belgianwaffle

Archives for July 2026

A Lot On


Posted in: Belgium, Ireland, Reading etc.

It’s been a busy week lads. We were out not once but twice for dinner. The second time was last night with friends from Brussels who we have seen over the years but not as much as we would like as they are that wonderful thing: a couple where both of us like both partners. Hard to find. They’re on a three week holiday in Ireland with their dog. I hope the rain holds off for them but I doubt it. They’re starting in Donegal and working their way down the west coast. They had just been in England for their daughter’s graduation. My strongest memory of her is of a short haired forceful toddler so seeing the photos of the graduation gave me a land as Cissie who used to mind me when I was little would say. They are the nicest couple and it was really lovely to see them.

Today, overwhelmed by the hype I bought myself the last ticket to see the Odyssey in the IMAX at 11.30. The woman who took my ticket told me that it has sold out every showing. It’s quite long. Not bad or anything but I probably wouldn’t have gone were it not for the hype and I would have been right. Though it did give me some mild extra insights into James Joyce’s version of the same story so there’s that. And I found myself reflecting again on my friend’s daughter who has a perfectly normal name but had a narrow escape from her mother’s early determination to call her Calypso; ultimately she was saved by her father. If you like Christopher Nolan and swords and sandals, go for it. Even hardhearted me shed a tear when he finally made it back to Ithaca.

And also, the painter has been here all week painting the railings and the front door and the upstairs bathroom. It’s trying, there’s no two ways about it though he does an excellent job. His personality is gloomy and with me working from home a couple of days we saw quite a bit of each other; I’m not sure either of us was delighted by this development. But I am delighted by my newly painted front door, so there’s that.

A Mixed Report

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Posted in: Twins, Youngest Child

Youngest child is back in the bosom of his family after 5 long months doing an Erasmus term in Liège in Belgium. His family has hardly seen him since his return since he has been extremely busy picking up the threads of his social life.

He wanted to go to Belgium on his Erasmus trip as he was born there and felt he ought to know it a bit better. His university had links to Liège so that’s where he went.

He did not love it. His accommodation was on the new (1980s) campus in the forest. It only had a couple of faculties (the main campus remains in the city) and no shops or restaurants and a very irregular bus ride to the city which was a 20 minute drive away on the motorway. There was no train which really surprised me. The Belgian students all lived in the city or at home and had no interest in getting to know someone who had joined their course in the middle of third year. His only social outlet was the other Erasmus students (many of them also stuck in the accommodation in the forest campus) and these were, perhaps, more friendships of convenience, like the guy who had a car. Belgian universities don’t have extensive clubs and societies like Irish universities so there was no chance for him to find like minded students. So not a total triumph.

However, I feel it did him good. To be fair to him, he organised himself to go to all the Flemish cities. He also went to Brussels, Maastricht and Luxembourg. He went to Budapest for the Hungarian election (something I don’t think he would have done from Dublin – budget airline and hostel accommodation but he really enjoyed it). He has a whole new found appreciation for the people who do laundry and make dinner at home. It’s not like he wasn’t grateful before but now he appreciates home comforts. His French has really improved and he had to do exams in 4 or 5 subjects in French as well as a couple in English and, mercifully, he does not have to return to resit anything.

Overall, I would say it has been good for him but it would be great if it could have enjoyed it more. Mr. Waffle was chatting to one of the neighbours on the road and it turned out that she had done her Erasmus year in Liège about 20 years ago and loved it, so it is possible. Though she stayed in the city which I’d say was a help.

Still youngest child is thinking about what he might do after college next year and he said he might try to get an internship in Brussels which is not something I think he would have thought of before. So, a win, I guess. I’m not sure that is entirely his view though.

Mayo for Sam

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Posted in: Dublin, Ireland, Mr. Waffle

Mr. Waffle and I decided to go for a nice walk in Portrane today. The weather is a bit cooler and very pleasant. We began with breakfast in Avoca in Malahide Castle. How great was my indignation when I discovered that they stop serving breakfast at 11.30? Pretty great as by the time we got there it was 12.10. I had a steak sandwich for breakfast. Not a form of breakfast that has been hugely popular since the 19th century. I am a city person and breakfast should be served until at least 2 on a Sunday; everyone knows that and these suburban outlets need to pull up their socks.

On the way to our walk we bought strawberries and new Queens potatoes from a bored teenager at the side of the road. The best strawberries I have tasted all summer by some distance. Our walk was, as hoped, nice.

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I forget what lovely beaches there are in north County Dublin – I don’t really think of Dublin as a very beachy place but it is. This beach compared favourably to those in the west of Ireland. High praise.

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Apparently it is also a place where the rules on horse access to the beach are not fully observed. That horse poo did not smell like it had been there since May.

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I went for a swim which was very nice but I was a bit nervous because a number of jellyfish corpses were visible on the strand. I didn’t see any in the sea but I couldn’t quite relax. With global warming the presence of jellyfish is becoming pretty common but it’s still a bit alarming to me. Herself says that it has led to mosquitos in London. She knows because she’s allergic and her leg swelled up like a balloon when she got bitten; even the pharmacist was impressed and gave her a course of penicillin.

Possibly related, I was the only person in the water which felt…peculiar? Did everyone else know something I did not? Was it the jellyfish? Was it the horse poo? It’s a blue flag beach and the local authorities had a sign up saying they tested the water most recently on July 13 and it was excellent. Let’s see whether I survive the night.

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We hightailed it home after our walk as the All-Ireland Gaelic football final was on (the winner gets the Sam Maguire cup, hence the title of this post) and we didn’t want to get caught in match traffic. We actually made it home in time to watch the end of the match. Mayo were playing Kerry in the final. Mayo have not won the All-Ireland for 75 years and Kerry seem to win it all the time. Everyone in the country was supporting Mayo except people from Kerry. The consensus was that this Kerry team would win no bother.

The excitement of the All-Ireland final hit the European stage earlier. For Ireland’s EU Presidency Each Member State of the EU (26 excluding Ireland) is paired with an Irish county (also currently 26, if you don’t count the new Dublin divisions and somehow no one ever does) and the Netherlands got Mayo which led to this exchange in the European Parliament. I applaud the Dutch enthusiasm.

Mayo wear green and red and Kerry wear green and gold. During the World Cup there were memes doing the rounds featuring those colours (apologies to English people who may find these images upsetting). The World Cup was all really about Gaelic Athletic Association rivalries some people may be surprised to hear.

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The story of the reason for Mayo’s 75 year drought which I must emphasise is completely untrue and known to be untrue by everyone is that the team which won the All-Ireland for Mayo in 1951 were returning home and a funeral cortege was ahead of them. The team were disrespectful and the parish priest put a curse on them and said that Mayo would not win again until all of the members of that team died. This is not traditionally a catholic priest power, in case you’re wondering. Anyway, Mayo have not won since though they have been to the final. One poor old gent survives from the 1951 team apparently.

Do you want to know who won now? I bet you do. It was Mayo.

Alarming

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Posted in: Dublin, Ireland

In early June, Mr. Waffle and I went into town for a middle aged adventure but when we got there Grafton street (the main pedestrianised shopping street) and the surrounding streets and the Powerscourt Centre (nice shopping centre in an 18th century building) were all closed. I was baffled and asked one of the many guards crawling around the area what was going on. Some EU Presidency thing I thought. I suppose the Guard was a bit sick of answering questions but he snapped back, “Someone’s been stabbed and killed.” What an alarming development. The internet rapidly informed me that a young man had been stabbed to death in a fight the night before. I always think my children will be safe in town but I didn’t like the sound of this. What can I do? Nothing but hope they will be sensible and safe, I suppose.