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Last residents of Doel may stay – at least for now

© Paul Maes/Doel 2020

The remaining residents of the doomed village of Doel on the left bank of the River Scheldt have been given leave to stay in their homes until at least the spring of 2011, a court ruled last week.

The village dates back to the 13th century and gradually grew until the population peaked at 2,500 in 1876. Since then, it has steadily declined until in 2007 there were only some 360 residents left. Landmarks include the 17th-century stone windmill, one of the oldest in the country, and the cooling tower of the nuclear power station built there between 1969 and 1985.

(July 20, 2010)

Safe to swim

Flanders bathing water statistics show a dramatic improvement but there is still work to be done
© Nils Geylen

On the whole, Flanders has taken much rap for its water quality and with reason: there are still one in four households not connected to an urban waste water treatment facility, and pollutants from the region's abundant farmlands often find themselves in the river basin.

Belgium's federal government is in hot water with the European Commission over its failure to bring urban waste water treatment facilities across the country, including at several spots in Flanders, up to EU standards and faces stiff penalties if the country does not clean up its act.

Emma Portier Davis
(July 20, 2010)

Students hitchhike to Barcelona

© shutterstock

There are not many things that would get a student out of bed at eight in the morning, but perhaps a free trip around the world is one of them. That’s the main prize that last week drew 300 students in Ghent to the starting line of the Route du Soleil hitchhiking competition, organised by students with sponsorship from the university. In seven stages, teams of young people will compete to reach the next checkpoint, with the finishing line in Barcelona. Whoever makes it first wins a world tour.

There are a number of rules: students are only allowed to take a lift in a Belgian car during the first stage – Ghent to Paris– to avoid them simply calling up Daddy for a ride all the way to Barcelona. They can only take one ride per car, and all lifts have to be logged on the lift card. In return, the organisers have organised a place to spend the night at each of the stops along the way. There are also barbecues and DJs who accompany the convoy.

(July 14, 2010)

News in Brief

Belgium is losing ground as a favourite destination for Dutch holidaymakers. Last year, the number of Dutch visitors on short breaks fell from 1.1 million to one million, or 29% of Dutch holidaymakers. At the same time, the number of longer stays fell to only 6% of Dutch holidaymakers. Germany is now the favourite destination for short stays, while France remains on top for longer breaks.

A man accused of trying to lure two children into an apartment in Blankenberge last week has been arrested following a flood of tips to the police. The man tried to get the two girls, both aged eight, to follow him into the building to see a kitten. One of the girls raised the alarm, and the man fled. Following the release of an artist's sketch and a description of the man, he was spotted on a train travelling from Antwerp to Ostend and arrested when the train stopped in Bruges.

(July 14, 2010)

Di Rupo moves closer to PM job

N-VA leader Bart De Wever last week completed his mission of carrying out an initial round of exploratory talks with other party leaders and other senior figures, with a view to forming a coalition to govern the country. De Wever was given the job by the King after the spectacular gains made by his party of Flemish nationalists in the June election.

The exact contents of De Wever’s report are not revealed, but he made it clear he had found “a degree of convergence” among the main parties on the major questions of state reform and reform – or the lack of it – of the social security system. There are those who want both, and there are those who want neither. The camps are split along language as well as political lines. In between, there are those who want one without giving away too much ground on the other.

(July 14, 2010)

Clijsters gives it her best shot

© Belga

Kim Clijsters won the dubiously named ‘Best of Belgium’ clash with Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in front of a record 35,681 crowd at the Koning Boudewijn Stadium in Heizel in Brussels.

The match, tied in with Belgium’s presidency of the European Union, surpassed the previous record for a crowd at a tennis match – 30,472, set in 1973 in Houston for the 'Battle of the Sexes' between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Clijsters was initially due to play Justine Henin, but when Henin injured her elbow, Williams stepped in. Buoyed by her home crowd, Clijsters won the exhibition match – umpired by Martina Navratilova – 6-3 6-2.

(July 14, 2010)

Café protests in Ghent and Knokke

Owners of cafes and restaurants in the centre of Ghent are to hold a protest action during the Gentse Feesten, which begin on 17 July, against a decision by the city council to double the tax they pay on their terraces. The measure only applies to premises which normally have no terrace, or which have extended their terrace for the event.

“We want to put pressure on the city council to consult the sector the next time the question of higher taxes comes up,” said Patrick De Bouw, local representative of Ho.Re.Ca Vlaanderen, the industry organisation. “Normally we have good relations with the city, but our members were massively against this decision in a time of general difficulties. A spokesman for the city said the last tax increase dates back to 2003, and called the latest measure “very reasonable”.

(July 14, 2010)

SMEs suffer less absenteeism

People who work for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are absent through illness less often than other employees, according to a survey of 533 companies carried out by Unizo, the representative organisation for the self-employed. The average number of sick days per employee per year in business is 12, but almost two- thirds of SMEs say their own experience is less.

When absenteeism does occur, 22% take on temporary staff, and only 7% recruit new staff. By far the majority, 72.8%, ensure the work of the missing employee is shared out among colleagues. In about half of all cases, the employer himself takes up the slack. Only 31% of employers make use of the government’s medical check-up service which determines if an employee really is sick. Most cited the cost – €60 for a single consultation – as the main disincentive.

(July 14, 2010)

TV tops workplace chat chart

Employees spend an hour a day chatting to colleagues about subjects unrelated to work, according to a survey by the British recruitment agency HireScores.com. On average, chatting takes up 67 minutes a day, with 8% of respondents estimating their own average at three hours.

The main subjects of conversation are:

  1. Television – 52%
  2. Weekend plans – 49%
  3. Food – 46%
  4. Sport – 43%
  5. The previous evening – 41%
  6. Colleagues – 37%
  7. Friends – 35%
  8. Love life – 34%
  9. Music – 31%
  10. Holidays – 29%

One in four said the subject depends on who is in the vicinity. Eight out of ten said they would never chat about non work-related matters if the boss were around.

(July 14, 2010)

Body of soldier identified

An Australian soldier missing for 93 years will finally receive a military burial
© Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The body of an Australian soldier uncovered during archaeological digging in the West Flanders village of Ploegsteert two years ago has been identified. Private Alan James Mather, from Inverell in New South Wales, died in the Battle of Messines in 1917 at the age of 37.

The find was made during the Plugstreet Project, a research project in the battlefields of the First World War. Plugstreet was the soldiers’ pronunciation of the name of the village Ploegsteert. It was clear from the uniform that the man was an Australian, but there was no trace of identification. DNA tracing of the descendants of the 34 men reported missing in action from the unit was considered too expensive.

Alan Hope
(July 7, 2010)