Oddities
There is a museum in Brugge to the common chip. I kid you not. Ironically, the twice I had chips in Brugge on this trip, they were past being awful. I think I'll go back to French Fries. Ouch!
This is a little tribute to Albert Reynolds who, ballrooms apart, initially rose to fame on the back of his C&D empire.
This Neptune like character, is on a monument plinth in Eierplein. I assume it must have originally been a fountain and the two snakey guys are the spouts.
This rather distressed lady lives on the wall of a building in Steenstraat, and the date (1720) suggests she's been like that for some time now. Definitely not for meeting on a dark night.
My son suggested that Billy Connolly must be around.
Who remembers Soeur Sourire and her hit song Dominique. I think she came to a sticky end but I am glad she is not forgotten even if it takes a pub to remember her. It was a good song. I used to sing it at parties and people joined in the chorus.
Simon Stevin's statue is in the square named after him. It was erected in 1846. It is not so much the date or the man that interested me about this statue but the SPQB on the plinth. I was familiar with SPQR (Senatus PopulusQue Romanorum) from the Caesar I did in school but I hadn't noticed this version before. On investigation I see that the motto was added to the arms of Brugge in the 17th century as an abbreviation for Senatus PopulusQue Brugensis, underlining the independence of the city administration . You live and learn.
The lady above and the two gentlemen below have clearly seen it all from their niches in the Burg.
I think I'll use this guy to illustrate Uncle Larry Medlar's funny reminiscences from the late 19th and early 20th century when I digitize them for my family history.
This is probably King David in the courtyard of the City Conservatory. It reminded me of Brian Boru and his harp.
This is a picture I took in 1967/68. The practice of posting death notices on the wall of the church was normal practice then.
This time round it is clear that the practice has ceased and the picture above, from inside Sint Jakobskerk, shows its modern equivalent.
This medieval (?) urinal, in Sint Jakobsplein, shows that problems, like being caught short, persist through the ages.
Photo: Eoghan
Me standing in for the Parish Priest at Our Lady's Church and making sure nobody runs away with Michelangelo's Virgin and Child for the second time.
Photo: Eoghan
Me again, looking a bit lost despite the Dijver in the background.
Nothing odd about this but I thought I'd finish this section on a pleasant and straightforward note.