Vice President’s Letter
Welcome!
Our 60th Anniversary Party was a wonderful celebration to close off the first half of the year! We can now rest on our laurels — at least during the Summer — so that we are ready to get back into the swing of things in September. Link to Photos here.
The Clubhouse will be closed from Saturday 1 July until Monday 4 September. However, it will remain open on Wednesdays for activities, and our Club Cooks plan to organise a series of special salad lunches which proved very successful last year. Other Activity groups are also planning to continue over the Summer as far as possible. You’ll find the latest info in our online calendar here.
Please also mark your calendar for our Open Day on Thursday 14 September from 10:00 – 13:00. It’s the perfect opportunity to meet up with friends over a snack or sweet at our non-stop Café, and to see which activities are on offer. Sneak peek: we will once again be offering Pilates…
Enjoy our double Summer Issue and see you in September!
Lilian Eilers Vice-President & Communications Director
president@brusselswomens.club
PS: Please send your articles and/or photos to Doreen Blow, Passport Coordinator at editor@brusselswomens.club before Monday 26 August.
BWC AGM 2023: PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Welcome
Dear Members – Welcome to the 2023 AGM Celebration!
I’d like to start by thanking Meg Dodd, the enterprising woman who decided to start a social club of her own here in Brussels, after having been rejected by the American Women’s Club of Brussels. She organised the first meeting of the BCWCB in October 1963 and to her pleasant surprise, 80 women showed up! And the rest is history…
Our BWC Golf Club ladies with Golf Captain Carol Jones have remained very active, despite some of the weather setbacks – as is to be expected in Belgium!
Our Wednesday Lunches, and especially our Themed Lunches, continue to prove exceptionally popular with members and guests. A great big thanks to all of our cooks and helpers who seem indefatigable and unflagging!
Since the COVID years, we are back again in full force with Clubhouse markets and fairs, raising generous funds for our Club while providing a great way to socialise and experience the joy of being part of such an exceptional group of women.
A Club for Members by Members
Our weekly activities such as art classes, yoga, jewellery workshops, and weekly forest walks are going strong, and new offers such as the Monday Walks as well as the Exploring Brussels Walks initiated by Carmel Delaney are proving to be more and more popular. Other proactive members who have introduced new activities are Ann Milton with her Poetry Reading and Alka Patel with the Friday Bridge Group.
We had a record turnout at our Coronation Lunch with our exceptional team of cooks, followed by a Coronation Quiz led by Marguerite Johnson. Our full-day excursions this past year included a Dinant Cruise and Wine Tasting trip in June, and our traditional Christmas Shopping in Aachen in December. We are still looking for a new Excursion Coordinator to take over from Michelle van der Straaten, who stepped down in December 2022, so that we can continue to offer these much appreciated full day outings.
New Members
As for recruiting new members, and especially a younger group (40- 60 years old), our monthly Clubhouse Coffees are proving to be a great way for non-members to get to know our Club. In addition, we co-hosted two workshops for expat women, led by BWC member Tanya Arler, at the St John’s International School and at the BSB. But that was not all, we also had a BWC stand at the St John’s Family Day and at the BSB Open Day to spread the word, along with our two Open Days at the Clubhouse. We are very proud that 40 new members joined the Club in 2022.
BWC Charities
The 2 BWC Charities in 2022 were Community Kitchen and Mbedza Malawi. Charity Coordinators Andrea Ferro and Gill Best launched two super creative fundraising
initiatives, Marching to Malawi and the Water Walks. All in all, we raised an amazing € 15,000 in 2022.
The 2 BWC Charities in 2023 are Mala India and Raise the Roof. Even though we don’t have a new Charity Coordinator yet, Carol Humphrey stepped up to the plate and has organised 8 charity walks between April and October, from castle to coast and from battlefield to brasserie. She also organised our BWC team of members and friends to walk the Brussels 20K and to raise additional funds for our two Charities. Kudos!
Clear Agreements, Less Stress
The BWC Committee has been hard at work to make it easier for members to organise events and rent the Clubhouse, and for Activity Leaders and Workshop Leaders to gain clarity around what they offer and what they contribute financially to the Club. These documents can be found on MyBWC, the members-only site, and of course you can always get a copy by emailing info@brusselswomens.club.
What’s in store for 2023
The Brussels 20K BWC Team is about to embark on a fundraising event with 18 members and guests, which is all very exciting. Carol Humphrey is the organiser of this fabulous team.
Also, we have a total of 8 charity walks organised by Carol Humphrey, the next one being a 7km walk along the Belgian coast led by Carole Jenner on 9 June.
And we’re all looking forward to our 60th anniversary bash on Friday 23 June, with lots of good food, good drinks, good company, and fabulous raffle prizes…
Thanks to our Volunteers
Nothing, really nothing happens without our many volunteers who keep the Club running and make it such a special place for all of us.
We have members who have committed their time and knowledge to a specific role, and others who do the same but on an ad hoc basis, whenever they are needed. Both types of volunteers are key to the success of our Club.
A huge thanks to all of our members in non-committee positions:
Acting Clubhouse Manager: Carole Jenner
Deputy Clubhouse: Rita Miclotte
Assistant Treasurer: Laraine Alder
Welcome Desk Coordinator: Eileen Chiles
Catering: Jane Kalim
Golf Captain: Carol Jones
Art Gallery: Kathy Whalley
Website: Carmel Delaney, Doreen Blow
Passport: Doreen Blow, Carmel Delaney
Weekly News: Gillian Scott, Lilian Eilers
Library Team: Pat Thompson, Brenda Puplett, Frances Sherburn
A huge thanks to our Area Coordinators who play a key role in connecting with members locally: Carole Jenner, Pat Thompson, Jane Kalim, Heather Bathgate, Sheila Hewitt, Jill Clarkson, Jenny Hulme, Catriona White, Andrea Ferro and Helen Edwards who moved to the UK last year.
A huge thanks to our Welcomers:
Welcome Desk Coordinator: Eileen Chiles
Permanent: Lily Gamble, Kathryn Manthey, Rita Miclotte, Jenny Hulme, Toos Brauckmann, Pat Thompson, Ann Reniers, Sue Mullen, Mary Preston, Ginny Caldwell, Marguerite Johnson
Substitutes: Jennifer Dombroskie, Catriona White, Wendy Booker, Andrea Ferro, Norah Hallihan, Elizabeth Abbott
A huge thanks to our cooks and bakers and helpers who provide a key service to our Club, namely offering our members the opportunity to get together over a home-cooked meal every single week.
And a special thanks to 12 members who were voted by other members for going ‘above and beyond’ and really making our Club the special place it is:
Andrea Ferro
Carmel Delaney
Carol Humphrey
Carol Jones
Carole Jenner
Doreen Blow
Eileen Chiles
Gill Best
Gillian Scott
Jane Kalim
Jennifer Dombroskie
Marguerite Johnson
Please note that if your name is not included in the above list, that does not mean that your efforts are not appreciated!
A big welcome to those members who have taken up non-committee positions this year:
Library Coordinator: Welcome Sheila Hewitt, thanks Caroline van Middelkoop
New Members Coordinator: Welcome Gill Best, thanks Sue Mullen
Head Cashier: Welcome Heather Bathgate, thanks Jane Kalim
Passport Coordinator: Welcome Doreen Blow, thanks Sheila Emmett
We have a number of non-committee and committee positions open, so if you’re interested, please do connect with me at president@brussselswomens.club at any time.
Non-committee positions open:
Clubhouse Manager: 2-3 hours per week
Charity Coordinator: 6-8 hours per month
Area Liaison: 6-8 hours per month
Excursion Coordinator: 2 days per quarter
Activities Coordinator: 6 hours per month
Social Media Marketeer: 2 hours per week
Welcomer: 3 hours per month
Committee positions open:
President: 2 hours per week
Events Director: 2 hours per week
And here is the update regarding the 2023 Committee. Stepping down are:
Lilian Eilers – President
Kathy Rice – Club Secretary
Gillian Scott – VP & Membership Director
Zosia Brown – Events Director
Staying in current role are:
Alka Patel – Treasurer
Carmel Delaney – Website Director
Stepping into new role:
Gillian Scott – Club Secretary
Lilian Eilers – VP & Communications Director
Kathy Rice will take on a new, non-committee role, that of Membership Coordinator. And as VP, Lilian will make it easy for the new President — when she steps forward – to take up her role.
To conclude, I want to thank the 2022 Committee members with all my heart for their relentless dedication and enthusiasm in running the Club in an ethical and sustainable manner, so that we can all continue to meet, share and enjoy being part of this very special international community of women.
Thank you!
Lilian Eilers
Feature
Celebrating Women – Tina Turner
By Sheila Emmett
Tina Turner, who became a rock legend and was known as “The Queen of Rock and Roll”, died recently at the age of 83, having been struggling with health problems for some years. Whether you like her music or not, she became an icon for independent women trying to overcome problems caused in part by an abusive relationship.
She was born Anna Mae Bullock on 26 November 1939 to poor sharecropper parents near the city of Nutbush, Tennessee, later made famous in her song Nutbush City Limits. She sang in the local church choir. Her parents separated when she was 11, her mother running away to escape her father’s abusive behaviour. She ended up being sent to live with her maternal grandmother until the death of the latter meant that she went to live with her mother in St Louis.
This is where she first saw Ike Turner, who was performing in a nightclub with his band. She asked him if she could sing with the band, but he refused, until one night in 1957, she managed to get hold of the microphone in the interval and sang. Ike was impressed and she ended up singing for the rest of the night, becoming a regular vocalist with him. He renamed her Tina Turner and a record they made in 1960 became a hit. They toured during the rest of the decade, making more records, but the breakthrough came when Phil Spector spotted them, he of the Wall of Sound. The first record they made for him was River Deep, Mountain High, released in 1966, which Spector claimed was his best work. Tina appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, the first female artist and black artist to do so. In 1969 Ike and Tina appeared as the supporting act for the Rolling Stones US Tour. In 1971 they released a cover version of the hit Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival, which sold more than 1 million copies and helped them win a Grammy Award.
The hits and success continued, with Tina writing more and more songs, but in 1976 she and Ike split up. What most of her fans didn’t know, was that Ike was a heavy user of cocaine and he had a history of hitting Tina and of having many other relationships. We only heard the incredible voice and saw those long legs dancing. They had a son together, Ronnie, in 1963, but after a fight in 1976 in Dallas, she fled with virtually no money and filed for divorce a few weeks later. This was finalised in March 1978.
Tina needed to earn money to support herself and pay off debts incurred by reneging on contracts after the split. She appeared on many TV shows and went back to touring, also opening for the Rolling Stones tour and singing with Rod Stewart on ‘Saturday Night Live’.
But it was in 1983 that her solo career really took off. Capitol Records gave her just 2 weeks to record a studio album, Private Dancer, released in May 1984. It sold 10 million copies worldwide. The second track released as a single from this album was What’s Love got to do with it, which became her first and only ever No 1 record in the US. She won 3 Grammy awards in this year, including Record of the Year for What’s Love got to do with it. She also started acting and wrote a theme tune for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which was called We don’t need another Hero and is one of her best remembered songs.
Many successes followed, too numerous to mention here, including performing with Mick Jagger at the 1985 Live Aid Concert and recording tracks for the film of her life What’s Love Got to Do with it, released in 1993. She also recorded Goldeneye, the theme tune for the James Bond film in 1995.
She continued to tour and to make records, collaborating in 2016 on the musical Tina, based on her life, which has been a smash hit in London. In 2018 she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Rock’n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in October 2021.
She began living in Kusnacht, Switzerland, on the banks of Lake Zurich in 1994. In 2013 she was granted Swiss citizenship and relinquished her US citizenship.
Her health had never been very good. She had suffered from high blood pressure since 1978. This was never treated successfully, leading to kidney problems and later kidney failure. She had married her second husband, Erwin Bach, in 2013 and he eventually donated a kidney to her in 2017. Other problems included suffering a stroke in 2013 and getting intestinal cancer in 2016.
She died in Kusnacht on 24 May 2023, leaving behind an amazing legacy of music and achievements. “She was simply the best”.
Charity Walk
BWC team in the Brussels 20k
By Carol Humphrey
What a wonderful sunny day it was on 28 May. The training was over and the big day had arrived. Some of the team were participating for the first time and were understandably a bit nervous.
This year as well as Club members the team included friends, one man replacing his sick wife and a Scot in a kilt.
The BWC team met in front of the Mérode roundabout for team photos and then made their way to the start. The atmosphere was amazing with participants from all walks of life and ages. There was a lot going on along the route and the support teams were terrific. Music (steel bands, bagpipes) and encouraging cheers accompanied the participants as they walked through the Bois de la Cambre and along Boulevard du Souverain and up the Avenue de Tervuren. Past Montgomery and then through to the finish where team leader, Carol Humphrey, was waiting to take photos, having climbed over the barrier to get a better view. Tina Turner’s Simply the Best was blaring from an amplifier on a participant’s back. There were a few personal bests on the day but for most team members it was just a case of enjoying the day and raising money for the club’s charities. Special mention must be made of the intrepid duo Pat Gerrie and Marguerite Johnson.
Pat became ill during the event but they stayed together and sheer will power and determination on Pat’s part meant they both crossed the finishing line. There is still time to donate and support the Club’s splendid team.
Donations can be made on the BWC website: https://brusselswomens.club/donations/4555-3-3/
Many thanks to all the team. See you next year! Link to Photos here: https://brusselswomens.club/charity-album-2023/
Charity Walk
BWC team in the Brussels 20k
By Carol Humphrey
What a wonderful sunny day it was on 28 May. The training was over and the big day had arrived. Some of the team were participating for the first time and were understandably a bit nervous.
This year as well as Club members the team included friends, one man replacing his sick wife and a Scot in a kilt.
The BWC team met in front of the Mérode roundabout for team photos and then made their way to the start. The atmosphere was amazing with participants from all walks of life and ages. There was a lot going on along the route and the support teams were terrific. Music (steel bands, bagpipes) and encouraging cheers accompanied the participants as they walked through the Bois de la Cambre and along Boulevard du Souverain and up the Avenue de Tervuren. Past Montgomery and then through to the finish where team leader, Carol Humphrey, was waiting to take photos, having climbed over the barrier to get a better view. Tina Turner’s Simply the Best was blaring from an amplifier on a participant’s back. There were a few personal bests on the day but for most team members it was just a case of enjoying the day and raising money for the club’s charities. Special mention must be made of the intrepid duo Pat Gerrie and Marguerite Johnson.
Pat became ill during the event but they stayed together and sheer will power and determination on Pat’s part meant they both crossed the finishing line. There is still time to donate and support the Club’s splendid team.
Donations can be made on the BWC website: https://brusselswomens.club/donations/4555-3-3/
Many thanks to all the team. See you next year! Link to Photos here: https://brusselswomens.club/charity-album-2023/
Golf
LADY CAPTAIN’S LETTER FOR JULY PASSPORT
As usual the weather has been our most annoying influence in June. From soaking wet and closed courses we have gone into a heatwave with temperatures over 30°C. However, our match at Golf Park Tervuren was scheduled just as the weather was changing and 12 ladies enjoyed a delightful 9 holes and shared picnic, sponsored by Catriona Cummings.
Similar pleasant weather was enjoyed for the Spring Mixed Competition sponsored by Lynette Boydell and her husband Ged. Because this fixture had been postponed from a very wet May date, the lucky 14 couples were able to play on Falnuée’s new course layout. This was popular with the players but confused their Garmin golf watches as the changes had not yet been registered!
Lynette and Ged treated everyone to a drink on the terrace and then awarded prizes to the winners. There was also a sweepstake which nobody won – guess the couple who will come in 4th. So, as a result our charities Think Pink and the main Club’s charities were the biggest winners with 151€ transferred to the Golf bank account. The majority of players stayed for dinner and discussed an accident on Hole 11. Saskia (guest)’s trolley took off, gathered speed downhill and tumbled into the creek below. Luckily her partner Kim was nimble enough to clamber down the steep bank , removed his shoes and socks and waded into the water to rescue her clubs. Amazingly Saskia went on to Birdie the hole! Some of the participants recalled a similar incident when Janny Vrolijk’s trolley had to be rescued from the fast-flowing creek on hole 18! Not an easy course.
The temperature climbed and the Ladies’ Invitational match on the 9 June had to be rescheduled till the autumn. Janice Meanwell, our Competitions Secretary, decided it was only wise to give players and their guests the option of only playing 9 holes. One flight did stop after 9 holes but the remaining 2 flights managed 18 holes before collapsing in the shade on the terrace at Louvain-la-Neuve for drinks, rest and lunch for some. The winner was ‘Boff’ Muir with an excellent 33 Points. There were also 2 Birdies. We must have an admirer at LLN because when Laraine Alder and Barbara Briggs went to pay their bar bills they found that some mysterious person had already paid! Even after investigation we have no idea who it could have been.
There were only 4 sign-ups for the Kampenhout fixture on 12 June. Again, the ladies only played 9 holes because of the heat. But they enjoyed a very pleasant 19th Hole afterwards!
The heatwave raged on for the Lady Captain’s Day fixture at Ravenstein on the 16 June. As a precaution the Committee decided to limit the match to a lovely 9 holes in the sun on the beautiful 9-hole course. With such dry conditions the ball can roll for a very long way and it can also bounce in all sorts of directions. It has been quite a challenge adapting our play from the wet soggy courses in May to the super-dry conditions in June. The winner in Category I was Alison Ralph, and 2nd prize went to Lynette Boydell. In Category II Barbara van Oudgaarden was 1st with Janice Meanwell in 2nd place. The Longest Drive prize went to Lynette. The Most Bunkers prize went to ‘Boff’, whose ball had found 5 bunkers! Finally, Carol Jones presented Myfanwy van de Velde with the Wooden Spoon prize, which actually was a wooden spoon. The prize winners were spoilt for choice with a large selection of chutneys, jams, marmalades and honey.
The Spring Knock-out prize was also presented by the Lady Captain on 16 June. Alison Ralph collected a new shiny trophy for winning Category I. However Category II was completely unsuccessful. Barbara van Oudgaarden drew a bye for the first round. Her opponent could not play the 2nd round and gave her another bye. Her last opponent in the final round was also unable to play!! So the Category II trophy will have to wait for the next KO competition!!!
Link to Photos here: https://brusselswomens.club/golf-photo-album-2023/
The Club Championships also take place in June and are played over two days. The winners are only those ladies who have played both fixtures – 20 and 27 June – and their names will be engraved on the plaques in the Clubhouse. I wish them all the best of luck!
BWC Bridge
Bridge Tournament – 12 June
By Pat Gerrie
Eighteen of us took part in the first BWC Bridge Tournament since COVID! And a jolly and often noisy time was had by all. Sybil Beaton managed to conjure up enough people to have four and a half tables. North/South stayed put the whole morning and had the most work to do … East/West at least had the chance of a «sit out » and a coffee.
Carole Jenner found time to hose down the tables and chairs so that we could enjoy an alfresco lunch on the patio. Appreciation to Carol Jones for preparing and dishing up a delicious lunch, to Maura Carroll for keeping track of the scores and to Wendy Booker for managing the Welcome Desk.
Thanks to Sybil for her organisation and congratulations to the winners who were: N/S Sybil and Renate Funk and E/W Maura and Marion Tomkins. Here’s to the next one which could be squeezed in before Xmas!
Link to Photos here: https://brusselswomens.club/bridge-tournament/
Feature
Albert II – another flawed legacy?
By Ann Englander
Albert II, former King of the Belgians, reigned from 1993 to 2013. He is the son of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid. Albert lost his mother in a car accident when he was only one year old. He succeeded to the throne following his brother’s death in 1993.
During World War II, the Belgian royal children, Albert, his elder brother Baudouin and sister Josephine Charlotte, left the country for France and later Spain. The children returned to Belgium in 1940 where Albert continued his studies. He then completed his education at a secondary school in Geneva.
In 1958, Albert went to the Vatican to witness the coronation of Pope John XXIII. There he met the Italian Dona Paola Ruffo di Calabria, a member of a minor Italian noble family. She accepted his proposal of marriage. Albert and Paola were married in 1959. The couple have three children – Philippe, Astrid and Laurent.
The couple’s marriage was in trouble by the 1970s. Despite starting divorce negotiations at the time, the couple remained married and reconciled in the 1980s celebrating with a symbolic wedding ceremony.
Albert’s reign proved to be a popular one until 1997 when the Belgian satirical magazine Pere Ubu reported that the sculptor Delphine Boël was Albert’s extramarital daughter. According to Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Delphine’s mother, she and Albert had an 18 year-long relationship during which Delphine was born. Pressure from his older brother led Albert to put a stop to this relationship.
In June 2013, Boël summoned Albert and his two older children to appear in court. She hoped to use DNA tests to prove that she was the King’s daughter. Albert was not obliged to undertake this test because as King, he enjoyed complete immunity but in July 2013, he abdicated thereby cancelling his immunity. In 2018, the Court of Appeal ordered Albert to undergo DNA testing.
Despite his refusal to provide the sample, a Belgian court ruled that he would be fined 5,000 euros for each day of refusal. The results of these DNA samples were released in 2020 by Albert’s lawyer confirming Delphine as Albert’s daughter. This was further confirmed by a press release “The king will treat all his children as equal. King Albert now has four children”.
While it was proven that she was his biological daughter, her legal status was not recognised until 2020 when the Brussels Court of Appeal recognised her as a princess of Belgium and granted her the new surname of Saxe-Coburg.
On 3 July 2013, the king revealed to the Belgian cabinet his intention to abdicate “for health reasons”. He was succeeded by his elder son, Philippe. After his abdication it was decided he would be styled as His Majesty, King Albert II, the same form of address granted to his father Leopold III after his abdication.
During his reign, Albert proved to be a popular king representing Belgium at home and abroad on state visits, trade missions and high-level international meetings. He took a great interest in Belgian society, culture and enterprise and set up the Prince Albert Foundation in 1984 to promote expertise in foreign trade. It is therefore a pity that the later years of his reign were tainted by the Delphine Boël affair.
BWC Art
By Kathryn Manthey
The annual ‘Vernissage’ of the Club’s art groups was held in 32 degrees Centigrade on Sunday 25 June. Fortunately, with shade and a little breeze, it was a very pleasant occasion in the garden with fellow artists and friends – after viewing and approving all the masterpieces, of course!
We were saddened to hear of Christophe’s recent accident – our art teacher on Thursdays – and of course wish him a good recovery.
Thanks to Kathy Whalley for helping to hang the paintings (no mean task) … and , of course, to Molly for yet another successful year. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Link to Photos here: https://brusselswomens.club/art-vernissage/
Recipe
More Bananas! Recipe supplied by Carole Jenner
Frozen Banana Mousse Ice-cream
Ingredients:
3 large soft bananas
75 gr. Caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
25cl cream (or evaporated milk)
75 gr. Oat Crisp (see recipe below)
Method:
Finely mash the bananas with a fork. Stir in a pinch of salt and the lemon juice.
Whip the cream together with the sugar until a thick consistency (don’t over whip!) and fold into banana mixture together with the Oat Crisp. Pour into containers and freeze.
Oat Crisp:
75 gr rolled oats
50 gr butter
50 gr brown sugar
Oat Crisp Method:
Melt butter in a pan, add sugar and oats. Stir around over low heat then spread on a baking tray and toast in the oven 180° for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before adding to banana and cream mixture.
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