Postscript

I've done so many catchups etc. that I've decided on another name. I wanted to make sure I had put this photo of Germaine Prim-Frohnen with Weese and me on this blog at the Grand Hotel Cravat on the last evening we were there. We were to have gone to Echternach to visit her but she had a bad cold and we didn't to spread germs around. She very kindly made the trip to see us. Germaine and Weese went to school together all those years ago. She is the sister of my best girlfriend in Echternach when we lived there in the 1950s.

Here are three very happy ladies with the Christmas Market in the background.

The TV Interview

Here is the interview Louise, Karel, William and I did on November 21, 2014 at the station in Hasselt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBvITCIp2Y. It's just over 10 minutes and much of it is in Flemish but the interviewer did a great job translating what Louise and I said. I am very pleased with how it went.

The Catchup Post - Part II

Monday, December 1 - On Wednesday, November 19, we went by cab to the Manchester Airport and flew to Brussels. We took a taxi to the Hotel Metropole which is a grand old lady from times past. The lobby is spectacular, as is the dining room. We were going to be leaving the following morning so we found the best thing would be to get on a Hop-on Hop-off bus for a tour. We had to move quickly because it was certainly the end of the tourist season and things were winding down. Here are some photos of our time in Brussels.

This display is in the Brussels Airport - paper poppies hanging over the moving sidewalk and a display set up on the right hand side with the poem In Flanders Fields on a panel. It was very moving especially since we were going to Flanders the next day.

The lobby of the Hotel Metropole.

The ceiling in the Metropole dining room.

My beer - it was delish.

Louise with creme brulee.

I really liked this building.

The requisite cathedral.

The Atomium - check it out online.

And I couldn't resist this one.

Weese with the peacock and lovely umbrella in the Indian Room at the Metropole where we went for breakfast.

Weese and our stuff waiting for Karel to pick us up to take us to As on Friday.

The Catchup Post - Part 1

Monday, Dec. 1 - Here I am at home very, very happy to have been the guest of so many friends. Even though I came home with a cold, the memories will keep me warm for a long time. (How's that for a cliché, even though true!) This post will be mostly photos which I will add to as Weese sends me more from her iPad. She took some really good ones.

Let's start with some more photos from Chester - our first stop.

Here is Chris who kindly picked us up at the airport in Manchester and took us to 12 Deva Terrace in Chester.

The living room window looking towards the river.

And the river - really very lovely. There were cows over there and people were taking their dogs for walks and we saw rowers. 

This is the view towards the back of the house with the kitchen in the back. The window you can see on the right is one I could see into from my upstairs bedroom in the house next door (right) to see Mom having tea with Belle and Fannie.

Here is a description of the history of this wonderful property. Both Weese and I highly recommend this property.

The inside of Blossoms where we had the place to ourselves and a really good supper.

I love the way the kitchen stacked the fries.

Scenes from our terrific taxi tour of Chester.

The lovely architecture.

And these two photos for my Welsh friends! Chester is very close to the Welsh border and the driver took us "across the border" so I could take a couple of pix with Welsh signs.

That's it for Chester. I will post some more on Brussels next.

Today's Post

Wednesday Morning - On Monday evening we went to Lony and Jemp's for a lovely supper with a friend of theirs - Claude - whom Holly met last summer. We had (I think that's how you put it) a raclette. Absolutely delicious. This is not the best pic of me but this is the table with the device you heat your cheese with bits of things on the top.

 

They have been just the best friends on this trip. We spent yesterday touring Luxembourg, Echternach and along the Sure River down to the Moselle and back to Jemp and Lony's for a drink and off to a really nice Italian restaurant where we had pizza (delish) and spaghetti (also delish they said).

Here are a few pix I have now downloaded/uploaded:

Jemp and Lony having a look at the Y-32 Ophoven book we brought from Opglabbeek for them.

This shows just part of the walls built on top of the cliffs surrounding the old part of the city of Luxembourg. It really was a major engineering feat many hundreds of years ago.

This is the house we lived in in Echternach from 1954 to 1956. Both Weese and I remember this well.



Today's agenda includes: Weese is presently shopping - she had to get out of the room; I am going across to the Christmas Market one last time; a walk up to the Cathedral and possibly the museum; and then we will be meeting with Germaine, Josee's sister, around supper time. Germaine went to school with Weese and I am very glad to meeting up with her again. We stayed at her house for a couple of days last summer.

And then, it's up really early to catch our flight to Frankfurt, Montreal - Weese then to Ottawa - and Halifax. It will be another long day but I think we will both be glad to get back to our routines and our own beds.

A bientot!

Monday PM, November 24

Shopping with Weese! I haven't been in this many stores in many, many years! As I write this, she's still out there looking in all the REALLY upscale shops. I called it quits.

I have done the Christmas shopping with one or two exceptions. Grand Hotel Cravat is an interesting old hotel right next to a plaza which has a war memorial on it and the Gelle Fra - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%ABlle_Fra. We can see her from our 6th floor window - photo to come.

That plaza is also where the Christmas Market - Part I is. We did a circle today and saw Part II up near the Ducal Palace and Chambre des Deputes (Parliament - sort of) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Deputies_(Luxembourg).

Here are a couple of "official" photos of the market. We were on the 6th floor of the Grand Hotel Cravat in one of the corner rooms and could see this every day.





There are some absolutely fabulous places to see, for sure. We sat outside (Weese said it was too cold but I was too warm) and she had lunch.

New friend at the Christmas Market.

The seats all had fake sheepskins on them with red fleece blankies to keep warm outside drinking one of oodles of different kinds of hot chocolate. Weese tells me that inside was wonderful. This was right across from the palace.

And here is Weese with the guard at the palace. 

We are going out to friends' for supper this evening. And tomorrow we may be going to Echternach. One friend is sick with a bad cold and we're not sure of the other 2. I'll know later.

Here is the last photo for now - the front page of the newspaper from the big occasion on Saturday.

The Book Launch

Saturday afternoon was a very special time for the daughters of Phil Tripe.

We were picked up around 1:30 at the Hotel Mardaga and taken to the big new community hall. We met the mayor of Opglabbeek. I remembered him from 2010 and he remembered me. There were all the members of the society getting everything ready in the big hall.

 This is in front of the community hall.

At 2 we went to the exhibit and officially opened the gate. Back to the hall where people were coming. I estimated about 150. The was music from the 40s playing and a slide show of old photos of the Y-32 Ophoven airfield.

William, Me, Louise and Karel getting ready to open the gate.

The ceremony had a local councillor who was in charge of cultural affairs bring greetings including a small really nice piece in English welcoming Louise and me. Karel spoke about the history of the "why" of the book. William spoke about society and these memories are so important. And then William's father and I went up on the stage to receive the first two books.

We also received book stands which have replica of the steel "planks" which were used to build the airfields as the allies moved the war towards Germany.

This was the start of the afternoon.

Louise, Karel, William and I spent the rest of the afternoon signing books. They did print run of 450 and 170 or so were sold by the end of Saturday. The exhibit was being held again on Sunday so I imagine more were sold.

We met Frans again, the man who found pieces of Dad's plane. He presented us with 2 RAF brass uniform buttons he found.

We met Jean-Pierre Wuyts who lives very close to the crash site behind the Mardaga who brought us some more bits and pieces of Dad's plane which he has found over the years.

And everyone was so friendly and thanked us. We never expected such a warm afternoon.

This is part of the "Hell on Wheels" re-enactment group who were at the ceremony and parked their Jeeps outside! You can read more about the US 2nd Armored Division at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Armored_Division_%28United_States%29

                                               

Two of Karel's models - a Spitfire and a Thunderbolt hanging in the lobby of the exhibit.

Karel and Weese looking at the aerial photo of the Y-32 Ophoven airfield in the lobby.

  

And here is our official, intrepid photographer.

Saturday Morning

November 22 - The big day has arrived. This is the day that The Book will be revealed. More on that later.

Yesterday was just as hectic as the previous ones - different but hectic just the same. We got up at the Hotel Metropole and went to bed at the Hotel Mardaga. After a lovely breakfast in the Indian Room, complete with umbrellas and a couple of stuffed peacocks, we packed up and waited out front for Karel Baeten to pick us up. The traffic in downtown Brussels is wild! We were told that Rome and Athens are worse. I may never drive there - ever.

We got As and checked into our hotel here - a charming place. Then we were whisked off to the Ichter which is a brand new cultural/meeting/community centre built last year. It is right next the hall we were at for the exhibit in 2010. We were toured around the exhibit which is in 3 rooms. They have already had classes of school children through and even put a quonset hut model building contest together. The children are quite fascinated apparently.

And then we headed off to Hasselt to the TVL studios where we were interviewed about the exhibit and about Dad. I hope to have the YouTube link soon for those who missed it and will post it here. It went very well.

William, me, Martin Cox (show host) and Karel after the interview. The book and Dad's log book are on the table in front of us.

 

This is Karel and William looking at Dad's log book while we were waiting in the "green room" before our interview.

We did some touring around to see the airfield - or where the Y-32 Ophoven airfield was. And we went to see the memorial stone and plaque that the historical society has erected.

We came to the hotel and had a fabulous meal with William and his wife Caroline and Karel and his wife Hilda. The food was great and the company even better.

We got up late this morning so we'll have to get a move on here as we are being picked up to go to the Ichter for the ceremony and the displays again.

Catchup Friday!

November 21 - We are at the Hotel Mardaga in As. I left you in Chester  and we had hired a cab to drive us around for an hour. Like everything else on this trip, it was fast. We saw the Roman walls, the gates, St. Mary's Without the Walls (my christening below),





 Lots of lovely building and the chimneys.

There will be more photos but that gives you a taste of Chester, the city. It really is quite charming.

Then we went to Blossoms for supper to celebrate Mom and Dad's wedding supper which they had on March 6, 1940 with Grandpa Rannie and the Pickmeres. The place was quite lovely, the food was great and we were the only ones there. Here is Weese checking out the menu.

 

We had a great visit with the owner, Chris Caunce, of 12 and 13 Deva Terrace and his wife Maria. They were so welcoming and so interested in the story of our family and the story of Belle and Fanny Grey. We were staying in the Greys home and as a way of thanking Chris, I gave him one of Fanny's watercolours of the River Dee with rowers. And here we are.

 Please be gentle when you look at this photo. We didn't sleep on the plane (redeye) and this was around 9 at night and we were just wickedly tired.

The next morning we flew to Brussels and I'll tell you all about that next time. We have to get ready for dinner with our Opglabbeek friends here at the Hotel Mardaga with Dad's plaque in the lobby and two pieces of his plane wall-mounted.

Later.