As we were leaving our house this morning I noticed one of the neighbours and a young girl at the end of their drive writing on a flip chart and I wondered what they were up to. As we drove past, we noticed a table with cakes that appeared to be for sale. By now a couple more children had arrived and they all waved at us. We paused at the end of our road and decided to drive round the block to enjoy a bit of neighbourly fun. We purchased three cakes because we were on our way to pick up my mum for bit of curtain shopping. As we were doing this, some homemade lemonade arrived. It looked rather delicious but I didn’t think three cups of lemonade would travel as well as the cakes.
When we arrived at mum’s house, Mr C informed her that he had a surprise for her. After she got in the car, we ate the cakes and then made our way to the curtain shop. Mum purchased her curtain material whilst Mr C and I checked up on the fitting date for our new curtain rail.
Next, we drove to Ellesmere in order to have lunch. I chose an egg salad sandwich and old fashioned lemonade to make up for missing out on it earlier. The first drink however had to go back because when I poured it into the glass some rather strange brown bits fizzed to the top of the drink!
After lunch, we watched the swans on the lake for a short while before returning home via the Battlefield farm shop near Shrewsbury. We bought fresh meat and vegetables and mum tried to tempt me to buy some chocolate that was on the counter. I told her you could only have one naughty thing a day unless you count wine with dinner (it is Saturday 
). As I said this I turned round and noticed a stand with fridge magnets including one that made my laugh after my comment to mum.
I think someone is trying to tell me something!! What do you think?
Tags: Cake, Cupcake, Diet, Ellesmere, Lemonade, Life
This former Jesuit church is a textbook example of Baroque style. It was built between 1650 and 1666. The iconic columns, pilasters and friezes give the facade the appearance of an altar. This ‘altar outside the church’ is one of the 7 wonders of Leuven. Inside there are several works of art to be admired including paintings of Erasmus II Quellinus. In addition to the paintings in the church, the communion rails and the rocaille pulpit are unique.*
The maverick Saint Michael by Ad Wouters.
Saint Michael is represented as a young man at the moment he is realizing that he has killed but killing is no solution. Reflecting on this he is at a crossroads in his life. He is standing there naked because nakedness expresses vulnerability and a possible turning-point. It dawns on Saint Michael that he must take another course in his life. Everyone has flaws, but everyone can steer his course in a new direction. That is why he breaks his sword. He no longer wants to kill. Killing is no solution. The sword must be hammered into tools useful to mankind and to eradicate poverty in particular. Saint Michael wants peace and no strife.
Louvain, 27th September 2009
*From Church & co leaflet
Tags: Belgium, Church, Leuven, Louvain, Saint Michael, Sint-Michielskerk, St Michael's Church, Vacation
This handsome, cobblestoned square is flanked by a tasteful ensemble of high-gabled brick buildings. Some of these date from the 18th century, while others are comparatively new. At ground level, these buildings house the larges concentration of bars and cafes in town, and as such, attract the town’s university students in droves. *
We passed through the square on several occasions and felt the lively vibrant atmosphere but I didn’t feel the urge to dwell and soak it up. I preferred the vibrant but calmer atmospheres of other parts of Leuven.
Within the square is one of the numerous Leuven statues:
Statue by Fred Bellefroid built in 1984 in honour of the kotmadam. “Kot” is Flemish slang for a student room, and the “kotmadam” is the landlady of the building, who would prepare meals for the students, tidy their rooms and help them when help was needed.
*from the Eyewitness Travel Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg
Tags: Belgium, Leuven, Oude Markt, Vacation
The Louis XV-style pump dating from 1754 was restored and moved in 1887.
By the side of the pump is a poem:
“A road widening is not fun. I was put aside. Close to the tree ’s great sorrow. Where no one sheds a tear. “
I did not notice the tree but you can see it here.
Tags: Belgium, Leuven, Pomp Van 't Groot Verdriet, Vacation, Water Pump
The inside of the Staduis provides as much interest as the outside. Here are some of the many interesting rooms within.
The Gothic Hall
This is the room where Leuven town council meets, even after the relocation of all the municipal services and the councillors’ offices to newer premises.
The beam blocks on the market side are 15th century old, gothic and were carved by the Brussels sculptor William Ards. They illustrate the life of Maria and Christ, the example of clemency and justice. The foyer underneath the gothic hall features scenes from the Old Testament: so that the New Testament has been literally built on top of the Old. A number of cornerstones between the beams are perhaps the work of Joes Beyaert; animals symbolise good and evil, symbols of the evangelists, prophets and church fathers etc.*
The Mayor’s Office
In the beginning this is where the ‘Saint Peter’s Lords of the Seven Noble Families’ used to meet. Until a few years ago this served as the mayor’s office. It is decorated in and 18th century style.*
The Attic
The attic is reached by way of a spiral staircase. When you arrive at the top of the stairs you are greeted with a stunning view of roof beams of oak and rows of original sculptures from the building stadhuis facade.
The sculptures you see today on the richly ornate facade are not the originals! In 1828-1841, during restoration work, around 200 weather-damaged sculpted bases of the niches of the ‘front house’ and other 15th century sculptures in Avesnes stone were replaced by new sculptures in a different kind of stone. The original pieces ended up in the attic. But it turned out that the new pieces were not so weather resistant, so they were replaced again. Some of the sculptures from the 19th and 20th century are here because they have since been replaced.*
It was fascinating to be able to see close up, both the original and 19th century sculptures.
*From the Tourism leaflet -The Town Hall; The Pride and Joy of Leuven
Tags: Belgium, Leuven, Stadhuis, Town Hall, Vacation
Built between 1439 and 1463 from the profits of the cloth trade, Leuven’s Stadhuis was designed to demonstrate the wealth of the city’s merchants. This tall and distinctive building is renowned for its lavishly carved and decorated facade. A line of narrow windows rises up over three floors beneath a steeply pitched roof adorned with dormer windows and pencil-thin turrets. *
However, it is in the exquisite quality of its stonework that the building excels, with delicately carved tracery and detailed medieval figures beneath 300 niche bases. There are grotesques of every description as well as representations of folktales and biblical stories, all of which are carved in an exuberant style. Within the niche alcoves are 19th-century statues depicting local dignitaries and politicians. *
*From Eyewitness Travel Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg
Tags: Leuven, Stadhuis, Town Hall, Vacation
I am the song
I am the song that sings the bird.
I am the leaf that grows the land.
I am the tide that moves the moon.
I am the stream that halts the sand.
I am the cloud that drives the storm.
I am the earth that lights the sun.
I am the fire that strikes the stone.
I am the clay that shapes the hand.
I am the word that speaks the man.
Charles Causley
Tags: Cherie's Place Thought, IamHe, National Trust, Packwood House
