Outside the Forgers' Gate (3)

\"Bonne Chiere\" comes from the French expression \"Bonne chère\" - good fare, good cheer, to be fond of good living). This mill is not originally from Bruges either. The mill was installed here in 1911, and replaced a mill known by the same name but which was destroyed by fierce winds. Two days after the mishap, the Gazette van Brugge (The Gazette of Bruges) related the incident as follows :

\"Saturday afternoon, a sad accident happened, which, by a miracle, did not cause any human loss. One of the two century-old windmills on the Sinte-Kruis rampart, well-known and much visited by numerous strangers visiting our city, for their picturesque beauty, has been blown to smithereens by the fierce winds.

This happened around 3: o’clock, while a fierce western wind was blowing. Because he had still a great quantity of grain to mill, the sails of the mill were in position, but the miller of the mill nearest to the Kruisgate, being prudent, had not unfurled them completely. Suddenly, a fierce burst of wind grabbed the mill and the wife of a neighbouring horticulturist saw the mill swaying and tottering on its axis, much as would a drunkard, and then the mill turned sideways and fell. The axis on which the whole mill rested, was sheared off just above the floor of the mill. The cap of the mill flew in the Ghent canal. The sail-whips flew the same way and smashed to pieces on the canal-bank and the mill’s retaining wall. The fall was so heavy that one of the mortars, which was quite new, and completely made from iron, broke like a straw. The upper structure of the mill, the wooden wheels, landed on the road alongside the mill, as did a huge part of the body proper. What remained on the floor of the mill, the sacks of grain, flour, and even the grinding-stones, was totally destroyed.

And that is where the people, who had come running, heard cries for help and found a man lying there. It was the old miller, Jan Clicteur, 71 years old. He was lying on a heap of sacks, under a beam who had somewhat protected him. Once was freed from his distressing situation, he appeared, fortunately, to suffer only from several bruises and sone slight head and face wounds. It is as if a miracle saved Jan Clicteur from certain death. Remarkable fact : the cross that had been hanging on the wall of the mill was lying, broken in two pieces, next to the man.

The old miller Jan Clicteur recovered quite promptly from his misadventure and lamented his destroyed mill. He said that when the mill fell down, he was enveloped in a cloud of flour and did not know what was happening to him.\"

Good morning to all of you. Here, are a few photos I took along the canal circling Bruges. This is a barge that has been appointed as a fixed dwelling. And, in case you might consider adopting this quite different lifestyle yourself,  in Bruges this is impossible. Only those people who were already living on a house-barge before the new ruling was adopted, are allowed to stay.

And here is another Bruges classic : the Blinde Ezelstraatje (Blind Donkey street) where you can admire the magnificently decorated back-façade of the house where the civil registry used to have its seat.  This façade was beautifully restored for the \"Bruges 2002, cultural capital of Europe\" event.