what you get here

This is not a blog which opines on current events. It rather uses incidents, books (old and new), links and papers to muse about our social endeavours.
So old posts are as good as new! And lots of useful links!

The Bucegi mountains - the range I see from the front balcony of my mountain house - are almost 120 kms from Bucharest and cannot normally be seen from the capital but some extraordinary weather conditions allowed this pic to be taken from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel in late Feb 2020

Monday, June 7, 2010

le plaisir de flaner


Saturday to Roddebeek and discovered that one thing has changed in the last decade. The second-hand bookshop at Woluwe St Lambert is no more! It has given way to a hairdresser’s (of all things). But the Saturday market is still on – with its home fare including, par exemple, le pain gouteux aux noix. And one positive development is that of the Ateliers de la Rue Voot – which runs courses on pottery, bike maintenance etc. On Saturday morning, you can bring your bike in and get a 3 hour course on maintenance – for 10 euros!
The next day, the same square was packed tight with its annual Flea market. I needed almost 3 hours to do the various stalls justice. Initially I thought there was nothing – but I emerged with a small marqueterie box reminding me of the exhibition which so impressed Daniela in Josselin (May 18 entry has photo); an old but superbly-crafted heavy wooden duck; a 1930s powder puff (Roma); a small 1928 book with the typeface, paper and wood engravings which I love; and, the piece de la resistance, a large Art Nouveau toilet jug for Sirnea. The book (La Rive d’Asie by an unknown for me - Claude Anet) is actually a good read – being part of a series (Le livre modern illustre) and the woodcuts by one Jacques Engelbach. Between its pages was lodged a programme from a September 1943 concert in Paris. Pity the cover had been spoiled by nondescript wrapping glued to its cover.
The picture is one of Frederic' most famous - in the Brussels Musee des Beaux Arts Royales

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