Hop fields and artworks

Oh my, how time flies! When I last posted, I'd just finished packing our bags for our week away, and here I am two weeks later, our holiday having whizzed by in the blink of an eye. 

I've been back on the hamster wheel since Tuesday,with the inevitable chaos I returned to at work having already sapped a large portion of the energy I'd gathered while we were away. Now, I'm finally sitting down and making a start with my travelogue, hoping to revive some of it while I'm reliving it all, one perfect day at a time. And perfect it definitely was, even if the weather gods did their best to throw one or two spanners in the works. 

My holiday wardrobe was built around a handful of maxi skirts, which I wore on ration, and a selection of short-sleeved tops and long-sleeved blouses to meet with all kinds weather, plus a cardigan or two for layering. 

The sturdy denim skirt I travelled in, which has two generous slits at the sides, was a second-hand find from the Shropshire Cat Rescue charity shop in Shrewsbury in June 2022. The  yellow patterned Wow To Go blouse was a local charity shop find in February 2024. 

After a reasonably straightforward drive of just under two hours, we arrived in Poperinge mid-afternoon on Saturday the 30th of August. We'd stopped at the local supermarket to buy the ingredients for our evening meal and breakfast before making our way to our long-time happy place, Marjolein Guesthouse. 

No matter how many times we've been here, our hearts are always making leaps of joy when we open the cottage's French windows to step onto the balcony with its enchanting view across the domain and the patchwork fields of the landscape beyond. It was looking particularly painterly with a congregation of white clouds scudding across a blue sky.

It's easy to ignore the often busy road at the front, leading to border town Watou, at this time of year mostly frequented by agricultural traffic bringing in the harvest. As usual, hop picking hadn't yet started in the fields across the road, but as we have learned that hops are a crop which is regular as clockwork, we knew it would only be a matter of days before we'd spot the familiar red hop picking machine.

Marjolein Guesthouse might have made its first appearance here on the blog in September 2016, our initial visit was four years prior, in 2012. As our first journey here was nothing if not traumatic, it is testimony to the charm of the cottage and the area in general that we kept returning again and again and that we were now here for the 15th time.

Ready for a trip down memory lane?

Down memory lane ...

Setting the time machine's control for 2012, we won't forget our very first trip to Poperinge in a hurry.

Here we were trundling along the motorway when, just after passing the city of Ghent, our car - a pea green Renault Twingo - gave up on us. Thankfully, Jos had the presence of mind to steer her towards the hard shoulder. As we have breakdown insurance, we made a phone-call and soon one of their mechanics pulled up in front of us. I remained in the car, and in my mind's eye I can still see him opening the bonnet, taking one look and slowly shaking his head. The verdict, which sealed our car's lot, was that the timing belt had broken.

The upside was that the insurance covered a replacement car for five days, which was exactly the length of our holiday. Still, it was hours later than planned and with shattered nerves that we drove through the cottage's gates for the very first time!

Now, let's return to the here and now, or rather, to Sunday the 31st of August.

Drawing our curtains, we were delighted to see the landscape beyond our window bathed in golden early morning sunshine. Sadly, our luck wouldn't last, as an army of angry-looking clouds was doing away with the last traces of blue while we were having breakfast. Sure enough, it didn't take long for them to release their liquid load.

We had plans for the afternoon, but nothing was set in stone for the morning, so we decided to stay put until the rain clouds had departed elsewhere. According to the weather app on Jos's phone, their departure would be imminent ... 

When, finally, by late morning, the rain had been reduced to a light drizzle, we grabbed our coats and umbrellas and drove to Poperinge - our cottage is on the outskirts of the town - for our usual exploratory stroll.

Having parked our car around the corner, we made our way to the Grote Markt (market square). Before we reached our destination, however, it started raining more heavily again, which made us duck into a doorway at the side of the town hall. Here, the prison cells - dating from 1913 - and execution pole in the courtyard beyond can be visited. During World War I, many Belgian, British and French soldiers spent one or more nights here. They were mostly sentenced for drunkenness or for staying away from their quarters. 

For some soldiers, however, this was death row. It was where they spend their last hours, waiting to be executed. At least four soldiers were executed here and in one of the cells there's a very haunting cinematic impression of a soldier waiting to be shot at dawn.

The rain seemed to have taken a brief respite while we'd been inside, so we continued to the Grote Markt which turned out to be partially cordoned off due to a festival which had taken place on Friday and Saturday. 

Most of the cafés lining the square seemed to be closed as well, and as we weren't prepared to join the posse of cyclists which had descended on the terrace of the only one which was in business, we decided to forego refuelling with our usual cups of cappuccino.

We walked as far as Talbot House to photograph its façade and front door (above, top right) for Jos's daughter An who is about to check in there as we speak. By now, the rain clouds were back from their break with a vengeance ...  

Returning to our car, we were thankful we'd brought our umbrellas. Nevertheless, I might have been tempted by one of those see-through ones if the shop in question hadn't been closed on a Sunday.

Back at the cottage, we had sandwiches washed down with glasses of non-alcoholic beer while watching the comings and goings of the waterfowl on the pond. 

The rain clouds having finally tired themselves out, a blue sky reigned once more, even if the mercury wouldn't climb beyond 20°C that day. 

Then, after a little siesta, we were ready for our afternoon activity. Just a 5-minute drive up the road from Marjolein, we first visited Museumhuis Lucien De Gheus  on the last day of last year's holiday.

We'd vowed to return this year, and as it is only open on weekend afternoons in the Summer months, this lazy Sunday afternoon, with all of our holiday still in front of us, sounded like the perfect opportunity.

The museum is located in the house of local sculptor and ceramist Lucien De Gheus (1927-2013), who was successful in the post-war fifties and sixties, his main oeuvre consisting of sculpture, ceramic objects and bas-reliefs. 

By will Lucien De Gheus left his house and possessions to the foundation Private Stichting Lucien De Gheus – Druant, in order to open up his artistic legacy to the public. He also stipulated that the foundation promoted contemporary art by organizing Summer exhibitions.

This year's exhibition was called Keikoppen, which translates as cobble heads, the nickname of the inhabitants of Poperinge, and a symbol of stubbornness and resilience.

The work of the 30 contemporary artists which comprises this year's exhibition is dotted all over the house and garden, cheek to jowl with Lucien's prolific output.

Above, top left: 2023 IV, 2023 by Leyla Aydoslu

Above, top bottom right: Brick Cast Planter, 2024 by Bram Vanderbeke

Above, bottom left: Twigs, 2025, made in situ by the artist Filip Dujardin

There's a large studio in the garden which showcases some of Lucien's work, a sample of all the artistic disciplines he excelled in : stained glass, paintings, glazed tiles, ceramics and furniture to name but a few.

There were some textiles on show among the artist's tools in the picturesque little shed.

The house, which was designed and built by the artist himself, was meant to be a sculptor’s home right from the start, with a large and high hall/exposition area, a heatable winter studio and a summer studio with high windows to the north to let in neutral light.  

The artwork on the work bench is by Edith Dekyndt, who created it especially for this exhibition, using one of the leftover pieces of wood stacked in Lucien's atelier and adding a digitally created mask, blurring nature and technology in the process.

The artwork I'm studying (above, top right) is called Courtyard Tales III (2017-2018) and is by Berlinde De Bruyckere. If her name sounds familiar, it is she of the giant maces in Middelheim sculpture park.

The felt and plaster hand is by Helena Cnockaert and the drawings on the bottom left are by Ante Timmermans.

Before venturing into the artist's eclectic home itself, we made use of the honesty bar and rested our feet at one of the little tables dotted around the garden. The non-alcoholic lager available was called Cristal and sadly it doesn't come recommended as it was utterly tasteless. Still refreshing, though, but we could have had water instead ...

We absolutely love the juxtaposition of the various works of art with the paraphernalia of daily life as lived by Lucien and his wife Suzanne, who moved into the house in August 1962 and stayed there until their deaths, in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

On the top right is another artwork belonging to the exhibtion. The rust steel structure is called Fireworks model 48 and is by Muller Van Severen, a Belgian duo creating sculpturally interesting furniture objects.

The tiny sculptures on the shelves in the centre of the collage are prototypes for the sculpture of Master Ghybe - a folkloristic figure dating back to the Middle Ages - which has been taking pride of place on Poperinge's Grote Markt since 2005.

Returning to our temporary home, we made a little detour to Nine Elms British Cemetery, one of the plethora of Commonwealth War Graves around here, which unfortunately was closed off due to restoration. That'll be for next year then!

Before calling it a day - and refuelling our energies for Monday's activities - let me show you what I was wearing. 

Embroidered linen maxi skirt: Zara Summer sales 2022

King Louie short-sleeved floral jumper, waterfall cardigan and wooden necklace: charity shopped

Belt: Think Twice

Golden ballerinas: gift from a friend

See you soon!