sn26567 wrote:Comet wrote:I follow the results of the Belgian national team. Not all us English girls adore Beckham.
Comet,
Why is an English girl like you fond of Belgian aviation , Belgian football, Belgian beers, Belgian cities, Belgian everything? 8O
We feel honoured by your esteem for our country.
Well Andre, no one's ever asked me that before, so I'm not quite sure what to say!!
The football one is quite easy. Over here in England, all we see in our national newspapers on a daily basis is David Beckham, his wife, his children, his new house in Spain, what he's wearing, what he's doing in China etc. We've had this saturation coverage since the World Cup last year, and when Beckham had damaged his foot, it was dreadful in the English newspapers. The only England team member who ever received praise when the team won was Beckham (some people forgetting that football is a team effort). I made a point of supporting another team which did not contain him!! Belgium had been my holiday choice for the past couple of years and so it was an easy choice of who to support!! I thought Wilmots seemed to have a less inflated ego.
Why I like Belgium - I'd always liked the look of Brugge, I like preserved places which are picturesque rather than purpose built holiday resorts and really hot places, and I decided I would like to visit. Everyone from my part of the country catches a ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge to reach Belgium, but not me, when it comes to booking Belgian holidays I am a travel agent's nightmare!! I used to see alot of Sabena when I was flying to other places, there was always one of their aircraft parked alongside the one I would be going on, and the last year I saw them at LHR, in 1994, one of their 737s taxied past my aircraft to take off in front of us. I liked the name "Sabena" and was determined to fly with them one day. In 2000 I got my wish!! I crossed to the other side of the country (literally) to fly on SN2174 from MAN to BRU. It was a wonderful flight, with a superb cabin crew. I had the week in Brussels and visited Brugge, not the usual tourist way of a guided coach trip, but on the train, much more fun and a better way to experience Belgium. Most British tourists take the coach option and to me, they miss out on alot. The food in the restaurants was great and even in the constant rain that we had, I couldn't help but notice that the place had its own atmosphere. The beer of course was superb, and I decided that I would go back and experience more. In 2001 I had nine days in Brugge (which included September 11th), in 2002 I had another nine days in Brugge and visited new places (by train of course!) and in five weeks I am having nine days in Mechelen (completely new to me) and visiting more places. Sorry if I've gone on a bit, but I didn't really know how best to explain it.
Sabena and Sobelair - gone but never forgotten.
Louise
