Fighting the Cobbles - My trip to Belgium in 2018, Part 34 In and Around Perbais

This blog continues the previous Part 33
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2018/12/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_19.html

Saturday, June 30, 2018

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 –1964), first Prime Minister of India

   I've followed the main Gran Rue in Perbais and was again very much surprised about the clean environment created by its citizens. I could not even discover one one piece of paper - what a pleasant difference to my home in Taiwan.

  The Municipality of Walhain has existed since 1977, when the entities of Walhain-Saint-Paul (including the hamlets of Perbais and Sart-lez-Walhain), Tourinnes-Saint-Lambert and Nil-Saint-Vincent were merged. From its history until today it was and is predominantly an agricultural community which I would experience not much later...

   I passed very tidy houses until I came to the only building I could find some information; the communal school built between 1889 and 1890 in eclectic style after the plans of the architects Van Halen, who could have some connection to the American Rock Group but I don't know for sure. The double level two-story brick and limestone is crowned by a pediment decorated with a pattern of ash brick. The axis above the entrance says 'Communal School'. In this early Saturday morning hour the whole school was as quiet as the surrounding town.

   
   After the obligatory photo I've continued and passed an unknown church on the left with the Madonna and a very young Jesus. Why they are caged might be difficult to explain, so I'll leave it there. Even there is not much information about country towns in the internet but there is a lot to discover...

   Not much later I turned left into the Rue de la Sucrerie, at the next intersection I've turned left again into the Rue de la Cruchenère because my aim was to walk parallel to the main  N4 road direction Gembloux. When I've passed the last houses I could discover two different lonely cats, a single horse grazing and a lonesome bird flying around searching for breakfast; finally, I came to wide fields, as far as the eye could see. 

   In front of me was a small country road with occasional sections of cobbles like in the famous Paris-Roubaix cycling race. I am not a country boy but I've noticed something looking like wheat growing on both sides of the road; some was already harvested. In front of a bale of straw I paused, took out my tripod and a portrait of myself. The reader might notice that I was wearing my sunglasses because of the bright sun while I still had my fleece sweater on because of the cool weather on this still early morning.  

   Walking alone through the fields on my sides I occasionally let my hands slide over the wheat while I was walking. I don't know if a farmer would do and feel the same but I sensed a kind of simple joy seeing these fertile plains. While many countries fight stones and even sand to grow some vegetables and fruit this part of the world seemed blessed; rich and fertile...

Fields of Gold

You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of gold

Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley.
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth among the fields of gold

I never made promises lightly and there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left we'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

Many years have passed since those summer days among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down among the fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold, when we walked in fields of gold

Gordon Sumner / Dusan Bogdanovic

(to be continued@
https://gerdiwanninger.blogspot.com/2019/01/fighting-cobbles-my-trip-to-belgium-in_20.html.

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