How is it on the other side of the Channel?

What`s it like to live in London for 5 months? It is all about passion! People here put passion in everything they do, and I`m this kind of person!
In Belgium, you like, In the UK, you desperately love...

First of all, Arsenal. I`ve been supporting the Gunners since I was a child. Martin Keown, Tony Adams, David Seaman... Those lads ruled!! Being in London (and staying most of my time in Finsbury Park, where one my best mates live) made me a true Gooner! Belgian football really lacks the social impact that it has here. Fans go to the stadium and are behind their team as if it was the last day of their life. I made a couple of friends at the Emirates, "Maxi-mussels" they call me :) (taking the piss of my belgian muscles!!), they were all impressed that I knew so many chants! We`ve had a strange season, but the next one will be way better, hopefully! The good news is that I found a job on the Eurostar, I`ll still be able to take advantage of my membership card and support the lads!!
Then the music side of London! I couldn`t believe there were so many gigs here and in top venues. I went to see The Black Lips, Billy Childish, The Fall, Foals, Blood Red Shoes (in Brighton), The Weakends, Human Hair, Pete Hawkins and The Akward Silences, Lovvers and many others. The Old Blue Last, Koko, Dirty Water Club, Electric Ballroom, 12 Bar as many places which give concerts an amazing atmosphere... I`ll miss it a lot (even if there`s a bustling music scene in my tiny town)!!
Getting pissed in pubs is what English men do best. And being Belgian it`s funny to see how quickly they get all over the shop :) I`ve met a lot of interesting people, native speakers, Welsh, Irish or Scottish and I couldn`t have done it if I had been to the posh nightclubs in Soho...
England is more tha London though. Going to Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham gave me a better idea of wht England is like... And it made me love it even more!!

See you soon

Religion...

Religion is part of everyone`s life in this world but how much? I`

My Heart Leaps Up by Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky.
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

when Sam Riley (playing the character of Ian Curtis) quoted this Wordsworth`s poem in the movie Control, it felt a bit like time was hanging in the air. This is one of the only poems that really touches me and means something to me. It is easy to understand but not too obvious. This fear of growing up and losing your childhood`s sensibility follows me everyday.
Anton Corbijn succesfully managed to capture the intensity of such words with his magic touch.

If you haven`t seen Control yet, it is time for you to rent the DVD!! Even if you`re not a Joy Division fan, that`s a must-see!!!

Arsenal

The Invincibles seem well far away at Arsenal.
The Gunners have indeed finished a fourth season without silverware clinching the fourth spot of the Premiership and failing to go through both FA Cup and Champion`s League semi-finals...
The 2008-2009 season has been all ups and downs for Arsene Wenger`s men and the Frenchman`s commitment to the club has been put into doubt in a recent meeting between the coach and the club`s shareholders. However, I trully think good times will come back very soon in N7.
First of all, we have a really young squad!! Fabregas is only 22 and he`s our captain, he`s a top-class player and still has got time to show all his skills... Let`s hope he won`t go back to Catalonia during the summer. We`ve also seen the improvement of players such as Nicklas Bendtner, who was given more and more time, Theo Walcott, Alexandre Song or Kieran Gibbs. Despite his unlucky slide wich maybe cost Arsenal an European final (or the hope of one), Kieran (only aged 19) has shown he can become one of England`s best left-back...
Chelsea`s or United`s big stars are now almost 30, they`ve got the experience and that`s why they`re winning trophies but let`s wait one or two years and you`ll see the Red Army getting back on top!!
People say we have to spend a lot in the summer but that would be a real bad thing to do!! The main thing is to keep most of the players (last year`s exodus was a disaster. We could have done miracles with Aleksandar Hleb or Mathieu Flamini still in Arsenal`s dressing room), Adebayor (linked with AC Milan) and Fabregas are the big question marks... Let`s let these players grow together and add a couple of experienced lads (a defensive midfielder, or a centre-back). Selling Abou Diaby to Villa, in exchange of Gareth Barry or sigining Fulham`s Brede Hangeland would be the good operations of the summer... And don`t forget that we`ll see Andrey Arshavin`s first full season at The Emirates...
Perhaps the Russian star will have the opportunity to lift a trophy very soon...

Joy...

Is to make her feel more important than you..

Gavin Clark: the Folk magician

What a novelty to me to fall in such deep love with a Folk artist! More used to listen to (Post-)Punk and Garage, I "went off the rails" as soon as I heard the first note of one of his songs.
The main reason I got to know Gavin Clark is that he`s working a lot with Shane Meadows, my favourite film director by far!!! (http://www.shanemeadows.co.uk/) Shane is famous for depicting English society with an unbelievable realism... And Gavin`s songs always add a touch of dream and poetry to his films, especially black and white ones (24/7 and the recent Somers Town)!! I often found myself on the verge of tears when the final scenes came on the screen...
Gavin is now touring with his band, Unkle. His work is a bit difficult to find but he recently anounced the release of his first solo album for the summer 2009.
The best you can do is check by yourself!! Here is a bunch of useful links:

www.myspace.com/gavinclarke
http://www.somers-town.com/