standing in the sun.

Today is the last day of 123-piano for this year, and it's nice and sunny (after some cold days and lot of rain, this 18-19°C seems nice and warm in the sun). Time to go for a walk :)

The longest summer day

Today is the longest summer day. It is supposed to be, although my reaction during the day was:

What summer?

What day? Is this really daylight, not nighttime? 

Yesterday was quite a nice day with sun and 20°C, but today was mostly a sombre, rainy day, at times almost as dark as by night.

Since I started to write this post, the sun has appeared, and finally it seems nice. It still doesn't really feel like summer...

But, to be honest, I'm still more comfortable with this cool weather. It would be difficult for me to cope with the heatwave in my Hungarian hometown, with 35°C for days on this week (and the incoming cold front would only cool it down by a couple of degrees, so the temperature will still remain at or above 30°C there)

Hopefully the rain clouds will stay away at least for a while, and then there is chance for a lovely evening for the longest day, with sunny until after 10 pm in Ghent :)

(Although, I'd be in a bar watching football with friends.)

No April's Fool, or The London Eye

Don't believe everything you can see online. 

Especially nowadays it may be difficult to decide whether some news or video going viral is actually true or just some fake.

Obviously you might be somewhat more skeptic on April the 1st.

I saw the post about the dismantling of the London Eye and moving it up to Scotland last Monday, i.e. on the 1st of April. It could have been a splendid April's Fool's joke, but I remembered having seen the exact same post of fake news going a round on facebook a couple of weeks before that.

No, the London Eye is still there...

(picture from the other side of the Thames)

... and will remain there, too - at least for a while. Its current lease and permission will expire in 2028, so there're still a few years to come to decide what will happen with it (it's probable or likely that it should just continue staying and operating there as it is now).

It would be big news, already at the time of the announcement of such a plan of dismantling, and then extensive coverage of the whole thing - not just a video you come across randomly and accidentally on facebook (and/or other social media sites) that "you wouldn't believe what happened yesterday".

A Mirror

It wasn't the reason why I went to London last week, but if I happen to be there, I like to go to the theatre, too.

My schedule originally only included the return ticket for the train and an event for Tuesday afternoon. As the date was getting closer, I had to find a place to stay and come up with some idea what to do in the evening. OK, with the idea I can come up anytime, some theatre or comedy club, but then I spent about half a night one day (well, night) looking around what is on that particular night in London, something that is both available and affordable.

I chose the play A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre, which came with a warning or two.

The play is:

about censorship, authorship and freedom of speech, set in a totalitarian state where all new plays, any work of art must be approved by the Ministry of Culture

and the production is 2 hours long - with no interval.

I am known to have mocked Kinepolis for having an interval for "long movies", but I knew I was travelling in the morning, leaving early, with the main event in the afternoon, so I could imagine, or rather predict that it would be a long day and I might get tired. But that's not why I really have to mention it.

There's been a big scandal in Hungary recently. Well, there's actually been many, if you can keep up with all the crazy things going on there, but I'm referring to the case where the director of the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest decided to break the production of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana into two halves, with an interval of 30 minutes. The piece is originally intended and have been played for years in just 1 haul, of slightly over an hour playing time. So that all the audience would/should flock to the bar during the interval and consume overprices beverages and snacks. The conductor withdrew from the production as he found the artistic integrity had been damaged by the sudden decision (that he had been told and not even asked beforehand).

I was not entirely sure that A Mirror was the play to see when I wanted to have a fun night in London. Especially as I was watching the dystopical Flemish-Dutch series called Arcadia just before that. It might be just too much of the topic.

But A Mirror is a satirical play, darkly comic, and I had even seen Jonny Lee Miller promoting the play on the BBC.

And it's Jonny Lee Miller :)

I even travelled to Germany once to see him (and Benedict Cumberbatch) in London theatre - when the closest showing of Frankenstein in the NTLive series on the continent was in Karlsruhe, it was shown in Kinepolis only several years later. (And of course I rewatched it when NTLive put a play on youtube each week for a while, during lockdown.)

I booked my ticket to A Mirror, and went to the fake wedding, and even participated as and when you, the audience were asked to participate, too.

Yes, it was a long day, a very long day, but the play did not feel that long, it was good without any interval. (Actually, probably better for me, a break might have broken me and tiredness might have overcome me.)

I picked a good seat, at the edge of the first row up in the circle - which also came with the specific warning "restricted view" but I thought nobody would sit in front of me, so no heads and backs were going to restrict my view, and I can lean forward a bit.

Before the play started, Jonny Lee Miller actually turned up through the side door less than a metre away from me, looked around, greeted someone in the audience, looked around again and disappeared. The door was used later, much later during the play, too, giving me a bit of fright, too :D

What would happen if anyone could perform a play, just like that? Without any prior approval by the Ministry of Culture?

Any play could turn the audience into a mob...

And while I was about to put back my Ghent hoodie on, I did mention to the elderly lady sitting next to me (with whom I had had a few words and looks before the play) that this is exactly what happened in August 1830 in Brussels, when there was no Belgium yet, but this was part of the events that led Belgium becoming Belgium, an independent state.

 

(There's been no special google doodle today, but the 27th of March is World Theatre Day)

Tintin travels

Tintin likes to travel as you could see in my previous post about the current design of the Belgian passport and also at Brussels Zuid / Midi station if you happen to be there :)

Tintin can take you to travel from there. Although in the passport it is not Tintin who gets to visit London, 

but it's still just a 2-hour train journey to London :) (or just 1 hour / 3 hours - considering local times, if you like)

And nowadays you really need your passport (there are some exemptions, but concern only some, residing in the UK, with other quite specific conditions). Even booking and getting your ticket for the Eurostar train had an extra step because of this.

There is still no need for visa if you are an EU citizen, and the passport control is still pretty easy, and at some point it can be automatic where you can scan it yourself - so, Tintin and co did not get any stamps.

But I was there :)

(The first time since BC (before Covid))

Tintin and the Belgians, or Passport

Tintin must be one of the most well-known Belgians - if you allow fictional characters, as well, or especially if you only consider fictional characters. I'd say the 2nd after Hercule Poirot, but that might be just me :)

Comics are part of Belgian culture, they take it rather seriously. So much so that the latest design of the official Belgian passport shows Tintin and friends, and several (many) other characters - there's a comics reference on every page :)

Tintin and friends (Captain Haddock and Snowy) on page 6-7 (the top of page is covered so as not to show the passport ID number)

If you have such a passport, you want to show (show off :D ) and use it, and travel :)

update:

The pictures are actually more detailed if you look at them with the right lighting (i.e. under UV light, I assume - video from here)

and this is the list of comics that are shown in the pages of the new passport :)

04-05: Natasja
06-07: Kuifje/Tintin
08-09: Marsipulami
10-11: Suske & Wiske / Bob & Bobette
12-13: Billie & Bollie
14-15: Kari Lente
16-17: Blake & Mortimer
18-19: Kiekeboe
20-21: Lucky Luke
22-23: Smurfen / Schtroumpfs
24-25: Robbedoes
26-27: Jommeke
28-29: Largo Winch
30-31: Nero

(I must admit I didn't know all of them, but found the list here)

St Patrick, back to back

St Patrick's Day is a national holiday in Ireland. 

Last year the Irish could have a nice long weekend (as it was Friday), and also celebrate Ireland winning the Six Nations championship (in rugby, in case you don't know, you don't remember my post or lazy to click on the link and read)

This year the Irish could have a nice long weekend - as it is today (the leap year has shifted the date by 2 days in the week), and it would not be fair to lose a holiday day when it happens to fall on a Sunday, and Monday is declared off-work day, too.
(I assume this bit of work laws and rules hasn't changed since I had moved from Ireland, it surely would cause an uproar)

And Ireland's rugby team have given extra reason to celebrate, defending their Six Nations title. No Grand Slam this year, and they might have done a bit more tense in the last two games (losing narrowly in England last week, and yesterday's game v Scotland was close, too), but they have become the champions, quite clearly :)

To avoid French commentary, I was watching at Woody's, with a pint of Guinness - suitable for the occasion, but don't think it's a must, other times I opted for coke or cider, or Belgian beer, not a fancy one, during an afternoon game.

And wearing my good old Irish rugby shirt. It is proper vintage, not just by its looks - I had bought it on my first visit to Ireland, back in 1999. Oh, dear, that's almost 25 years ago now (I was there in August) - last century.

From a time when rugby shirts usually had long sleeves (works nicely as a jumper :) ) and a collar, too. With Ireland, the collar is white. Well, it used to be white, by now, it is impossible to get it proper white by washing. I could perhaps try with paint :) but no, I wouldn't spoil a vintage shirt :)

PS:
a big well done to Italy - with 2 wins and a draw, it's been their best Six Nations tournament, ever.