Latest posts
Six Crises
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I have at last finished Richard Nixon‘s extraordinary 1962 Six Crises. He wrote the book after his loss to J.F. Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential election (which came after eight years’ service as Vice-President) and on the eve of his equa...
hacked
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by kiss greetz: h4x0rteam lulz dzmafia outlaw fatalerror hichtech ir4dex egyh4x0r primesuspectz silverlordz … hmei7 [ by iSkoRPiTx]...
Our lunar heritage
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There is a thought-provoking article by Andy Carling in this week’s New Europe about mankind’s lunar heritage. Altogether, twelve men walked on the moon between 1969 and 1972. They left their footprints and a considerable number of object...
Berthem church (Sint-Pieter)
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Browsing in the bookshop opposite the Centre Borschette, I came across an old guide book to the villages around Brussels. This morning, on our way to walk the dog, we visited some of the sites mentioned in the guide: the chateau at Leefdael, the chap...
Rhubarb and ginger jam
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At the bottom of our garden are two rhubarb plants. I transplanted them, together with a rosemary bush, from my late father’s vegetable plot. The rosemary succumbed to a late harsh frost a few years ago but the rhubarb plants continue to thrive...
A Latvian air at the Bozar
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To the Bozar this evening for an excellent concert given by the City of Birmingham Orchestra under the athletic baton of Andris Nelsons. The conductor warmed up with the overture from Wagner’s Flying Dutchman, before we relaxed b...
The management board seminar
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The bells woke me up at dawn so I took advantage of the early start and the beautiful sunny weather to jog out of the town and around the canals. We’re in Bruges for a management board seminar. The idea is to get us all away from our...
The eel and the cormorant
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For five years I had the immense privilege and pleasure of teaching at the College of Europe in Bruges. This evening, once our work and our meal were both over, I wandered around my old haunts. I was standing outside the College, on the Dijver, when...
St Donatus
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The Bruges hotel I am staying in is a relatively modern construction. Building work was much delayed by the discovery of the remains of an old church, St Donatus, where the foundations were to have been dug. The church was pulled down and the rubble...
Cosi fan tutte
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To La Monnaie this evening for a most enjoyable performance of Mozart’s (and da Ponte’s) politically incorrect Cosi fan tutte. As we now almost inadvertently expect, the singing and the acting of the cast and the playing and conducting of...
Experiencing the European Union
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This evening I was delighted to take part in a Round Table, intended to help launch a book entitled Experiencing the European Union: Learning how EU negotiations work through simulation games (Rubbettino), by Marco Brunazzo and Pierpaolo Settembri. T...
Mist at Berthem
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It is extraordinary how a thin cloak of mist can change a landscape. Early this morning the dog took us for a walk out at Berthem. The mist deadened the sounds around us, obscured the horizon and blurred outlines. I thought we’d seen the last o...
Taking the stairs
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As modern public administrations we care about the well-being of our staff. That care extends to encouraging colleagues to eat and drink well and to stay fit and healthy. This morning the two Committees’ medical services, together with the EMAS...
Anton Reicha
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This evening I met composer friend Nigel Clarke for a beer and a chat and, as usual, he broadened my musical knowledge significantly. Maybe I should have known all about Anton Reicha, but I shamefully admit I didn’t. Nigel gave me, as a present...
The Brussels 20 k
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I have run the Brussels 20 k every year now since 2008 but this year I was afraid I wouldn’t make it. I got a bad back – the curse of middle-aged joggers – in the US last summer and only started running again about a month ago. Stil...
A christening
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We attended a christening this afternoon. It was a joyous occasion. The liturgy had been carefully prepared. The readings were perfect. The parents were great. The baby was mostly serene. However, potentially there was a slight challenge. The co...
Ray Manzarek
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Mention the Doors’ song titles Riders on the Storm or Light My Fire and the chances are that Ray Manzarek’s keyboard riffs will be the first thing to come to mind. Manzarek, who died a few days ago at the unreasonably young age of 74...
Hannah Arendt
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Tonight we watched Margarethe von Trotta’s 2012 ‘biopic’, Hannah Arendt. It is an intellectually courageous film about an intellectually (and morally) courageous woman at a key point in her thinking and her life. Barbara Sukowa&rsqu...
The banana eaters
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One of the challenges Odysseus has to contend with in Homer’s Odyssey is an encounter with the lotus eaters – harmless people on an African island rendered apathetic and sleepy through the consumption of narcotic lotus fruits and flowers.
