Our personal favourites are a group called Hot Rats. Well worth going to see them if ever you get the chance.
This is them on the stage outside st peters church
Derek, our third crew member is a self confessed Hot Rats groupie. Here he is coming back laden with a bottle of specially brewed Oostende Voor Anker beer which we felt had to be consumed during the concert incase it spoilt while sitting in the bottle
They ended each of their sessions with a musical number featuring Phil, their resident spoons player
If you love boats of all shapes and sizes then its a must day out
Our Skipper Steve taking a turn around the deck of Valonia
Sunday afternoon although very hot was also very windy. This tall ship struggled a bit getting into her berth which was in the larger tidal Montgomery Dock. The crew of the three small yatchs behind her got a little twitchy
Finally, hidden very well amongst all the other boats I spotted an English Narrowboat. Sadly they were rafted up 6 boats from the pontoon so I never got a chance to meet the crew. They also blog about their cruising on the continental waterways and it can be found here Wandering Snail
Our thanks once again to the organisers and people of Ostend for a very warm welcome and such excellent hospitality during the weekend.
Sadly no commemorative plaque for me this year but you never know maybe Lady Elgar might make an appearance one day.......in my dreams lol
4 comments:
I so enjoyed this account, Geoff! What a fun event, and so very colourful with all thos flags and bunting..and what an array of different ships - amazing! Even a narrow boat. One of the photos is of the Hydrograaf, which comes from our own harbour here in Rotterdam. We know the owner quite well. In fact, he is the brother of Philip, our friend in France.
Are Hot Rats English of from over here somewhere? I would so love to have gone. Wish I'd known about it before! I'm not much of a one for festivals and crowds, but this one with all its music (and beer) looks as if it would be fun for all.
Wandering Snail has a blog at http://wanderingsnail.blogspot.com
Hi Geoff, you will let us know when P'nut arrives won't you? Looking forward to hearing of a safe arrival in the world!
Rather belatedly we've found your blog and pics of Snail.What a great fest Ostend is. We were invited back and hope to make it again in 5 years, perhaps more visible as we'd love to meet you both and a 5yr old Peanut!
Where is your nb based or are you c/c?
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