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

The community enjoyed our traditional Summer event on the afternoon of Sunday 22 June 2025 at the Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Lasne. This fun family day out featured typical British food and drink including a BBQ, cream teas, and the famous Timm's Pimm’s Bar!

The refreshments were complimented by a live cricket match, a raffle and traditional children’s games. The occasion was graced by UK Ambassador to the Court of Belgium and BBCA Honorary President Anne Sheriff, who helped draw the raffle.

All the pictures here were taken by BBCA committee member Simon Pascoe and you can find more of his pictures from the day here.

Entrance was free to all and surplus proceeds will be distributed to BBCA constituent charities: the Community Help Service, the British Charitable Fund, the Brussels Branch of the Royal British Legion and The Wednesday Club.

A relaxed crowd enjoyed some increasingly typical Belgian summer sunshine and a closely fought cricket match.

Our thanks to everyone who attended. This year we experimented with a car shuttle service between the RBCC and Braine L’Alleud trains station thanks to Chris ‘Taxi!’ Dalton.

Huge thanks to Ryan from Stonemanor for the BBQ, all BBCA committee members and friends who helped to make the event such a success, and a special thank you to Nikki Hayes, our events coordinator, and past BBCA Chair Glenn Vaughan, who postponed birthday celebrations to be with us on the day.

Cheers – and here’s to the next time!

After an absence of more than 10 years, the Caledonian Society of Brussels is reviving this beloved Scottish tradition. Why not join them for a night of live music, traditional dancing, great food (yes, there will be haggis!) and a proper ceilidh spirit. But be quick - over half the tickets for the Ball have already been sold, and they're selling fast.

The Ball will take place on Saturday 29 November 2025 at the Steigenberger Wiltchers Hotel on Avenue Louise in central Brussels. Tickets cost €150 and includes dinner, drinks and dancing. What to wear? Dress code is kilt, black tie or evening dress.

Live music for the evening will be provided by the ceilidh band The Hoggies and all the dancing will be called, so beginners are welcome!

To book your ticket(s) email calsocbrussels@gmail.com. Pay via the Caledonian Society of Brussels account - IBAN number BE79 3100 6283 1333 – adding the communication: St Andrews Ball with your name + partner name.

Our summer 2025 e-Newsletter has just been published and sent to our members and contacts list.

As ever the newsletter highlights recent community news and forthcoming exciting community events including BBCA events – don’t forget our Summer Garden Party on 22 June! A range of other community activities plus many dates for your diary into 2025 are also featured.

You can access a pdf copy of the newsletter here. Enjoy!

The annual Royal British Legion Brussels Branch commemoration at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery in Evere (the Brussels City Cemetery) is happening on Saturday 21 June. 

The commemoration will start promptly at 11h30 and attendees are asked to arrive by 11h15 at the latest. The Military Wives Choir will be present and perform.

The CWGC cemetery is a 5-minute walk from the main entrance gates of the Evere cemetery.  Further details are in the poster below and a location map can be found here.

On Saturday 5 July the chapel choir of Worcester College Oxford will be performing evensong at the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in central Brussels. The service starts at 16h00 and is free with no booking required.

Evensong is a sung-through choral service combining elements of Vespers and Compline. The music for this service includes English composers as varied as Thomas Tallis and Caroline Shaw, while also encompassing European masters from Josquin des Prez to Avro Pärt.

Worcester College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford and was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was adopted by the college. Worcester’s predecessor, Gloucester College, had been an institution of learning on the same site in Oxford since the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.

Worcester College Chapel was built in the 18th century. George Clarke, Henry Keene, and James Wyatt were responsible for different stages of its lengthy construction. The interior columns and pilasters, the dome, and the delicate foliage plastering are all Wyatt's work. His classical interior was insufficiently emphatic for the tastes of militant Victorian churchmen, and between 1864 and 1866 the chapel was redecorated by William Burges. It is highly unusual and decorative; being predominantly pink, the pews are decorated with carved animals, including kangaroos and whales, and the walls are riotously colourful, and include frescoes of dodos and peacocks. Oscar Wilde said of the Chapel, "As a piece of simple decorative and beautiful art it is perfect, and the windows very artistic."

Notable alumni of Worcester College include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, television producer and Dr Who screenwriter Russell T Davies, US Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, Fields medallist Simon Donaldson, and novelist Richard Adams.

Two Venetian gondoliers discover that one of them has become the King of the distant isle of Barataria - but which of the two is it?  They also learn that he (whichever it is) was married when a baby - but as both gondoliers are already married, this makes one of them (but which one?) an unintentional bigamist.  Two husbands, three wives - that's two-thirds of a husband to each wife - but you can't marry a vulgar fraction!

The Gondoliers is Gilbert's topsy-turvydom at its best, and Sullivan's music at its most sparkling!

Join the Brussels Light Opera Company (BLOC) in Venice and Barataria with five performances of this Gilbert & Sullivan classic from 19 to 22 June at De Bosuil Cultural Centre in Overijse.  Book your tickets here: http://www.bloc-brussels.com.

BLOC is an amateur musical theatre company that performs principally in English and has over 200 members from over 20 nations.

The company welcomes all newcomers.  To perform in a show, you must audition, however a formal musical training is not required – but an ability to read music is helpful. Non-singing members are very welcome to help backstage, front of house or with administration.

Get ready for an evening of fun quizzing, delicious food and great music, brought to you by the Community Kitchen and the Hot Air International Vocal Ensemble (plus friends) on 13 June at Holy Trinity.

You already know the Community Kitchen but Hot Air is a 14 voice ensemble based in the Brussels area. They sing a wide variety of music but mainly on the lighter side: folk songs, spirituals, jazz and pop. Joining Hot Air on the evening of Friday 13 June are The Ladybirds - a female duo who perform the songs of Paul McCartney and the Beatles - and Triple Threat - a trio of female performers with a shared passion for musical theatre.

Get ready for an evening of fun quizzing, delicious food and great music (that may also be quiz rounds), brought to you by the Community Kitchen and the Hot Air International Vocal Ensemble.

Dinner, from the Community Kitchen, will be served and of course the bar will be open. Don’t miss out!

You can either arrange a team in advance (up to six people per team) or just turn up on the night and a team will be found for you. To be sure though, you can book tickets in advance here. Tickets cost EUR 30 per person and cover admission, entry to the quiz, dinner and one drink from the bar.

See you on 13 June from 19h00 at Holy Trinity Brussels Anglican Church, Rue Capitaine Crespel 29, 1050 Brussels.

The annual Summer Fayre at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church in Kraainem takes place on Sunday 15 June from 13h00. The fayre is free to enter and promises lots of fun! Entertainment includes a BBQ and refreshments, a bar, live music, a dance and fashion show, tombola, bouncy castle, games and stalls including toys & books, clothes & jewellery and bric-a-brac. All in the charming grounds of the church.

Saint Anthony’s is at Oudstrijderslaan 23-25 in Kraainem and has been serving the international, English-speaking, Roman Catholic community in the Brussels area since 1973. The church is part of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels. The church is home to a vibrant and diverse community of over 40 nationalities.

Central Brussels Scouts (CSB) are on the lookout for new members. CSB is an English-speaking group that is part of British Scouting Overseas. The group takes kids, boys and girls, from 6 to 14 years old across their three sections: Beavers (6-8 years old); Cubs (~8-10 years old); and Scouts (~10-14 years old).

CSB is an international group with members from across the world, the only criteria is that the joining children should speak a good level of English, so they can understand what is going on.

The group does a wide range of activities from crafts, to cooking to outdoor games. They also participate in camps and other events. Weekly meetings are held on weekday evenings between 17h00 and 20h30 during school term times.

For more information and to sign up please visit the CSB website. The Group also has a Facebook page.

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.