It's Merlin the Inventor who will enchant Huy's summer

Huy | A summer season under the sign of roller skating It's Merlin the Inventor who will enchant Huy's summer ■ Huy's tourist season placed under the sign of a little-known Huy native. ■ Before leaving for London, the inventor of the “in-line roller skate” was a son of the Meuse... FRÉDÉRIQUE SICCARD This Merlin has nothing to do with the Round Table. Born Jean-Joseph, in Huy, in 1735, rechristened John-Joseph by the English, he died in London in 1803, not without having made an impression on his contemporaries... and future generations: brilliant inventor of musical instruments, ingenious mechanisms, prodigious automata, and numerous gadgets, he also designed, first... the in-line roller skate. Throughout the summer, the city where he was born will pay tribute to him through a rich program of events. Roller parades. Three stages of the Belgium Rollers will be in Huy ("Le Soir" yesterday): this June 19, August 7 (8 p.m.) and September 25 (3 p.m.). Like all others, they will be canceled in case of rain. Info: [contact details removed] or www.belgiumrollers.com Exhibition. The Espace Gallery, Place Verte, will host, from July 14 to August 22, an exhibition tracing the journey of the local boy, from Huy to London via Paris. It will notably feature some of his inventions, from the Science Museum, the British Museum, and the Kenwood Museum in London, and will evoke the evolution of the skate through original pieces and documents (every day, except Monday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: 1 euro, free for children under 12). Publication. The fabulous story of Jean-Joseph Merlin by Pierre Bauwens, regional historian; Rollermania explained by Sam Nieswizski for the “Découvertes Gallimard” collection, and the account of the passion of young Huy enthusiasts, will be brought together in a single publication, starting July 14. The book will be on sale at the town hall and at the exhibition for 10 euros. Dinner show. The non-profit organization Epofor proposes to take the public to discover late 18th-century London and those who made headlines at that time: James Watt, Thomas Jefferson, Beaumarchais, Brillat-Savarin... and Jean-Joseph Merlin, in his Merlin the Enroller and Big Ben (Ahin) Circus (read also opposite). To be enjoyed on July 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31. Admission: 35 euros (33 euros in pre-sale). Info and reservations: [contact details removed]. Brilliant inventor of instruments, mechanisms, automata... Merlin Circuit. From one bank to the other, a guided walk in Merlin's footsteps, on September 19 at 2 p.m.... Other events will be added to this program: a market on July 21, Ça Jazz à Huy (July 28, 30 and 31 and August 1), the Booksellers on the banks of the Meuse (August 1), the funfair (August 6 to 22) and the August 15 events, Creativity (August 22), the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Huy (September 6), the Heritage Days (September 11 and 12) and the Wallonia Festivals (September 25)... ● The Jean-Joseph from Huy would become John-Joseph once in London and, notably, when immortalized by the painter Gainsborough. Photo rights reserved. Merlin and Big Ben (Ahin) Listing the antics of Pierre Dechesne and the ASBL Epofor is a challenge. Guessing what he is preparing for this summer's dinner shows is a mystery... Last year, we put Napoleon in an asylum. This year, we return to historical reenactment by placing a slightly costumed audience in the salon of Lady Sandwich, an authentic character whose husband was fond of the snacks that bear his name today. But we reserve the right to move towards British nonsense, he smiles. For if the era when Jean-Joseph Merlin arrived in London in the luggage of a Spanish nobleman is a richness easily exploitable for a screenwriter, the character himself turns out to be colorful: Merlin belonged to a family of Huy blacksmiths, his father-in-law forged the structure of the Bassinia. In London, however, this skillful mechanic and renowned instrument maker quickly detached himself from his patrons and opened a museum for his inventions. For he also invented a chair for gout sufferers operated by a crank or a coach without a coachman that could be driven from the inside and must have caused a sensation on the London boulevards. As for roller skates, an anecdote has it that, wearing them and carrying a violin, he launched himself at a ball and crashed into a valuable mirror. From there to the humor of Monty Python, it's but a step! To be crossed from July... ● F. Si.