Fri, 10 February 2012
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Believing in the conspiracy of all things, Paul Morris finds the common denominator in last week’s news across the country, as reported in the pages of expatica. This time: doggies, sweaters, bakers...No total ban on pet sales. "How much is that doggie in the window?" will no doubt be banned from the airwaves. I’ve always found it a bizarre song anyway. It’s about young woman who has to go away on a trip and wants to buy a dog for her boyfriend so that he will not be lonely and, presumably, look for affection from another woman. She could have saved her money and just bought a leash – for her man. how much for me?
"How much is that baguette in the window?"
Baker in Ghent wants to open Sundays. A bakery chain wants folk to sign a petition in protest at the law requiring bakers to close one day a week. It depends which part of the bible he wants to use as evidence - 'Give us this day our daily bread', or 'the Sabbath being a day of rest', but then again that should (according to certain religious scholars) be construed as Saturday as they claim there is no evidence in the Good Book for Sunday as the day of worship. This would leave us holding on to Friday’s stale baguette for the entire weekend.
"How Much is that young person in the window?"
puppy love in danger?
"Little wonder then, what with the lack of a good loaf to chew on, that a report claims Young People Endangered Species. “The number of people aged 15 to 30 has decreased by 100 thousand in the past ten years. The ageing of the workforce has become reality, De Standaard writes”. Perhaps we will have to keep them, too, behind glass lest they become totally extinct. In zoos across the country, we can watch them sit in their natural habitat – their rooms - doing nothing, and occasionally shouting, “I know, I’m coming down, Mum!”
How Much is that thick sweater in the window?"
Perhaps there would be more young people if every day was Friday Thick Sweater Day in Flanders. Suitably attired, they would fend off all the colds that assail us throughout the year and employment of the older folk would be taken care of as someone would have to knit all those sweaters. The flu has arrived...
Paul Morris
Editor
Expatica Belgium
21 February 2007
[Copyright Expatica 2007]
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