"Who do you think you're looking at?" ""At Camp Cosmos, on the Belgian coast, an experiment in cultural activities in a working-class environment." "This is the subjective but accurate account, based on the inner experience of the culture-leisure-tourism group."" "Ah, good morning!" "Here you are." "Radio Cosmos, good morning!" "A heavy programme on this third day of cultural reanimation at Cosmos." "On the beach, Arno, our swimming instructor with an initiation to the kamasutra." "Today, painless delivery." "On the podium, Jan Bucquoy, our revered cultural activities leader is organizing the open workshop for the little ones." "Ah!" "But I also see our camp manager," "Mr Vandeputte himself, who looks, I must say, really very interested by today's subject." "Naked love on stage." "Kiddies, bring your parents along!" "From now on, I want a detailed programme of all cultural activities." "I've had it." "I'm clearing off!" "That's right!" "And that way I'll have the pleasure of telling Mr Calonne myself!" "Give it a rest, Vandeputte!" "Calonne, I've had enough of that idiot Vandeputte." "I'm leaving." "Listen, don't be a fool." "Look at me, an average poet." "And bit by bit, I've made my niche." "Cultural attaché to the Minister, and three months to go until retirement." "I'm thinking of you as my replacement." "This Vandeputte is very well thought of in Brussels:" "he has a brother in the Ministry." "Work with him." "His ideas aren't so bad." "Let him do things his way." "After all, it's a holiday camp here, not the Royal Shakespeare Company." "Hula Hoop!" "One, two, three!" "And what about me, then?" "You?" "Have you seen how you're letting yourself go?" "I'd like to have a look once at a pretty girl with nice long legs." "WOMEN ARE AS MYSTERIOUS AS COWS" "You alright?" "Can I give you a hand?" "He's doing no harm." "Carry on like that and I'll smash your face in, understood?" "Louis, that's enough now." "He's got no business here, it's my place." "It's my place as well." "I've had enough of him hanging around you!" "That's right, dear oh dear!" "I don't want to brag but it is very, very nice weather this afternoon, to celebrate the arrival of our great national writer, Pierre Mertens, who will lead our poetry mornings to the great pleasure of the campers." "Good morning, Marlène." "No Pierre?" "He's not far away, you know." "Ah yes, I can see him." "Good morning, Pierre." "Did you have a good journey?" "Not at all." "We've been kept standing about for the last twenty minutes." "Yes and what's more, you were late, Jan." "Between Knokke and Westende, the tram took more than an hour." "Oh, what an expedition!" "Fortunately, he recited Pierre Mertens during the whole journey." "Lucky it wasn't Joyce." "Ah, but Joyce was homosexual." "But Marlène, what has that got to do with it?" "Even if any work is always autobiographical." "It's the blessing and the curse of all great writers to have their life overshadow their work in the mind of the reader." "Artaud's madness," "Lautreamont's mystery," "Rimbaud's silence are more and more readily hidden by what might be called their historical decorum." "The anecdote comes to the fore..." "Ah, Mr Mertens, it gives me special pleasure to welcome you!" "This is a fine start!" "Bertolt with a "d"." "La Mère Courage." "For that you'll have to see Bucquoy, the cultural leader." "I've read almost all your work." "Let me introduce myself:" "Gerard Vandeputte, manager of Cosmos, if I may say so." "And how does the theatre go down in the camp?" "You know, when you talk about revolution, people, well..." "Ah, the revolution, as Magritte said," "I'm quoting from memory," ""It's a human reflex which it is not necessary to justify with reasons of doubtful intelligence"." "If you'd like to follow me, I'll go in front." "I'll show you your residence." "André Breton also said:" ""Rebellion finds its own justification within itself"." "Regardless of..." "But careful, man must not be forgotten." "Ah, there are two sorts of men, as Marguerite Yourcenar pointed out." ""The Book of Pleasures" by Raoul Vaneigem" "What a pretty doll!" "Is she your little girl?" " Yes." "Tell me, your little girl, has she got a pair of panties?" "What colour?" " Red." "Listen, if I give you a lollipop, can I have the panties in exchange?" "Really?" "Show me, show me." "BERTOLT BRECHT An Autobiography" "Poor folk got to have courage." "Why, they're lost." "Simply getting up in the morning takes some doing in their situation." "Or ploughing a field, and in a war at that." "Mere fact that they bring kids into the world shows they've got courage, cause there's no hope for them." "They have to hang one another and slaughter one another, so just looking each other in the face must call for courage!" "Mother Courage by Bertolt Brecht." "Isabelle Legros." "First of all, good evening." "Well, let's begin the debate." "Are there any questions?" "Alright, I'll open the debate by saying that what the theatre needs, is dialectical materialism." "Society needs to be..." "That's theatre for you!" "Chewing gum?" "No, a condom." "Can't we do it without?" "But you have to watch out for diseases, you know." "Is a new thing." "There was a man, he once made love with a gorilla." "Really really." "Terribly deadly." "OK, for 30 £ we do it without." " No, 31 £." "You don't like it or what?" "Come on, let's go." "I've got to tell you, I'll have to go on top because I've got a problem with women." "It's just that I vomit when I come." "Well, in that case it's 32." "You want a plastic bag?" "Like in a plane?" "No." "Wait..." "What about the dog?" "She's not jealous." "Ok, let's get on with it." "CANCELLED" "Oh, what a pity!" "Me, I liked Mother Courage." "Yes, but the people didn't." "Oh, that's not new." "The idiots always win." "Come on, Willy." "It's your father who's going to be pleased." "People couldn't understand anything." "It's completely hermetic." "The people has no basic knowledge." "That's why I've come to the camp, to give them that knowledge." "But that's no knowledge." "Even I have a hard time understanding you." "Yes, but you..." "You've got no idea about actors or the theatre." "All that interests you is Calonne's job." "You're pathetic!" "And in bed, you're no better at all." "If I'm wanted, I'm in my sister's caravan." "JUST LIKE HER MOTHER 1 7 July" "Listen, you disappear, no news, not a phone call, nothing." "Not one letter in three weeks." "I was going completely crazy." "Even your father was worried." "Even him." "In any case, next time, I won't come and get you." "Is that clear?" " Yes, mum." "I just hope this will be a lesson to you." "You're not coming then?" "No, I really don't want to see your father." "He'll just have to cope on his own for once." "See you soon." "You're still listening to Radio Cosmos." "Why do the French like Belgian jokes so much?" "Because they're the only ones they understand!" "Here's one to top the lot." ""If prisons frighten you, take courage, all you need to do is burn them down to recover your freedom." "Workers, destroy the machines and burn the factories!"" "Shall we have another go?" "A special offer from Radio Cosmos." "For fifty pounds, the Ministry of Culture and Tefal frying pans offer a trip to Paris for two, with arrival directly transmitted of the Tour de France, followed by a guided tour of the Louvre." "On the 9th, at 1 1 am," "Mrs Janssens will do whatever you like in her caravan for only 32 pounds!" "And here we have this summer's favourite, the number one in the charts!" "So you've just arrived?" "Yes, I've come to see my father." "Who's he?" ""The princess, greatly moved, joyful and in love, gave him her hand and proclaimed him her prince." "And everyone, proud of this victorious hero, applauded and acclaimed him loudly."" "Jan Bucquoy, the cultural activities leader." "He's a nice guy." "Oh yeah, he's a nice guy, very nice." "Who sees his kids when it suits him, and when he's had enough, we're back with our mother." "There are loads of fathers like that now." "Me, it's my mother." "And?" " And nothing." "How long are you staying?" "Until the end of the holidays." "You like sport?" "Sport?" "No, not a bit." "Hi!" "Isn't your mother there?" "Here, this is Noé, he's the manager's son." "A genius." "Listen, for example." "Noé, Merckx in 1970." "How many stages in the Tour de France?" "Seven." "And at the Alpe-d'Huez, what was his lead?" "Still for 1970?" "18 minutes, 23 seconds." "Yes, well done." "Go and play!" "How are you?" "Do you want something to drink?" "You hungry?" "I'm fine." "I'm not a child anymore." "You know, I was really worried." "Do you want to talk about it?" "I've had enough of organizing these stupid games." "But it's your daughter." "Had enough of school, have we?" "You can tell you've never had kids!" "Remember, Jan..." "To be a student is to know the menopause of the spirit." "All that happens at school will be condemned in a future revolutionary society as so much antisocial noise." " Alright." "Anyway, it's what your father used to say before you were born." "Haven't you grown!" "You must be thirteen now?" "Thirteen and a half." "Just like her mother, eh?" "You only ever think of yourself, you're full of tics." "You spend money like water." "And as far as you-know-what goes," "I just don't know what to do next." "I've tried everything." "I mean, you can't cook, you can't sew on a button..." "You're a pain in the arse." "And if I've let all these twits come and do their rubbish, it's for you, to amuse you." "So you can meet other people." "And what do I get in return?" "Were you saying something, darling?" "No, no, nothing." "I thought I'd heard something." " I was thinking aloud." "From Louis Scutenaire:" "The Necklace." ""From head to toe My suffering body" "From the morning From childhood" "My frame of misery Walls of pierced stone" "When there was fish We ate the heads" "Sunday stew with all the fat" "The leftovers of the roast" "Minced and served With stale bread" "Even the bacon rind was used"" "WORLD SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP MEXICO - 1986" "USSR" " BELGIUM" "What's happened to our generation?" "At fifteen we were all rockers, at eighteen maoists and then anarchists or..." "Trotskyists." " Autonomous." "Me, for example, I was married at 22." "Divorced at 25 with kids." "Leave off about your life, will you?" "Afterwards, I tried living in a commune, to end up doing stupid little jobs to earn a living." "To end up executive manager, just like the others." "At the Ministry of Culture with Socialist Party card in the pocket." "Not because we still believe in socialism but rather because we don't." "A century of the revolutionary party to wind up like this." "It's enough to make you shoot yourself." "For you then, the vote has no meaning?" "Christ, bloody hell, it's just the opposite!" "What are we left with when faced with injustice and oppression?" "What gives us the strength to struggle?" "It's precisely rebellion!" "Exactly, yes!" "I'm doing a play on that very subject." "The impact of working-class rebellion on the population." "Oh, you and your theatre." "I remain convinced that theatre can change life." "No, it's life that must change theatre." "My production of Mother Courage, for example, confronted..." "My next play, my production!" "Come on, Jan, at the première, there were seven people!" "Don't you think it's time to change your tune?" "You haven't seen Mr Vandeputte?" "The toilets are blocked up again!" "Mrs Janssens, I've come to speak to you about your behaviour in the camp, which is completely... unacceptable." "Oh, Mrs Janssens..." "Come on, just look at us." "We've abandoned the revolution to go in for art and as art is difficult, we do cultural activities." "And cultural activities, the public doesn't give a shit!" "But it's not true, Claude!" "Without the giant-size screen, the soccer, there'd be no one!" "We've been boring them stiff for a month now." "What are we going to do after Camp Cosmos?" "Well?" "Homes for the aged, for retired sailors, for prostitutes?" "They don't give a shit about our intellectual activities and they're right!" "Look Claude, you just carry on." "Apart from having fun with your songs which don't interest anyone, what about you?" "Any tartare sauce left?" "When will you give over counting good marks for revolutionary efficiency?" "You need to admit that you're frightened of dynamite!" "If you were ready to really go for it with no ulterior motives..." "Yeah!" "Belgium's scored!" "You see?" "Capitalism has won yet again!" "Fucking hell, we should get rid of them all!" "I want to make love with you." "Politically, you're a petit bourgeois opportunist, and secondly, physically, you make me sick." "Understood?" "I'd rather go looking at the soccer with the others." "Enjoy your chips!" "THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM 21 July" "Well?" "Well nothing." "You should have used the bottle." "I've brought you a book." "The Function of the Orgasm by Wilhelm Reich" "With a pipette, drop by drop, you take the mixture and you pour it on the glycerine." "That's where the word nitroglycerine comes from." "There." "What's important is never to have a difference of temperature of more than 15° centigrade, so 15° Celsius." "Otherwise, what happens?" "That's good, Willy." "Any questions?" "Good, on to the second part of the operation." "Second part:" "how to prepare an attack." "First, 60% beef fat, that's to say, the fat from beef kidneys." "Then, 30% lard, bacon lard and 10% horse lard." "Pass the margarine." "Isn't there any butter for a change?" "If you have an arse, two breasts," "Mr Vandeputte needs you for his Miss Cosmos contest!" "Registration opens this evening." "Next." "Can I still register?" " Of course." "Gisèle Vandemoortele." "It's my maiden name, because my husband doesn't know about this." "I've also put my name down for the singing contest." "Because as I've got a nice voice, I thought that maybe..." "Hallo, I've come..." "Don't!" "You'll look ridiculous!" " No, I won't." "Hey, are you coming?" "Customers are waiting!" "Louis, leave her alone." "If she wants to..." "Let me tell you something." " I warned you." "We don't give a fuck about this business." "This is why she's like this." "I've had enough of chips, of this smell and of you!" "You're forgetting they put the food on the table!" "Come, let's not argue, alright?" "Your chips are the best on the coast." "People come from Blankenberghe and La Panne to enjoy them." "I can tell you one thing:" "if you try this again next year," "I'm off to Camp Queen Elizabeth." "You wouldn't do that to me." "Shit!" "I wanna have some fun!" "Life?" "It's not made to have fun." "Do you think I enjoy making chips?" "I wanted to make pizzas." "But the Belgians..." "Alright, get on with it because the customers will soon be there." "Well?" " Well nothing." "OVERCAST, BRIGHT PERIODS AND SHOWERS 28 July" "I was born to die" "To dry up, to rot" "To feed the maggots" "And my animal friends" "The beetles, the snails" "The moles, the eels, the crows" "The worms, the ants, the toads" "The flies, Our friends the badgers..." "You are listening to Radio Cosmos..." "International." "It's the story of a pair of newly-weds on their wedding night." "And the man says to his wife:" ""Am I the first one to ask you to sleep with me?"" "And she replies:" ""Oh yes, the others never asked at all."" "That's not very funny." "Have you ever kissed a boy?" "There's the sky" "The sun and the sea" "There's the sky" "The sun and the sea" "Lying on the beach" "Hair in the eyes" "And the nose in the sand" "We're fine together" "It's summer, the holidays" "Oh God, what luck" "There's the sky" "The sun and the sea" "There's the sky" "The sun and the sea" "My cabin's made of wood" "And the bed is small..." "Ladies and gentlemen!" "Welcome to Radio Cosmos special afternoon singing contest!" "The first candidate, our friend the postman who's going to sing" "IT'S LESS OF A CRIME TO ROB A BANK THAN TO FOUND ONE" "Thank you very much!" "Next!" ""I love, I love life" from our friend Sophie!" "Bye bye, sweetie." "Hallo, postman." " Hallo." "Come on in, sweetie." "You're cheating on me, that's sure." "And it's been going on for years!" "So I want the names, a list." "You're really sickening." "I'm warning you, if there's the slightest trace of one of these stupidities on any of my caravans, it's going to cost the Ministry of Culture!" "Don't fret, Mr Vandeputte, it's 100% biodegradable." "Yeah yeah." "We'll see each other at the Miss Cosmos contest." "I know it's not exactly your cup of tea, but you'll see, all the camp will be there." "Above all the parents." "They're important, the parents!" "DESIRES ARE REAL" "THE CINEMA IS AN ARTIFICIAL ANUS" "Say, I didn't know you could sing so well." "Frankly, what do you know about me?" "But... you know, we're just tolerated here, it's not going very well." "People just don't care." "Perhaps they're right, but... what I'd like is that just one or two be interested in what I'm doing." "That way I'd have won." "And then, you have to take culture to where the people are." "In summer, they're in the camping sites and that's why I go there." "It's a job like any other." "Me, the Ministry pays me and then..." "It's a bit better than being a warrant officer like your mother's boyfriend." "He's an adjutant." "It's none of your business, anyway." "What happened?" "What?" "You and mum." "Me." "You know, like everyone." "Family life." "Once more, the sauerkraut is uneatable." "What?" "It just so happens that today the sauerkraut is very good!" "But nobody's saying that the sauerkraut isn't good!" "I simply mean it is uneatable." "Because it's too hot." "Sauerkraut has to be hot." "Doubtless, but not too hot." "Dear oh dear." "Every day, every day, it's the same old story." "Either he finds the sauerkraut too hot or he finds it too cold." "But I'm going to tell you one good thing." "If you don't like my cooking, you can go out to a restaurant." "You're really a jerk." "Always down the pub." "You didn't even know how to look after one child, so why go and have a second?" "I don't know, your mother says I was down the pub." "I was there and I think I looked after you a bit." "And frankly, your mother, she's beginning to..." "You know what?" "She was the one who wanted an abortion." "I didn't, I wanted to keep it." "She never told me that." "Well, no wonder." "She wouldn't, would she?" "Here's an example:" "we went to see a social worker." "She was a feminist, you know the sort, hard-line." "She said: "But you should abort, you should abort"." "And your mother, argumentative as she is, hates being influenced." "And just to contradict that woman, she refused." "And now you're there." "And it was then that you ditched her." "Well, yes." "Did you leave all alone?" "I left with Marianne." "Go out with her sister!" "That was really the lousiest thing you could've done to her." "Well, you know, I thought it was best." "Sort of keeping it in the family." "And her sister, did you love her?" "Yeah." "She was alive, sensual, you see." "Wait, I have to pee." "She slept in the nude, no pyjamas." "Well, not like your mother." "Because she was really no joke." "Bra, panties, all night long..." "Well, not at the end." "You're really thick, you know." "I'm sorry, but don't start." "If you think running away at thirteen is any better." "Thirteen and a half!" "PUT EVERYTHING AWAY WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED 30 July" "Don't think I'm going to look after you for ever, especially with the bastard you're carrying." "That's alright, I can cope perfectly well on my own." "My God, it moved." "For you, only the theatre counts." "And there's never a soul at your shows or it's a real mess." "Why have you always refused to say who the father is?" "It's not..." "No no, it can't be him." "What nationality was the first animal sent into space?" "Soviet." "The dog Laika." "Is that worth a kiss?" "Kisses can't be bought." "One, two, three!" "Hula Hoop!" "Oh dear, missed again!" "One, two, three!" "Hula Hoop!" "For me, it's better to do it with the legs." "Well, Hula Hoop?" "Well nothing." ""Lastly, every day a baby is born in Belgium contaminated by its mother and at risk of a much quicker death than an infected adult."" "Shall we have another go?" "For you and your boyfriend?" "I haven't got a boyfriend." "It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's nice to have a boyfriend." "Willy, what are you doing?" "Making nitroglycerine." " That's nice." "But put everything away when you've finished, OK?" "Sir?" "BEING AND NOTHINGNESS 1 August" "You know, my darling, I had an extraordinary dream." "I dreamt we had a lingerie shop, up town, just near the Isy Brachot Gallery." "And it was you who tried on all the panties." "Darling, you know, men are all selfish swine;" "they only think of their own pleasure." "I'm going to make you come," "I'm going to caress you." "Ah, that's so good..." "I'm going to lick you so well, you'll scream, you'll wake the whole camp." "Culture in the camp." "First evaluation." "Well, Mr Vandeputte, happy?" "First of all, I'd like to make a few remarks." "And I'm speaking on behalf of a lot of campers frightened or even angered by Radio Cosmos taking the piss out of certain sponsors of Camp Cosmos." "Without mentioning the pornographic side of Radio Cosmos." "Can you give us some details?" " Of course." "I've heard the words cock, suck, arse..." "Balls?" " Yes, yes." "And you called the King of the Belgians the Queen of Laeken." "Oh, no." "Careful, Mr Vandeputte, that's a quotation from the great surrealist poet Louis Scutenaire whom we all know." "Yes, but surrealism is no excuse, you know." "Well, perhaps we'll see what Mr Pierre Mertens thinks," "Pierre Mertens, whose new book Losing has just been published by Fayard." "So, Mr Mertens, losing what?" "Losing is the story of a man who, to avoid his wife, insularizes himself..." "I can't believe it!" "That's the fifth time in four years!" "We have just witnessed, live," "Mr Mertens receiving the Wittamer Prize Pie in the face." "My book is firmly placed in the tradition of individual tragedies of love integrated within the violence of history." "History with a capital "H"." "And what's the link with the Camp?" "We'll pass straight to" "Mr Jacques Calonne, the representative of the Ministry of Culture, who is decidedly becoming a hard man to find." "I'd like to say that the aim of art is to be moral, before being ethical or aesthetic." "For me, the aim of art is to expand the part of life which is not mediocre and to exclude the lousy parts." "I'd first like to speak about one point in particular." "Mr Semal is the go-b etween for Mrs Janssens, who is a woman of easy virtue, here on sufferance, and if I remember, gives head for 10 pounds." "1 1 pounds." " Yes, but that's no excuse." "The question is that Radio Cosmos is above all a family radio." "But you were happy enough to accept the Ministry's subsidy!" "Subsidies are all very well, but they're bound to stop." "And who has to make up the extra?" "It's me." "And a cast of seventeen, it mounts up, I can tell you." "And what's more, you all eat fillet steak at 1 1 pounds the kilo." "I'm going to report it to the Ministry." "That's that!" "Briefly, a pornographic experiment that you will not be repeating?" "Well, there are fors and againsts." "Since Mr Calonne asked me to help Mr Bucquoy in drawing up the programme of cultural activities, I'm pretty happy with it." "And over the last few weeks, I must say it's been rather successful." "And as one who always wanted to act, I think I've been instrumental in that." "Indeed you are, Mr Vandeputte." "A born actor, in everyday life." "You act all the time." "As soon as you open your mouth, you're on the stage." "Thank you very much, Miss." "Not at all, you clown." "I must say that I much appreciate Mr Merten's talent." "Mr Vandeputte, the toilets are still blocked up." "I know, Gisèle, I'll get it seen to straight away." "I hope so." "OK, listen, I don't think people are with us any more." "And what about coming back to literature?" "Literature, books, you know, there are so many!" "In any case, we can say that Mr Merten's book Losing will be on sale from this afternoon at the chip shop and at Radio Cosmos." "It costs 1 1 pounds for 380 pages and actually, should win the Rossel Prize." "But you said..." " She's so stupid." "Say that just once more and I'm off to fuck the first comer!" "She's so stupid!" "Right, if that's the way it is..." "Excuse me, I'll be back straight away." "Marlène!" "Right." "Well, we're still waiting for Mr Calonne." "Ah!" "Mr Calonne!" "Well, you've missed the excitement but perhaps you could give us your feelings on the cream pie Mr Pierre Mertens has just received in the face?" "It's a waste of cream." "And on behalf of the tax-payers, Mr Calonne, what is your evaluation?" "I think that this unique cultural experience is a fine example of an artistic and general success." "I can announce that Jan Bucquoy will be replacing me..." "BEING AND NOTHINGNESS by Jean-Paul Sartre ...and bring art and culture to the people!" "As E. M. Forster said," ""You can only make love successfully in water-closets"." "THIS IS NOT A WORK OF ART" "THIS IS:" ""Belgian mad cows"" "Well?" " Nothing, Mr Postman." "So, running away, was it nice?" "You wouldn't have a doll, would you?" "A doll?" "I'm thirteen and a half, I don't play with dolls any more." "An old doll with a pair of panties." "I'll give you three lollipops." "I don't like lollipops." " Well, what do you like then?" "In any case, not dirty old men like you!" "THE FUNCTION OF THE ORGASM by Wilhelm Reich" "How much is it to learn how to kiss?" "A kiss?" "That's free." "Nothing, Lassie!" "Very good, Willy!" "Later on, you'll be like them." "Good-looking and intelligent." "WOMEN ARE AS MYSTERIOUS AS COWS" "COWS ARE AS MYSTERIOUS AS WOMEN" "We thank Maes Pils for their collaboration." "Radio Cosmos, the formula for advertising." "Chewing gum gives flatulence." "Cigarette stinks of cancer of the mouth." "And cosmetics are tested on the labia of female rabbits." "An advertising executive, it's a bastard who sells shit to the poor whom he takes for idiots and who calls it being creative." "Sponsors are to art what crabs are to love." "What is love?" "Love is..." "A little more mayonnaise?" "Love, it's men and the sea." "Alright," "I know, I'd promised that we wouldn't see each other this summer, we'd see less of each other." "But I can't." "I can't cope without you." "I agree..." "I agree, we won't live together anymore." "But I won't share you." "With anyone." "If you want, I'll be like your dog." "Your dog's shadow." "Don't leave me." "THE MAN I LOVE 8 August" "I want to go to Paris." "Alone, mind you." "I'll wait" "The day and the night" "I'll wait forever" "For you to return" "I'll wait" "Because the bird which flees" "Returns to its nest" "To forget..." "What's he saying?" "He's asking if Eddy Merckx won." "I've got no idea." "Eddy Merckx hasn't raced for years." "Say yes." "Yes." "Radio Cosmos, good morning." "The anticyclone in the Azores has broken down this morning, but luckily the children are off on an excursion and believe me, they're in very good hands!" "Take advantage of this rainy day, ladies, to all come to our open discussion on a theme which, I am sure, will be of great interest to you all:" "the man I love." "Marlène, when did you meet Pierre Mertens?" "A few years ago, I met him at the radio, I was interviewing him." "He wouldn't stop playing footsie under the table." "Is he good in bed?" "Tell us all, Marlène." "Don't speak with your mouth full." "When he brandishes his penis, he quotes Lord Byron..." "Atmosphere, joy and good humour at Radio Cosmos!" "Gisèle, it's sometimes hard, I suppose, to have a fully satisfying sexual and emotional life in the middle of chips and fat?" "Yes, it's difficult." "You see, when I was 18," "I couldn't live with my parents any more." "I took the first comer." "It was Louis with his chips." "But after ten years, I've had it," "I can't bear the smell anymore, so I can't bear him either." "And it's just not going very well." "I want to leave, to see things." "I'm sure that life has something more to offer than chips." "Or oil, or this smell." "I want to smell fresh air, pure air, to be gone with the wind." "How did you meet the man you love ?" "Here at the camp." "And your professional duties don't weigh too heavily on your private life?" "What did you say?" "I don't understand because I'm Flemish." "Work, it's not too difficult to reconcile with your private life?" "No, no, I'm fine here, I am on holiday." "On holiday." "Is fidelity within the couple important to you?" "Yes, very important." "I think, yes." "Is Mr Vandeputte a nice man in private life?" "He's pathetic." "Downright pathetic!" "In every sense." "I was telling you about my sex life, it's really dreadful." "I never come with him, he's not able to do it," "I have to see other men, I'm very unhappy, and even them don't make me come because he's really messed me up." "The function of the orgasm is important for you?" "Sure it is." "Firstly, I'm a woman, and for me, it's very important." "And do you think you'll manage one day?" "I hope so." "Thank you very much, Mrs Vandeputte, and see you very soon, I hope so too." "What will you tell us, Eve?" "I'd like to read a letter to my father." "Really?" ""One day, you met a woman." "She could have been the neighbour." "You looked at her, wanted her, and then loved her." "I was born from that selfish pleasure." "Bit by bit, I grew up in this bitch of a society, where human stupidity reigns." "I'd like to meet a boy who'd give me the love you haven't given me." "But perhaps all that is an illusion." "But I'm there, the result of your pleasure." "And I can tell you that if you'd watched the soccer instead that night, you'd have done a better act than the revolution you dream about." "Unfortunately, that evening, a film by Antonioni must have been on." "Me, I want to live, man."" "A moment full of emotion on Radio Cosmos." "Well?" " Well..." "NOTHING" "Dear Camp Cosmos friends, good morning!" "And here, dear friends, is the great moment you've all been waiting for." "I am very happy, in the name of the Camp Cosmos management, to present you, me, your manager, Gérard Vandeputte, the great Miss Cosmos election!" "I'm an artist!" "Miss Cosmos..." "Let's applaud them!" "I'm an artist." "Thank you very much!" "Thanks, miss!" "Bernadette..." "Ten, ten, ten, unanimously!" "Miss Cosmos 1986!" "What is this farce?" "You're all idiots!" "Sending your daughters up like Scottish mad cows!" "I'm an artist!" "Are you asleep?" "You know, when I said your mother wanted an abortion, it was a load of rubbish." "It wasn't true, she was really pleased to have you, and so was I." "Good night." "Good night." "THE BATTLE RAGES ON 16 August" "Tell me Noé, who was the only Belgian boxer ever to fight Cassius Clay?" "Coopman." "Jean-Pierre Coopman." "On my left, Jean-Pierre Coopman, ex-challenger of Cassius Clay and European champion!" "On my right, Freddie De Kerpel, ex-challenger for the championship of Europe, and champion of Belgium!" "Over to you gentlemen!" "Property is theft, it engenders theft:" "it must be destroyed!" "Your marriage is prostitution, it perpetuates prostitution:" "it must be destroyed!" "Your family is tyranny, it justifies tyranny:" "it must be destroyed!" "Watch him, this Jan Bucquoy." "He'll go far." "Do you think so?" " Oh yes, yes." "Jan Bucquoy has found the way to draw the people and get his message over." "What a brilliant idea!" "When in doubt, set fire to it!" "Fire is instant theatre." "Fire speaks better than any speech." "The politicians only notice misery when the ghettos burn!" "score it, Léo, please!" "WORLD SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP MEXICO - 1986" "BELGIUM" " SPAIN Quarter Finals 1 - 1 (5 - 4)" "Shit, it's full again." "You see, it justifies my idea that theater is like soccer." "Actually, you have to bring the spectators to the theatre in the same way as to the football stadium." "Wait, do you mean that you want to change football fans into theatregoers?" "All you'll manage to do is to turn the poor few remaining theatregoers into football fans." "No, you don't understand." "What I want is to be close to people, physically close to them..." "All you want is to get your end away." "Come off it, Jan!" "Do you know what art is for you?" "It's the only thing you ever found to get off with women." "TINTIN IN THE COUNTRY OF THE SOVIETS 19 August" ""It's not a man, it's a devil." "Nothing works against him." "See what a foul pit the Soviets have made of this magnificent town of Moscow!" "What is this queue of shabby children?" "Communists?" "You are communists?" "Let's see, here is bread." "Communists?" "So much for you, dog!" "Now, the main question is to straighten up the plane." "Hold the rope, Milou!" "Not too tightly," "I'm going to go down to help you drop the tail"." "TINTIN IN THE BELGIAN CONGO" ""De white boy he ver' fair, he give half hat to each."" ""De white boy he great wizard, he cure my husband, de white boy he boula matari."" ""De white boy he taboo, our arrows nevah reach him, he great wizard."" " Well?" "Nothing." "Well?" " Nothing." "And my tip?" " It was lousy, your tip." "In fact, you don't know anything about horse-racing." "I might not know anything about horse-racing, but you don't know anything about women." "It's easy for you." "She works for you, you live off it." "Yes, it's true." "It's different with yours." "People don't pay her." "Yes, you're just a doll for me" "A little plaything" "Ribboned and perfumed" "And found on New Year's Eve" "No, it's just a little love story" "And it'll last what it's worth" "And when the party's over" "When the fancy's gone" "Adieu, we'll part..." "GATHER YE ROSES WHILE YE MAY 25 August" "So, what's it like to run away at thirteen and a half?" "You had a good time at least?" "I wanted to go to Italy." "I met a girl, Florence." "Do you know the difference between Florence and Merthyr Tydfil?" "I know lots of girls called Florence, but none called Merthyr Tydfil." "So, what was it like, Italy?" "What did you do about food, with no money, no..." "Well, we hitched." "Then we met this guy." "Loads of money, nice, villa, swimming pool." "Nothing happened?" "He didn't touch you?" "He was with Florence." "Ah, Merthyr Tydfil." "Was it fun or what, or..." " Yes." "Then I had enough." "I telephoned mum, and she came and fetched me." "DESIRES ARE REAL" "You're the first woman I've made love to without vomiting." "It's because I'm a free and independent woman." "Intelligent, sensual." "Are you really leaving with them?" "I don't want to spend all my life in a dream, in fiction." "I want to act, to fight." " Listen... that way there's only death or prison." "All it's ever resulted in is more prison, more cops, more activists arrested." "That's it, that way we'll see the true face of a police state." "Terrorism makes no sense." "And cultural activities do?" "Are you sure you don't want to come?" "We'll see each other again." "Are you coming to the dance tonight?" "Unless you can tell me who won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Festival... in 1966." "A Man and A Woman by Claude Lelouch." "The first commercial film to win the Golden Palm." "Now, it happens more often." "My wife has gone back to Paris." "To her mother." "Anyway, I've always had a problem with women, the hysterical sort above all." "Anyway, that's what I say." "You know, women..." "There's an Australian proverb which says:" ""There's plenty of fish in the ocean"." "Listen, I'll have to tell you:" "I killed my wife." "I cut her up into little bits, put the lot in a rubbish bag, and threw it over the breakwater into the sea." "We all have a woman to kill." "Me, it was my mother." "Well?" "I'm going to put in a good report to the Ministry." "After all, it was a good experience." "Care to dance?" "Noble Belgium" "Mother of shit" "I leave you your bucolic camp sites Your little cage and the canary" "The country of long faces" "They have to be drunk to laugh" "To be drunk, they have to puke Chimay, Rochefort and Maredsous" "Noble Belgium" "Mother of shit" "I leave you your barrel of cheer Your duck dance and medleys" "In the country of The 1 1th of November" "They only really love you When you're dead" "What's nice about fire Is the ashes" "What they sing about in love Is the remorse" "Noble Belgium" "Mother of shit" "The little cage and the canary" "Antwerp Zoo and Walibi" "The VMO and its shit its lousy microclimate..." "Do you want anything special?" "I don't know." "Do you know "Mama"?" "Come on, try!" "Would you like to come and live with me?" "Mum couldn't ask for better." "Me neither." "AND IN THE SKY, THE STARS SEEMED FROZEN 30 August" "Yeah, I've already done it, but that doesn't count." "How many times?" "I didn't feel anything." "It doesn't count then." "You know, it's our last evening and... can I kiss you?" "It depends..." "Can you answer this question?" "In which year was the anarchist Durruti assassinated?" "Durruti?" "Never heard of him." "Don't worry, it's the sort of thing that's not in the encyclopaedias." "Why?" "Encyclopaedias are meant for jerks!" "THE POOR DREAM, THE RICH SLEEP 1 September" "END OF THE SECOND PART OF THE SEX LIFE OF THE BELGIANS"