<< XVI Clément and Colette
Special news for Godfried Van Kerckhoven (37). The notary let it be known at his office that he and his wife Mia (27) are expecting their first child.
Mia writes the christening party menu cards
from the year Ilse was born
Mia often performs this little tune. Ilse then immediately starts to cry. Much to her dismay, Ilse receives a large birdcage as a gift for her First Communion.
for Ilse by Tineke Sas (2023)
Godfried blows out 70 candles today. To celebrate that happy moment, Ilse arranges a surprise with a balloon flight, a big dream of her father’s. (photo: 2000)
“Self-portrait with her daughter Julie” – Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun (1755-1842) was a painter and a friend of Marie-Antoinette.
The self-portrait with her daughter was a way of showing her rare situation, in a society not very receptive to the liberation of women: the fact that she was both a loving mother and a female painter whose success (thanks to the support of Queen Marie-Antoinette) allowed her to live from her art. She was one of the few women of her time to practise a profession traditionally reserved for men.
“Maternal tenderness”
The little dancer (photo: 1973)
“For a short period, Frie brought Ilse to me every Saturday morning for a private ballet lesson.
That little walk, hand in hand with his little daughter, gave Frie not only some fresh air but clearly also an excellent mood to dive into the paperwork afterwards.
He was always extremely worried: is Ilse doing everything right and is she making progress?
Ilse was very attentive and copied all the exercises carefully, but whether ballet really captivated her at the time… I was not so sure about that.
Still, it was always lovely, just the two of us. Teaching the little blonde girl the right posture was something I did with great pleasure.
To my delight, in the little film I see Ilse dancing with elegance and exuberant movement, and with hidden pride I suspect that the lessons ultimately led to the necessary inspiration!” – Tineke Sas (2023)
With Ilse it all comes out frank and free (photo: 2002)
Ilse and Frie (photo: 2000)
Ilse and Mia
Ilse: that is delightful escape through laughter
“Je vous le dis: il faut porter encore en soi un chaos, pour pouvoir mettre au monde une étoile qui danse.” – Nietzsche
Little Brother and Little Sister
Ilse dances through life
Ilse (photo: 1992)
Surprise in Aarschot: Mia and Godfried are expecting another child.
It is a freezing cold Sunday night, 2 February 1969, when under a full moon the Aquarius is born. Godfried wants to call him Hans, but Mia wants a Pieter Van Kerckhoven because that sounds like Prince Pieter van Vollenhoven. Alarmed, Mia remarks: “The scrawny one looks like a skinned rabbit!” It turns out to be a dark and chilly day without sun. The sky is heavily overcast, with stormy gusts of wind. “Von nun an ging’s bergab.”
Candlemas is a feast celebrated on 2 February. On it, every firstborn boy is dedicated to God.
At the birth, Frie counts whether they have ten fingers and ten toes and whether or not they have red hair.
The babies end up in a Silver Cross. Godfried is known for giving colossal maternity and wedding gifts. The bookshelf in the office is full of wedding and birth announcements. Secretary Paula is instructed to type a generous transfer and Frie writes in large letters by his own hand on the faire-part “paid”.
Langdorp (1974) At the Christmas special with Jesus, nobody can dent the aura of ‘angel Pieter’. No talk here of festive children’s fun: an unbearable smell hangs in the tasteless youth centre ‘Kabouterhoeve’. The twittering of the assembled mob makes Pieter afterwards spit out the nibbled marzipan.
“Constant dripping wears away the stone” Mia repeats to Pieter. It means that perseverance often produces a better result than a single attempt. A drop of water alone cannot damage a stone. But if it drips on a rock for a long time, a hollow gradually forms.
Mark Rothko – Untitled, 1969
announcement of cult film “La piscine” (The Swimming Pool) from 1969 with Romy Schneider and Alain Delon
The Aarschot family of Godfried is growing again this autumn.
“Dies ist ein Herbsttag, wie ich keinen sah!
Die Luft ist still, als atmete man kaum,
Und dennoch fallen raschelnd, fern und nah,
Die schönsten Früchte ab von jedem Baum.
O stört sie nicht, die Feier der Natur!
Dies ist die Lese, die sie selber hält,
Denn heute löst sich von den Zweigen nur,
Was vor dem milden Strahl der Sonne fällt.”
poem by Friedrich Hebbel (1813-1863)
In this photo from November 1972 we see the prince on the lap of his godmother Geertje.
Frie (41) has become a father for the third time, of little son Gert. ‘Son Gert and Mia are doing well’, says Frie at the office. The couple welcomed their son on Wednesday afternoon. Son, mother and father are all in top form. And very, very happy.
Gert (photo: 1976)
Ilse, Gert and Pieter
Frie and Gert in Knossos (photo: 1977)
“C’est la gloire qui fut la Grèce et la grandeur qui fut Rome ».
A client of Frie from Ramsel is stationed as a soldier in Souda Bay on Crete. Godfried takes Pieter along to the NATO base for a military operation launching SAM surface-to-air missiles.
Ilse and Gert are brother and sister, and thus part of the wonderful, enigmatic bond in which thoughts are guessed and words predicted. (photo: Zermatt, 1984)
Gert and Godfried (photo: 1987)
We catch Godfried here in unalloyed happiness! How proud he is of the handsome son Gert beside him, and vice versa. Mia provides the backdrop.
“Have you ever counted how many lampposts are burning here? What electricity they burn here? It’s just like a bumper-car fair.” – Frie
Pieter and sister-in-law Joke
“Your mum always tidied up and threw a lot away in the process. Your father said about it: ‘If she could, she would throw me on the tip too.'” – Joke
Pieter, Frie, Joke, Gert and Mia (photo: Scherpenheuvel Loboshoeve, 1999)
XVIII Steenheuvels >>>