arrival of Anselmo and Fernando

Britt Dams, the coordinator of Music Fund, wind instrument expert Joris Buysse and myself spent this morning several hours waiting for Anselmo Chissaque and Fernando Machava at the Brussels Airport, finally to hear from the airport authorities that they have taken the flight from Johannesburg. Anselmo and Fernando had to arrive this morning to start their training of three months which Music Fund is organising for them at the instrument workshops of Joris Buysse in Lokeren near Ghent and of Pol De Winter in Antwerp. We went all home and are waiting for news from them. Leen Verstraelen from the Belgian Consulat in Maputo is helping me to try to find out where they are. A wrong start indeed. I just hope that both of them are OK and that we will quickly be able to welcome them in Belgium. If everything gets sorted out, we will quickly forget all about this day. I hoped that we will have news about them by the time everyone comes to my house tonight for the welcoming drink I am organising for them, Iyad from Ramallah, and the expert-luthiers and their families who are hosting these students the coming three months. Afternoon. Hours later and our two friends finally arrived anyway. Due to an overbooking - something which is unfortunately becoming a scandalous habbit of many aircompanies - they have only left Johannesburg four hours later, and therefor also missed their connecting flight in London and were put on another flight from London to Brussels later in the afternoon. But this is behind us now. I took both Anselmo and Fernando to Antwerp where we first made a short stop at Pol De Winter's workshop and then to my house where they took a shower and rested. Everybody is happy now. End good, all good (Flemish expression). We all spent the evening together at my house in Antwerp together with family and friends and positively look forward to what awaits us the coming three months.