Back to School!

I’m a student again! So it’s late nights, smoking around by the bike sheds and spending all the pocket money on takeaways and beer. Oh. Not much change there, really.

Anyhow, I’ve joined school to learn Dutch. It starts next week and will be every Tuesday and Thursday for what will probably seem like the rest of my life.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m really looking forward to learning the lingo – it’s just that I’m not really the best of students… boredom sometimes creeps in after the first few minutes - sorry - lessons. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Interesting registration process, too. I had to go to Het Huis van Nederlands – the House of Dutch - and go through a 3-hour interview process. Not a problem, really – they were incredibly thorough – I guess the purpose of it is to assign each person to the course that is right for them. Which meant an IQ test. Oh dear. A few people I know would be happy to see proof that I’m an idiot. Anyhow, I digress.

Following the IQ test, there was another written test and then a verbal one. And following a small bribe (I’m joking) I was put into the 3 rd year class. Oh dear. I’m in with the big guys.

During the process, I really felt grateful (is that the right word?) though. I was sat next to an elderly lady who spoke not a word of English. Or French. Or German. Let alone Dutch. I think she was from the Middle East. And she really battled to understand what needed to be done. How difficult that must be? Total immersion in a country where you cannot understand anyone. Or anything.

Talk about immersion, though. I had a giggle. The House of Dutch has a brochure for those who want to learn Dutch for the first time. The brochure is packed full of really useful and essential information - what you’ll learn, how much the course costs, where to go, etc. Guess what language it’s published in? Yup, Dutch. Really useful for someone wanting to learn Dutch and not being able to speak any of it.

It reminds me of an experience I had in London once – Seth Godin had it too – I walked into a hairdresser running an errand for a friend. The receptionist asked if I had an appointment for a haircut. Ah. A comedian. You see, I’m follicly challenged. But she wasn’t trying to be funny. Just dumb.

But, to conclude – the House of Dutch has a fantastic team of people - really friendly, patient and interesting, too.

Also this past weekend was a graffiti showcase – The Meeting of Styles. Some amazing art and artists. Check out my pics.

Antwerp is still amazing me. The past weekend was the start of the Culture Season, and to kick it off, they had a ‘culture market’ of sorts. Seemingly every theatre company, art house, music academy – every organisation involved in the arts it seemed – had a stall in and around the centre of Antwerp, promoting their new line-up of performances. How cool is that? In other cities, the ‘cultural stuff’ – the stuff that has the potential to move, inspire and change people – is really hidden. Here you seem to have access to it all. Brilliant.

Oh – at the cultural market, there was this lady singing Piaff – lovely. Wish you could hear it.

Days of Wonder...

And days of Thunder, too. Rain has come to Belgium. Well, they need the water for the beer, I guess. All is well, then.

Saturday was music fest Pukkelpop. Muddy, wet and cool. Truly fantastic. There was a bit of work involved. We’re experimenting with vlogs at work – and managed to film an interview with Coldcut. Hope to have the finished result, soon. But check out their website by the way for some live footage in the meatime.

There were some real treats at Pukkelpop. Oh my. Check out this band 65 Days of Static. It may not be your cup of tea... but see what you think:

Please take my word that seeing them live at Pukkelpop was amazing. For me – and I really enjoy most kinds of music – there are only a few bands or pieces of music that I think really elevates you to another place. I reckon its quite rare. It’s almost like a spiritual thing. It really touches your soul, I guess. And for me, it’s only happened a few times. When I saw Eddie Reader live. And Tori Amos. And then this band. And when I played in the Sunday School band many years ago. Don’t laugh. Serious. It’s like the composers know something. Or have switched onto something. Anyhow. I be still now.

Other highlights of the fest for me were local band Think of One – kind of like a Brazillian / Huckleberry mashup stylee. Cool. And of course the Coldcut performance. Nice one. Saw bits of Placebo on stage, too. Nice… but a bit of a tortured artist, methinks.

Tall Ships Races also hit Antwerp this weekend. The name is quite descriptive, so not much more help from me there. But beautiful. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to run away and join the circus. Now I want to run away and sail a Tall Ship. Even a short ship. A few years ago I went on a sailing holiday - one of the best I've had. More pics on my Flickr pages.



Walking along the Harbour looking at all the … tall ships, I stumbled across another concert. I tell you, over the past 4 months I;ve seen more live music in Antwerp than I have in the past year. Anyhow – perhaps a well known fact in Belgium, but new to me – was a R& B performer, Leki. I tell you, the lady has pipes. She really was fantastic. I bought her CD, too.

Just what are we going to do in the Winter?

The bells, the bells...

I live near The Cathedral in Antwerp and have a beautiful view of the clock tower – see:

It’s a lovely place to visit – got some Rubens masterpieces inside, too. In some tourist guide I read the exact number of bells in the tower – somewhere between 30 and 40 unique-sounding bells. Anyhow, what we need to understand is that there’s more than one. And therein lies my…umm… dilemma.

The ringing pattern goes something like this: on the hour, on the half hour, at quarter past and then at quarter to. And we’re not talking a little ding according to the hour. No. We’re talking mini operettas, here.

Then, on church days – which pretty much appear to be every other day - the bells ring constantly for 15 to 20 minutes, announcing the beginning and end of a church service. Sometimes, there is more than one service a day.

Furthermore, but not withstanding, they have a ‘concert’ every Monday and Friday, where they have hooked up the bells to some kind of organ-like contraption, and some individual bangs out famous tunes on the bells. For an hour. Solid. No break.

Is it just me, or are you sensing just a teeny, tiny bit of overkill here?

Bells are generally a good idea. But a simple ding-dong really does it for me. Further than the two-note ding-dong, there’s not really a lot in it for me. More than two notes on the bells becomes…well, to be honest… about as enjoyable as that winning Eurovision song.

But no-one else in Antwerp seems to notice. I’m slowly forming the opinion that it’s possibly the reason why Antwerpians are so cool. So un-phased by things. It’s because they’re deaf.

So, my personal challenge – my coping mechanism - is to think of something positive whenever those bells start ringing. Pray for me.

Anyhow, I still love Antwerp. And it’s bells. Ooh, there they go again. Bless.

My best friend Mark (from the UK) was out for a couple of days last week. We had a blast – much eating, drinking, and exploring. And I made a new friend – the owner of a local pub. How absolutely fantastic is that? Roger. Fascinating man and between his English and my Dutch, it’s a wonder we can understand each other. But beer is a magic potion. Particularly Belgian beer. It can also make you deaf, but this is another story altogether.

This weekend it’s Pukkelpop – a three-day music festival up (or down?) in Hasselt. Fantastic line-up. Radiohead, Daft Punk, Keane, Scissor Sisters… It comes highly recommended by folks here. And it’s been going for a number of years, too. One of the key reasons for their success, it seems, is that prior to the event, they have an online voting forum, where you can request which bands you want to see. So, in theory, the most popular bands are booked. Cool. Will have some pics – and hopefully some video – next week.

P.S. Also expect a deluge of You Tube posts here, too… I’ve found some real corkers that I think you will like. If you don’t, you're welcome to come and listen to the bells with me. Toe-tapping guaranteed. Or a tapping of some sort.

Laundry Day

I don'’t know. Am I getting old? I'’ve just whacked a Paul Simon CD on.

And don't know what'’s more shocking... The fact that I had a Paul Simon in my collection, or the fact that I willfully chose to play it.

What surprises me is that I actually like it. It's quite good. There have been a few toe taps, too. Please don't tell anyone.

Anyhow, back to the case in point. Laundry Day. I love it. Don't own a washing machine myself, so I use the Laundromat. That'’s not the part I love, though. The part I love is that there is a pub near to my Laundromat. So Laundry Day is Drinking Day. Well, every day is drinking day. But having an Official Day for it kind of makes it... official...… don'’t you think?

Anyhow, Sunday was Laundry Day. And after stuffing the month'’s washing (I'’m kidding) into the dirty (I'’m not kidding) washing machines, it was off to the pub. Only to be stopped in track by a fantastic parade along the streets. Guild clubs in full historic costume, drummers, pipe bands, flag tossers - I mean they were throwing flags in the air - I'’m not being rude - it was lovely. There was even an archery competition in Grote Markt.

Antwerp had even shut down the city centre to cars - it was car-free Sunday - Autovrij Antwerp. Lots of families about in the sun.

In other news, I've been reading Andy Monfried's blog, here. Andy has some interesting insights - you can really learn a lot. But also, some worthwhile insights on current events in Israel and the Lebanon. Have a look - what do you think? There's so much bias in the media, that I reckon you can only learn.

Oh, Andy has some rocking tastes in music. Check out his cracking photo of Sir Keith of the Stones (he'’s not really a Sir, but wouldn'’t it be a nice, Your Majesty?).

Though, I don'’t know if Andy will speak to me again after.... Paul.

I've added some new pics on Flickr, too. Here's one in honour of the city and folks of Antwerp.



Incidentally, there is an official Laundry Day here in Antwerp, too. Another music fest of sorts. I'’ll try make it and let you know how it goes.

Rock on, Paul. Yeah.

The World Sings, Dances in Antwerp

Sfinks was the event of the weekend – a world music festival on the outskirts of Antwerp that was awesome. Awesome Antwerp. Again.

It reminded me of the Womad festivals I had been to in South Africa and the UK – bringing back some good memories. I didn't take that many pics - doing two things at once (listening and taking pics) ain't my speciality. It's a wonder both hands can type at the same time. Here's a pic - more on my Flickr pages, too.




Both Sfinks and Womad are real family events – you can bring your kids and mates along, and really enjoy yourself. Everyone is welcome – and it’s a lovely, chilled-out event.

In fact, I once spoke to someone who worked Womad – and he compared it to other Rock Festivals, like Glastonbury.

“The difference is that at Glastonbury,” he explained “you’ll have people walking around the campsite early in the morning offering ‘Charlie, Dope, LSD?’ Whereas at Womad, you’ll get people walking around offering ‘Guardian, Times, Independent?’.

That’s the difference, then.

Sfinks highlights included Spanish group 08001 who sounded like they were produced by Brian Eno. Fantastic. Arab melodies, African voices, and a hybrid of acoustic, rock, reggae, R&B and soul. Is there anything left? Do yourself a favour and check out the gallery on their website – you can watch clips from live performances.

One thing I wasn’t certain to handle was what they sang about – world events, war, poverty, struggle, and more. Are you supposed to dance to that? I don’t know. Or pay attention and consider? What you reckon?

Another joy was listening to La Tana, a chanteuse from Seville, singing flamenco with only a guitarist and solo drummer. Breathtaking. I wish you could hear it. Also, the only band that I saw performing that smiled at each other when they were playing.

I also got to see Yasmin Levy, singing traditional Jewish-Spanish songs. The whole experience was so emotional – it was spectacular. If you see a CD, pick it up – a blessing to your ears.

I saw quite a few acts, and really enjoyed the whole experience. The festival was brought to a close by Anoushka Shankar, daughter/protégé of master sitar player Ravi Shankar. Again, quite an emotional time for me, as I think it may have been her to close the Womad performance in Reading UK a few years ago. Some fond memories. And interesting, too to see and hear how her music has evolved – she has an Apple Mac (and accompanying dude-what-mixes) on stage. “Live electronics” she called it. Cool.