I’m up early, not because I couldn’t sleep, but because I’m headed to Mons, Belgium today! There is a festival going on there this time of year, and the 76th Army Band is there to perform. I haven’t seen Mat yet, and I’ll be traveling with an army musician and his wife to join the band (and Mat) today.

The city I’ll be traveling to is Mons for the Doudou Festival. Yes, I thought that was quite hilarious, too. Basically, it is a festival celebrating the defeat of a dragon — Lumecon I think is his name — by Sir George. There is a reenactment of the slaying of the dragon, and apparently during this reenactment, tons of people try to grab a bit of the tail. Though the tail is made of chains and whatnot, there is horsehair as well in there, and it is good luck if you can grab some of the hair. There is a great 360