#99: Announcing Pintjes Vol.2 + AMA!
To celebrate the 100th edition of Brussels Notes, I'm letting you Ask Me Anything
I’m writer Eoghan Walsh and this is my weekly free-to-subscribe newsletter about life in Brussels. If you like it and you’re not already subscribed, you can sign up here! But in the meantime, do we have an announcement (well, two) for you…
AMA for BN #100
Before the big announcement, a slightly smaller one - Brussels Notes turns 100 next week! That’s 100 newsletters from me to you since I first started sending them out over four years ago, and since I revived the format at the beginning of last year. A huge thank you to every one of you who’ve signed up to get them in your inbox, and to everyone who’s reading this or has read an article in the past.
To mark the occasion, I thought I’d do an Ask Me Anything edition for newsletter #100. What’s my favourite bar? My favourite building? Best beer? Worst beer? The worst thing about Brussels? The best thing? Weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me in the city? Oddest thing I’ve ever seen. Best sandwich? How I actually pronounce my name?
If you ever wanted to ask me anything, now’s your chance.
Drop your question in the comments section below, or reply to this, or respond on Bluesky/Facebook/Instagram - and I promise I will answer EVERY SINGLE ONE in the next edition of the newsletter.
(Even if only one of you actually sends a question…).
And now onto the bigger announcement!
Announcing Pinjtes Volume 2!
The sun is out (sometimes), Brussels’ guinguettes have re-opened (most of them), and the temperature is rising (slowly) - and I’m delighted to announce the upcoming publication of Pintjes Vol.2!
For those of you who missed out on the launch of the first edition in December, Pintjes is a collaboration between me and Brussels-based Irish artist Selkies. It’s a limited-run zine celebrating, through a series of vignettes and original illustrations, the best of Brussels café and drinking culture.
Whereas for edition one we focused on the best downtown cafés and bruine kroegen to while away the dark winter nights, for Vol.2 we’re heading out of doors and into Brussels’ parks. Drinking in parks is a (relatively) recent phenomenon that’s caught on in Brussels’ in the last decade, but whether it’s guinguettes, buvettes, pavilions, and conservatories the city is now well set for making the most of its reputation as one of the greenest in Europe.
And what better way to kick off the summer outdoor drinking season early than with a tour around some of the best - in a testament to my commitment to my art, I’ve even made it as far south as Uccle this time around.
The launch however will be right in the centre of town, on the terrace of the Kiosk Radio bar in Parc Royal. Only a limited run of copies will be printed, and when it's gone, IT'S GONE - we sold out within a couple of hours at the first event in December, so you’re warned.
If you want to reserve a copy - which can be collected on the night, and only then (i.e. we will not be posting copies) - you can email us at: pintjeszine@gmail.com.
Either way, we’ll be there with copies on sale alongside *extremely limited edition* prints of some of the illustrations that feature in this edition.
Hope to see you there.
When: Wednesday, 28 May, 19.00
Where: Kiosk Radio, Parc Royal, Brussels
What: Zine launch + extremely limited sales of prints of a selection of the illustrations in Vol.2 + drinks
Congrat’s on 100 editions. Always great to read. My question is why do you hate Uccle so much??
Ask me Anything = In what ways or areas have you found yourself mellowing over the last few years? And, do you miss that intensity or appreciate your life a bit more as a result?