Official opening of the May Fair

This old gypsy-waggon belongs to Madame Manda, professional fortune-teller. Mister Manda is leaning against her advertisement board, covered press-cuttings.

Mmm, .... delicious fritters..

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The first signs of the May Fair are here already. And, this year, it really will be a MAY fair. Not very many people around yet, but - hey, it has not really started. It was barely 6:60 in the morning when I came upon this sight. If you are planning to try this one, know that it goes up 48 maters and... tumbles head over heels. I prefer to keep my two feet on the ground.

On Sunday, more than three thousand participants will be running through the streets of the city . The "Straight through Bruges" race is one of several beautiful initiatives of Bruges. Some runners train themselves especially for this race, while some others have a bet on that they will do the race to the finish-line, then some run in groups or for their school, often because they were, more or less, pushed one way or another to do so. While walking along the Ramparts during the last weeks, quite a few runners were seen to be training. Too bad the winter lasted so long - most people likely did not have a chance to get themselves into form as well as they did last year. 

"The Wandering Human". This scene represents Abraham and his wife Sara who, as ordered by the voice of God, go in search of a new and better land. In earlier times, Bruges boasted a number of guilds. Every craft had its own, as, for example, the Bakers Guild, the Butchers Guild, to name just these two. Some have kept the tradition and each guild usually takes on the responsibility for creating and acting out of one of these tableaux. This particular one fitted the Brokers Guild like a glove, precisely because when Bruges was still a cosmopolitan business centre, they already acted as Middlemen.

Did I get hit by a windmill?
I can't seem to remember where I live.
Well, I went to that rollicking Rock'n Roll fest.
Good night anyway and see you tomorrow.

(Conversation from a tipsy rocker...)




(dronkemanspraat)

A rock competition, organized by the socialists.  A snapshot taken during a break in the session.

Might there be one of those beautiful red carnations (symbol of the socialists) for our own lapel?

By way of calling it an evening, here are some ambiance-pictures of the May 1st celebrations in Bruges. Mind you, those were all taken after the rain and before the evening partying. As usual, Frank Van Acker is being honoured with offerings of flowers.

The four-day "Coco-laté" event is almost done. That the public was quite interested in the happening can be seen in this photo, taken saturday afternoon. There were moments of fierce shoving and pushing in order to partake of the Old Sint-Jan bourse.

It's not even neccessary to go inside to have a taste of the chocolate bourse... chocolate-bodypainting happens right at the window.
To be honest, I used the zoom. Otherwise, you wouldn't have seen anything.

I did briefly mention Florimond Van Acker on a previous occasion (1858-1940). That was when I posted the old picture   foto  of the Small Fishmarket. It was Florimond Van Acker who made the picture. He was an artist, and made portraits, landscapes and cityscapes in watercolour, oil, crayon and pastel. He also made posters for the city of Bruges, taught art at the City Academy, where he was its director from 1909 to 1926.
This house was conceived and built for Flor Van Acker. The ground floor was where he saw his customers, while his atelier was on the upperfloor.
The house is still in use as a House of Art. 

Even before the Sacred Blood procession, Bruges draws crowds for another famous event : the "Straight through Bruges" Classic Running event. That's on Sunday, May 7, this year. It's called a 15 kilometer classic, although in fact, it's only 14 kilometers. It seems that "15 km" sounds better... Here, at "Het Visioen" (The Vision), the runners are in their 12th kilometer and for those who took their training a bit less seriously, it is indeed a stretch where they may begin to experience visions. 
It's not to be seen on this photo, but year after year, more and more women do participate in this running event.

May 1 or not May 1 (Labour Day), I am starting off the day with a picture of the Sacred Blood procession. The countdown has begun. 24 more days. Yesterday, we had a representation of God chasing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Today, we get to see Cain, still holding the club with which he just committed his infamous fratricide.

The Conzett bridge, barely half an hour ago. In the meantime, night has fallen. It is true that the days are getting noticeably longer. In fact, how was your day? Mixed, as was the weather? Did you eat too much chocolate, maybe? This last question is for those who paid a visit to the "Choco-laté' bourse in the Old Sint-Jan. When, as adult, you have tu put down ten euro to get inside, you expect to get something for your money. And, learning that you can taste as many of their offerings as you want, no limits, you might be inclined to put your liver in some danger. 

Those small, digital cameras are now as common as the GSM. They are easy to use, practical, compact, not very expensive and produce good quality photos. Looking around, one sees people equipped with a GSM and camera, die-hards who still lug around the traditional reflex-camera, and indeed, it would seem that everybody walking around in Bruges is into photography.
This gentlemen just snapped one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with his digital camera. Of course, little does he know that, last winter, the sculpture was damaged by a falling tree. Fortunately, the sculptor, Rik Poot, lost no time in restoring his work.

Today, the Renault Oldtimer Club of Bruges held its inaugural drive. They did not hesitate to drive right through the inner city. After which they probably regrouped at the Zand. The club allows all antique cars to participate, but they do prefer to have mainly old Renault for the event. There were even Renault owners who came from France and The Netherlands with their antique vehicles.

... was this photo taken? 1940, 1950 or 1960? Wrong, it was taken this morning, the last day of April 2006. Today, the Renault Oldtimers Club of Bruges held its inaugural ride. I did follow them for a while, on my bicycle. They could not drive very fast in any event, because they were driving along the circuit used by the coaches. I must say that, during the timespan that I did follow these cars, none of them suffered breakdown but, the exhaust system of some of the old crackers was anything but environmentally friendly (stench & noise). However, admittedly, it is a beautiful sight to see them driving through Groening (the street, not the museum, even though some of the cars certainly deserve to be in the museum.)