Mette: an 18th century castle for adults rushing to the 21st century to find lost time

Directly in front of us, crowned with sparkling clouds that seem to have escaped from a clearing, is Skri Castle. An estate whose last resident, Countess Maria Teresa Soca, died at the age of 96. A place of privacy over which the grandson of the late Simon Erkes is trying to reconcile tourist fame.

This weekend, Sipper, a Namur-based event company, has transformed this romantic 20-room apartment, exuding the spirit of the 18th century, into a slow-motion amusement park for adults rushing into the 21st century. The time gap as an excuse for all sorts of disconnections through the 70s variety of activities.

We leave aside sprigs of lily of the valley to knock on the door of this heritage building, built in 1757. Welcomed to the greenhouse by Thomas Furnemont, founder Sipper with his wife Aurélie. In hand is a book of Proust as a greeting: “In Search of Lost Time”Wearing a white shirt and suspenders, he describes the concept in detail: a return to childhood, wearing slippers, without the parasites of a smartphone in his pocket and dressed up in a fake hat in the trunk.

Entering the poetic world in a postman’s cap or a summer guest’s cap is like slowing down the passage of time.

Dozens of them, couples and friends, are testing the launch “Then Proust” leaving your torment at the door. In the greenhouse, the story of what follows unfolds in simple reading.

Once there was a taste emotion: madeleine, a short and plump pie dipped in a spoonful of linden tea. At this Château de Scry, visitors are promised sensations similar to those experienced by a drinker of this enriched tea on a winter evening. He felt an exquisite pleasure that made him “life’s indifferent vicissitudes, its harmless disasters, its illusory brevityIn a word, he stopped feeling mediocre and mortal.

In the castle’s lounge, which is currently being restored, visitors were invited to take a break between the two games at their discretion, depending on the weather indoors. The opportunity to try the local blonde, remake the world or solve the Rubik’s Cube – a puzzle from 1974. ©Pierre Wiame

In one of the bedrooms from another era, three players, dressed in caps and caps, are trying to solve a well-hidden riddle. © Pierre Viam

Two thoughtful leaders and founders of Le Siroteur: Thomas Furnemont and his wife Aurélie. A tandem gifted with creativity, who, with the help of fellow craftsmen, imagined this playful immersion into the world of Proust. © Pierre Viam

So-called cooperative games are popular in the castle cellars. Like this: two players have at their disposal the same supply of wooden figures. The cover forms a division between two players, each of whom has the same supply of pieces. Purpose of the game: one player verbally details the design he is making, and the other tries to reproduce it according to the instructions received. After construction is completed, the results are compared. © Pierre Viam

Rebel Bowling

So, let’s go towards this well-being? Behind the door is a black curtain, a marker of immersion in a magical box out of time, full of riddles with red threads and crazy design games that can change the way we look at things and pamper our inner self.

We enter a castle bathed in its own juice, a sort of amusing museum with strange and unusual furniture scattered here and there – we spot a bookkeeper and an apothecary cabinet with 84 drawers – and transformed into mysterious launchers. “Because the goal is to change times.”

In this fun museum, where the bottom of a cabinet is designed as a hiding place for a mischievous child, we can discover some extremely charming curiosities. Musical mouthpiece, heavy rotary telephone, gaming table with stackable boards, chess board for kings, bishops and queens at a casino party, with mini roulette, etc.

Set in a basement, this game is a quest in itself, designed and produced using as many reclaimed objects and materials as possible. Or a game with many puzzles, each of which must be solved in order to find a mysterious object hidden in it. © Pierre Viam

In the great hall of the castle, funny birds are released from their cages. © Pierre Viam

This unusual suitcase belonged to a junk artist. You will have to immerse yourself in it for 15 minutes to discover the message it contains. © Pierre Viam

And if we stayed here

In the basement the brains are tickled. How, for example, can we reproduce from a variety of objects the sound of the wind in tall grass, the flight of a dove, the steps of a person on fallen leaves?

Some games require concentration and cooperation. Only one acts as a purifier from troubles and disappointments. This is Rebel Bowling. “The player must write on the pins with an erasable marker everything he wants to send flying.”details Thomas Furnemont.

“The higher you go, the more the atmosphere softens, the more calm returns.”– notes Aurélie, who has replaced her husband and opens the door to a series of rustic rooms where we can relax, lying down.

It is advisable to enter one of these chiaroscuro niches with an open and caring mind. Battery-powered candles inspire deep self-reflection. To facilitate this intimate journey, we created two strange objects resulting from technological manipulation: helmets combined with old coffee grinders. It is suggested that you connect to your breathing while listening.

We wander through the floors. There’s someone lying on a yoga mat. There is someone dancing alone, as if suspended. Any activity aimed at reclaiming time is destroyed by modern life in a society dominated by algorithms and which in many ways can seem hopeless.

We strive for a board on which the emotions we experience are recounted in chalk. These words speak volumes about the magic of this snow-white castle, turned into an anachronism of the works of Proust. And if… “And if we looked at the trees in a thunderstorm, then at the rainbow,” anonymous suggests. And if even more radically, – We stayed here all our lives?

Stop time, rediscover lost time, for example, in one of the rooms of the castle, immersing yourself in recreating a puzzle with at least 1000 pieces. ©EDA

In a room dedicated to spirituality on the top floor of the castle, the long vibrations and sounds of a Tibetan bowl promote disconnection and meditation. We must welcome them until we hear and feel nothing at all. ©EDA

Until Christmas

The charming Château de Scry will reopen its doors to adults in a hurry (and small children left at home) on the weekends of June 22 and 23, August 3 and 4, November 23 and 24, and December 21 and 22 (in a brighter version).

https://siroteur.odoo.com/proust-allais

Croquet game

Immersion price in Proust then: 42 euros. But you can stay there as long as you want, until 10:00 pm. When good weather returns, games such as croquet can be played in the park. Opportunity to eat there with local beer and wine. Obviously, the main treat is the madeleine, which is offered free of charge.

Lucky Peach

The castle between the two game invitations is littered with beautiful quotes. At the very top, someone can sit and wait, at the very bottom, for a (wooden) fish to take the bait. The catch will depend on the goodwill of the visitor who wants to play the game. There are a few comforting words about each fish, like this: “Nobody is you, and that is your superpower.”. And others can be picked up in the form of stickers, like these, signed by Oscar Wilde: “Madness is something you never regret.”