“when truth is replaced by silence,the silence is a lie”
― yevgeny yevtushenko
So, it’s now Thursday, the infamous #BrusselsLockdown began last Saturday.
I’m writing this post on the move with the WordPress app on my iPad. My ‘grown up’ camera (curiously my iPad insisted, with Siri’s help no doubt, on replacing camera with ‘camper’) is resting at home, my battered, screen shattered, old iPhone has given up, it’s battery exhausted. Yes, it knows the game’s up, knows it will be retired and replaced by a younger, slimmer, (deceptively) more exciting model in only a few days.
Today’s photos were shot, edited and posted from my iPad, so they’re perhaps not as polished as I might like. In fact, some are frankly poor.
But, I do think they tell the story. Thursday evening, in many places, used to be the time of the week when the wage slaves received their pay packets bulging with rapidly depreciating notes. The streets would be packed with life, noise, and yes, a degree of drunken debauchery.
Not here. Not today. Not yet.
I’ll be back.
Which, reminds me (ha) you may wonder why there is a poorly cropped shot of headless Politie officers? Well, for the first time in my life, I was stopped whilst shooting taking photographs and instructed (firmly but politely) to press the delete button. Does that make me a paparazzi, a real photographer, or just plain stupid for taking a full frontal group shot with a leather encased tablet?
As I said, I’ll be back.
belgianstreets 
wow, Andy. Oh, please keep ‘shooting’ those photographs. Amazingly enough, no photos of Brussels in the newspaper today, although photos from so many other places. I turn to you for the news. Please, never stupid. Ever.
Thank you Lois, I will head out later today to see how the streets are this weekend. Thank you too for your continued support and contribution on these pages, I really appreciate it…
Nice post, I hope it all goes back to normal soon.
Thank you, it seems to be setting down now, gradually…
Incredible!
At least I wasn’t arrested 😉
🙂 🙂 That is a point!!!! So restrictions are not so bad!!! 🙂
It doesn’t surprise me that you were informed to hit the “delete” button – most uniformed authorities … unless at a planned ‘happy event” (i.e. parade) or unless you are wearing a “press badge” (which might actually make it worse, depending where you are) will not accept having their images taken … and I can appreciate that. And truth is … I think the “headless shot” is far more effective… especially since it is part of this series … and it speaks to the tensions that still exist.
So be well and safe as you go about things Andy … and thanks for sharing … hopefully this will all end soon enough so that people can resume life as “normal.”
Thank you Pat, you are of course right. And once again thank you again for your support and contributions on these pages.
Wow, you have really covered the lock down so well. No surprise that BBC featured you.
Thank you, the luck of being ‘in the moment’, it was quite a day….
Well done though!