A glimpse of Spring

In the past week, we've been to Bruges and back. The weather gods have been reasonably well behaved, all things considered - although it seems they still didn't get the Spring menu - and my camera has been working overtime. 

As I'm due back at the office tomorrow, it'll be a while until I've uploaded all my photos and written the first installment of our travel adventures. So, here's one I prepared earlier, so to speak, catching up with what has been happening in my life in the week or so preceding our little getaway!

The weather forecast for Saturday the 6th of April spoke of temperatures reaching the low twenties, which had us shaking our heads in disbelief. But lo and behold, they got it right for once, so out came my first short-sleeved frock of the season.

I picked up this blue retro-style Who's That Girl dress with its green flower print and front zip in a charity shop back in November. Bare legs would have been more appropriate on a day like this, but as we'd planned a walk in the wilderness, I didn't want to tempt fate and have the local population of insects feast on them. So, I wore a pair of green opaques, matching both the flowers in my dress and the camisole I was wearing underneath. 

Not matching anything in particular but chosen as they caught my eye that day were a Bohemian beaded brooch, a chunky multi-coloured necklace and an orange plastic ring, all picked up at either flea markets or charity shops. 

My sage green crepe soled Mephisto ankle boots were charity shopped too and are just the perfect footwear for muddy Spring walks.

And muddy it was! Following a brainstorming session during lunch that day, we decided to risk it and drive down to Jos's old neck of the woods: the ex-clay pit based nature reserve in Terhagen.

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while might remember that the mud here isn't exactly of the ordinary, run of the mill kind, but rather of the stick-to-your boots and try-to-suck-you-in variety. 

What's more, months of rain had made some of the areas quite unsurpassable. 

One of the makeshift little bridges, for instance, had been swallowed by the swollen brook it ineffectually tried to cross (above, bottom right). To give you an idea, this is what it looked like in May of last year.

Instead of a brilliant blue, though, the sky was almost colourless, veiled with a haze which unfortunately obscured the sun for the better part of the day. 

In fact, although the temperature had dropped to 19°C and it was a bit windy, Sunday was a much better day, the sky a clear blue canvas for the sun to play with.

No walking for us that day, however, at least not in the great outdoors. Instead, we would be trawling the aisles of this month's edition of the indoor flea market!

Obviously, I couldn't let the side down and needed to dress to impress my flea market fans.

My green and white plaid skirt, its fabric a polyester jersey knit, was an old Think Twice find, while the floral extravaganza of a blouse was picked up in a charity shop in March 2019.

My deer brooch - if you can spot it among the flowers - as well as the jauntily knotted scarf came from a long-gone vintage shop, while the mottled green beaded necklace was once again supplied by the charity shops. 

At my waist, I was wearing one of the stretchy belts I picked up at a bargain shop two days earlier. 

My feet were happy all day in the pale pink suede ankle boots, which I snaffled in the closing-down sale of the Belgian branch of New Look in 2019.

But what about the hat, I can hear you thinking. Well, it was that day's final flea market find!

Most of the hats I come across are far too large for my tiny head, so it was nothing short of a miracle that this one was a perfect fit. Here's a closer look at fabric flowers which trail all around its navy band.

On its left is the day's first find: a yellow pleated fabric belt, which cost me all of € 2.

Obviously, I also added to my burgeoning brooch collection.

The large jewelled lizard, the yellow resin umbrella and the climbing frog with its jewelled limbs are my favourites, and yes, that is a Christmas tree on the top right. It's so exquisitely made that - admittedly after a moment's hesitation - I decided it needed to come home with me!

There is, by the way, no need to curb my enthusiasm when it comes to buying brooches. I've been given no less than 8 more of those shallow wooden drawers by Jos's friend, and he's told us that he's got plenty more if need be as he is rearranging his collection of coins whose homes they used to be.

My final find of the day was this vintage 1940s/1950s hair clip display card, complete with its pairs of blue, pink and faux-tortoiseshell celluloid hair clips.

The weather in April's second week was yet another mixed bag, sunny and warm(ish) one day and dull, grey and stormy with a significant drop in temperature the next.

There's nothing of note to tell you about it, just your usual humdrum office week punctuated by the usual cappuccino catch-up with Inez, and a lunch break appointment at my hairdresser's.

Oh, and we were looking after our opposite neighbours' cats, Bobby and Billie, while they were on a city trip. They would return the favour and look after Bess while we were in Bruges!

Friday rolled along in no time, and what's more, the sun had decided to join us again. The day's highs of a mild 20°C were a bit of a wrench though, as the forecast for the week ahead - and thus for our Bruges break - was nothing short of horrific ...  

For a day of pottering and running a couple of errands, I wore a red floral Diolen skirt from Think Twice, combined with a navy blue Western style blouse by Who's That Girl, which was part of a haul from an outlet shop. To the latter, I pinned the bee brooch I found at the flea market on Sunday.

The stretchy belt with its multi-coloured round plastic buckle was an old high street find and - if I remember correctly - I picked up the necklace in a charity shop.

 

In spite, or perhaps because of our neglect, the garden isn't doing too bad, really. At this time of year, there's a sea of bluebells, and it is simply inundated with self-seeded honesty.

Two more varieties of the cheerful daffodil have joined the tête-à-têtes in their cones and pots: on the top left, Golden Carpet, and on the bottom right, the deliciously scented Bridal Crown. 

The sun remained with us on Saturday - we were the 13th of April by now - and at a delicious 24°C it was a glorious Spring day.

For our walk in Duffel park, I donned the vintage short-sleeved millefiori dress I plucked from our local charity shop's rails in February. The pale green diamond patterned cardigan by Zoë Loveborn was charity shopped around the same time. It was the very first outing for both items.

Another recent find was the Italian made tan leather shoulder bag, which has already been admired by many. The black stretchy belt was part of the previous week's bargain shop haul.

Although we'd only been here on Easter Sunday, it was well over a year since we laid eyes on Ter Elst castle, which lies at the park's far end amid a little park of its own.

The origins of the castle date back to the Middle Ages. In the 15th century, it regularly welcomed notable guests, such as Margaret of York and Philip the Fair.  From the 17th century onwards, it was used as a vicarage. In 1799, the castle was seized by the French occupiers and sold. Over seventy years later, the estate was given an industrial purpose: a brickworks operated here until World War I.  After it was heavily damaged 1914, the castle fell further and further into ruin.

The municipality of Duffel bought the castle domain from its private owner in 1972 and, after some well-needed restorations, the castle ruins and park were opened to the public in 1982.

However, it has been many a year since the public was allowed to cross the bridge over the moat and wander among the ruins, as due to stability problems they are once again in need of restoration. 

With the walls ready to crumble and the towers leaning ever more precariously, we were relieved to see that scaffolding had been erected on the inside a couple of years ago and that a start had been made to stabilize the building.

But although there has been talk of ambitious plans, which will include reconnecting the walls and adding a glass roof to the Great Hall, while in the courtyard the contours of the vanished castle will be made visible with variations in the floor pattern, it still looked suspiciously the same as it did on our last visit, in February 2023.

I'm leaving you now with this vision of Springtime, a clump of cheerful red and yellow tulips among the lush green vegetation of the park.

At barely 8°C, we would have needed our Winter coats, scarves, hats and perhaps even a pair of gloves to walk here today.

Hello Spring, where are you?