Ballad of the sad castle

It was Saturday the 24th of February, and we woke up with the rain pitter-pattering against our bedroom window. In spite of having had the luxury to sleep in, we still had a hard time dragging ourselves out of bed, and it was due to Bess's persistence that we finally made it downstairs. Contrary as cats are, she then promptly made herself comfortable in my recently vacated spot for one of her beauty sleeps.

The rain petered out while we were having breakfast, leaving a dry day with the odd sunny spot in its wake. 

At a miserly 6°C accompanied by a chilly wind, I knew I needed to dress warmly, which made me base my outfit around the recently charity shopped & Other Stories blanket skirt. Scanning my shelves of tops, my eyes settled on the blue, purple-patterned Wow To Go blouse I picked up from an outlet shop in November 2022. Aren't they a match made in heaven? When I repeated the outfit later that week, my friend Inez initially thought I was wearing a dress!

I echoed my tan pleated belt, which is Massimo Dutti by way of a charity shop, with my faithful tan mock croc boots and the funky mushroom brooch I found at the flea market the other week.

Although not actually matching any of my outfit's colours, I added a necklace of multi-coloured beads, matching my chunky plastic ring to the turquoise ones.

A morning of productive pottering was followed by our usual weekend lunch of homemade soup, after which we weighed up the pros and cons of going for a walk. However, it was really rather grim out there even in our sheltered passageway so, after making outfit photos we soon scuttled back inside.

Bess had been watching us from the kitchen table and Jos managed to catch her mid-yawn. Or perhaps she was just expressing her sentiment about the weather ...

We were still dithering about whether or not to go for a wee walk, and I'd actually already chucked my walking boots into the boot of the car, when the eye-stinging wind made us reconsider.

There was nothing for it but to go on a wee charity shopping trip instead, our first port of call being the Oxfam shop in Wilrijk. Pickings weren't plentiful as, apart from the books you'll get to see in a moment, I only found a green embroidered short-sleeved jumper.

The blue ribbed waterfall cardigan by Esprit and the denim blue skirt by the Belgian designer Nathalie Vleeschouwer were picked up from our local charity shop where we stopped off on our way home.

I was riffling through a rail of jumpers when my fingers met the sensory delight of the softest of knits which, on closer inspection, turned out to belong a cobalt blue jumper with a ruffled collar. I gasped when I saw the Sonia Rykiel label, shaking my head in disbelief at the fact that its price tag was a mere € 5,90.  Sonia Rykiel (1930-2016) was a French fashion designer whose knitwear designs led her to be dubbed the "Queen of Knits".

Back at Oxfam, I was thrilled to stumble across Affinity by Sarah Waters. I became hooked after finding The Night Watch last year - in the same shop, if I remember correctly - and this will be my fourth novel by her. It is waiting in the wings for when I've finished my current read.

The De Westhoek book dates from 1979 and tells a pictorial story, with atmospheric black and white photos, about Belgium's west country and the area where we've been spending our September holidays for many years in particular.

Poor lighting courtesy of the dismal weather we'd been having of late had prevented me from photographing the rest of the previous weekend's charity shop finds. So here they are. Both the dress and the blouse are by the defunct Belgian Who's That Girl label. For the record: they were picked up in the charity shop in Mechelen on Saturday the 17th. Knowing the label - and its sister Wow To Go - quite well I instantly spotted the blouse although it was hiding on the nightwear rail!

Fast forwarding again to Sunday the 25th. Slightly warmer and with less wind to throw a spanner in the works, it nevertheless was one of those days on which the weather gods seemed to be in disagreement. Angry black rainclouds alternated with patches of blue and sudden and often short-lived sunny spells.

Another Winter favourite - a textured polyester dress with a kind of Moroccan tile print - came out to play. It was joined by a chunky knit orange long-line cardigan, rust-coloured opaques and blue Western style mid-calf boots.

My accessories were a mix of vintage (carved floral brooch), charity shopped (beaded necklace and orange perspex ring) and retail (tan mock croc belt).

The weather forecast insisted it would rain in the afternoon, so we decided upon a quick head-clearing walk in the morning, for which we drove to our neighbouring village, Edegem.

Surprisingly, we hadn't visited Hof ter Linden and its crumbling castle since June, at which time we'd just skirted the domain and walked along the reed-edged moat. In fact, our penultimate close encounter with the poor castle had been well over a year ago!

As we were walking up the the cobbled avenue lined with a double row of age-old lime trees, the sun decided to do one of her disappearing acts, leaving an almost black and white landscape. The only pops of colour were provided by the mosses and a pair of green parakeets cavorting among the tangle of branches (above, bottom left).

Before crossing the moat and entering the courtyard through the ornate wrought iron gates, we were halted in our tracks by the sight of what we supposed was some kind of orangery - well, there was a potted orange tree in there - which we couldn't remember having seen before. So, either our memories failed us completely, or the thing had been half-hidden by exuberant shrubbery before.

After admiring and investigating it from all angles, we stepped through the gates and into the courtyard, which is flanked by beautifully restored coach houses and stables. I guess the one on the east side must have been the stables judging from the name of the fancy restaurant located here.

Contrary to its opposite neighbour, Brasserie Hof ter Linden, it didn't seem to be open on a Sunday, which was confirmed by a quick look at their website. 

The castle itself was beckoning us as usual, but it was with more than just a little trepidation that we walked into its direction. 

Before we could advance any closer, however, a group of scouts cubs arrived and installed themselves into the four columned portico to eat their packed lunches.

We hastily retreated around the back, where we were sad to see that the castle's increasing state of deterioration is still ongoing, and quite heart-breakingly so.

There has been talk of restoring the castle for many years, but so far it hasn't happened. Now it seems that plans are getting concrete and that the much awaited restoration works, which are estimated to cost around five million euros, are expected to start this spring. 

They say hope springs eternal, but I'd have to actually see it to believe it. They'll certainly have their work cut out to restore what I can't help keep thinking of as the Iced Castle to its former glory.

One thing that's been happening is that earlier this year a start has been made with clearing the sludge from the clogged-up castle pond and moat. This did somewhat limit our options, as it ruled out taking  the path around the pond as we often do. 

Instead we walked back the way we'd come, giving the scout cubs who were still enjoying their lunch a wide birth, and having a good old gossip with the resident lions, sphinxes and cherubs instead.