Stuart Forster meets Jean Til, a charming man and a champion compliment giver, at an elegant shopping centre, the Stadsfeestzaal in Antwerp, Belgium.
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With his red suit, white gloves and heart-shaped umbrella, Jean Til is a man who stands out in a crowd. As he wandered towards me in Antwerp’s Stadsfeestzaal shopping centre, I reached for my camera.
Standing well over two metres tall, Jean Til is a big man. It’s rare for anyone to tower over me. Particularly in flared trousers.
Ideally, I’d have started this blog post with Jean Til’s opening line. You’d probably have been blown away by the subtle charm of his compliment. It was truly outstanding.
This charming man
No doubt I blushed. My knees may even have buckled momentarily because of the power of his words.
It was the kind of compliment that should be used with caution in barroom situations. As a chat-up line, its success rate must approach 100 per cent.
If people were still in the habit of meeting others in person, rather than using only dating websites and apps such as Tinder, I reckon there’d be hits on this website to filch Jean Til’s inspired words.
Unfortunately, I can’t remember them. They’re gone.
Shopping Stadsfeestzaal
I travelled to Antwerp for a day out with two friends. We were all within arm’s reach of Jean Til as he began speaking. They confirmed they’d also heard the line. It was genius. Sheer brilliance. We all commented to that effect in the immediate aftermath of our two-minute encounter.
Yet within the 30 seconds it took me to reach into my jacket pocket and fish out my notebook, the words had evaporated from my brain. They disappeared from all our brains. And none of us had so much as sipped a Belgian beer.
Perhaps that’s just as well. It’s unlikely that anyone would be able to deliver them with anything like Jean Til’s polished charm.
Champion of the world
“I am the three-time world champion at compliment giving,” he revealed after his impressive opening line. Until that moment in the Stadsfeestzaal, I had no idea that there was such a world championship. Following our meeting, I can’t think of anyone who comes close to Jean Til in giving compliments.
He wasn’t even giving them in his mother tongue. The majority of Antwerp’s residents speak Flemish as their first language. A few moments of online research, after our meeting, revealed that Jean Til studied at Paris-Sorbonne University.
In French, Jean Til’s name sounds very much like the term for ‘polite’. That’s one of his characteristics. So too is the ability to bring laughter and make people feel good.
Compliments and laughter
“Do you know why the Stadsfeestzaal is so big?” he asked. I immediately began to think of the building’s historic use as a municipal festival hall. “So that it can fit in your smile,” he answered.
I didn’t need a flash for my camera, he reckoned, because of the brightness of my smile.
He was going to get a magazine for me to stand on, because I should be on the cover of Vogue.
A string of compliments headed my way. But none matched the genius of his opening line.
We said goodbye and Jean Til invited me to unclip one of the scratch cards dangling from his umbrella. Beneath the silver-grey box that I removed using the edge of a coin was another compliment. A memento of a memorable chance meeting.
Perhaps Jean Til’s opening line will flash into my mind months from now? Wouldn’t it be fitting if that occurred on 1 March — World Compliment Day?
Visiting Antwerp
The Stadsfeestzaal shopping centre is on the Meir, Antwerp’s main pedestrianised street. Designed by Alexis Van Mechelen, it was opened in the first decade of the 20th century. It was rebuilt following a fire, reopening in 2007.
The Visit Antwerp website is a useful source of information about things to do and see in the city.
Visit Flanders has tourism information relating to Antwerp and the surrounding region.
Travel to Antwerp
Train travel is an ideal way of getting from London St Pancras to Antwerp. Eurostar trains run to Brussels Midi/Zuid. From there, it’s possible to connect to Antwerp.
Stadsfeestzaal in Antwerp
The map below shows the location of Antwerp’s Stadsfeestzaal shopping centre:
Hotels in Antwerp
Search for accommodation in Antwerp using the map below:
Books about Antwerp and Belgium
Planning a trip to Antwerp, Belgium? The following books are available from Amazon:
Michael Pye’s Antwerp: The Glory Years.
Further information
Thank you for visiting Go Eat Do and reading this post about meeting charming man Jean Til in Antwerp. Thinking about visiting Belgium? Take a look at Toer de Geuze in Flanders, Belgium to find out more about lambic beer brewed near Brussels. Oyster Sunday is an ideal time to visit Ghent.
Stuart Forster is an award-winning travel writer and a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers.
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A version of this post was initially published on Go Eat Do on 26 November 2017.
Stuart Forster
November 28, 2017 at 11:09Next time I bump into him I’ll be paying special attention from the off and sure to note it!