JC's Diary -- June 14 to 18, Belgium and France
For me this was an interesting segment -- the first use I know of for a term that later became a bit of a catch-phrase for John. And a few other little episodes that are distinctly of JC.
I'll let you find them yourself.
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Monday June 14/65
I'll let you find them yourself.
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After breakfast (this time the straight European kind) we went to the British and American Consulates and the American Express. I didn't find a letter for me but will write Canada House. Rod is not coming today and the Port authorities do not know when his ship will dock. We've decided to take a short tour of Belgium and try to get him on Thursday.
Fort Breendonk, half way between Antwerp and Bruxelles, was our next stop. This was a fort in the 1st W.W. and used as a concentration camp for Jews and political prisoners by the S.S. and Nazis in the 2nd W.W. It is reconstructed as a concentration camp and many objects bear witness to the atrocities carried out here. Detention cells, whips and other torture implements, posts where victims were tied to and shot, etc. are all on display. In one cell a picture of Jesus was scraped on the wall. The message the whole thing tries to get across is "Forgive but never Forget".
A furniture maker in the town of Breendonk built us a carpenter's saw horse to use as a support for the bed as the other legs broke. This one will hold forever.
We arrived in Bruxelles and headed straight for the Grand Place, one of the most beautiful squares I have seen. At night the gilt work shines spectacularly in the lights which are in profusion.
That night we camped in the Royal Park under some towering oak trees. It was a warm night so I slept outside under the stars.
Fort Breendonk, half way between Antwerp and Bruxelles, was our next stop. This was a fort in the 1st W.W. and used as a concentration camp for Jews and political prisoners by the S.S. and Nazis in the 2nd W.W. It is reconstructed as a concentration camp and many objects bear witness to the atrocities carried out here. Detention cells, whips and other torture implements, posts where victims were tied to and shot, etc. are all on display. In one cell a picture of Jesus was scraped on the wall. The message the whole thing tries to get across is "Forgive but never Forget".
A furniture maker in the town of Breendonk built us a carpenter's saw horse to use as a support for the bed as the other legs broke. This one will hold forever.
That night we camped in the Royal Park under some towering oak trees. It was a warm night so I slept outside under the stars.
Tuesday June 15/65
When I awoke, a few people were walking their dogs a few yards off. They looked and remarked to each other. Sleeping in the park is not a regular occurrence I guess. From my outside bed I could see the Atomium rising in the sky. It is the symbol of the Bruxelles World Fair of a few years ago and is a large complex of balls (atoms) connected by elevators and escalators about 100 metres (110 yards high). We went over there to have a look around and some coffee. I asked the waiter at the restaurant on top of Atomium where a piscine ( French for swimming pool) was. He thought I was using a colloquial English word for urination and directed me to the washroom. He gave us direction to the nearest pool. From there we went back to the park to write and lie in the sun from where I am writing this memoir.
This afternoon we went swimming at the "piscine" near the World's Fair site. The scenery was enhanced by a bounteous collection of feminine pulchritude in scanty bikinis. The sun was lovely and warm and I got a bit of a tan (mostly burn first though). We left Bruxelles and headed for Oostend, a drive of about 1 1/2 hours. It still amazes me that we can half-way cross a country in such short time.
After trying and failing to cash a traveller's cheque in Oostend we had a fish dinner on the harbour front. Later we walked around the bar area. This city is famous as an English resort. I'm sure half the people we saw were English. The harbour front is perhaps 1/2 mile long and every store front is a restaurant. The bar area was equally packed with bar after bar next to each other. Stopped in at "Charley's Pub" which is billed as the "cheapest place in town". Stayed for a couple hours, had two beers, and talked to some English tourists. We camped that night at Bredene a couple miles outside of Oostend.
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| From Wikipedia -- The Atomium |
This afternoon we went swimming at the "piscine" near the World's Fair site. The scenery was enhanced by a bounteous collection of feminine pulchritude in scanty bikinis. The sun was lovely and warm and I got a bit of a tan (mostly burn first though). We left Bruxelles and headed for Oostend, a drive of about 1 1/2 hours. It still amazes me that we can half-way cross a country in such short time.
After trying and failing to cash a traveller's cheque in Oostend we had a fish dinner on the harbour front. Later we walked around the bar area. This city is famous as an English resort. I'm sure half the people we saw were English. The harbour front is perhaps 1/2 mile long and every store front is a restaurant. The bar area was equally packed with bar after bar next to each other. Stopped in at "Charley's Pub" which is billed as the "cheapest place in town". Stayed for a couple hours, had two beers, and talked to some English tourists. We camped that night at Bredene a couple miles outside of Oostend.
Wednesday June 16/65
I got up about 8:30 while Robin was still sleeping and took my 2 oranges and bread and walked to the sea, about 300 yards from where we camped. There is a ridge of sand dunes about forty feet high and about seventy-five yards from the sea. In these are still many German bunkers and gun emplacements. Some have toppled over and one I looked in had walls and ceiling about 5 feet thick with steel reinforcement. I ate my oranges and had my bread here.
We drove to Bruges and got here at noon. This is a very old city and the town hall and building around the square where I am writing this from testify to that. Left Bruges about 3:00 pm and drove to Antwerp. Stopped at St. Nicholas (about 20km from Antwerp ) and had dinner. It start to rain very very hard after dinner so we pulled into a small roadhouse and spent the evening reading. Camped that night behind some Esso gas pumps in a parking lot. The rain lasted for 12 hours. I'm sure it was the hardest I can remember.
Thursday, June 17/65
Drove to Antwerp first thing and went to the British Consulate where there was a letter for me. Went next door to the U.S. consulate and found a message from Rod. He had landed on Tuesday and had a good trip. After collecting his things it was about noon by the time we left Antwerp.
Friday 18/65 June
One night I was looking through TIME magazine and I spotted that Le Mans Grand Prix was on Saturday so we made plans so as to take it in.
On Friday morning we drove to Rouen where we wanted to wash our clothes and ourselves as we are beginning to itch slightly. One lady I asked where a clothes washing place was walked with me a couple blocks to it but it turned out to be a dry cleaning store. We couldn't find a coin operated washing place, as in Belgium, so forgot about the clothes and got good hot showers for ourselves for 30 cents. After a few other chores we left Rouen about 3:00 pm and drove to Alencon about 35km from Le Mans.
After parking and looking for a restaurant, a girl from an automobile club asked us if we had tickets for the race. Of course we didn't and the girls in the club tried to sell us some. I thought we might get in free or at a lesser charge. They showed us a good restaurant and pretty soon there were 10 other English people there who were going to the race. We found out from them that tickets were needed so Rod went back to the Auto Club after dinner and reserved some seats. It was quite something to try to find everything out when three of us were talking at once and the girls the same, without any of us clearly understanding the other. We finished up in Alencon about 9:00 pm and started for Lemans and reached the red parking lot 1 1/2 hour later after much difficulty.
Hopped over a couple fences to get into the area of the inner race course and walked around for a while. We met some nice Americans and some bad ones -- those who could be called "the ugly Americans".
I slept outside last night and it was a marvelous sleep as I didn't waken until 7:45am. Last night as we were driving on the course (During normal times it is an ordinary road. ) a fellow rounded a corner and came came directly at us. He missed us narrowly and was evidently taken up with the Grad Prix. That was the only bad time we had. I'll try to get this posted from Le Mans as they have a special postage cancellation stamp.
On Friday morning we drove to Rouen where we wanted to wash our clothes and ourselves as we are beginning to itch slightly. One lady I asked where a clothes washing place was walked with me a couple blocks to it but it turned out to be a dry cleaning store. We couldn't find a coin operated washing place, as in Belgium, so forgot about the clothes and got good hot showers for ourselves for 30 cents. After a few other chores we left Rouen about 3:00 pm and drove to Alencon about 35km from Le Mans.
After parking and looking for a restaurant, a girl from an automobile club asked us if we had tickets for the race. Of course we didn't and the girls in the club tried to sell us some. I thought we might get in free or at a lesser charge. They showed us a good restaurant and pretty soon there were 10 other English people there who were going to the race. We found out from them that tickets were needed so Rod went back to the Auto Club after dinner and reserved some seats. It was quite something to try to find everything out when three of us were talking at once and the girls the same, without any of us clearly understanding the other. We finished up in Alencon about 9:00 pm and started for Lemans and reached the red parking lot 1 1/2 hour later after much difficulty.
Hopped over a couple fences to get into the area of the inner race course and walked around for a while. We met some nice Americans and some bad ones -- those who could be called "the ugly Americans".
I slept outside last night and it was a marvelous sleep as I didn't waken until 7:45am. Last night as we were driving on the course (During normal times it is an ordinary road. ) a fellow rounded a corner and came came directly at us. He missed us narrowly and was evidently taken up with the Grad Prix. That was the only bad time we had. I'll try to get this posted from Le Mans as they have a special postage cancellation stamp.
[ End of Page 30. Unfortunately there is no record in JC's records of any response by Aity to the trip although he does pick up letters from both Aity and Elizabeth en route. It is unclear whether John actually mailed the diary in pieced or if he only saved this and sent it in a major package at the end. I found the letters as a single continuously numbered package wrapped only in one ancient airmail envelope and an ancient elastic band. The envelope did not have any cancellation data or return address -- I think it may have been placed in a larger envelope.
An indication he may have mailed a partial set from Le Mans is that the page numbering breaks and repeats after page 29 with a second set of pages 27-30 ]
An indication he may have mailed a partial set from Le Mans is that the page numbering breaks and repeats after page 29 with a second set of pages 27-30 ]
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