Incidental pictures. June 2008.

Ah! Maybe I've found the secret to adding text to pix. This is Amélie. Unfortunately, she cries a lot. Can't figure out why she's unhappy so much. Near the end of May, there was a "End-of-the -School-year-Community-Show-and-Tell" day, and most of the kids did some kind of dance or other activity. In Amélie's class, they put red circles on the little girls' cheeks and kerchiefs on their heads and had them dance.




There was a baptism last week. Aimé KOFFI and Charles MUGANGA were baptized. The wives of both these men are still in Africa. It will be a challenge for these men to stay active, but the Elders are called to preach the Gospel to all the world, baptizing them. The older man in white is Marc VanNuvel, 1st Counselor in the Stake Pres. and a member of our Nivelles ward. The elder in a suit is Elder Stowers, from Draper, whose mother Bonnie knows.



About 10 days ago, we went to see a re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815). I'm sorry we didn't get Napoleon's face. . . only his back. Oh, a little later, you'll see his face in profile.


What is kinda amazing here is that it looks like it's 2 in the afternoon, but it's about 10 p.m. It stays light a L O N G time! The actual Battle of Waterloo didn't get going until around 11 a.m. It had rained heavily the previous night, so the French couldn't get their cannons into position. The last charge of the battle wasn't until about 6 or 7 p.m. and the final retreat of the French about 8 or 9 p.m.



Some of these guys are pretty old! I wonder if they survived the original battle of 1815!! I couldn't figure out what the white aprons they are wearing were for.




I think this is Napoleon again.





Can you imagine what war was like in 1815? Rows of soldiers standing (standing!) 100 or 200 yards apart and firing at each other!

Are humans dumber than lemmings?

I had hoped to get a picture of the cannon firing, but wasn't successful. There were too many infantry standing around blocking the view.

Isn't it amazing that for many years (1955-1995), U.S. high school bands wore more or less the same uniform as these 1815 soldiers!!

At the top of some of these pix, you see more spectators. The village green was on an incline. We were at the bottom.


Scottish troops, kilts and bare knees. But everything else well covered up. Can't figure why they dress like that!


Not all the "actors" are male. There were a few females too. . . some of them dressed (well. . .kinda) as "camp followers." They not only did the cooking and laundry for the soldiers. . .but (ahem!) sometimes even provided "entertainment" for the soldiers. (Again. . . I say "ahem.") (Luckily, there were no demonstrations of any of *that* kind of activity! Whew!)

After the battle, each unit marched (paraded) off the battle field. Miraculously, of the many casualties we saw on the field at one point, not one was left there as they paraded off!



Voila! C'est fini pour aujourd'hui!