Belgium

I walked through the tunnel that links Brussels Central Station to the nearby metro station, when I saw a blind woman in front of me navigating her way through the busy crowd. She was tapping with her white stick to find her way, and to frighten away other commuters that jumped aside to avoid a whack on the shins.

Then, coming from the other end of the tunnel, I saw a blind man coming. He also had a white cane in his hands and sought his way through the humdrum. Now this tunnel is quite wide, must be ten meters across or something. But those two blind people were storming directly at each other. I don't know what happened, I guess they were homing in on each other's taps. And before I could warn them, they bumped right into each other.

I can imagine both of them saying: 'Can't you look where you're going!', and then 'No, I'm blind!' simultanuously.

Of course this is not funny, it is very impolity to laugh with blind people, especially when they bump into something or someone. Only bad people would snigger when they'd witness such a scene.

And I'm a very, very, very bad person...

Belgium is slowly thawing as this new ice age comes to an end. The danger of breaking a leg on the slippery ice and snow on the streets and curbs may be over, but these - ever so slightly - warmer temperatures bring their own perils.

Such as ice, ice cold drops of melting water falling from melting icicles. They may look innocent, but they come equipped with laser guided targeting systems that home in on that itsy bitsy little spot of bare skin in your neck, barely reachable from above between your scarf and woollen hat.

They never miss, do they. Yesterday I got hit on my way to the train station, and to the surprise of many baffled onlookers performed a wild Cherokee rain dance all through the Rue de la Loi in Brussels.

I so much very very heap lot hate it when that happens!