15-01-2023
News
Mary Pearson
Vlaardingen / Belgium – Every Sunday at Vlaardingen 24: Vlaardingen in the strange! The Florengers who left Haringstadt behind to seek their fortune elsewhere in the world take turns giving a glimpse into the cuisine of their life ‘outside’. Read the experiences of Wilma Hollander (Greece), Dick van der Byl (France), Cora Flug (USA) and today Marijke Persign (Belgium).
There is so much love!
We moved to the Belgian Ardennes because of the amazing nature here. We got to know them during their annual boat weekends with a group of Dutch people led by a Flemish guide. Those were great adventures. What will the weather be like? What will we all see? Who will join us this time? where do we sleep
When we came to view our house in 2004, it turned out that twenty appointments had been set up with the real estate agent. We wanted the house with over an acre of land so badly that we offered the asking price. We didn’t regret it!
At first we were only there during weekends and holidays. When Eric got a job in Brussels, we lived much closer. However, he was to be present in Brussels from Monday to Friday. In the Netherlands he was allowed to divide his working hours into four days.
In September 2012 we returned to the Netherlands, but mainly in the Ardennes. I wanted to see if I could really make a living here. I succeeded thanks to my singing in the Church of St. Thibaut in Marcourt during their masses and their feast of St. Hubert, the day when the priests blessed horses and dogs. That’s how I was introduced to the organist and singer, who put on all sorts of musical projects. Two months later I was singing a duet with Alain George at the Christmas party at Chéoux.
During that same concert she became acquainted with Gerard Lambert, who was the organist at La Roche, as well as with his father before him. He introduced flutist Marijke Verbeeck and this is how Trio MaGMa was born. We’ve known five wonderful years full of beautiful music!
Gerard had many contacts. Many doors opened for us. She was also introduced to Wouter Schulte, the Dutch pianist and composer who composed a Requiem for the La Rochante choir. He consulted with the conductor of the orchestra and I was appointed soloist. This is how I met the choir years ago. And Maestro Bernadetta Artem suggested that I take over the leadership of her choir in the middle of 2021. It was hard work for me, because I had no real experience in this regard.
Despite covid, we had a Christmas party in 2021. The crowd’s reaction was very mixed. People who were pleased with the fact that the program after the break was completely different from the usual one. But there were also those who didn’t like change and called things off. The choir members couldn’t stand it so I took the full blow. sleepless nights.
I believe that thanks to my daily meditation “Reprogramming the Son of the Subconscious- Confiance en soi” by hypnotherapist Catherine Paquet, I memorized it and managed to turn it into a wonderfully beautiful choir, whose members support each other very well and lovingly. The guys said goodbye. With Women I Can Lose My Eggs: Meditation, breathing exercises, brain workout, crazy vocal exercises, shoulder and neck massage, some yoga. We changed the name of our choir to Larochant’elles (pun) and Elodie designed the logo. Gradually people gained confidence in this new choir. People appreciated my dedication and enthusiasm. They have gained confidence in their own abilities and in each other’s.
This is what I got back during my last Christmas and New Year’s Evaluation party. They sang with pleasure and enjoyed the result. One of the soloists reported feeling relaxed and happy performing for the first time. People from the audience, including an alderman of culture, also gave me a lot of great compliments. Thanks! We watched Eric’s videos from concerts together while enjoying cake and wine. Mabug videos are now available on YouTube. This will be followed by a video of LaRouche.
I don’t have enough space to write about all of our dear friends here. But how happy I am with them and how grateful I am to them for all the help and fun!
It will also be difficult for me to say goodbye to all the animals. The three dogs and the cat from the camp, which I recently took care of for a week. Egrets, kingfishers, hawks, cormorants, blue herons, Nile and Canada geese, ducks, all kinds of songbirds. Deer and pigs with pigs. Horses and cows. And … cutouts! And then all those other animals like fish, chickens, badgers, raccoons, foxes, wild cats, etc. If you are interested in our beavers, have a look on YouTube at the videos of our good friend Peter Dominy with his “Hidden World” section. His latest video is titled “Beaver and Buzzard”. His films appear every week in Vlaardinger’s Waals Weekblad and his friend Ren de Vree.
It is the period of saying goodbye, cleaning, disposing, coloring, unpacking and decorating gently. We leave behind a lot of beautiful things, but we’re also curious about somewhere new in the Netherlands.
A prochaine and bonne année 2023,
Mary Pearson