SATURDAY 14 AUGUST 1999

Wild morning, crazy weather, rain, grey, grey, it looks like an autumn storm. Lead sky. The rain is blown through the slightly ajar window into the bed. Little drops. At 9 p.m. a heavy cloud burst. Water, water, water. Lightening strikes, just behind the workshop. A piercing crack. The fire of hell. After the shower I ride back up (rue d’irlande). Almost hit by a small car which is rushing through the street at full speed. The clouds are breathtakingly white in the dark. The end of the thundercloud. Wonderful… this clear blue, dark of night. Rained out. From the top floor a view of wet Brussels. Clarity in the sky. Torn up shreds of clouds, close to the steaming earth surface. What a view.