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 Memories of Merelbeke - een randgemeente van Gent
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Category Albums Files
Belgium 1970s
 6 252
MERELBEKE


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We lived in Belgium in the 1970s. Dad, Eric Hayles was working for Volvo Europa at Oostakker near Ghent and we moved into a house in the Verlorenbroodstraat in Merelbeke. We hope you enjoy our evocative photos of life in Merelbeke, a suburb of Ghent.

56 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 1590 times
GHENT/GENT BELGIUM


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We lived near the beautiful city of Ghent (Gent) in Belgium in East Flanders (Oost Vlaanderen) from 1974 till 1978, although dad was there for about another six years after that. We hope you enjoy some of our photo archive from those happy times.

48 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 215 times
MERELBEKE FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS


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Some of our wonderful neighbours and friends when we lived in Merelbeke. If you know any names that we haven't mentioned, please add them below the photo.

109 files, last one added on Oct 27, 2014
Album viewed 356 times
DANSCLUB TERPSICHORE MERELBEKE


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Mum and dad had dancing lessons at the Dansclub Terpsichore in Hundelgemsesteenweg in 1977-78. These are pictures from one of their social functions.

15 files, last one added on Mar 15, 2014
Album viewed 270 times
OUT AND ABOUT IN BELGIUM


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13 files, last one added on Mar 23, 2014
Album viewed 171 times
Our Welsh friends, the Davies Family


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We attended church at the Evangelisch Centruum, Burgstraat, Gent, where we got to know the wonderful Davies family from Wales (the clue was in the name!) Charles and Betty, Godfrey, Joseph and Noel. There were also two sisters who weren't in Belgium. Charles was an accomplished artists and signwriter. He once had a job painting the Coca Cola logo on lorries, so he must have been very good! He also painted a sign for our neighbours opposite which read "Bobinage van motoren".

11 files, last one added on Apr 26, 2014
Album viewed 177 times
6 albums on 1 page(s)

Belgium 1990s
 1 40
VISITS TO MERELBEKE IN 1990s


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In the 1990s, along came the internet. Jonathan put "Merelbeke" into a search engine to see what he would see, and stumbled across the website of Sint-Michielsschool. After writing a greeting in the guest book he received a reply from Guy van Heddegem, and a friendship developed which led to Jonathan visiting Merelbeke in 1998 and writing a song which was performed at the school's Eindejaarshow. He visited again the following year. Here are some pictures from those shows.... we hope to bring you some video clips in the future too. Photos mostly by Jonathan Hayles, captions by Guy van Heddegem.

40 files, last one added on Mar 16, 2014
Album viewed 195 times
 

1 albums on 1 page(s)

292 files in 7 albums and 2 categories with 5 comments viewed 46,113 times

Last additions
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 Cards at Number 31149 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Wilfried at his mother's in Moortsele156 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Wilfried's mother in Moortsele148 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Wilfried and Lydiane at Wilfried's mother's in Moortsele163 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Tram near the Gravensteen in Ghent, 1978239 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Wilfried adds the finishing touches to his villa155 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Lydiane makes sure Wilfried is doing things properly158 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Wilfried adds the finishing touches to his villa154 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Visitors to Number 31152 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Visitors to Number 31156 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Visitors to Number 31164 viewsOct 27, 2014
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 Visitors to Number 31165 viewsOct 27, 2014

Random files
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 Sint-Michielsschool Eindejaarshow 1998124 viewsQuinten interviewt Jonathan
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 Austin 1800 in the drive of our house206 viewsDad's car, built in 1965. He bought it circa 1970.
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 Hilda Meersschaut and Maureen Hayles146 views
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 Sint-Michielsschool 1999107 views
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 Cousin Julie152 views
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 View from Park Hotel, Wilsonsplein, 1974219 views
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 Wembley English pub in Ghent184 viewsAfplakker van de Wembley "English pub" in Gent.
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 Sint-Michielsschool 1999142 views
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 Charles Davies and Joe Davies on BBC One's The One Show173 viewsFor about 30 years, I'd be wanting to get back in touch with the Davies's, the family we'd known in Belgium.

I'd made a number of searches on the internet over the years, but not managed to find them.

Then on April 22nd 2014, the "One Show" on BBC1 was on. We had the sound down, and only left it because Rick Wakeham was going to be on, who played the wonderful keyboard arrangement on the Cat Stevens version of Morning Has Broken.

Not really paying attention, I suddenly saw a man on the screen who looked just like "Mr Davies" from Belgium. I'd only be saying to dad a few days earlier that it would be nice if one day we managed to make contact with the Davies's

"Dad" I said, "that looks just like Mr Davies". By then, the picture had gone, and some middle aged bloke with a beard and grey hair was talking and soon he was gone too.

I said to dad I was pretty sure it WAS Mr Davies.

Here's the report. And it was! And the middle aged bloke was Joseph, last seen as a teenager!
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 Eric Hayles and sons 1975255 views
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 98 views
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 Charles Davies and Joe Davies on BBC One's The One Show - Just their bit126 views

 

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