I've been working on a million photographs, organising them then burning the best onto cds. Those cds are about to head off all over the world ... Ireland, New Zealand, Italy and Belgium.Such is my life, just don't ask about income ... indeed, such is my life.
No matter, photography is my passion and I love the places it takes me.
My daughter and granddaughter have completed stage one of moving to Belgium. They have cards that allow them to stay while they enter into the process of family reunification. If they can stay, it's easier for me to stay which in turn makes it easier for Gert to stay here while his children grow up.
Little Miss Three's New Zealand grandad phoned up this morning, to wish his European-based granddaughter happy birthday ... it was good to catch up with news from that other life.Blended families ... Marco Polo just might have been intrigued by the way business is done in these 21st century days.
Meanwhile I'm preparing for Flanders Field and the commemorations planned for July. Both the British and the Belgian royal families will be there so who knows what photographic opportunities will arise.
I've been offered the opportunity to wander over old battlefields listening as military experts talk of times past, I'll write it up.
Last week I had lunch with a member of parliament, his employees and friends then wandered into the Belgian parliament with everyone to watch the new crop of parliamentarians take the oath. Although we couldn't get into the actual ceremony, we were sent through the long corridors of power to the video room close by and watched all unfold with many other suited folk.
We were gifted a parliamentary glass and chocolates ... a little bit special writes this woman who was studying European politics back in 2002 while completing her English Lit degree with a minor in social anthropology.Remembering back then to that time as a newly divorced, financially-strapped student ... there is nothing on this earth that could have prepared me for what my is life now.
The piper photographed here is from the Tullintrain Pipe Band in Northern Ireland. I loved these images of him but the landscape format doesn't fit on my blog as a big image so ... he is scattered throughout this post simply because the pipeband cd is one that I burned and will post later today and working on those images reminded me of how much I loved these photographs of him.
Tot ziens.
Happy Birthday Miss Three, well now anyways.
ReplyDeleteSo eating chocolats in parliament, what's next? Taking photographs at the royal palace? Oh right, that's next week ;)
'Blended families': I know the feeling Di, especially since my brother remarried an African native. New Zealand is really the other side of the planet, but still, even Africa does severely limit social contact. Great that your daughter and granddaughter are going to stay.
ReplyDeleteLocal newspapers elaborately reported the presence of lots of Royalty to commemorate the battle at Passendale on July 12, I'm looking forward to a lot of amazing photographs (imagine you could catch Elisabeth II or Queen Paola of Belgium off guard, the picture would really be worth some cash) But then again, they're trained to follow protocol.
You know, "there is nothing on this earth that could have prepared me for what my is life now" did rang a bell over here. Sometimes it's way beyond our wildest dreams what can happen to our lives.
I remember visiting parliament on one of those special days everyone is welcome. There was no lunch, no glass or chocolates but only a pushing crowd that made the whole event feel like an overcrowded visit to a place basically no one cared about. You were lucky to have this private opportunity.
Loved the piper too. Isn't there a way to cut/stretch or otherwise modify images in blogger, without losing too much of the original.
I tend to use a feature in Wordpress that allows for modification on the fly, forgetting that such a the landscape format image is OK on a 17/19 inch pc screen, but basically breaks up the layout on a regular 15 inch laptop.
I'm typing this comment around noon on Wednesday: it's poring with rain at a chilly 16°C, wondering what on earth happened to the +30C heatwave we had last spring. Global warming may be a fact of life, but right now it feels like autumn in Belgium.
Lol Manic, not the palace ... just the muddy fields of Flanders.
ReplyDeleteDank u wel Peter.And I'm not sure how close I'll get to proceedings. There's an invitation that will get me into the invited guests area and we'll see what pans out from there.
I'm about to blog my day in the city ... it was 'challenging'.