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

The British Charitable Fund (BCF) was founded by the Duke of Wellington in 1815 following the Battle of Waterloo to take care of wounded soldiers and their families. Today, some 210 years later the BCF is still caring and helping people in times of crisis.

The BCF exists to assist persons of British nationality or persons who are married to or divorced from a British citizen. The BCF also helps widows/widowers of British nationals regardless of nationality. Assistance may also be extended to the children of a British national. In each of these cases, the only proviso is that the person concerned is resident in Belgium.

The patron of the BCF is Philippe, King of the Belgians, and its Honorary President is the British Ambassador to Belgium. The day-to-day work of the fund is undertaken by a small team of volunteers - all give their time freely and running expenses are kept to an absolute minimum.

The people that the BCF helps are young and old, long-term residents in Belgium and new arrivals, some just passing through, and they come from all walks of life. The BCF is non-denominational and non-judgemental, and simply does what it takes to help get lives back on track.

The personal cases that  the BCF get involved with are many and varied. For instance, coping with administrative requirements upon the loss of a spouse can often be daunting. Loneliness and isolation (often coupled with financial issues) can be longer-term problems for many people, not necessarily just the elderly. Language barriers only add to the difficulties and anxieties experienced by many people, often the most vulnerable amongst us.

Case studies

The two examples below are typical of the current work of the BCF.

Gloria and Sylia have both been a part of the BCF family for many years. They each receive a very small state pension and a monthly stipend from the BCF. As the years pass, they continue to live active lives in the knowledge that the BCF checks in regularly with each of them and maintains their financial support.

Alex has lived in Belgium for many years. In 2024, his employment situation changed, and his income decrease abruptly. Referred to the BCF by a mutual contact, a series of financial measures have been put in place to help him until his income flow stabilises.

Plus ça change

“I recently came across a copy of the BCF annual report for 1957,”says BCF Chair Julie Huckle. “Reading the report, it struck me just how much things have changed on a world scale but then again, how nothing has changed on a human scale. In 1957, the work of the BCF was funded by donations from many, many individuals and companies, Today, our list of donors is a more restrained affair.”

“Also in 1957, the BCF supported almost ten times more people with regular pension payments than it does today,” she continues. “Then, as now, however, steps were taken during the year to supplement payments in an effort to bring them more in line with the cost of living because the Fund’s protégés are, without exception, people who are trying to make ends meet on what by any standards can only be regarded as a bare subsistence level.”

“Nowadays, we are all connected with an immediacy that can sometimes be overwhelming. Yet, in general, there is a recognition that we live ever more individualistic lives, behind the protective barriers of GDPR and privacy rights. Many British people in Belgium are hiding in plain sight and the people who could usefully benefit from BCF support risk going un-noticed.”

“In practice, there are few limits to the type of help the BCF can provide,“ concludes Julie. “The BCF works as a small committee and is a group of unpaid volunteers. We work in conditions of the strictest confidentiality but are an ‘agency of last resort’, only stepping in when applicants have exhausted the normal means of family or government support. Our structure enables us to react very quickly - often the same day - and assistance can last for anything from a few days to several years.”

How can you help?

Spread the word – The BCF is concerned that there may be many needy people who are simply unaware of the help that the BCF can offer. The BCF is working to increase awareness of its activities amongst the British and anglophile community in Belgium.

Volunteer – The BCF works closely with other organisations which also help British nationals in Belgium, supports the work of the Wednesday Club and is a member of the BBCA. They liase regularly with the Consulate and the British Embassy. But volunteers are at the core of providing and facilitating the BCF response to individuals. Can you spare a few hours to help?

Donate - If you don’t have time to volunteer, then please consider donating. Donations to the BCF are recognised by the Belgian Ministry of Finance and annual contributions of €40 and above are tax deductible.

Donations to the BCF can be made to ING account ‘The British Charitable Fund asbl’ at IBAN BE37 3101 8900 8428 – please include the message “Donation” and your email address so the BCF can keep in touch -  and send you your tax attestation!

Find more about the BCF on their website and Facebook page.

From 2- 14 June The Bridge Theatre Brussels will be premiering a brand-new production ‘855-FOR-TRUTH’ at The Berger Court near Porte de Namur in Brussels. Bridge Theatre is a professional English-language company whose last production in November – ‘Radiant Vermin’ – scored a five-star review with L’Echo.

Somewhere between Hilldale, Utah and the end of the world, an 18-year-old cult member and a young climate scientist collide in the woods. As Meredith prepares for the apocalypse and Isaac scrambles to save the planet, the lines between faith, science, and survival blur.

Tender, provoking, and bitingly funny, 855-FOR-TRUTH explores our urge to fix the world—and each other—while asking what we’re willing to believe when everything is falling apart.

855-FOR-TRUTH is written by Eva Hudson and stars Max Rapahel (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Lionsgate, Black Beauty - Disney+) and Molly Hanly (Youth's The Season - Abbey Theatre).

This exciting production takes place in The Berger Court at Stassart House, a beautiful and historic venue near Porte de Namur, that has been transformed over the years from a reception space for the Union Coloniale Belge to housing the Maison de la Radio (RTBF) and then the theatre department of the Conservatoire.

The play runs from 2 to 14 June, Monday-Saturday at 20h00 plus Saturday matinee at 15h00 at The Berger Court (Stassart House), 13 rue du Berger, 1050 Brussels. Find more information and tickets here.

Join the Community Kitchen at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday 17 May for a warm, heartfelt evening of music, community, and good food to support the excellent work of this important charity initiative. This special benefit event will feature a live performance by the Scottish folk band Laverock, whose rich harmonies and traditional melodies will transport you straight to the highlands. Laverock brings their own unique take on Scottish folk traditions, weaving storytelling and song into a captivating live performance.

Laverock is a Scottish folk trio known for their beautiful vocal arrangements, traditional and contemporary repertoire, and infectious enthusiasm for storytelling through song. They have deep roots in the folk tradition and a strong commitment to community.

In addition to the music, the Community Kitchen will be serving dinner and operating a bar during the show. Tickets for the concert, dinner and one drink cost €30 and can be purchased here.

All proceeds from the evening will directly support the Community Kitchen’s efforts to provide nourishing meals and social connection for those in need.

Doors open at Holy Trinity, Rue Capitaine Crespel 29, 1000 Bruxelles at 19h00 with music from 19h30. There will be a break for dinner at 20h15 followed by a second tranche of Laverock from 21h10 to 22h00.

The Community Kitchen

The mission of the Community Kitchen is to create a Brussels-wide community of volunteers and donors committed to ensuring that no one in our city goes hungry. The Kitchen is a diverse community of cooks who come together every day to prepare nourishing meals for people in need. Based at Holy Trinity Brussels, meals are sent out across the city to humanitarian, refugee and other food distribution centres. The Kitchen also operates a weekly food bank and cafe providing essential food items to families and individuals in our city.

Find out more about the work of the Community Kitchen here.

Join the Arts Society Brussels on the evening of 14 May for their last lecture of the 2024-2025 season on Antony Gormley and his work. Gormley's career spans nearly 40 years, during which time he has made sculpture that explores the relationship of the human body to space, often using his own body as his starting point.

His work has been shown across the world, in galleries including the Tate in London and the Hermitage in St Petersburg, but his art is also very public including  Another Place at Crosby Beach, near Liverpool and the iconic and monumental Angel of the North.

This talk will look at some of his earlier and less well-known works, to give an overall view of the development of his work across his whole career to the present.

The talk takes place at the Maison Communale Woluwe Saint Lambert on the evening of Wednesday 14 May. The talk is free for Art Society members, but non-members are welcome and can pay on the door.  The talk will start at 20h00 with complimentary drinks from 19h30.

More information here.

On 18 April, Good Friday, Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral in central Brussels invites you to join a Musical Act of Worship around the performance, with choir and orchestra, of the Seven Last Words from the Cross (sung in German) by Joseph Haydn. The service will commence at 19h30. For more details see below.

2025 will be a busy year for our colleagues in the Royal British Legion (RBL) Brussels branch with the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Ahead of the VE (Victory in Europe) Day on 8 May, RBL Brussels is inviting members and friends to the ‘British Day’ commemorations in Hotton and La Roche on Sunday 4 May 2025.

This annual event marks the contribution of more than 55,000 UK and Commonwealth troops who fought in the Battle of the Bulge – the final German offensive in the west in the winter of 1944-45. Hotton marks the western limit of the German offensive through the Ardennes and the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery there contains 666 burials.

A memorial above the town of La Roche-en-Ardenne commemorates 54 men of the 51st (Highland) Division who lost their lives during the Ardennes Offensive. The town itself was liberated on 11 January 1945 by the 1st Black Watch, supported by the Derbyshire Yeomanry.

The programme for the day starts at 9h00 with a welcome coffee or drink at the Café Le Jacquemart, opposite the Church in Hotton where a bilingual Mass led by Père Herman Kusola and Rev Canon John Wilkinson will take place at 9h45.

This will be followed by a wreath laying ceremony outside the Church, followed by a procession to the Hotton Commonwealth War Cemetery led by La Fanfare Royale des Joyeux Travailleurs for a further commemoration event.

After lunch events move on to La Roche-en-Ardenne where a short commemoration ceremony will take place at the 51st Highland Division Memorial.

For more details, including how to book and pay for an optional lunch in Hotton etc, please contact RBL Brussel’s Joint Hon. Secretary Andrée Ferrant via this email.

The next free webinar from the Commissioner.Brussels Expat Welcome Desk (EWD) will be on Monday 31 March from 12h00 to 13h30 and will cover "Buying a property with confidence: the technical and architectural keys to your property project".

Buying a property in Belgium as an expatriate can be complex: it's sometimes hard to know what to look out for, whether it's assessing the property's health, determining the budget needed for works, understanding whether planning permission needs to be applied for and how the role of an architect can be useful.

The aim of this seminar is to provide you with the essential technical and architectural keys to successfully completing your property project with complete confidence. The webinar will guide you through the crucial aspects of the buying process, to help you avoid common pitfalls and make informed choices for your future in Belgium.

The webinar will be chaired by Amélie Bovy, Senior Legal Adviser at the EWD, and the speakers will be Miguel Paternostre, Civil Engineer in Architecture and Silvia Passoni, Architect and member of the Belgian Order of Architects.

To register for this webinar send an email to inscription@commissioner.brussels before 27 March at 17h00. Information concerning the link to access the meeting will be sent via e-mail to your registered email one day before the webinar.

The Brussels Evensong Choir will be singing evensong twice in Brussels at the beginning of April. On Saturday 5 April the choir will perform at Holy Trinity Church, 29 Rue Capitaine Crespel, 1050 Brussels at 17h00 and on Sunday 6 April the choir will be performing at the Chapel for Europe, 22 rue Van Maerlant, 1040 Brussels at 17h00.

The programme for both services is:

Introit – Ubi Caritas – Duruflé

Preces and Responses – Smith

Canticles – Noble in B minor - Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

Anthem – Lamentations of Jeremiah Part 1 – Tallis

For both performances the choir will be directed by Margaret Scott, the Officiant will be Rev John Wilkinson and the organist will be Ludovico Silvestri. All welcome.

The multinational group Association Femmes d’Europe is pleased to announce that its traditional Easter Bazaar will take place this year on Saturday, March 29 from 11h00 to16h30 at La Bergerie, Rue au Bois 365b in Woluwe Saint Pierre.

Stands from twelve European countries will be there offering Easter decorations, floral arrangements, gastronomic specialties from across the continent, champagne, wines and spirits, crafts, jewellery, scarves and bags, handmade knitwear, plaids, ceramics, interior decoration, a flea market, and children's books.

Refreshments and catering will be available on site from 11h00 to 16h00. All profits from the event will be donated to Association’s various humanitarian projects.

More information here and in the poster below.

Expect an exceptional musical event with Verdi’s Requiem Mass performed at NOVUM (a superb art deco venue, formally the Theatre Saint Michel) in Etterbeek on Saturday 5 April. The Brussels Choral Society (BCS) and the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra are combining their talents to  offer you this “opera” requiem. They promise to bring to life the full range of colours of the score and to awaken in the audience an immense enthusiasm for this true gem of lyrical art.

Verdi is celebrating his 150th birthday and his work is immortal. Come and celebrate this anniversary with one of the greatest masterpieces of choral music of all time! Book your seats now. With the fantastic soloists, soprano Rita Matos-Alves, mezzo Amalia Avilan, tenor Denzil Delaere and bass Charles Dekeyser

For more information and tickets visit the BCS website or use the QR code on the poster below.