A weekend of impulse. One after another. And all great choices.

After class on Friday I was high and low all at the same time. Ready for anything, even a flight on a Boitsfort hot airballon. The night almost drifted into the totally wonderful land of night in and movie time....but, with the injection of some hot tea at the scene of the first crime it was onward and upward towards the pee soaked streets of almost-north Brussels.

It was decided: saw the movie Control . Amazing film, great cinematography (thanks Anton a la U2-cover-glory). The acting was superb and the music was amazing. David Bowie cracks the story open and you are treated to a well done array of live and studio versions of some long-missed (at least for me) Joy Division tracks. I was taken by the black and white decision - it was fetching from a visual standpoint. Only 23. And dead.

I indulged in some popcorn and a peanut butter sandwich - one of the best meals I have had in a while. Funny, that. But so true. The night rounded off with the wheezing creaking of an old vinyl sleeve and the smell of paper from the 1980s. Breath it in. I don't know if it was the pear for lunch and the petite sandwich and popcorn combo, but the wine hit me like Ian Curtis in a spasm. I was knocked out and half way to the floor when it became apparent that I needed to hit the hay.

Saturday was Newt day, but I had to cure my fuzzy head with a pedicure from Angela, my slow-speaking-french-friend. It was quite wonderful. I met Kevin at the Coffee Club on Balli and ripped into The Guardian's Books and Literature section. Ondaatjee, Atwood and a few other Canadians were featured in these pages. It made me miss Hamilton for some reason - a totally undiscovered and under appreciated city. I miss Stanley Street so much.

The rest of the day included a purchase of two, still unnamed lizards, another trip to IKEA (with Stephanie) and the ordering (and unrepentant gorging) of pizza.

The pizza came from a shop around the corner and was mega simple - like, really, super simple: crust, tomato sauce, and mushrooms. I figured that no amount of gorging would be a problem.

I am adding some photos from a second and much smaller beer fest, and a totally spontaneous trip to Oostende's shore, which, for a variety of reasons, was a most memorable trip of massive proportions.