it all strikes me as a bit odd

this is a strange country. Exhibit A:

I tried to go swimming the other day. First they demanded that I wear a bathing cap, which I suppose is okay, what with all the hair I'm shedding. However, I was later told (after I'd paid) that you aren't allowed to swim in anything other than a speedo.

Now I don't have anything really against speedos. Well, I do, but I suppose its a properly European thing to wear. Anyway, I asked what on earth could be the possible rationale behind this, and I'm told for health reasons. Now forgive me, but this seems just plain stupid. The idea that people wearing bathing shorts are somehow tracking in bacteria and dirt from the ocean just seems ludicrous. And on top of that, nobody in Canada is ever caught dead in a speedo at the pool, and we're all doing just fine thank you. So I'd be curious what this edict is based on, other than the pool manager being interested in young men, or holding shares in speedo corp. But it seems that logical explanations are not the Belgian way. One doesn't ask why anything is done, one simply does them.

On a related note, we are currently being billed by two electric companies, and between the five parties involved (the landlords, us, the estate agent, and the companies) no one can decide whose fault it is, or what is to be done about it. I expect this to drag on for several months.