When my parents stayed with me for 4 months in Antwerp in 1983, they used to spend a lot of time exploring the city. They found a good shop in the Handschoenmarkt selling things made of lace, from souvenir handkerchiefs to clothes and tablecloths. They went there often to buy small gifts and my Mother used to talk about "the lace woman" she met there.
When Mum and Dad were getting ready to go home, they went there one last time to get some lace to take back. Mum told me that when they came to pay, the lace woman absolutely refused to take any money.
Yesterday Bart and I walked around the town, and I found the lace shop is still there, in the same place near the cathedral.
The young woman in the shop told me lace woman would be her Grandmother, who died a few years ago. She showed me a postcard which had a photo of her, which I copied above. May she rest in peace.
- Posted using BlogPress
I love lace - my mother and her sisters all know how to crotchet the most beautiful pieces. Unfortunately a dying art as it is very time consuming, and unpopular with the general population because it doesn't do so well in washing machines!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more postings of your journey.