It’s a three-day party in my neighbourhood of Patershol.  I forgot to take pictures yesterday but this one from the Internet gives you a good idea of what my street looked like last night.

If you look at the black sky, you may be able to pick out my balcony on the right.  Be prepared for very slow walking!

In the late afternoon, I sat with Belgian friends in front of a community centre in Patershol.  It’s a Friday afternoon tradition for them, and often for me. 

I treated myself to a Patershol coffee, deepened by the presence of jenever, a liqueur from the juniper berry.  The whipped cream on top was pretty cool too.

The true cream, however, was sitting with folks who accepted this English-speaking newbie.  Yes, I’m learning Dutch but mostly I didn’t know what my friends were saying.  They spoke fast, and so I was told, in a dialect centred in the Gent area.  I smiled when I recognized a few words.  Actually I also smiled when I didn’t.

At one point, two in the group were really going at it in discussion.  I thought they were arguing but actually they were agreeing with each other that recent street closures to cars in Gent were bad.

Somehow, with my stuttering Dutch and bursts of English, I made people laugh.  I love doing that.  The world needs more raised cheeks and upturned mouths.

As I sipped my jenever coffee and tongued away whipped cream from my upper lip, a gentleman approached.  He was dressed in a military uniform and carried a large bell.  A jolly chap … one of the three town criers in Gent.  He was on the terrace to officially open the Feesten.

There’s an international town criers association.  They even hold world championships.  Our visitor said he knew some town criers from Canada.  I asked if he remembered my dear friend Bill Paul who for many years was the crier in London, Ontario, Canada.  He did!

Sadly Bill died a few years ago.  He was such a kind man, standing on street corners and creating balloon animals for kids young and old.

Two town criers who bring joy to folks walking by … linking my past and present.  And here comes the future.

***

I’m home here in Gent

In my address, my feet and my heart