Tag: Things of beauty

Art, music, whatever

Sunday In Belgium

Beauty

Ahhh, Belgium:  a flat little country sandwiched between Holland and France, and used as a military highway by the Germans twice during the 20th century.

But it’s beautiful, especially in the south where the Ardennes Forest covers the hills and valleys.

Oh yeah, and there’s Spa:

Also Bruges:

…and Brussels:

And while we’re on that topic:

   

And they just loves their football, oh yes they do:

For tennis, there’s former world #1 tennis totty Kim Clijsters:

…who quit tennis to have a baby, then came back three years later as a plump matron, and won the U.S. Open.  Twice.

And back when there were still F1 grid girls (grrrr don’t get me started):

Speaking of delicious things to eat, there’s the peerless Belgian chocolate:

…then, and still, the finest chocolate in the world.  In Belgium, it’s regarded as an art form, and supermarkets devote whole aisles to the lovely stuff.

And then there’s this stuff:

…but I have to say that while others swear by Belgian ales, I don’t care much for them.  Maybe I just didn’t spend long enough in Belgium  [makes note]  or maybe I should just have read something like this.

But I’ve left the best till last.  From Liège:

Aaahhh, you know all about their guns, so I haven’t bothered putting any pics up here. Read more

Flash Back

Drive Time

I have mentioned before that New Wife used to drive a red MGB GT back in the days of yore, when she were a weeny in her early 20s.  Unlike me, she has photos — well, one photo, anyway:

That’s her brother, upon whose shoulders many of the (frequent) repairs fell.  In true Brit sports car driver fashion, however, she accepted that frequent breakdowns were just a fact of ownership:  the joys of open-top driving in a perfect climate on the hill roads around her house were more-than-adequate compensation.

While she was swanning around like Lady Muck, Your Humble  Narrator was chugging around in one of these, hauling band equipment (which was way heavier than the recommended top load):

…only it was colored in a sort of sickly bamboo yellow.  Don’t laugh;  I got over 175,000 miles out of it before it was stolen.

Here’s what Drummer Knob was driving:

…as part of his trainee-plutocrat program.  It was never stolen.

Earworm:  Those Were The Days

Month Of Contrasts

Beauty

Ahhh October… when fall colors appear:

…the weather turns cooler:

…and we see the arrival of (ugh) pumpkin-flavored everything:

…not to mention wall-to-wall horror movies (double ugh) on every TV channel:

Myself, I prefer the only thing that matters in October:

Your opinion may differ, but you’d be wrong.

Winning Combination

Drive Time, Fine Art

Longtime Readers will know that among my many passions in life (guns, beautiful women etc.) are two things especially:  cars and fine art, especially paintings.

The latter two may seem a little at odds with each other, but there you go:  each of the two inspires wonder in me.

If you follow my reasoning, and you should, then let me introduce you all to some of the works of artist Alan Fearnley:

   

One may think that Fearnley specializes in older cars;  but one would be wrong:

One might also think that Fearnley specializes in classic pastoral themes, but again one would be wrong:

   

And finally, Fearnley doesn’t just do cars:

 

I have over a dozen of his pics saved as laptop wallpapers.  Here’s one:

Longtime Readers will not be surprised at this choice.

All the above, and many more, can be found here.  No need to thank me, it’s all part of the service.

Glaring Omission

Gratuitous Chick Pics

An email from Longtime Reader Preussenotto reads:

Still loving your blog, but I have to take issue with something I have noticed.  There has been an appalling lack of Barbara Eden pictures for some time. Please correct this at your earliest convenience.  Regards,

I thought something has been missing…

Hope that redresses the shortage somewhat.