Aristide and Bruges Folk Museum.

So, welcome to Artistide !

He is a very lucky cat who lives in

the Bruges Folk Museum.

A black cat is the mascot of this museum.

This beautiful boy is the fourth

Aristide.

He was lucky enough to be born all black.

He was unlucky to be handed in to

a French charity that takes in

unwanted animals

However he was lucky enough

to be a kitten when

Aristide III died.

So ……………..

Let me introduce you to  Aristide 4th - a beautiful black cat who lives in the Museum.
He is adored by the people who work there and by visitors .

The museum is set out in little one storey houses which were originally
built as homes for people who had worked as cobblers or grocers.
The houses were for them to live in when they retired
and probably had very little income or savings.

Now each little house has a collection of items in a setting that shows
how life used to be.

So, the first room was the schoolroom and there were items in it that I could remember
from when I was very little. I used a slate and can remember writing out my tables
and doing simple sums on it and very good it was too.

Some of you will remember desks like these - I can remember having
the job of refilling the inkwells.

Here are all the coats hung on their individual pegs ……. with their clogs set out below.

So another room and we are at the cobblers …… not many like this anymore.
Wish there were.

The shoe forms which the cobbler would use to fashion the shoes -
each one would be for a different size.
I have quite a few of these which I've collected over the years.
I love them.

Now to the grocers ….  to my surprise there where some brands that I knew.

Like Sunlight soap which was made very near where I used to live in England.

Lux soap flakes which was to wash delicate things -
 long before we all had washing machines.

Then we go into a room filled with wonderful old toys.

A beautiful rocking horse and an old board game.

The jars below would have held loose tobacco.

 This amazing sledge was made to carry a baby.
It must have been for a very rich family.
There was a little door with a round window
so as the sledge was pushed along you could see the baby.
 Inside was a tiny velvet seat for the baby.
The sledge was mounted on metal runners
and must have been very heavy to push along.

The wooden figure below of a hussar was the traditional sign
 for the tobacconists shop.

Into the kitchen which was charming in its simplicity. I just loved it.

I can certainly  remember a simple sink like this and know
 that when I was a baby my mother used to bathe me
in the one we had at home !

So if you go to Bruges take a good walk away from the rush
of the busy city centre and go to discover this wonderfully
 magic gem of a museum.
Sit down and have a coffee in the little period cafe
where you will meet two charming gentleman who work there
…….. and the beautiful ….. very lucky ……….  Aristide.

Bruges - a beautiful magical place.

For the last three days we have been on a little

adventure.

We went to Bruges in Belgium stopping

off at Rouen in France on the way.

Of course there were many Christmas lights but

really Bruges doesn't need extra

sparkle as it is just so beautiful.

A city that has hardly changed in hundreds of years - the buildings are just glorious.

At every turn there is something to look at and admire - a photographic heaven.

The Belgians were renowned for their brick making and their use of them in their
architecture. The workmanship and the skill is superb.

Wide canals cross the town and it was a relief not to find throngs of tourists with
' selfie ' sticks packed on to boats  everywhere ( as in Venice )

Jan Van Eyck was the master painter of Bruges and his skill still remains staggering.

At night it was a joy to walk along the quiet cobbled streets and look at all the beautiful
houses, sometimes being lucky enough to see swans on the canals in their mystical
beauty.

In my next post I'll tell you about the Folk Museum where we met a black cat called …………………………………….

                                                                ARISTIDE.