Belgium

She’s very intrepid, my friend the heart surgeon. When we were in college she spent the Summers travelling around Africa, travelling around South America and driving to the south of Spain in a car from which you could see the road by glancing down at the floor. The rust spots were touched up with white wall paint from her parents’ garage. Don’t ever buy a Fiat Panda.

She has just moved back to Vermont after a spell in Ireland and, given her past form, it was no surprise to learn that she drove to Toronto recently to visit a friend. Leaving her husband to labour in the local A&E ward, herself and her 6 month old baby spent about 12 hours in the car. When they got to Toronto it broke down. The Heart Surgeon and her friend’s husband replaced the battery (this is what she’s like) but she was under strict instructions not to use  the airconditioner, radio, fan etc. on the return journey. Lovely. She also loaded up with some IKEA furniture because, hey, why not. She points out (something I always believed to be true) that it took a full two days to assemble her furniture and heart surgery is far easier.

We’re going to IKEA on Monday. Wish us luck.

I broke a tooth eating a frozen Mars bar.  Do you really want to know?

Anyway, due to amazing Scandinavian dental technology, my tooth is slightly better than new. But the bill came to, oh dear, 285 euros only a small portion of which I fear will be refunded by our insurance. Oh the pain.

As Mr. Waffle points out, it makes her look sane and as though it might be a good idea to ring her, if you saw a falling pot plant. Cunning eh?

We went to the horse parade last weekend. The Princess was crabby but the horses were fun. Thierry has posted some excellent pictures. If you want to know even more about this Belgian extravaganza, you can have a look at the homepage.

I have found a website that suggests Belgium is a conspiracy. Who knows, maybe it’s true.

The following, from the Economist, made me laugh. I should try to get out more.

“Among the many consequences of the European Union’s current troubles, the fraying Benelux axis seems to have generated little chatter. For years Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg have sought to operate as an informal alliance within the EU. The three smallish nations, sandwiched between France and Germany, have often shared interests; they have always met before EU summits to co-ordinate their position. The hope was for Benelux to be as big a player as the French, Germans or British are individually.

But it is increasingly clear that the three countries have different agendas. The Belgians (and Luxembourgers) are still passionate European federalists, drawn to the Franco-German position on everything from the Iraq war to the future of the EU. The Dutch, by contrast, are increasingly drawn to the Atlanticism, free-market policies and anti-federalism traditionally associated with Britain. They underlined their new-found Euroscepticism when they voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposed new EU constitution. This vote provoked a row with their Belgian neighbours. Karel De Gucht, the Belgian foreign minister, blamed the vote on the Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, whom he called “a cross between Harry Potter and a rigid little bourgeois.” The enraged Dutch recalled their ambassador from Brussels, prompting Mr De Gucht to make a hasty, if unconvincing, apology.”

And note that someone is always trying to upstage you, you decide to have twins and then Claire and Laurent do too. On the plus side, I see from the cascade of Pampers vouchers in my mailbox that the hospital has received my room booking form for September. Doubtless official confirmation will follow.

And today’s final random thing. I have a friend who is half Belgian. She was talking about paying taxes. She cited the example of a friend who is a dentist and pays all his taxes. The Belgian revenue always slap him with a big fine on the basis that he can’t possibly have declared everything. “But” says my friend “he has and I’d believe him too because he’s a really odd person”.