Just walking in the rain

From the title of this post, you will probably surmise that Spring still hadn't arrived in earnest as perhaps foolishly hoped for at the end of my last post. In fact, the Thursday I spent my lunch break basking in glorious sunshine at the Botanic Garden turned out to be a one-off!

On my penultimate Friday at the office - according to the calendar, it was the 15th of March by now - the highs of 14°C came accompanied with the customary solid grey skies. The forecasted rain held off until midday, when it started drizzling as I walked around the corner to Think Twice for that week's cappuccino catch up with Inez. And then there was that heavy shower during my commute home. Ugh! Honestly, I've got a bone to pick with the weather gods!

Saturday was yet another dismal and grey day, on which the temperature dipped to about 11°C.

Both the skirt and the jumper had been waiting in the wings for a while, even though it was never my intention to wear them together. The thin knit green jumper with its diamond patterned yoke was still airing after its outing at the end of December, while I had yet to wear the wool and polyester blend peasant-style skirt I found at Think Twice earlier that month. Turned out that, united by one of my stretchy belts, they were perfectly suited!

My woodpecker brooch was joined by a brown plastic owl ring - not properly visible in the pics - and a funky black, white and brown plastic and wooden necklace purchased brand new from Accessorize many years ago.

While taking outfit photos, I suddenly spied a flash of pink out of the corner of my eye. Upon closer investigation, I was amazed to find that the Geranium macrorrhizum 'Czakor' we planted in the passageway last year was already sporting its first flowers. Very precociously so, as it's only supposed to flower in late Spring and early Summer! Courtesy of "the wall", we must have a very favourable microclimate in our passageway.

The Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea' (above, bottom left) the geranium is sharing a bed with is in its prime, and so is the Spirea bush in our garden proper, which is displaying its annual fireworks of tiny white flowers. It was one of the first plants we added to Dove Cottage's garden in our first Spring after we moved in, now all of 25 years ago.

I spent the morning doing a couple of minor sewing jobs and exchanging my heaviest Winter coats for some lighter ones. I also filled a couple of bags for charity, as I'd been doing a bit of a clear-out in the last couple of weeks. These we'd planned to drop off at the charity shop in Duffel after lunch and then perhaps go for a stroll in the park across the road.

But although a modicum of sunshine had been promised for the afternoon, the weather gods once again didn't deliver. In fact, by the time we'd finished our rummage in Duffel, they'd send some angry looking clouds our way, which made us continue to the charity shop in Mechelen instead.

Here is what I found, which was nothing short of a skirt-fest.

The red patterned skirt is from the defunct Belgian Who's That Girl label while the blue skirt with its crazy green, orange, yellow and white pattern is vintage. The latter was probably a remnant from the infamous Retro Day which took place earlier this month. Both were found on the rails of the shop in Duffel.

My final find in that shop was the chartreuse paperbag waist maxi skirt, which is 100% cotton and by the Belgium CKS label. 

Pickings were meagre at the very busy shop in Mechelen, but I fell head over heels with the handmade cotton 1980s does 1950s circle skirt, which reminded me of a skirt I owned - and loved very much -back in the day.

We woke up to yet another mind-numbing cloudy day on Sunday. Like a yo-yo, the temperature had bounced back to a balmy 14°C so, when the sun put in an appearance after lunch, we decided to go for a walk. After all, our phone's weather app said it wouldn't rain until after 3 pm. 

It was almost a given that it started raining while on our way to Boom park, but we persevered and drove on, hoping it would just be a blip. 

However, it was still raining when we got out of the car, so we grabbed an umbrella, determined to take a brisk turn through the park at the very least. 

Lack of fresh air had left me feeling somewhat zombie-ish, and my head had more than its fair share of cobwebs that needed blowing away.

The magical sight of a veritable carpet of wood anemones instantly snapped me out of my lethargic state of mind. They even made me forget the rain which was still creating patterns of concentric circles in the park's pond. 

They were literally everywhere, those starry harbingers of Springtime! 

Weeping willows were clothed in fresh lemony greens and marsh marigolds were preening themselves in the rippling surface of the big pond. 

There was plenty of wildlife out and about as well. Broody moorhens were awaiting this year's batch of offspring in a twiggy nest floating in the middle of the pond. We even spotted one or two turtles who were reacquainting themselves with their surroundings after their stretch of hibernation.

It eventually stopped raining so that we made our walk last a little longer. We even found the perfect spot for some outfit photos, using the back of a wooden shed as a backdrop. 

I was wearing one of my favourite Diolen frocks. Charity shopped in January 2017, I was instantly smitten with its bottle green colour and its white, beige and yellow geometric pattern. 

The butterscotch cardigan sporting tan buttons was charity shopped as well, while the faux Léa Stein cat brooch was a flea market find. Exceptionally, my outfit contained not one but two items I bought on the high street. Both the tan mock-croc belt and my necklace came from haberdashery and accessories shop Veritas, the necklace snapped up for a mere € 4 in last Summer's sales.

We had circuited the largest pond and were on our way back to the car park when we spotted more wood anemones ... and more wildlife. We'd seen the white cat several times before on our walks here. How lucky it is to have this park on its doorstep!

Upon spotting us, the bushy-tailed red squirrel promptly scuttled away and, quick-as-lightning, started scrambling up the nearest tree. But I was quick-as-lightning too, as I managed to catch it on camera just in the nick of time!

The rain was back before we'd reached our car and our windscreen wipers were working full speed on our way home, but we were so glad we'd made the effort. 

As for those cobwebs, they had well and truly been cleared.

Briefly back to August

I was all ready to make a start with the another installment of my latest travelogue. In fact, I'd already been scrolling through my photos and reliving it all in the process. But then it dawned on me that I still owed you a blog post about the last couple of weeks of August. Now, I could easily have skipped them and you'd have been none the wiser. However, as we'd made the effort of taking outfit photos on several occasions, surely it would be a shame to let these go to waste.

So, I'm inviting you to take a seat in the old time machine again, but make sure to fasten your seatbelts, as it's going to be a slightly bumpy ride to the penultimate weekend of August. 

After Summer briefly went AWOL at the beginning of August, the weather gods seemed to have every intention of making up for their bad behaviour half-way through the month.

In continuation of the string of gorgeous Summer days we'd been blessed with that week, Saturday the 19th of August saw the mercury climb to 26°C. However, it was cloudy and quite stifling until the sun decided to make an appearance mid-afternoon.

What with the clouds and the slight headache I'd woken up with, I needed clothing as armour, as Sheila would say. So, how about a mix of green and red? 

My red and white polka dot top is from River Woods and came to me by way of the charity shops back in May 2022. The skirt with its tiny green and white checks and red dots and the wooden beads were charity shopped as well. While the vintage celluloid Scottie dog brooch was a flea market find, both the belt and my sandals were picked up on the high street.

After breakfast, we drove down to optician's in nearby Mortsel to order an extra pair of reading glasses. This would enable me to leave my old pair at the office so that I would no longer have to stress about accidentally leaving them behind either at home or at the office, both of which would be a bit of a disaster.

Back at home, I made a feeble attempt to catch up with blogland and peruse some of our holiday brochures. But sadly my slight headache had turned into a full-blown migraine which refused to budge.

While I was good for nothing, Jos assembled the reading lamps we'd recently bought from IKEA. Both being bedside readers, we desperately needed to replace the inadequate bedside lamps we'd formerly been using. The new lamps have made all the difference, although they haven't prevented me from falling asleep after half a page as I often do!

By Sunday, both Saturday's clouds and my headache had taken leave of absence. With the temperature heading into the high twenties, it would have been foolish not to go for a stroll. Just a stroll, though, as we were in that quintessential lazy Sunday state of mind.

Solhof Park in the neighbouring village of Aartselaar, which is only a 10-minute drive from Dove Cottage, sounded just the ticket. Formerly the pleasure grounds of an old castle whose history goes back to the 15th century, it is deliciously wild and unkempt, with monumental 100 to 150 year old trees, their towering trunks rising skyward, Jack-and-the-beanstalk fashion.

We aimlessly wandered until we found a bench near the moat to sit and stare from. 

The local population of ducks seemed to be somewhat disappointed when it turned out we hadn't brought any tasty bites to feed them.

My lazy Sunday outfit consisted of a button-through chambray skirt, an old Think Twice find customized by yours truly with vintage buttons from my stash, combined with an orange cotton blouse printed with birds and flowers, which was charity shopped two Summers ago.

One of my chevron patterned stretchy belts, a green beaded necklace and ditto butterfly brooch and my super comfy Clarks sandals completed my outfit. 

I was recently asked by Vronni about my walking stick, which I'm in the habit of carrying. I have been using one for years and find it really helpful for climbing hills, dealing with rough terrain and negotiating muddy patches. It also takes the strain off my back and knees. In short, I couldn't imagine going for walks without it and miss it whenever I do.

Another thing I should get into the habit of is applying insect repellent whenever I go out walking in bare arms and legs. I was reminded of this when, near the end of our walk, I was bitten in the arm by a horsefly. Just a tiny mosquito bite-like patch initially, it had swollen to massive proportions by Monday morning and I had been lying awake for half the night as it was itching like crazy. It took countless applications of hydrocortisone cream and, as recommended by the chemist, an antihistamine tablet taken overnight, to finally bring the swelling down after a couple of days. The tablet, however, had the unfortunate side-effect of making me feel groggy for the better part of the next day. Not the best start to the week ...

But then August's final weekend appeared on the horizon, starting with my regular Friday off.

Never mind that, after a week of sunshine, we were now treated to a dark, dismal and rainy day which was quite incongruous with the mild 23°C temperature.

The lime green midi skirt with its stylish black and white flowers was charity shopped last November. It had been hanging outside my wardrobe for weeks, as I desperately wanted to wear it but couldn't think of a top that would work with it. That is, until I was rummaging through my short-sleeved knits and my eye was caught by this King Louie one. The yellow in its tropical leaf pattern turned out to match the skirt almost exactly.

Apart from the black stretchy belt everything I was wearing was either a charity shop or a flea market find. And yes, that includes the King Louie top and the shoes!

Having received a text from the optician's that they were ready, we picked up my new pair of reading glasses. Aren't they gorgeous? They're from the French Anne et Valentin brand and were the first frames I'd tried on the week before. Both Jos and I instantly fell for their two-tone pinks. Three-tone, actually, as the inside of the frames are the palest of pinks. Now I can finally read in style!

Unfortunately, there was little improvement in the weather as the weekend progressed. Yet more rain and a drop in temperature to 20°C was our lot on Saturday the 26th of August. 

The view through our rain-splattered kitchen window wasn't exactly inviting us to go outside but the  plants in the passageway definitely wouldn't need watering that day. 

I spent the morning doing some gentle pottering and packing away a few essentials for our upcoming September holiday. 

Then, after lunch, we answered the siren call of the charity shops, as it had been far too long since we'd gone for a proper rummage.

But first, let me take you through my outfit of the day. 

I'd unearthed one of my Diolen Delights from my wardrobe that morning. If my memory serves me right this flower infused button-through frock was purchased from a shop called Vintage Styling, which sadly stopped trading in the early days of my blog.

I picked up the navy bits in its pattern with my belt, necklace and ring but opted for a pair of red shoes from the Portuguese Kiarflex brand. 

The blue jacket with its orange leaf pattern is from Belgian high street label Liberty Island. By way of a charity shop, obviously.

After stopping at the museum garden down our street for outfit photos, we picked up our car and made our way to the charity shop in Mortsel. This was the very first charity shop we ever ventured into many, many years ago, and it's still a firm favourite.

The clothing rails are always plentiful here, and leaving this shop empty-handed is a rare occurrence.

This lightweight, almost-see through Summer skirt's peacock pattern was simply too good to resist!

I didn't have a King Louie heart-patterned cardigan in this particular shade of green yet, so adding it to my basket was a no-brainer. I must have at least ten of these cardigans, all in different colours, by now, all of them charity shopped at a mere fraction of their original retail price.

The navy, white and pink chevron jumper on the right is by the Danish Only label and will effortlessly slot into my Autumn/Winter wardrobe. I've already got a couple of outfits in mind!

I used to own and love this dress by the Belgian Wow To Go label well over ten years ago. In fact, I was heart-broken when - thank you menopause! - its size S no longer fit me. So, I couldn't be happier when this one, in a size M, leapt at me from the charity shop rails.

Finally, while on our way to the till, a cursory glance at the otherwise very bland jewellery display yielded this vintage gold-tone brooch with its multicoloured faux gemstones.

All in all, not a bad haul!

So, that was it, the month of August all wrapped up.

I'll be back with the final episode of my heatwave holiday travelogue shortly. See you soon!

Sights for sore eyes

At the time of writing, my eyes and glasses seem to have come to some sort of agreement, which means I'm no longer suffering from daily headaches and sore eyes. 

However, it was a totally different story on my first days wearing them at the office after the Easter break. Although I did  make the effort to take regular breaks and look into the distance to avoid digital eye strain - the ideal is 20 seconds every 20 minutes - my eyes were taking a long time to refocus whenever I was taking time off from the screen.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday saw me reach for paracetamol on more than one occasion while eye drops were administered aplenty. I was so tired in the evenings that I fell asleep on the sofa, which is virtually unheard of for me. But I did manage to go outside into the garden and see - although with slightly blurred vision - that all was thriving. As always the honesty flowers popping up one by one, a sea of bluebells in the making, and the first of the dusky cranesbill (Geranium phaeum) blooms were a sight for sore eyes!

Then Thursday the 13th of April dawned and much to my surprise my eyes were behaving more or less normally. I was gazing out of the office window at the cityscape at my feet when I suddenly noticed the steep gable roof with its rows of dormer windows belonging the 500-year old Gothic Vleeshuis (Butchers' Hall) peeking out above the roofs to the right of the cathedral. It truly beggars belief that I'd never noticed this before in all the 28 years I've been working here! 

Apologies for the crap photo, but I only had my phone at my disposal.

It was a sunny day, with highs of 13°C, and a blustery wind propelling along an armada of clouds. After a string of rainy days which had kept me inside for most of the time, this was the perfect opportunity to go for a bracing walk and give my eyes a well-deserved rest. So, why not walk to the aforementioned Butchers' hall? 

 

My route first took me to the Grote Markt, Antwerp's market square, which is lined with lavishly decorated Guild houses. Admittedly, they are not as old as they look. The original houses being destroyed by fire in 1576, they were rebuilt in Flemish Renaissance style, and revamped again in the 19th century. 

The bronze statue in front of the newly renovated 16th century town hall is the famous Brabo, caught in the act of throwing away a severed hand. According to legend, Brabo rid the city of the evil giant Antigoon, who demanded tolls from people wanting to cross the river, cutting off the hands of those who refused to pay. After slaying the giant, Brabo gave him a taste of his own medicine by severing his hand and throwing it into the river Scheldt. According to popular belief, this is where the city's name is derived from, handwerpen being Flemish for hand throwing.

At the other side of the square,  Antwerp's Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady) is proudly showing off the elegance of its tower, finally rid of its disfiguring scaffolding behind which it was hidden for many a year.

I wasn't too pleased to see the dark clouds behind it, but courtesy of the stormy wind they didn't linger, taking their liquid content elsewhere. Phew!

I left the Grote Markt by taking the street at the right of the town hall and continued walking into the direction of the Butchers' Hall. This part of Antwerp used to be the site of a colourful harbour district. Completely demolished in the 1960s and 1970s, it was replaced by a soulless and much scorned social housing development (below, top left).

Finally arriving at the Butchers’ Hall, I was dismayed to find that construction work was going on in front of it, my view marred by a flock of fluorescent orange-jacketed workmen and their machinery. I only managed to photograph around them by pointing my camera upwards.

A Butchers' Hall was built here as early as 1250, functioning as a meat market where butchers could sell their merchandise. The beginning of the 16th century marked the start of Antwerp’s Golden Age and when the existing hall could no longer cope with the needs of a growing population, a new one was decided upon. Built between 1501 and 1504 in the same spot, it was twice the size of the original hall, its façade made of alternating layers of red brick and white sandstone, locally known as bacon layers.

After the Butchers’ Hall lost its primarily function in 1810 when the French occupying forces abolished the Guilds, the building was used as a storage depot and a theatre. Eventually, in 1899, the city acquired the hall and opened it as a museum in 1919, displaying a miscellaneous collection of historic objects, including pottery, drawings, lace, weapons and jewellery. In the 1970s, musical instruments became a prominent part of the collection, at which time I remember visiting it with my Dad. After another round of renovations, it was finally reopened in 2006 as Sounds of the City, a museum which tells the story of 600 years of music in the city of Antwerp. I haven't been to see it yet, but Kezzie has, on my recommendation, when she visited Antwerp back in February 2022.

Walking away from the Butchers' Hall and into the direction of the quayside, I came across a remnant of the early 13th century town walls, living cheek by jowl with early 20th century and 21st century architecture.

At the quayside, I came face to face with Het Steen. Literally meaning "the stone", it was given its name as it was the city's first large building constructed in stone. What remains today is only a fraction of the once mighty castle. The building used to be the centre of the city's oldest neighbourhood, with narrow streets, gates, towers and a fish market. The castle was altered several times during its history, and it is actually quite easy to see which part of the castle is still original, as the 13th century masonry is much darker than the later additions.

In fact, its latest addition is brand new, built between 2018 and 2021. Once again considered a monstrosity by the citizens of Antwerp, you can see part of it at the left of the old castle in the photo on the top right. You can find a much better photo here, on the Visit Antwerpen website. Opened in 2021, it contains a Visitor Centre, a cruise terminal, The Antwerp Story discovery trail and a panoramic roof terrace. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, I didn't realize the latter was freely accessible, so I'll have to return for the view!

Near the entrance of the castle stands one of Antwerp's most famous statues. Dating from 1963, it depicts the legendary figure of Lange Wapper who, according to Antwerp folklore, could grow to the size of a giant and terrorized the city in the 16th century.

Above the gateway leading into Het Steen is a heavily worn bas-relief sculpture known as Semini which is said to date from as far back as the 2nd century. Like its female counterpart, the Sheela-na-gig, it is considered to be a fertility symbol. In the 16th century, the local clergy came to find the well-endowed figure inappropriate and had a certain body part removed in 1587. 

On the occasion of the reopening of Het Steen, the city commissioned Antwerp artist Sharon Van Overmeiren to create a new artwork inspired by the Semini. Made from wrought iron, bronze and clay, the contemporary sculpture entitled "De Gulle Waard/The Generous Gatekeeper" is taking pride of place in the castle's courtyard.

All too soon it was time to return to the office. But not before walking past the Water Bus terminal towards the promenade on the banks of the River Scheldt and the giant Ferris wheel called The View.

I'm sure this will offer an even more magnificent panorama of the city, its port and its river. If one doesn't suffer from vertigo, that is!

There wasn't any time for a proper stroll along the windswept promenade - so windswept, in fact, that I had difficulty holding on to my beret - but I promise I will return for more Antwerp views one day soon.

And then we were Friday! No day off for me, though, as my colleague is still on sick leave, but I did manage to take the afternoon off. 

In order to avoid traffic, I'd agreed with Jos that I would take the tram into Mortsel like I did in the olden days, and he would pick me up there. It was my first tram ride in three years, and it felt strange and curiously familiar at the same time.

As my eyes were once again behaving badly, I declined Jos's proposal to go charity shopping and went straight home instead.

After a frosty start, the day brought a continuation of Thursday's sunny weather, with highs of 14°C.

I was quite surprised to find that this plaid patterned Diolen dress hadn't received its seasonal outing yet. Apart from it cheery green, red, navy and white colours, it's got a dagger collar, shiny square black buttons framed in white metal and turned-up cuffs, closing with two buttons. Here are some details, if you're interested.

As usual, I added lots of red (belt, ring, necklace and cardigan), but this time I opted for sage green opaques and my beloved green ankle boots. To my - charity shopped - King Louie cardigan I pinned the green bird brooch I found at the indoor flea market's last edition.

After a slow start on Saturday, the sun came out to play, warming up to 15°C. However, the wind once again played spoilsport, making it feel rather unpleasant in the shade.

After lunch, we drove over to the garden centre and made use of their offer on perennials, choosing some shade loving ones for our passageway project. 

We ended the afternoon sitting outside in the sunshine in Jos's son and daughter in law's garden, watching grandson Cas play with the remote control tractor we gave him as a present.

I'll leave you now with the day's outfit. It was warm enough to the wear the moss green H&M cord jacket I picked up from our local flea market in July 2019. The spotty red blouse was charity shopped between Lockdowns in 2020, and I combined it with the recently found Terra di Siena Paisley patterned maxi skirt.

Accessories consisted of one of my stretchy belts, my green birds in flight brooch bought in Cardigan, and a charity shopped necklace which always reminds me of a set of wooden mosaic tiles I played with as a child. On my feet, the comfy faux-lace-up No Stress boots which came home with me from a charity shop last December.

See you next time!

Caught on camera

'Twas October's final Sunday. The weather gods were still on their best behaviour and treated us to another day of sunshine and unseasonable temperatures.

After a morning of faffing and pottering - my memory fails me here on what I did exactly - we cast around for walking destinations which, as we were in one of those archetypal lazy Sunday moods, wouldn't be too far from home nor too strenuous. In the end, we declared that a walk in Den Brandt, one of Antwerp's loveliest parks, would be just the ticket.

The temperatures might have been leaning more towards Summer than Autumn, but there was no denying that it was the end of October, soon to be November, with all the sensory signs of nature winding down present and correct.

In fact, the juxtaposition of the seasons felt slightly unreal as if we were living on borrowed time, which undoubtedly we were, with dull and dark November waiting in the wings.

Short-sleeved it may have been, but my dress definitely belonged to Autumn, with its glorious mix of seasonal colours including the quintessential Hallowe'en pumpkin orange. It's one of my favourite Diolen Delights and I usually keep it out to wear in Autumn if the weather allows.

In spite of the mildness of the day, I was wearing layers, starting with a green cardigan and followed by a fiery orange velvet jacket. The ochre yellows in my dress's print were picked up with my belt and necklace and if you squint you might make out the purple glass ring I wore.

As usual, we entered the park through the adjacent picking garden. Here apples, pears, cherries and plums can be harvested in season, and there's a range of soft fruits and a selection of herbs to take your pick from from as well. At this time of year, though, only half-empty beds of straggling herbs were on offer. 

I always make a beeline for the Gautam Buddha - a gift from the Ambassador of Nepal back in 2004 - who is keeping watch from the garden's far end, eager to see the offerings he has received. Finding his lap empty, I picked him a posy of wildflowers which I tied with a long blade of grass. Jos's contribution were two feathers he found in the dewy grass.

Behind the hedge which backs the Buddha is an intriguing turreted house called Villa La Chapelle. Now a conference centre, the house was originally built in neo-Gothic style between 1880 and 1885 as the gardener's residence of Castle Den Brandt, commissioned by the then lord of the castle, Emile Augustin Joseph della Faille de Waerloos (1835-1890). 

Normally a locked gate keeps one from entering the secluded garden belonging to the villa. For some reason, however, the gate was now standing invitingly open and beyond it an arrow pointed into the direction of the path leading around to the villa's back. An equally inquisitive couple was just rounding the corner when we tentatively stepped through the gate, so we confidently followed suit.

We would eventually have to turn back as there was a fence preventing us from accessing the park this way, but not before exploring the villa's small and slightly overgrown garden.

Half-hidden among the thicket of shrubs was this statue of a lady leaning pensively on a gate post, a shawl draped nonchalantly over her shoulders. She was rather sad-looking, I thought, perhaps hankering for the halcyon days of her prime. Who was she, and what was her name, I wondered. As her stony gaze gave nothing away, I named her Flora.

With one backward glance, we bade goodbye to Flora, whom we'll probably never meet again. I'm fairly certain that wide open gate was a case of negligence rather than intention.

Back in the picking garden, we climbed the steps leading into the park itself. We proceeded to walk along an avenue of majestic trees, at that particular moment in time still largely in leaf, with the faintest hint of amber dotted among their branches. 

The hapless victims of storms and high winds were lining the edge of the path, while fungi reared their heads from their beds of leaves.

The park as we now know it was first opened in 1911. It used to be the pleasure grounds of a romantic castle, originally built in 1790, but renovated in the 1870s in late classical style.

For its opening in 1911, the city had a reproduction of Michelangelo's David installed in the grounds, which they purchased at the 1910 World Fair in Brussels.  Like the famous original in Firenze, the statue is over 5 meters high. Unlike the original, however, you can admire this one, popularly known as den bloten David (colloquial for naked David) for free and without joining endless queues. 

There is also a small English cottage in the grounds, which is purely ornamental, placed in the garden as a romantic element.

Picturesque though it is, it is standing there quite forlornly in its miniature cottage garden. In fact, I think it looked just a little bit spooky, particularly on this day before Hallowe'en. I might not celebrate the latter, but I'm not averse to some tasteful seasonal spookiness.

The week which followed was a bit weird and chaotic, what with the impending office move keeping my colleague and me occupied.

On top of that, I had some catching up to do on Monday after my three-day weekend, so that by the end of the day I was more than ready for another day off. Wasn't it just fortunate that Tuesday the 1st of November was All Saints Day, which is a public holiday in Belgium!

It was mostly sunny and a more than reasonable 17°C, but a gale force wind made it feel quite unpleasant outside.  I continued with the seemingly never-ending wardrobe changeover, putting aside two bags of stuff to sort through and decide whether to donate or sell at next year's flea market.

Then, in the afternoon, we got a visit from my brother, whom I hadn't seen or heard of for well over a year. Apparently, he'd been spending time abroad, which neither me nor my sister were aware of. A close family we certainly aren't. Anyway, by the time he left, it was alas too dark for outfit photos. 

Work kept being crazy fort the rest of the week, although on Wednesday I took some time out for a visit to my hairdresser.

On Thursday, we had some outside help packing up most of the office, so that we would be obliged to spend the days counting down to the actual move surrounded by walls of boxes.

We were also given the key of the new temporary office, which is only next door to ours, its windows offering a slightly different aspect from the one I have been used to for 27 years. I snapped this moody photo of the view towards Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare with my phone on Friday morning.

Yes, I did work on Friday again! Only a half-day, though. It was a gloomy day with a couple of showers and a drop in temperature to 13°C. Still in double figures, so I guess we couldn't complain, particularly as it had cleared up somewhat by the time Jos picked me up.

We stopped off at our local charity shop for a rummage, but let's have a look at my outfit first.

The skirt, which I bought at 70% off in the January sales, is made from a very strokable faux suede fabric and is equipped with two generous patch pockets.

Its companion for the day was this aubergine blouse liberally sprinkled with multi-coloured dots, which was a Think Twice find many moons ago. 

Both my purple belt and orange beaded necklace were charity shop finds, while the Lea Stein lookalike cat brooch with its orange eyes and ears was a gift from my lovely friend Kezzie.

Now, what did I find? 

First up is a pair of hardly worn tan leather Italian made loafers. I also found this modern tartan patterned dress, which started life at C&A.

But it was Jos who claimed the star find this time!

Another remnant from the infamous Day of the Charity Shops, the price tag on this wooden stereo camera dating from the late 1800s, early 1900s, was a bit higher than what we are used to pay, but still a fraction of what it would have cost it in an antiques shop.

Its leather-clad case had a tag mentioning "Louis Van Neck - Constructeur breveté - Klapdorp - Anvers". Some Googling brought me to the Directory of Belgian Photographers compiled by FOMU, the Museum of Photography in Antwerp. 

Apparently, Louis Van Neck (1853 - 1917) was a pharmacist who sold photographic chemicals and supplies at his premises in a street called Klapdorp in Antwerp from 1884 until 1908. He is considered one of the finest and most inventive Belgian camera manufacturers of the 19th century. 

In 1893, he patented "a new, simple stereoscopic camera, the ‘Royal Excellentis L. V. N."

Our new treasure is a dry plate camera, dry plates being pieces of glass plate coated with a gelatin emulsion which when exposed to light will capture an image. They were invented by Dr. Richard L. Maddox in 1871

Included in the camera's bag were three sets of wooden dry plate holders, which offer space for two dry plates, one at each side. These holders would be inserted at the back of the camera. After exposure of the plates, a clever mechanism allowed the holders to seal them off from light.

We are still thinking how to properly exhibit this jewel in the crown of our antique camera collection, but in the meantime Jos ans his assistant have already given it the necessary TLC.