Antwerp fireman bare their asses

You just can't write a strange story about Belgium anymore, its just called DAILY LIFE here.

Visitors to Antwerp's historic market square were treated to a rare sight on Tuesday as members of the local fire brigade bared their buttocks in pursuit of improved conditions.
The firemen's grievances concern early retirement schemes and better pay for Saturday work.

In unison the Antwerp firebrigade chanted "kiss my ass", a message directed at the socialist mayor of Antwerp Patrick Jannsens

A spokesman for the fire-fighters told the VRT that the early retirement scheme now on the table was unacceptable.
"Fire-fighters should be able to retire at 58 because the work is increasingly demanding" he said.

Three men ejected from Diamond Games over betting

For the majority of her yearly tournament appearances, 17-year-old Austrian tennis star Tamira Paszek manages to keep the twins indoors, as they say. Wait a minute....this and the picture above have nothing to do with this article, she's not even playing....my bad.

Three men were removed by organizers at the Diamond Games after they were found to be gambling via laptops from the stands, a spokeswoman for the event said on Tuesday.
"Three spectators were removed. The two Russians and one German were holding a laptop and logged on to a gambling Web site were gambling on ongoing matches," said spokeswoman Katia Stroobants.
Tennis has been dogged by allegations of match-fixing and illegal gambling in the past year. Several male players have said they were approached to fix matches while betting exchanges have noted irregular patterns.
The spokeswoman said those who were asked to leave the Sportpaleis in Antwerp late on Monday were allegedly "exploiting the delay between the time a point was won and the time it appeared on the official tournament Web site."

If it's too much porn for Antwerp, it must be good!

The Antwerp provincial authorities have shelved plans for an exhibition of a collection of photographs of women put together by the Flemish author Louis Paul Boon.
The exhibition was to take place in the Antwerp Photo Museum, but has been abandoned because some of the photos are pornographic. Some have been labelled child pornography. Louis Paul Boon's Feminatheek was a joke that got out of hand.

One official told the VRT the photo's he saw had nothing to do with art. “It's a collection of old-fashioned photos. Some of the images flirt with pornography”.
Some of the images smack of child pornography and the provincial authorities did not want these in their museum.

World's largest Champagne Fountain

A worker adjusts glasses in an attempt to break the world record for the “Largest Champagne Fountain” in the shopping center Wijnegem near Antwerp, Jan. 25, 2008. The 7 metre (22.9 feet) high pyramid will contain more than 43,000 glasses and weigh 8,750 kg (19,290 pounds) to set a new record.
My best guess to fill the glasses would require approximately 1981 gallons (7,500 liters). It may be easier said than done to calculate how many hours that would take.

WW II Memorial Dedication

The city of Jumierge, a small town near Bastogne, will dedicate a memorial to the American Soldiers of the 17th Airborne Division that gave their life for the town during the Battle of the Bulge.

A group of several of the veterans will be on hand for the ceremony scheduled for December 15th at 10:30am. This is a good way to see a piece of history acknowledged and meet some of those who made it happen.

Jumierge is located about 5 miles northwest of Bastogne just off the N4.

New Shopping in Antwerp

Thursday October 25th the new shopping center in Antwerp opened. In the old day's it was a big place were proms were held. In 2000 the City festival hall burned out and so they left it. In 2004 they started rebuilding the festival hall into a fashion shopping center.

Project manager Multi Development built 40 new appartments on the upper levels and 275 parking places under ground.
There is a Nike Antwerp, COS, Tommy Hilfiger Tailormade, Salsa, Sabon, La Place, Saturn, Crocs, Lloyd Shoes, Laurent Perrier Champagne Bar, Onara en Leon Mode who are opening there first shop in Belgium. Also Sasha, Cortefiel, Turnover, Bart Smit, Standaard Boekhandel, Casa, Blokker, Delhaize, ICI Paris XL and O'Neill have a shop in the new center. The price? Well the total package will be around 115 million euro.

SUX, it's better than GAY

Sioux City, Iowa Gateway Airport finally decided to embrace their city’s three letter code, which happens to be SUX, which they feel happens to be better than GAY.

City leaders have scrapped plans to do away with the Sioux Gateway Airport's unflattering three-letter identifier _ SUX _ and instead have made it the centerpiece of the airport's new marketing campaign.
The code, used by pilots and airports worldwide and printed on tickets and luggage tags, will be used on T-shirts and caps sporting the airport's new slogan, "FLY SUX." It also forms the address of the airport's redesigned Web site _ http://www.flysux.com/.
Sioux City officials petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration to change the code in 1988 and 2002. At one point, the FAA offered the city five alternatives _ GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY _ but airport trustees turned them down.

One in seven Belgians in poverty

According to a report from the Belgian Economy Ministry one in seven Belgians lives in poverty.

Singles on less than 822 euros a month and a couple with two children who have to get by on less than 1,726 euros a month are considered to be below the poverty line in Belgium. READ MORE

Last chip shop shuts down

On Sunday Wijnand van de Laar marked the last day of his "Frituur Falcon" by giving away free chips. Falcon was not just your common-or-garden chip shop, but an old-fashioned, quite unique chip stall. Anyone who wants to run a Belgian institution in 2007 has to comply with strict regulations.
Wijnand van de Laar no longer fancied this idea. "They are coming to take the whole thing away today. That will be an emotional moment".
Frituur Falcon had hi stall at the same spot for years and years on the square of the same name.

The Rednecks are coming to Antwerp

Monster Jam Antwerp

The world’s biggest Monster Trucks spectacle is back at the Sportpaleis Antwerp.
See GraveDigger and Maximum Destruction and the Freestyle motocross, ready to defy the laws of gravity.
Sportpaleis Antwerp, October 6th and 7th
I can't wait to miss this!

I need a handicapped sticker!

Belgian disabled get access to prostitutes

“It often happens that one of our residents will ask for a prostitute,” said Kris Schauwbroeck, a social worker at Driehuizen home.
“We feel we should grant that request, because the disabled too have the right to their sexuality. And in general the prostitutes have responded positively.” READ THE TELEGRAPH

Fine Dining at a discount in Antwerp

Eat at some of Antwerp's top restaurants for only EUR 25 during the Antwerp Restaurant Week from 26 November to 2 December 2007. It is the first time this event is being held.
During the Antwerp Restaurant Week some of the best restaurants in greater Antwerp will be serving a three course gastronomical menu for just EUR 25. A three course lunch will cost just EUR 20. At the moment more than 40 top Antwerp restaurants have already confirmed their participation. The final list is expected to include about 50 eateries.
The Antwerp Restaurant Week is an initiative of the online restaurant guide DiningCity.com, in cooperation with Feeling magazine and American Express. The idea comes from New York, where the event takes place several times a year with astonishing success.
The organisers also want Restaurant Week in Antwerp to grow into a yearly or half-yearly event. In future DiningCity wants to organise Restaurant Weeks in Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Knokke, Kortrijk and other Flemish cities.
Reservations for the Antwerp Restaurant Week can be made from 7 November via the website http://www.restaurantweek.be/.

Antwerp Summer Festival

Antwerp’s great summer festival, Zomer Van Antwerpen, until September 2nd, is renowned for its free and generous spirit, with many events happening in the open air around the city. Twelve of Antwerp’s squares, for example, are hosting live concerts with world music and local talent providing the music in the hood. Each square has its own brochure outlining its programme – perfect for planning a warm evening of Salsa or a more rebellious night of African rhythms.
One of the centres of the festival is the Summer Bar, down on the River Scheldt by the circus tents. There’s a beach with colourful huts, a restaurant and a bar serving everything from a bolleke of beer to an exotica of cocktails. WEBSITE

Mozart gets his Penis Amputated

Mozart, an iguana with an erection that has lasted for over a week, will have his penis amputated in the next couple of days.
Veterinarians at Antwerp's Aquatopia had sought to treat the animal's problem, but decided removal was the only solution because of the risk of infection. The good news for Mozart and his mates is that male iguanas have two penises.
Mozart, sitting on the shoulders of his keeper as camera crews focused on his red, swollen erection, seemed unperturbed by the news.
"It doesn't bother him. He doesn't know what amputation means," said vet Luc Lambrecht, adding that Mozart's sexual activity should be undimmed by the operation.
"I don't think so. That's all in his head."

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Belgian candidate for prime minister sings wrong national anthem

Real life is constantly much funnier than fiction in Belgium.

The man aiming to lead Belgium sang the French national anthem instead of his own when questioned by reporters on the country's national day, reports said Sunday.
Yves Leterme, the head of the Flemish Christian Democrat party trying to form a coalition government, broke into the French anthem 'La Marseillaise' when television reporters asked him to sing Belgium's 'La Brabanconne' on Saturday.

Leterme was also filmed shortly afterward making a mobile phone call during a religious service to mark Belgium's 1830 independence from the Netherlands. READ ON

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HERO CABBIE: I KICKED BURNING TERRORIST SO HARD IN BALLS THAT I TORE A TENDON

A HERO cabbie who took on the Glasgow Airport terror suspects told yesterday how he booted one of them in the privates. From the UK Record.

Antwerp Sunday Market

On This Street, Bargains Are Just Part of the Appeal

ANTWERP wakes up late and languorously on a Sunday. At 10 a.m. on a balmy morning, waiters were just setting up the outdoor tables along the normally bustling Hoogstraat, which leads from the Grote Markt to Sint-Jansvliet.

Best of all, Kloosterstraat is not just open on Sundays — when most retail establishments beyond newspaper sellers and souvenir shops are closed. It becomes a daylong party that attracts locals and visitors alike.

READ ON NEW YORK TIMES

I Hope You Guys Are Keeping Your Appointments

Hotmarijke, an Antwerp hooker, is posting the names of all the punters who don't turn up for their appointments, on the Internet.

Hotmarijke gets a little angry if you don't show up. With all those advanced math classes she took, she figures you are cutting into her income, because she could have been cleaning someone elses pipes.

Hotmarijke operates what the paper describes as “a very explicit and widely visited website". So before you begin a mad dash to look it up, I'll save you the trouble. (not safe for work)

"Anybody who files a complaint is admitting that he visits working girls" the prostitute told Het Laatste Nieuws. READ MORE

The New Antwerp High Speed Train

Antwerp has put so much emphasis on claiming space for public transport that owning a car has become a nightmare. This ancient city was never built to accommodate the 100,000 commuter cars that daily cause gridlock on her surrounding 5 lane highways. While the happy few speed towards Paris and Amsterdam in the new airconditioned HST at 300 km/h, the locals are trying to get to the shopping mall through streets of a city that has long come to a grinding halt. READ MORE

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Andrew Petrie
andyp33@gmail.com
0485 979 031