100 Days of Happiness - Day 52

[dizzojay]

Today's a public holiday here in the UK, and so it's been nice  to take a stroll down to the village centre for breakfast in our local coffee shop.  Even nicer was the fact that the sun's shining and we were able to sit outside for the first time this year!

I love sitting in our little village square and watching the world go by.  This is how it looked while I was sitting down enjoying my morning cappuccino!

Comments

[metallidean-grl.livejournal.com]

How nice for you to have a nice relaxing Monday morning. I love those little town squares. That was one of the things I loved when I traveled through several countries in Europe a long ways back. I loved all the quaint little towns and all the town squares where everything and everyone seemed to buzz around. I was very much enchanted by it all. We have NOTHING like that over here in the States. There is something very lovely about the smaller town, and all the town squares.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I think it may be a lot to do with the age of many towns and villages in Europe, many are hundreds, even a thousand years old or more. In those days, towns and villages all sprung up around a market square where people would meet to do business and exchange gossip, and it's just the same now.

The village where I live is nowhere near as old as that; it arose as a small settlement to house the masses of agricultural and horticultural workers in this area about 150 years ago, and evolved into the shape it is now, with the ubiquitous village square!

[metallidean-grl.livejournal.com]

So much history in Europe with all the little towns and the traditions that were set forth with everyone gathering at the square to sell their goods. I do appreciate it that those traditions have carried on to today and not modernized.

One of the towns we visited was Bruges, Belgium. I absolutely loved that town. We arrived there mid-morning and many of the shop keepers were just setting up for the day. We passed by several shops where the owners were outside sweeping and cleaning up the sidewalk in front of their stores. I loved that. I really thought that was so quaint.

Still, 150 year old town square is still pretty good. Old enough to have your own traditions for the square.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Bruges is beautiful. It's been a few years since I was last there, but I remember all the lovely old gabled buildings, the lace and the chocolate!

Yes, the old pavement sweeping is a sweet old tradition that you still see in lots of places here and in Europe.

Here in my village, there was a little old man called Harry. He worked for the council as a roadsweeper for years and he was retired in the 1980's, but he lived alone and couldn't cope with retirement, so he started wandering round with a barrow and some brooms to keep the village clean just as he did when he worked officially. After a while, all the local shopkeepers started clubbing together to pay him a little bit of pocket money and keep him stocked up with trash bags and gloves. He did that for over 20 years until he just became to infirm to carry on.

He passed away two years ago and now our village association is raising funds to erect a little memorial to him.

[metallidean-grl.livejournal.com]

I absolutely loved Bruges. I would love to go back there and spend some more time. When we were there I wasn't in the best physical shape and would have loved to walk up into the church steeple, and walked through the town more. And yes, the chocolates. That is the city I bought all the chocolates I brought home with me. I also purchased several lace items there as well.

How lovely for you village to help out Harry. That was a lovely gesture for the town to help him out financially. And so kind of him to help keep your town square clean. I bet he was the sweetest man.

[sasha-dragon.livejournal.com]

Ahh the joys of a bank holiday in merry olde England, and for once it wasn't bloody raining!

It is lovely to be able to sit outside and watch the world go by, and it seem a lovely quiet part of the world to enjoy. You don't get views like that in my part of the world, actually you'd get carbon monoxide poisoning from all the cars thundering by!

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I know, it's been gorgeous today, hasn't it?
We're lucky where we are - right on the M3 and only half an hour train ride from London, yet only a step away from being deep in the countryside too!

[rince1wind.livejournal.com]

Looks great!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Heee, I know that square, Steve and I drive through it on the route for beer delivery. Looking nice and sunny and peaceful :D