The Human Touch

Dear Friends
First of all I need a bigger barge or else there will be no room to store my ego after the most recent comments.
Sometimes the images invoke from others exactly the same response as from me. I think of Dale, commenting on the colourful poster in the snow. Spot on, just the way I see it and the reason why I had to take the picture!

Then there is the picture with the "wee little fire hydrant for wee little fires", also commented on by Dale. It was my attempt to a purely aesthetic approach, but thanks to the comment it becomes wonderfullly hilarious. Goes to show one does not need to be understood to feel appreciated!

Erik-Jan's guess is completely right. In most of my pictures there is a bike just around the corner, a motorcar approaching from behind, the dog about to enter into the picture and I gently hold back my companion.
That explains "Roads without people and stairs aren't climbed". It expresses my feeling of abandonment, having seen these places full of activity, energy and prosperity in the 1960s, just before it all began to collapse.
But then again, without this background the pictures would probably be the same: I like it that way.

A QuickTime (While We're Away)

Quality, not quantity - Robert Pirsig

Repeating myself, I'm sure, when I say I am so very happy with the comments on what I present here. They keep me going.
A very personal thanks to Anne-Marie, Dale and Erik-Jan for their personal feedback (this list is not exhaustive).

Just before we go off to Brussels, here's a QuickTime slideshow (7,2 Mb, but then it contains 150+ images and lasts 9 minutes!). Well worth waiting for if I say so myself.

The large images were uploaded to give you a taste of what's in the slideshow.
Enjoy!

Photos Koos Fernhout

No Man's Land (+Guest of the Week)

Last Saturday we explored the region West of Mons some more. As said before, this is where Vincent van Gogh worked with the poor.
We were especially impressed by two small towns on both sides of the Belgian/French border, Quievrain and Quievrechain.

The first looks reasonably prosperous, rather well maintained, and is connected to the Belgian railway network. The latter, in France, looks tired and seems to have suffered too much from industrial decline. It makes the impression that the French government has forgotten about this little place so close to the border: No Man's Land.
The state of decay, the feeling of menace, puts Valerie off completely. I, on the other hand, am fascinated by that haunted atmosphere, the camera just won't stand still.
Conclusion: I need to go back there on my own. A satisfying solution for our difference in feeling.

Here a QuickTime slideshow of all this weekend's photos.
(2Mb).


Guest of the Week

The ship on the shipyard this week is called Trio. Repairing the bottom is Frits.

Photos Koos Fernhout

Goodbye Daniel

Had to say goodbye to our neighbour in Brussels, Daniel, who was always there to lend a helping hand for those who needed it.
Our thoughts are with Murielle, who is now his widow.

The cremation took place in Vilvoorde, an industrial suburb of Brussels.

Before rushing home to stay ahead of the hell on wheels that could be expected on this rare winter's day, I went out in Vilvoorde to collect some visual impressions.
This led to a QuickTime slideshow, dedicated to Daniel and for you to enjoy.

I'd like to close today's diary with an image that struck me this morning. A second after I took this photo the streetlights and the backlight behind the poster went out, and gone was the magic - and so was the snow only hours later.
The blue letters z.o.z. are usually translated as please turn over, an inadequate translation in this case.


Thanks to Rachel Fuller and her friends the day saw a cheerful and colourful ending. Her web-tv programme In The Attic (click on Towser TV after following this link) ,which is broadcast mostly on Wednesdays, was great fun to watch again.

Snow photo Koos Fernhout