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I am not sure if this post is a testimony to my exquisite observational powers or my descent into madness....but you see, I have been in Belgium since September and have yet to see an insect other than one dead Ladybird,which was caught up in some plans so may well have been imported from blighty.My flat comes with baguette bits all over the kitchen and should be a breeding ground for the blighters.But not even a money spider...no run-ins with Daddy-Long-Legs in season,no scary beasties with legs like Lisa Snowden,not even a Moth never mind a Cockroach.No ants or their flying cousins.What the hell is going on here.I know it's now winter but that's no excuse in blighty.Are all Belgians closet insects....are they insects in disguise....there are some very pretty one's if they are! I am determined to get to the bottom of this...All this and I have yet to sample any of the 200 varietals of Absinthe in the Fleur bar in Brussels.I will keep you posted!
Lord Roby chose to go native today.First up a 'Tarte da Djote' pronounced Jot.It is the local speciality for Nivellians(who are actually known as Aclots(Nails in English).This tart is made with fermented cheese and beet leaves and very fermented cheese.Under the bed fermentation is not unknown.I had my reservations.After 2 mouthfulls I had regrets.It was very very pungent and very sickly.I managed to eat half of a 9" tart with the help of some ketchup and Perrier.Never again!..The reason natives of Nivelles are called Nails goes back to medieval times when the city portal was under siege and the word went out to get more nails to batten down the hatches.After this it was off to the Christmas market.An impressive affair which involved marquees and a section with in the Cathedral trancepts.After a few free tastings Lord Roby could not resist a bottle or two of wine and a stick of pepperoni.All in all a very satisfying day so far.After the tastings Lord Roby is still a bit tiddly,so is it wine and TV or wine and Irish Bar?...I'll let you know later,
A few nights ago Lord Roby called into the 'local' for a demi litre of his favourite Belgian draght beer 'Maes'...After a few it was about 10pm and time for bed.The 6am alarm clock was already ringing in my ears.As I was finishing the dregs a local guy turned up with his guitar.Within 15 mins the place was bouncing.If the locals weren't singin along they where clapping or smiling.Lord Roby assumed the position and chose to play the bar congas. I was going nowhere.The party went on and on.The only songs I knew apart from a couple of Elvis ones were Tainted Love(sang very nasally) and a great rendition of Rock a Billy Boogie which apart from being a fave of mine is also a song I have never heard on the radio or in a club...in fact nowhere apart from my own record/cd player.A great time was had by ALL.The bar owner could not wipe the smile from his face.Well it was all free entertainment.Yet again Belgium has come up trumps.Good clean fun in a bar in a late 60's early 70's style.Lord Roby left about midnight fearing the dreaded alarm clock a few hours later but glowing with the simple pleasure a good old fashioned knees-up brings.
It has come to my attention that there is a lot of fuss over here.... and there, about Beaujolais Nouveau.So Lord Roby has decided to become a trendy wendy for a night and review this years crop for you.As Ali G once said.'If there's grass on the pitch ...Lets play'.....The nose....fruity.....The taste young...The nose .....fruity.....The taste even younger.....The nose...very young....The taste....very very fruity...Slpp.Slpp.Slpp.... Petulant....You bet......Hell this reminds me of the night I lost my virginity,except I can't remember how long ago that was and I'm sure it cost me more than 2.69 Euros...Dr Sir Les Patterson you would love it.With me?
Shortly after Everton beat Spurs on Sunday Lord Roby came upon The Grand Place and was stopped dead in his tracks by the annual son et lumiere display that is Brussels at Christmas.I was unable to take my eyes or attention off it for a second. Surely this is what displays and celebrations of Christmas should be like, not the shitty steel coathanger crumby chrimbo tree that is Church Street, Liverpool.At the time Lord Roby was gagging for a beer.What a dilemma.The solution....A 5.50 euro beer in the bar opposite.Very much pole position I might add.Next week I will be taking a 5.50 euro six pack!!...Do youselves a favour and check out the display in all its glory on YouTube if you dont plan to go there yourself.
Last Sunday proved rather trying for Lord Roby and his new found friends.After landing at Schipol,Amsterdam ; the Dutch rail network went bismark.My first inkling was that I did not recognise the stations on the itinerery from my usual ones.I started to convince myself Bossum was dutch for Brussels.Big mistake.I was non-plussed enough to ask a nice young man if I was on the right train.I was, but he told me we had to change two stops down the line, to catch the international train.Nobody had warned of this.I decided to stick close to the man with the plan.Two stops down the line everything went pear shaped.Stuck in a remote station in the snow and all mainline trains cancelled due to a crash!! After half an hour looking at the increasing worried passengers around me I decided to ask the man with the plan to scout for a guard.No luck,all we found was a computer terminal.Ditto...no more trains for us.Our only chance was to wait for a minor train and nail the guard.Bingo.He told us we had to get 3 more trains to Rotterdam! Once there we would be OK provided we were not too late! Every train was jammed Tokyo stylee,but me and my new found friends(a scouser!...a dutch junior doctor and two chinese girls who thought it was all great fun)
were lookin out for each other.Holdin open train doors and finding room where there was none.By the time we hit Rotterdam in good time, it was jars out over a few beers to Brussels.Unfortunately the two chinese girls missed the boat at the eleventh hour.We went looking for them but a last minute platform change sealed their giggly fate. What did I get out of it?.That companionship in adversity thing and at least two new friends.One I will probably meet again, Doctor Marcus who saved our collective bacon, I probably won't....But a strangely pleasant experience nontheless....
