School Visit, Brugge

I had a lovely day today ...

I had a wee speaking engagement with a group of 16 and 17 year school kids in Brugge. The photography competiton winners were there, as were some of the other entrants.

Lovely lovely people!

So I woke to the alarm at 6.30am, ran out the door at 7.30am, arrived in Brugge round 9.30am and it began.

Filip, their teacher and organiser of the photography competition met me at the railway station and took me back to the school. Coffee-ed up we headed over to the library to prepare for the talking bit.

That was me, the New Zealander talking a little about life here in Belgium as an immigrant, a little about my philosophy, with regard to photography and then a question and answer session.

It was good to be back in front of a class.

We met with a journalist who took down the details of the competition, talked to me some and took a photograph of us all. It seeems highly likely that this will appear in the regional pages of Het Laatste Nieuws sometime soon.

Then the 3 first place winners, Filip and I went wandering round Brugge and I got to see it with locals which was grand. We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant and then stopped in at Herberg Vlissinghe for coffee. A lovely wee pub. In business since 1515 - it has an authentic Flemish interior with Epoque furniture and the famous Van Dyck armchair (where the famous painter reportedly actually sat).

Home, an hour and a half on the train and here I am ... happy to be living in Belgie today.