MOTnews 52 (29/04/2004)

DIALECT DICTIONARY PRESENTED AT THE MOT

"Living and celebrating in dialect"

The dictionary of the Brabant dialects is an impressive work, a veritable treasure-trove of dialect words. Recently, two new sections were published on "living" and "celebrating" respectively. The province of Flemish Brabant, which is supporting the creation of these dictionaries, is organising a festive unveiling of these new editions at the MOT in Grimbergen. In dialect of course.

Everyone is welcome, and the event is free of charge.

Please register by e-mail at cultuur@vl-brabant.be, or by telephone on 016 26 76 05/06

We hope to see you on Sunday, 2 May 2004 at 3 p.m. in the Guldendal section of the Museum for Old Techniques.

Participants will enjoy a guided tour, given in dialect, focusing on the old techniques related to the theme of "living". At 4 p.m., there will follow a short chat in dialect about "celebrating", with coffee and cake for all participants, at the Fenikshof (Abdijstraat 20, 1850 Grimbergen).

During the coffee break, a team from the KU Leuven will present the latest two sections of the Brabant dialect dictionary.

GRANDMOTHER'S RECIPES

Straight from the horse's mouth: this is one alcoholic cocktail not to die for

Colic, or intestinal cramp, can be very dangerous in horses and cows. These poor animals can even die from it.

In the 19th century, the following remedy appeared in an edition of the Journal of the Belgian Agricultural Commission (Journal de la Société Centrale d'Agriculture de Belgique, 1861):

"Mix 1/8 litre gin, or other alcohol such as cognac, with 1/4 litre warm milk or water. Add a spoonful of pepper and mix thoroughly. Administer to the affected animal, little by little, in approximately 20 minutes' time."

A tip for your vet perhaps?

SAY WHAT?

In this MOT-news item we try to explain proverbs and sayings that have their roots in our technical history. Similar proverbs are found in different languages, but each language has it's own typical sayings. Therefore we do not translate this item in English.

KIDS news: something to tell your children this evening

Maybe it's something that you have already experienced at the most embarrassing moments, for example just when you are about to ask a question and the whole class is listening attentively to you: all of a sudden your stomach starts to make an awful rumbling sound. You know for sure that you have not swallowed a thunderbolt, so what is actually going on in your insides?

In fact, the noise is not coming from your stomach, but your intestines. In other words, it doesn't always mean that your stomach is rumbling with hunger, rather it is simply the result of air moving through your intestines. So if you have recently swallowed a lot of air, then you might experience an embarrassing rumbling that seems to come from your insides.