CON'S COMMENTS (plus a little of Ted’s Testimony)

In late April or was it early May of this year our illustrious First World President of Moustache and Beard Clubs and President of The Handlebar Club, Ted Sedman, received an e-mail from The Snorrenclub of Antwerp in Belgium inviting him to become their 'Moustache of the Year for 2005' and would he like to come and receive the award, all expenses paid for his wife Stella and him, on Saturday the 4^th June. None of your send a certificate with a compliments slip for the Flemish!

Of course we had to have a back-up crew and this was made up of Secretary Rod Littlewood, my wife Rosemary and me. I was a bit reluctant to go due to the leg trouble but after being spoken to by Stella and Rosemary and the memories of past visits to Antwerp I decided to go along. It made me the only one of the original 14 who made the first and never to be forgotten visit to Antwerp back in 1980. Rosemary decided to make a short package holiday of it and so she and I set off for Antwerp by rail on Thursday, 2^nd June, coming back on Monday, 6^th June. Ted, Stella and Rod went to Antwerp on the Friday and came back on the Sunday by the same route.

On the appointed Thursday Rosemary and I made our way by local train to Waterloo Station to get the Eurostar to Brussels. We arrived in good time and went through the various formalities to end up in the waiting lounge. There it was CHAOS! It was chock full of mainly ethnic groups mostly going to Paris, pushing and shoving, screaming kids and luggage all over the place. I have never been to a bazaar in Bombay but imagined it to be much the same. The trouble was that two trains were due to leave within minutes of each other and the station isn't quite big enough for such circumstances. Anyway, we found our train and got into the right coach.

Right on time we set off, the journey being much as ever. We went on the new dedicated part of the line down near Ashford and guess where I think the worst part of the track is laid? We got to the Channel Tunnel and it seemed that we spent extra time going through it but finally emerged in France. Then after a pause in the Stygian gloom of Lille Station we finally got to Brussels Central Station. By this time we were both a bit hungry for the refreshment facilities on Eurostar aren't as good as they should be. Brussels Station also has a gloomy atmosphere but not as Stygian as Lille. Foraging around we found an ice-cream bar where Rosemary selected an ice cream which turned out to be nearly as big as she was. She enjoyed it. Brussels Station turned out to be not quite so daunting this time and we easily found our train to Antwerp.

Brussels to Antwerp took about 45 minutes with one stop, after a couple at smaller stations in Brussels, in Mechelen. The train had double deck coaches and moved along very well. We found Antwerp Central Station to be quite a magnificent place with regard to architecture but it was undergoing considerable modification, turning the place into a through station rather than the existing terminus. One visualises Eurostar being extended through Antwerp to Amsterdam at least. We shall see if I'm right - for a change. Anyway, we quickly found a taxi and made our way to the Theater Hotel. This is a four star place and well recommended It was rather warm and muggy and we had a few thunderstorms shortly after getting there. After a good night's sleep we spent the main part of the following day inspecting nearby Rubens house. In the evening we expected to entertain the newly arrived Ted, Stella and Rod to supper at our hotel along with Lillian Claus. In the event they were invited out by the Snorrenclub, after being installed in the Seamen’s Hotel, just round the corner from the Club H.Q. and we ended up with just Lillian to supper, it was good to see her again. Lillian and I go back many years to the days of the first Antwerp trip by the HBC. Lillian is a fourth generation citizen of Antwerp - in Belgium any moustache gathering isn't complete without the presence of her. She has been in the past and was on this occasion a very great help to us. She currently lives in Blankenberge on the Belgian coast but was in Antwerp due to family matters as well as Ted's presentation. She has been to our AGMs on a number of occasions and so is known to a number of Handlebars and Friends.

Around noon on the Saturday morning Lillian and a chap from the Antwerp Club appeared at our hotel with a car to take us to 'De Konincklijke Snor' the headquarters of the Antwerp Club. After a drive through the maze of streets near the old docks we finally parked near to the pub and then we had a very short walk round a corner and then it all happened! From my imagination I expected to find 'De Konincklijke Snor' as a very large pub but in fact it was very small indeed but inside was much like an English pub. It was packed and there was a large group at the tables and chairs outside in the road. There were about 70 chaps I estimate, from the Antwerp Club, the Brugge Club and from Holland and the beer flowed. Ted, Stella and Rod were there and after several drinks we set off for the centre of Antwerp, about a mile away. I must add that trying to pronounce 'De Konincklijke Snor' is just about impossible so I've christened the place 'The Klonking, Klanking, Klunking Snor'- or just 'Klonking, Clanking' for short. Actually, 'Konincklijke' means Royal.

So we formed up in a procession. In front was an about 3 metre high statue of a moustached chap with boater hat and this was carried all the way in procession by a chap inside it and flanked on either side by a member of the Antwerp Club. Following that was one of the horse drawn open carriages which tourists hire to sightsee around a number of Flemish towns and cities. This was driven by a very nice looking young lady in bowler hat and cloak. This was used to transport Ted and Stella in the main seat and Rosemary and me facing them all the way in the procession. Following that was the about 70 chaps from the various Clubs including Rod. backing the whole lot up was a police van with blue flashing lights and we were flanked most efficiently by a small group of policemen who kept the traffic under control. So at a steady pace we set off to one of the squares in the centre of Antwerp where the presentation was to be made. The actual location for the presentation was in what looked like a bandstand which became crowded with moustached types as Ronnie Vermeulen, the President of the Antwerp Club, presented Ted with his certificate, an etching, a boater which the members of the Antwerp Club wear, plus a Club tie. After all this we made our way to the Town Hall in another square which is a mighty impressive place. To get there we had to wind through a number of streets in the old town and many of the shopkeepers and customers turned out to see us pass by. Ted removed and raised his hat to many people and Stella, complete with white gloves and dress majestically sat at his side. They played the part very well - the Flemish love a procession.

In the town hall we again gathered in one of the many beautifully furnished rooms for further speeches and a few beers. After one speech was made, Ted responded with another which I thought reflected the feeling that I've had about the Flemish for many years. It is the warmth of their welcome and wonderful kindness. They've been through so much over the years yet they still have that manner about them.

After a while the ceremonies were concluded and we left the town hall, actually it is called the Stadhuis, in the same manner as we came. We then went back to the 'Klonking, Klinking' with Ted acknowledging the crowd again by raising his boater and smiling to them. We arrived eventually and had a few more beers, and Stella, Ted and Rod made presentations to Ronnie. The party continued and everybody enjoyed themselves. I met once again a lady of Antwerp who I met when we first went there and that was Josée Philips. Amazingly she looked just the same and we had a very good chat. Our Secretary really enjoyed himself, last seen dancing a jitterbug with said Josée. Well, not quite last seen, but the next morning he asked how he had got back to the hotel!

In the early evening the party slowly started to break up and a lift was arranged for Rosemary and me back to our hotel in a car driven by a young lady accompanied by another one. I think they were something to do with radio or publicity. I mention this because the car was not one which we have in the UK, it was a small Lancia. I was most impressed with it because it had, for a change, sufficient leg room in the back.

The following day, in the late morning, Rosemary and I were just coming out of our hotel when who was just passing by but Lillian and Rod. Lillian had been showing Rod more of the city and they were on their way literally round the corner to meet some of the others. We went with them and saw Ted, Stella and quite a number of the Antwerp Club in one of the many cafes and bars surround the local market square. The whole area was packed as a market was going on but I recognised the café as the one in which our party stopped back in 1980 to have some soup. Thereby hangs a tale.

Rosemary and I did not stay with them too long as she was determined to visit an art museum in another part of the city. We heard later that Ted, Stella and Rod soon after were taken off to the railway station by Ronnie and others to get their train. The art museum we were to visit was the Konincklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten and to get there we had to take a tram. Antwerp has a very good tram system and this was the first time I'd travelled on one there. But with good advice from Lillian we made it and most impressive it was. We had a very good lunch and then set off to view the exhibits. Apart from being computer illiterate I am also just about completely ignorant of paintings so as Rosemary went round the various galleries I wandered into the main one which is devoted to Rubens. Seating myself on a comfortable seat in the centre of the room I had before me a very large painting the name of which I did not know at the time. I learnt later that it was one of his most famous paintings, 'The Adoration of the Magi'! So for a while I contemplated the picture and eventually realised that on the left hand side at the front was a red robed figure looking just like Mike Solomons but with full beard! He also looked jolly pleased with himself. Not only that, right in the centre of the picture was a likeness of Friend Jorg Diamantouplous. I bet I've spelt that wrong again so will just write his alias, 'Luciano Pavarotti' as in the past. He was wearing a turban and a blue robe and looking absolutely worried! I had to smile and when Rosemary reappeared she had to agree with me.

The following day we returned to the UK. This was a reverse journey from that which we made to Antwerp and was in the footsteps of Ted, Stella and Rod. We got to Antwerp Station by taxi just in time to catch an older type train than the one in which we came but it took us to Brussels very smoothly and comfortably. After more ice-cream in Brussels Station we headed for Eurostar. I must add that in Antwerp the second language is English but in Brussels it is not, one speaks French. In the ice-cream parlour I tried some of my abysmal French and was complemented for it! Eurostar brought us into Waterloo and we caught the local train back to Hampton Court and then got a taxi to Esher. So ended a very fine short holiday.

I now thank the Snorrenclub of Antwerp, Lillian and Josée and all the kind people of Flanders for being so kind and welcoming. It will not be forgotten.