On with the motley..
We had good friends in Brussels and the night life was extremely varied and entertaining. Amongst our friends from the small pre European union British Colony were Johnny and Margaret K. Johnny was head of EMI (The old HMV firm) and often took us with him when he had to entertain some of the visiting recording stars that came over to Brussels. On one of these nights Johnny, who was a charming man but had the reputation of being rather careful, left his coat in the car to save the cloakroom fee when we were going to a nearby Night Club. When we came out in the small hours of the morning he discovered he had left his car keys in the pocket of the coat. That was in the old days when there was no remote locking and you locked the door by pressing the door button as you closed the door. It cost him a small fortune for taxis home and then back in the morning to retrieve his car.
My eldest son, Peter's girl friend and later his Wife, had a small flat in Brussels and we had a wonderful party there one evening. Dora's parents were over staying with us and they thoroughly enjoyed the difference from their quiet life in St.Helens, Lancashire . Freddy and the Dreamers were over performing for EMI and we all piled into Mary's small flat and partied until the small hours. Dora's Father had been in the infantry during the first World War and had , like so many of his generation, joined the Army at seventeen falsely stating that he was eighteen. His experiences with Army Kitchens had put him off Restaurants for life and he would wander round the Antique shops of Brussels whilst we went to one of the multitude of fine little places that could always be found. In one of the few occasions when we persuaded him to come with us he rather disconcerted the "Garcon" who had politely enquired "How would you like your steak cooked, Monsieur ? by his usual reply of "Burnt to Bu...ry".
We caught him once, though when we had persuaded him to come with us and we ordered Frog,s legs. We told him they were "Chicky bits" and he scoffed the lot saying "Delicious".
On one of my later trips I was en route to Bombay when the Steward asked me to talk with our only First class passenger, a Mr Ramamruthram, who had refused all the food offered. I went back and he told me that the food was fine and there was nothing wrong but he was not hungry as he had just come from a company lunch at Eindhoven. When he said "Eindhoven" I knew that he must be with Phillips, the Dutch electonic giant. He confirmed this and I told him that I had been a Mosquito pilot with the Squadron 105, that had been part of the 2 Group low level daylight attack that had taken place in 1942 on the factory which had been forced to make electronic components for the Germans. He told me that he had been talking with a retired fellow Director about that very raid and the chap recalled seeing a Mosquito flash past his window. The window was on the second floor of the building. We talked a lot and eventually became great friends. He was the Director for India and I visited him and his lovely family many times in Bombay. One day many months later I answered the phone in Brussels to find the secretary from his office in Eindhoven on the other end. "When are you coming to Holland to pick up your Tape Recorder ?" she asked me. I had , one day half seriously, expressed an interest in the new VCR's that Phillips had just brought out but the price was astronomical...well over £1,200 in the 1960's. I had completely forgotten this and I asked her what the price was. The answer made me say immediately that I would be over next day to collect it. We, my Wife and her Mother, now staying for long periods with us as she was widowed, all set off for Holland and we had lunch in one of the famed Indonesian Restaurants where we had the "Rijstaffel"which consisted of some sixty odd dishes. Counted one by one by Dora's Mother.
The VCR was a hihgly complicated affair and the tapes were enormous things with the take-up spool mounted on top of the playing one. They were always jamming but Queen Nana, as my Wifes Mother was always known, soon mastered it and would beam with pride when we said "Nice picture , Nana." One of the requests that Mr R. had made of me was that I would take him recordings of "It Aint 'arf 'ot, Mate" whenever I came to Bombay. He told me that he would play them to the Board of Directors before a board meeting and that they would always be helpless with laughter .
I must confess that I have not said much about flying but Airline flying was getting more and more mass transportation minded and so the anecdotes are becoming fewer and fewer. I will try and see what I can pull out of the battered old flying helmet, later. Regle