"Belgianesse", or "the art of living like a Belgian": the rumors about our Kingdom, Belgium…they are true. We have an insatiable appetite for things like chocolate, wafels,Belgian fries and on Sundays, mussels! It’s what makes us Belgians, Belgianites, Belgiumlanders, whatever you call us. Our King approves. But what do Belgians really do when they are not immersed in epicurean indulging?
amateur cycling – wielertoeristen
Belgians love cycling. So much so, the amateur network of cyclists is bigger than its professional counterpart. It’s like fantasy football in America. Usually over the weekend, thousands of amateur cyclists will gather for a day of biking fun. After riding for many kilometers, they will reward their dehydrated bodies with some Westmalle Tripple or some other premium beer provided by Belgian monks. Sadly, there have been reports of cyclists fallen victim to road rage by other people on the street because of their traveling in large groups and their bikes not being equipped with bells, a blatant violation of Belgian traffic law.
amateur cycling – wielertoeristen [Bicycle race in Belgium in1976, Tour of Flanders] Godefroot, Teirlinck,Verbeek and Leman - that was at the small line, but not at the place where wesaw it. Yes listen, if you askme, for those of you watching in color, the man in blue here on the screen,Walter Planckaert, we know he can sprint. We still have to crossthe Bosberg. Weare now with the leaders on the Bosberg and there are a few more cobbles. Astretch of cobbles with lots of spectators, it seems. Oh -Marc Demeyer was not on the right track for a moment. Yes, it is OK now. Ithought to say that the stretch of cobbles can suffice for a man who wants toattack to break up this group of five. Marc is having a hard time. This will bethe last obstacle. Roger De Vlaeminck. Onthe right it is Francesco Moser, the man who looked radiant yesterday, who isthe lead, who pushes the tempo. Inthe lead is Andre Dierickx. We are now of course with the pursuers, consistingof, let’s makeit clear, Moser, De Vlaeminck, Maertens, Demeyer, Walter Planckaert, and then,in between is Walter Godefroot. 12km to go, fans ! 12 km! Thisis… it's still possible, yes yes! We are going into thefinal in way we have rarely seen it. Walter attacks. Belgians, pay attention ! Planckaert... Good ! What he is doing, is a good sign. They are attacking each other.Maertens and De Vlaeminck are not doing it anymore. Maertens is waiting for hislocomotive. And there he is ! Attach the wagons - and there we go ! What is DeVlaeminck going to do? Drop back for a moment? Pay attention, this can turninto something ... This can turn into something we they get back together. I’mreasoning now in a way I would have seen it in the past, I guess. Andthis is now ... Demeyer. Demeyer goes with Planckaert, what do we have there... no, Moser ! Moserhas taken the reins, and passes. Passes - or at least he is trying .... Moseris a man who, when he attacks, I said it earlier, he makes it obvious. Mosermakes us think of ... Marc Demeyer. Theplace where the riders were just riding is Denderwindeke. Isuppose, Louis, that you did not hear me. If you can hear me now, while Demeyeris asking Maertens “comeon”, wecan forget about the pursuers Yes,I just heard you - we had some difficulties to be allowed to drive straight.The pursuers now see a strong attack by Walter Godefroot, which is not answeredby Eddy Merckx. He is riding in the back of the group. Godefroot is by himself. Okay. MarcDemeyer is worried about Freddy Maertens. Nobody to be seen anymore! Therewill be a sprint for first place by Francesco Moser, Marc Demeyer, in second position, and, in third position, WalterPlanckaert. Yes - now one would still hope that De Vlaeminck and Maertens couldcome back ... FrancescoMoser is somebody who starts slowly. Well, Walter Planckaert, if you do not winnow, and if you do not light two candles for Moser and for Marc Demeyer ... No,no, no .. that was too obvious. Walter Planckaert becomes the winner of thisTour of Flanders, fans ! Planckaert first, Moser second and Demeyer third.Indeed ! MarcDemeyer shakes his head. That is incomprehensible. Andnow we get the sprint, the sprint of honor, between De Vlaeminck and Maertens.A settlement, let’sput it this way. It is Roger De Vlaeminck who becomes fourth before Maertens,at exactly 15 seconds. ________________interviews04:10________________ Finally,Walter, we have you here with us, I can only congratulate you. I spoke to DeVlaeminck who blames you for not taking the lead. Well, if Ronald De Wittewould have been with us, he would have done the same thing if Roger DeVlaeminck would not have been with us. André Dierickxwas not along and my sport director said that I was not allowed to take thelead. André isbehind us just under a minute. So I did not take the lead. Then we were a minute40 ahead, so I then I rode along for a bit. When the group with André Dierickxcame back at 40 seconds, I did not take the lead again. I can not help that DeVlaeminck is mad. Everyone rides his own race. I get paid by Maes, and DeVlaeminck by Brooklyn. Ibelieve that you must have been happy when you were driving with Moser andDemeyer. Isaid, almost one side carries Demeyer, the other side Moser and WalterPlanckaert is carried to the line. Yes,of course I am happy. I knew I was the quickest. Marc Demeyer started thesprint, I passed him and I won. I am very happy indeed. Ibelieve that if you had come to the line with Maertens and De Vlaeminck, thatit could have been a different story. Yes,that would have been something different, of course, but still, I had not takenthe lead a lot. I can't help it - André Dierickxwas the team leader, and I was riding as his helper. It would have been adifferent story, but, still, I think I would have given them a good fight. Roger,eh, we did not understand at the end ... Yes,listen, Demeyer was in the lead, and Maertens let him ride away, we always hadto get him. At about 5 km from the line, Maertens let him go, and I stayedbehind as well. If I had had a teammate with me, I could have controlled therace. Maertens is considered as the best sprinter, so it is not up to me, as Iam by myself. I did not ride the Tour of Belgium. It was not up to me to closethe gap. Planckaert never took the lead. It's scandalous. He does not deserveto be the winner.
Pigeon racing Someone is holding a pigeon and we can see the head of theanimal vey close. Text: This racing pigeon was auctioned off for a record € 1.6million(US$ 1.9 million) The wing of the pigeon is hold open by the person. Now the man is holding the pigeon in the bird cage andholding its beak. Text: Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, chairman at PIPA pigeon auctionhouse Voice: The pigeon,New Kim, is very special because she’s very young so we can still breed to thebuyer can still breed for many years from the pigeon. She’s bred by a veryfamous pigeon racer (Gaston Van de Wouwer) so this makes it very special. The man is taking the pigeon out of a box Text: the previous record was set in March 2019 by anotherBelgian pigeon, Armando The man is smiling and showing up his pigeon that he holdson the legs and beak with his hands The man holds the pigeon only from the legs and the animalis moving his head Zoom on the pigeon eye Voice: We can already say then these record prices are unbelievable because this is a female.Armando was a male, usually a male worth more than a female because it canproduce more offspring, more children.” The man is giving food to the pigeon in the cage. Text: 2-years-old New Kim was bought by the same Chinesebuyer. Many pigeon are eating the seeds in the feeder. Text: Carlo Gyselbrecht, Co-owner at PIPA pigeon auction house Voice: New Kim was sold yesterday for € 1.6 million to thesame buyer who bought Armand last year for € 1.25 million (US$ 1.48 million).Hisintention is to link (breed) the two. Since it was a male pigeon last yearand now it’s a female he can make the pair and will have a pair of the two mostexpensive pigeons in the world. This is interesting for him on a sporting andcommercial level. Pigeons are in individual boxes inside the cage Text: Pigeon racing is a traditional hobby deeply rooted inBelgian and Dutch life The pigeon cages are big and have many individual boxes forthe pigeons. Text: Belgium leads the world in breeding pigeons for sport Many pigeons are standing close to each others, turningtheir heads side to side Voice: there is no country in the world where so manypigeon fanciers live with such a high density with each other like in Belgium.So you have like 20.000 pigeon fanciers in a very small country competing toeach other on a very high level. It’s like the Champions League. So it meansthat if you are the best here, you really have good pigeons and there is a lotof know-how. The man is walking between the pigeon cages. Pigeons are flying from a window to a cage. A pigeon is installed on top of a beam moving his head sideto side. Text: South China Morning Post, simp.com
pigeon racing – duivenmelken
Of all popular pastime activities in Belgium, Pigeon Racing is by far the most labor-intensive sport. It works like this: You buy a pigeon. Early on Sunday morning, you place the pigeon in a basked and bring it to the local pub, where the race starts. You then let your pigeon fly to Erps-Kwerps and back (or to Barcelona if you’re a high end pigeon holder). Meanwhile you wait while drinking some of the finest lagers in the world. Upon arrival, you measure the time it took your avian partner in crime to complete its journey. If you have the fastest feathered creature, monetary prizes are known to add to thousands of euros. Not to mention the admiration of the local pigeon-holders’ community!
counting finches – vinkenzetten
Another proud Belgian custom is that of Vinkenzetten or “counting finch songs”. On a Sunday afternoon, dozens of senior citizens will gather together with their melodious pets. For no longer than one hour they will tally the amount of times the bird chirps its favorite tunes. Competition is fierce. Not only is the distance between contestants mere feet, due the high pitch sound of the finch, it can be hard to differentiate your finch’s muses from your competitor’s. Verbal altercations amongst neighbors are numerous. Ordinarily, police presence is needed to make sure things don’t get out of hand.
Counting finches Finch setting Destelbergen 2010 Sound : Finch singing Men are sitting on stools andchairs, outside, each man is holding a black stick and staring in silence at awooden box with little white curtains in front of them. Close up on the black stickwith marks and the wooden box with a tiny curtains inside, in front of a man A man is marking steps on hisblack stick with a white chalk Close up on a wooden box withthe little curtains Sound: Finch singing Other men are also marking stripesto their black sticks with white chalk There are now women, alsomarking their black stick with white chalk. Side view of all the competitors sitting ontheir stools in a row on a road path in front of a grass field. Same view of the competitorsfrom the other end. Text: film lut laurés.
