The Restory Retreat Centre

“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.”                                                                             G.K. Chesterton We are busy renovating our 104 year old house. The main focus at this stage is the bathroom. At the time the house was originally built people didn’t have inside bathrooms. They had an outdoor toilet and they usually washed in their bedrooms using a pitcher of water and a bowl. From time to time they would carry a tub into the kitchen, heat water on the stove and take a bath. No easy process!  That being the case you can see how, over time and with the development of ...

Photographs:  http://www.beachhouse.be Shrimp fishing using heavy draught horses was for centuries a common sight along the coast of Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of France and England. Now it is only practiced in Oostduinkerke in Belgium. Two hours before and an hour after low tide the paardenvissers or horse fishermen ride with their Belgium Draught horses or Brabants into the sea. A net is dragged between two horses wading breast deep through the water. The catch is then emptied into huge wicker baskets hanging from the side of the horses. Although the tradition goes back 500 years, today there are only 7 fishermen left who fish shrimp this way. In 2013 UNESCO recognized shrimp fishing on horseback as intangible cultural heritage  Everything about this speaks to me: the gentle giants, the rituals that are part of manual labour and tradition, the sea. A visit to Oostduinkerke – definitely ...