Redruth to Brussels by Mike Tresidder

Maison du Roi, Brussels

January 2025

Bledhen Noweth Da!

This week the guest blog is by my old friend Mike Tresidder who is an historian, teacher, member of Mebyon Kernow, bard of the Gorsedh and parish councillor. He lives in Breage.

My second visit to Brussels and the first by train all the way was in March 2024.  Redruth to London, an overnight stay with a friend, then direct train to Brussels. Granted it took most of the day to get to London and the Brexit border thing at St Pancras caused a queue, something that looks like getting more troublesome in the future, but it only took two hours to the heart of Brussels.

The first time we went to Belgium was towards the end of the Covid pandemic as Europe tentatively opened up to travel. Our son Merryn and his partner Zoë flew from Canada to Brussels to visit family. After obtaining documents confirming our vaccination status, QR codes on our phones and completing questionnaires confirming said vaccination status along with a ‘declaration of honour’ for the French authorities, Sarah and I set off to join them. It was not the most pleasant of journeys. After a long drive to Folkestone, 35 minutes sat in our car in a carriage being pulled by a train under The Channel, we arrived at Calais and drove straight to Brussels. We had promised ‘on our honour’ not to stop in France.

Visiting an aged relative weighed heavily on family minds so tourism could wait. Brexit was an inconvenience, but the uncertainty of what was possible in the future and how post pandemic life was going to play out, was causing everyone to re-evaluate their priorities.  However, after a few days spent with Zoë’s family in the suburb of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and exhausting local places of interest, we ventured forth and plumped for a trip to Bruges. Again the pandemic featured large in the experience. I am assured that in calmer times the city would be full to the brim with tourists. Not so. Apart from the architecture and pure delight of wandering around a city that has a reasonable claim to be called 'Venice of the North', we were struck by how quiet it was. We ate shrimp croquettes and drank Abbey beer sitting outside a restaurant in the shadow of The Belfry of Bruges (we called it the Gleeson/Farrell tower as fans of the film In Bruges).  We never had to wait to be seated and could visit museums and exhibitions without having to join queues. Apart from the minor inconvenience of having to show QR codes stored on our mobile phones whenever we wanted to visit anything indoors, it was an extraordinarily relaxed experience. And the architecture … recognising the different styles of Flemish Baroque house fronts and gables is fun, but the chimneys, the chimneys!

The reason for the second trip was very different from the first. I was the Mebyon Kernow (MK- The Party for Cornwall*) delegate at the E.F.A (European Free Alliance) General Assembly in Brussels. The EFA is a pan-European political party consisting of political parties from across Europe. In their own words they were formed as ‘an answer to the ongoing difficulties met by stateless nations, minorities and regions of Europe’ It has nine elected representatives in the European Parliament (MEPs) and are part of The Greens/EFA parliamentary group. Despite Brexit, MK and Plaid Cymru remain active members with full voting rights at the Assembly and still participate in committees. Its ultimate effect and the motions it passes result in political policy and mandates for their MEPs. So, the next time someone comments on the lack of UK influence in the EU, you might want to draw their attention to the fact that Cornwall through the work of little ol’ MK still has a voice... and people listen to what it is saying.

The General Assembly lasted two days, the first of which was taken up with executive elections, passing motions of support and speechifying etc. In other words, the usual sort of thing a political party might get up to at a Conference. However, unlike what we might be used to in the UK, the day was notable for its expressions of solidarity for a wide range of people representing communities from all the corners of Europe. Self determination and minority language rights are key features of the parties present, however, rather than advocating separatism the one thing they have in common is the idea of unity in diversity and a desire to be inclusive.

 The second day was an open event devoted to the position of women in Europe. In the morning an all woman panel was led by Plaid’s Carmen Smith who, later, was to become the youngest peer to enter the House of Lords. In the afternoon the assembly joined the International Women’s Day march in Brussels.

Assembly delegates above, Mike is in the second row

Women's Day March

Time was limited but I still managed a spot of tourism. This included a quick visit to the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula and, for me, the obligatory shrimp croquettes and Abbey beer.   However, the highlight had to be a visit to the Brussels City Museum, housed in the Maison du Roi or Broodhuis in the Grand-Place. Here, under one roof, I got lost in exhibits representing the development of the city over time and a taste of how, until very recently, the extent to which mainland Europe was fought over. For someone who can repeatedly spend half days in Helston museum, I left feeling I had barely scratched the surface of what was on offer.

Another two hour train journey to London, and the following day I was Cornwall bound. However, for some reason the London to Penzance train terminated at Plymouth and we were treated to a bus ride home lasting... about two hours.

*Mebyon Kernow is a progressive party that strives to build a confident and outward-looking Cornwall that has the power to make decisions for itself. They believe the historic nation of Cornwall, with its own distinct identity, language and heritage, has the same right to self-determination as the other constituent parts of the UK, such as Scotland and Wales. https://mebyonkernow.org/

The EFA consists of 38 member parties, has 9 members sitting in the European Parliament and is represented in 19 states. For more details visit: https://e-f-a.org/member-parties/

Thank you Mike for sharing this journey. I note on the website that the next General Assembly is in Nantes - I know you can do that by train, ferry, bus, train, Mike!