Made of clay - Part 2

Thursday the 1st of February presented us with what felt like the first stirrings of impending Spring. At 8°C we might not have made it into double digits that day, but just look at that bright blue sky! So far, the week had been grey and mizzly, so when the sun bathed Antwerp in a golden glow that morning, I was champing at the bit to go outside and bask in her soothing presence during my lunch break. So, as soon as the clock struck 12.45, I made my escape and strolled to Antwerp's Botanical Garden.

Just a leisurely 10-minute walk from my office, and a mere stone's throw from the hustle and bustle of the city's main shopping thoroughfare, Den Botaniek as it is locally known, is an oasis of peace and quiet. It's the perfect place to unwind after a busy morning, and indeed lots of people flock here on their lunch breaks, eating their sandwiches or reading a book on one of the garden's benches. Or perhaps just sit and stare, contemplating life as I am wont to do.

Tiny it may be, it is a whole world in one garden, with a collection of exceptional trees and shrubs, an incredible 2000 plants and a conservatory housing a number of cacti and other exotics.

Started almost 200 years ago, it initially only grew medicinal plants to supply St. Elisabeth’s hospital next door. The city has managed the garden since 1926 and in 1950 the garden was listed as a valuable landscape for the city of Antwerp and its inhabitants.

Ah, the first stirrings of Spring! My heart always makes a little leap when I spy a carpet of cheerful yellow hula-skirted winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis).

There's also a plethora of hellebores which, apart from several clumps of Helleborus foetidus 

(two collages up, top right) includes lots of  different Helleborus orientalis varieties, like the dusky purple bloomed one (above, top left), which was more than willing to have its portrait taken.

I was charmed by these tiny delicate-looking flowers (above, bottoms left), which belong to Chimomanthus praecox, a deciduous shrub commonly known as wintersweet due to its highly fragrant flowers.

In a bid to make my walk at least semi-circular, I exited the garden by way of the premises belonging to the luxury Botanic Sanctuary hotel. Opened in 2022, it is housed in a former convent and hospital complex called  Elzenveld, whose history goes back to the 12th century.

Two ghostly figures have taken up residence in the garden next to the restored 15th century chapel. By Antwerp-based, German-born sculptor Albert Szukalski (1945-2000), they are relatives of those which have been having a conversation in the sculpture park (Dialogue, 1974).

Thursday clearly had been a one-off, as we were back to the customary grey skies on Friday. The dismal soul-sapping weather wasn't conducive to a lunch break walk. In fact, I wouldn't even have ventured outside at all if I hadn't had an errand to run.

It was when I was taking a shortcut through the shopping centre near my office that I happened to pass a pop-up clothing shop which was having a closing-down sale. With items going for € 10, I decided to have a look, not really expecting to find anything to my liking. How wrong I was, as I walked away with a bottle green long-sleeved maxi dress and a blue bishop-sleeved blouse with a flower meadow print, both by the London based Louche label

I was quite exhausted by Saturday, my hectic 5-day working week clearly taking its toll. 

Yet another grey and mizzly day, its highs of 10°C were neither here nor there. Without any sunshine to boost my energy levels, and feeling a bit off with a stomach upset, a day of rest was just what the doctor ordered.

Both the plaid skirt and the thin knit jumper got their very first outing that day, even if it was only for posing for outfit photos in the passageway.

I picked up the skirt in an outlet shop for the Belgian Green Ice label back in September, while the Missoni-inspired faux-wrap jumper, by C&A's Clockhouse label, was charity shopped last month.

I layered a green long-sleeved t-shirt underneath, pinned a brooch embroidered with a posy of Gentians to the jumper and added a navy beaded necklace to tie in with the background colour of the skirt.

Having finished my Anne Tyler novel, I picked one of the previous week's finds as my next read.

Three Houses is a nostalgic childhood memoir by Angela Thirkell (1890-1961), based on the three houses in which she grew up. Apart from her parents' home in Kensington Square, these are her maternal grandparents' London home, as well as their seaside retreat in Rottingdean, East Sussex. 

A not unimportant detail is that her grandfather was the Pre-Raphaelite painter and designer Edward Burne-Jones! Although Angela clearly admired her grandfather's work, as well as that of his friend William Morris, she wasn't impressed with Pre-Raphaelite furniture, which she describes as utterly uncomfortable.

Thankfully, the stomach bug thing, whatever it was, had upped and left by Saturday evening and, after a good night's sleep, I was feeling right as rain again on Sunday morning.

Strangely enough it had quite a while since this 1970s does 1940s dress made it out of my wardrobe. Green being my favourite colour, I fell in love with it and its blowsy flower pattern when I found it on the Think Twice rails many years ago.

A trip down bloggy memory lane revealed that I usually wear it with aqua opaques and a ditto cardigan, so I decided to shake things up a bit, opting for burnt orange and tan this time around.

The belt - by the Belgian CKS label - was a fairly recent charity shop find while, if my memory serves me right, I found the brooch on a flea market. My necklace with its colourful wooden discs, which pick up all of the pattern's colours, was bought brand new from Accessorize back in the mists of time.

Our plan for the day was to spend the afternoon abroad! Mind-boggling as this might sound to some of you, it only involves a drive of just under an hour, which is considerably less than it takes to drive to Belgium's west country.

We were off to visit our friends Kris and Marnix, who live about 15 kilometers from the Belgian border in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, which is part of the Dutch province of Zeeland. 

Kris, who used to be my colleague for many years, moved here to run an arable farm with his husband Marnix, growing potatoes, onions, wheat, brown beans, sugar beet and carrots.

What with life - not to mention that pesky thing called Covid - getting in the way we hadn't seen each other since December 2019. As if that wasn't bad enough, our plans for a get-together at the end of 2022 had to be cancelled at the last moment as I got the flu, so it was obvious that we had quite a bit of catching up to do. 

In true Dutch style, we were welcomed with typical Dutch pastries called tompouce, after which it was time for Kris to show us around his pride and joy.

About six years ago, a friend took Kris along to a ceramics workshop, and the rest, as they say, is history! Kris was instantly captivated by the creative possibilities of working with clay.

Soon, his new-found hobby had taken over his life and KB Keramiek was born. 

As Kris wanted to share his knowledge and passion, Kris and Marnix converted part of their barn into a studio, where Kris is now giving his own workshops and courses. 

Next to the ceramics studio is a multi-purpose room which can be rented for courses, meetings or gatherings. This used to be the old cowshed, and I love how Kris and Marnix have integrated some of the authentic elements like the old ceiling beams, the drinking troughs and the feeding troughs which have been converted into benches (above, top and bottom right, and below, top right).

There's also a small shop where Kris sells his own unique creations. I was quite impressed by those gorgeous leaf dishes!

Our catch-up continued with drinks and nibbles, during which we were introduced to alcohol-free gin, which was absolutely delicious.

We stayed for dinner, and then sadly it was time to say goodbye and make our way back home. Promises have been made not to leave it too long until we next meet.  And who knows, one day we might very well book one of those workshops ...

Thank you for the lovely afternoon, guys!