“Professor Patrick McGuinness on Being Belgian”, 26th February from 19:30hrs

The President and Committee of the Oxford University Society of Belgium have kindly extended an invitation to our members for another  of their popular speaker evenings, this time with Patrick McGuinness, Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Oxford University, whose novel The Last Hundred Days, based on the fall of the Ceauscescu régime in Romania, which he witnessed, was long-listed for the Booker Prize. Professor McGuinness's book Other People's Countries, published to critical acclaim in 2014, presents a series of amusing and informative vignettes and sketches about his mother's hometown of Bouillon, in the Belgian Ardennes, where he spent parts of his childhood. Professor McGuinness will speak about his own experience of Belgitude, the characteristic of being Belgian – but not entirely - that he considers typical of almost all Belgians. He will also comment briefly on some Belgian writers (he promises "nothing too academic or taxing") and finish with a short reading from Other People's Countries, copies of which will be available at the meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Quaker House, Square Ambiorix 50, (near Schuman) on Thursday 26th February and will start at 7pm with drinks, followed by the talk from about 7.30pm.

Afterwards those who choose will repair to the Greek restaurant 'Kafenio' for a dinner of mezzes* (plenty of choice) and lively discussion.

Attendance at the talk itself is free to members of the Society who have paid their subscriptions and 1 guest, €5 for others.  The dinner will cost €42 including wine, water and coffee.

To register, please use this form: http://goo.gl/forms/n38ES5BRYS 

I look forward to meeting many of you on the 26th.