Monday, October 15, 2007

How I Broke My Belgian (or why he shouldn't have run to photograph the Haka in the dark in the cemetery)

I didn't really have anything to do with the breaking of the Belgian ...

I had successfully found my way through a dark corner of the cemetery with the well-known, medal-bedecked New Zealander without incident earlier.

Gert was back using the tripod to take beautiful photographs like this one when he realised that a Haka was to be performed and he knew I couldn't get back from my position at the front to photograph it.

He ran.

He tripped over the step he had been warning people not to trip over ... but on the other side, the side that wasn't lit after being 'blinded by a bloody spot light!'
His New Zealandese is coming along very nicely thank you.

He met me after the commemoration and I had to wipe blood from the bridge of his nose. He was limping, his elbow was painful.

He soldiered on through the day.
He drove home the next day.
Today he could barely walk when he woke.

In Belgium, if you have a day off ill you have to have a doctor's note and the control doctor may be sent to check you out ... so the doctor called in and Gert's off for an x-ray tomorrow.

Apparently his kneecap may have a crack in it...

If there's a moral to his story, I guess it would be ... Children, don't run in the cemetery when it's dark, even if there's a Haka.

6 comments:

christina said...

Poor Gert! Hope everything heals up nicely. I have a terrible time getting around in the dark and would have tripped somewhere for sure.

Anonymous said...

Oh my...

I've seen many of these 'home and garden' incidents, but the dark cemetery variety is not very common.

Knees have such delicate structures. Let's hope the X-ray doesn't show too much damage.

Anonymous said...

Poor Gert. Let's hope he'll walk again. Maybe he can lend a leg from the tripod.

Di Mackey said...

Gert appreciated your concern christina. We're still both stunned it was him and not me ... it's more my thing.

The x-ray said no break or crack so he's resting Peter, hoping to walk again freely one day soon.

Manictastic ... we hadn't thought of that but did smile when we read your advice ;)

Anonymous said...

Take it from me, Di, it's hard to break a Belgian. : )

Give Gert a big hug for me.

Di Mackey said...

Phew eh ... he's a steenezel too, which helps.