Windmills. Joint issue with Portugal

Number by catalogue:  Michel: 3141   Yvert: 3085   Scott: 1925  

Perforation type: 11 ½x11 ½

Subject:

42 cents. A windmill** from Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek, municipality Roosdaal*

 

Additional:

 

*Roosdaal is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Borchtlombeek, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek, Pamel and Strijtem. On January 1, 2006 Roosdaal had a total population of 10,745. The total area is 21.69 km². Roosdaal is well-known in Flanders for its berries through its annual strawberry convention.

**The windmill from Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek is It says a lot about the impact of a children's television series when the official website of a historic 14th Century windmill makes a point of referring to the buildings as the "Zeppos-Mill" some forty years after filming. For that's exactly what www.windmolen.be notes in its text about the history of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek windmill. It even acknowledges that the series brought the property some welcome fame. And eventually, just over thirty years after the cameras stopped rolling on the 1968 serials of Kapitein Zeppos, a new generation of film makers were drawn to Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek - and remarkably, they were shooting a new episode of Kapitein Zeppos.

Ludovic Beun and his film crew arrived at the windmill in April 1999 and he later described the experience as "magical... For some reason it felt like the spirit of the original film team was still there, and I'm pretty sure that the pioneers watched from the top of the Mill to make sure everything went fine with Kurrel & Co."

The windmill's first appearance in Kurrel & Co. is deftly handled. Following the opening titles, the action focuses upon two characters - Ben (Steph Baeyens) and Jeroen (Mathias Sercu) - in an expansive tilled field as they use a scarecrow for crossbow practice. They exchange dialogue and not once does the director allow the viewer to see exactly where they are - until a voice is heard crying out and the camera opens out to reveal the windmill and mill cottage in the background as Annemie (Tine Reymer) runs into shot. It's a magic moment - one which is so much the better for the surprise revelation that we are back at Captain Zeppos' windmill home. Kurrel & Co. uses the windmill and farm cottage to excellent effect, with sequences in the courtyard and inside the cottage itself. Beun's team also staged an exciting and convincing set-piece in the barn, with Ben giving Jeroen a lesson in the art of fencing. 

It was during 1999 that the farmhouse and windmill (also referred to as the Hertboommill) was sold at public auction. The buyer, Jozef Van Waeyenberge, committed himself to an extensive and sensitive restoration project, which was concluded in 2002. Although the windmill is only seen in the middle distance in Kurrel & Co., it represents one of the last snapshots of the mill before it was dismantled and reconstructed. The restoration is marvellous and has given a new lease of life to a windmill that was in an increasingly perilous state of repair. For details about how and when you may visit the windmill, please visit the website at www.windmolen.be - meanwhile, you can read more about the Hertboommill in its Series One Locations entry here at Adventurer.

 

Number by catalogue:  Michel: 3142   Yvert: 3086   Scott: 1926  

Perforation type: 11 ½x11 ½

Subject:

52 cents. A windmill on island Faial*, Azores

 

Additional:

*Faial Island, also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central group (Grupo Central) of the Azores. Its area is 173 km² and it is located 28.7° W longitude and 38.6° N latitude. The nearest island is Pico Island to the east. The island is also referred to as Ilha Azul (the "Blue Island"), by poet Raul Brandão, due to the large quantity of Hydrangeas that bloom during the summer months.