News and Events -----------

Mr Jools Holland does not need much introduction to most Brits. From his first appearances with cockney-rock band Squeeze in the late 70s to his iconic long-running and  very popular BBC music programme 'Later...with Jools Holland', he has been a stalwart of the UK music scene for well over 40 years.

Since the early 1980s, Jools has been recording and touring with his big band. These concerts always turn into a true musical smorgasbord featuring exciting R&B, Boogie-woogie, Blues and Ska music.

And Jools and the band are back in Brussels at the Ancienne Belgique on 2 May 2024. More information and tickets here.

Enjoy Yourself!

The European Union is preparing to launch two new border management initiatives that will affect travel into Europe: the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and the Entry/Exit Systems (EES). An explainer of the two systems can be found here.

The original plan was to implement the systems in November of this year (2023), but Euronews has an update on implementation, and it looks like some elements of the systems will start implementation in late 2024 with the systems being fully operational in the first half of 2025.

Read the full Euronews article here.

The Bridge Theatre in Brussels is a professional English language theatre group producing socially relevant productions and their next production is ‘GROUNDED’. This play by George Brant will be performed between 8 and 25 November at Full Circle.

GROUNDED is a gripping and poetic drama following a fighter pilot who finds herself grounded at the height of her military career by an unexpected pregnancy. Returning to work, she is transferred to drone operator duty and struggles to separate remote warfare from real life. Written in 2012, GROUNDED vividly illustrates the daily complexities we all face linked to technological advances.

This production of GROUNDED is directed by the visionary Emma Howlett and will star the incredible Letty Thomas who has appeared in Netflix's The Crown, Bridgerton, and Damages amongst other work.

Who, what, where

GROUNDED by George Brant will be performed in English from 8 November to 25 November from 20h00 at Full Circle, 89 Chaussée de Vleurgat, 1050 Brussels.

After selected performances, post-show talks and Q&As with special guests will be hosted to discuss various different aspects of ‘How technology influences our relationship with work’. 

Find out more and book your seats here.

On the morning of Monday 13 November, the International Study Group (ISG) will be taking a look at the Global Drug Problem.

At the global level, the trade in illicit drugs has evolved over the past 10 years; especially since the Covid pandemic. It has become more difficult to control by physical (repressive) means; more integrated with other social dislocations (corruption, money laundering, insurgency); supply has diversified away from traditional production centres, mostly underdeveloped botanical centres, to local manufacturing in richer consuming countries; demand has shifted from typically a heavy addiction habit by a few, to daily leisure consumption as a generalised cultural practice.

Estimates of the number of people who used a drug in the past 12 months continues to slowly grow, reaching almost 300 million today. The increase is mostly attributable to global population growth (56% of all growth), as the estimated prevalence of drug use has increased minimally. Almost 1 in 13 people aged 13-64 worldwide used drugs in the past 12 months, and more than 1 in 100 has a serious drug disorder.

With an estimated 219 million users, cannabis remains by far the most used drug worldwide. An estimated 60 million people consumed non-medical opioids, the second most used drug type worldwide. The opioid trend remains a major concern due to potentially severe health consequences. Information about the use of ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine confirm moderate long-term increases, despite the high level of uncertainty given large data gaps.

ISG’s speaker on the 13th, Antonio Maria Costa, will examine these shifts in the drug market and outline their important implications for society. Antonio Maria Costa was Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) from 2002 to 2010. Now retired, he is currently editor-in-chief of the Journal of Policy Modelling published by the Society for Policy Modelling.

Who, what  where

This talk takes place on Monday 13 November 2023 starting with a welcome coffee at 10h00 and the talk starting at 10h30 am. The venue is Château Malou, Allée Pierre Levie 2, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. The talk is free to ISG members but guests are welcome paying a fee of €10 on the door.

For more information visit the ISG website.

Calling all book lovers! It is that time of year again: from Tuesday 14 November to Sunday 19 November the Belgian Red Cross will be holding its annual huge second-hand book sale in Brussels. In addition, there are stocks of games, vinyl, CDs, and DVDs – all at democratic prices.

Francophones and Flemish speakers in the city are very familiar with this annual Book Fest, which raises tens of thousands of Euros for the Red Cross every year, but the event also has a significant number of books in English also available at bargain prices.

To grab your winter reading head down to Rue de Stalle 96, 1180 Uccle between 10am and 6pm during the sale period and pick up those bargain books.

Entry is free, parking is available and access via public transport is easy via STIB Lines 4, 97, 43, 98 or 51 – alight at stops Wagon or Globe.

So spread the word to friends, family and colleagues and help support the fantastic and vital work of the Red Cross in Belgium and beyond!

You can find out more about the work of the Red Cross in Belgium on their website and Facebook page.

On Tuesday 17 October the Expat Welcome Desk of the Brussels Commissioners office is holding its next webinar. The subject this time is the Belgian Pensions and Social Security system and the webinar will start at 12 noon. The webinar is part of a series funded by the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

Tax and social security are largely managed at national level, so these are complex issues for anyone who moves or works across borders. Understanding the rules on social security and pensions will help you claim the right coverage and make appropriate plans for retirement. Whether you live and work in Belgium, or you want to live here while keeping a UK-based job, you should join the webinar to learn more!

Topics to be addressed include:

• Social security contributions for UK citizens living and/or working in Belgium
• Access to social security and child benefits in Belgium, including for cross-border workers and families
• Claiming a state pension after a career split between the UK and Belgium

Legal experts will present an overview of the relevant rules and explore some case studies to give a more practical perspective on how to apply the principles to your own situation. After the presentations, there will be an open Q+A session.

The meeting will be chaired by Amélie Bovy, Legal Adviser Welcome Desk, commissioner.brussels and the speakers are Wim Cocquyt, Director, Fragomen Brussels and Jonas Helaut, Partner (tax & corporate), Everest Law Firm and Lecturer corporate tax and tax updating, AP University of applied sciences Antwerp.

To register for the webinar send an email to inscription@commissioner.brussels and a link will be sent to you before the webinar.

Many of us learned to use our smartphones and tablets because it became unavoidable, often being the only way to remain connected with friends and family (thinking of the grandchildren’s video calls). Today, people can be vilified as antisocial for being constantly on their smartphones, while the past is often glorified (the good old days of reading hard copy newspapers versus the digital newspapers of today) – mostly because we don’t fully comprehend the power of today’s technology and what it does for us.

On Monday 9 October the International Study Group will tackle the topic 'Understanding ever-evolving technology and its place in our lives' with their speaker, Sara Van Zandycke, who will offer a playful insight into today’s technology. With a hint of nostalgia, she will cite examples of how that technology has evolved and affected society, and how we view smartphones and tablets. Sara questions: why spend two hours at the town hall applying for a new identification card when you can do it at home in two minutes?

The meeting on Monday, 9 October 2023 starts with a welcoming coffee from 10h00 am with the talk starting from 10h30 at the Château Malou, Allée Pierre Levie 2, 1200 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.

Directions by car: To access the château, take Allée Pierre Levie 2 which is the first left off Chaussée de Stockel (see the sign to Château Malou). The (free) parking is in the park on both sides of the château.

Public transport: Tram 8, stop Voot; Bus 28, stop Deportés or Parc Malou.

For more details of this meeting and other ISG activities visit the website: www.isgbrussels.be

Sarah Crew reflects on a life of adventure combined with a passion for rugby and a commitment to helping underprivileged kids.

When Chris Trapman and his wife Caty retired to Belgium in 2001, little did they know it was to be the start of a new and particularly fruitful period of their lives.

After a career as an agricultural economist for the World Bank in Central America, Africa and the US, home for the Anglo-French couple was now a farm in the Condroz region of Wallonia.

While Caty trained as a sommelier, rugby fan Chris joined the local rugby club in Namur. The former second row player was soon applying his leadership skills to the burgeoning club, helping it secure grounds in Jambes and royal status.

His commitment resulted in positions as vice-president of the Ligue Belge Francophone de Rugby and the president of Royal Rugby Namur. A fan of rugby sevens, he was instrumental in growing the sport in Belgium, serving as manager of the Belgian sevens team for five years, accompanying players on tours to Dubaï, Las Vegas, Moscow and Hong Kong, to name a few. For many young players, Chris’ infectious enthusiasm for the game and the ideals it represented, inspired them on and off the pitch.

When Caty opened a wine bar in the Walloon capital, Chris helped out behind the bar, entertaining everyone with anecdotes from his far-flung travels. The inveterate sportsman also started swinging golf clubs, playing at Rougemont near Namur and Sherry Golf, Jerez, in Spain.

In Belgium, he joined fellow Britons at La Tournette with a similar love of sport and helping the less fortunate. They fundraised through golf competitions.

Says Martin Blackwell: “Chris joined the Orbit/Rinya charity projects team in 2014 and contributed tremendously until very recently; his experience in various African countries helped us enormously in understanding how to finance projects without fear of their being mismanaged. This helped us ensure that the financial support given by our friends and supporters was spent wisely. He will be sorely missed.”

The aims of the Kenyan project mirrored those at the heart of The Children of La Calera, the charity that Chris and Caty founded to help educate children in a rural village in Honduras.

The couple divided their time between Namur and their home in Spain. For the past six years, Chris stoically battled with cancer, never complaining and remaining positive and cheerful until the end.

For his family and global network of friends, Chris’s passing leaves a gaping void. He will be remembered for his wicked humour, his spirit of adventure, his English gentleman demeanour and his quiet determination to help those in need, particularly young people.

Born in Sussex on 23 August 1946, Christopher Trapman died in Namur on 22 September 2023. He is survived by his wife Caty, daughters Loïs and Zara and five grandchildren.

The Cirque du Soleil show ’Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities’ is now in town! This spectacular show opened yesterday (7 September) under the Big Top at Brussels Expo next to Palais 12 and runs until 29 October.

Step into the curio cabinet of an ambitious inventor who defies the laws of time, space and dimension to reinvent everything around him. Suddenly, the visible becomes invisible, perspectives are transformed, and the world is literally turned upside down. In an alternate yet familiar past, in a place where wonders abound for those who trust their imagination, a Seeker discovers that to glimpse the marvels that lie just below the surface, we must first learn to close our eyes.

More information on the show and how to book tickets can be found here: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/belgium/brussels/kurios/buy-tickets.

BBCA members check your email for a special offer on tickets.

For those inspired by the cricket at our Summer Garden Party - and anyone else looking for a fun summer sporting activity - a 'Cricket Fun Pairs' competition is being organised on the afternoon of Sunday 30 July at Ghent cricket club.

Organiser Julian Hale says the event will be a fun and sociable cricket pairs competition, where people compete as a couple. The rules will be explained on the day but the format is open to beginners and more experienced players and people of any age and any ability. Julian will adapt the rules/play with different balls to match the players involved.

The event will kick off from around 2pm til 6pm and other matches and/or practice sessions may be organised.

Want to know more? Contact Julian Hale via email or text/whatsapp on +32 473 690749