Today we went to visit our old friends Klaus and Paulette once again. As Alek was the consular officer in Belgium, and Klaus worked in that area too, they had a number of stories to mull over from the old days.
Alek and Klaus remembered the time they were called to visit some Australians in gaol near Bruges, knocked up for drug-running, amongst other misdemeanours. A parcel had arrived at the Embassy for the convicted pair, so Alek and Klaus drove to Bruges to take the Christmas presents for the two, speculating as to whether the parcel contained the classic 'get-out-of-gaol' file. They duly delivered the parcel, only to be called by the prison officials a week later to say that the pair had been making money from the other prisoners by renting out their blow-up sex doll! The doll had of course been in the parcel.
Klaus told the story of when the Bjelke-Petersens came to town, probably during Joh's long reign as Premier of Queensland. Flo wanted to climb the Lion of Waterloo, and 'asked' Klaus, whom she referred to constantly as 'Karl' to help her climb the steps. She then took his arm and hauled herself up the long climb. For those not familiar with the monument, here it is, 226 steps to the top (right)
More than halfway up, Flo remembered her camera - "Karl, go back to the car and get my camera!" Once they'd been to the top and were again at the bottom, she wanted coffee and scones, but had also 'forgotten' that Australian dollars are not accepted in Belgian cafes, so 'Karl' had to pay the bill for Flo and her entourage.
When we were in Luxembourg last week, Alek told me about the time he went to see Russell Hinze in gaol in Luxembourg. Hinze was to be extradited to Australia for alleged corruption. For those too young to remember Russell Hinze, here he is with Joh - a good pair!
And if we were on a trip in Turkey and Syria, we could reminisce about gaols in Turkey and Syria - all part of the joys of diplomatic life overseas .....
Alek and Klaus remembered the time they were called to visit some Australians in gaol near Bruges, knocked up for drug-running, amongst other misdemeanours. A parcel had arrived at the Embassy for the convicted pair, so Alek and Klaus drove to Bruges to take the Christmas presents for the two, speculating as to whether the parcel contained the classic 'get-out-of-gaol' file. They duly delivered the parcel, only to be called by the prison officials a week later to say that the pair had been making money from the other prisoners by renting out their blow-up sex doll! The doll had of course been in the parcel.
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| The Lion of Waterloo |
More than halfway up, Flo remembered her camera - "Karl, go back to the car and get my camera!" Once they'd been to the top and were again at the bottom, she wanted coffee and scones, but had also 'forgotten' that Australian dollars are not accepted in Belgian cafes, so 'Karl' had to pay the bill for Flo and her entourage.
Klaus also remembered an old Australian who came into the embassy on a regular basis. He was a smelly old bugger, so the embassy staff gave him new clothes, fed him and let him use the bathroom for a wash. Eventually they found out that he was a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation during WWII and had scraped up enough money for a fare to Europe to see where his mates had died. He didn't have enough money to return to Australia, or even to keep himself while in Europe, so was sleeeping rough and staying warm by coming to the embassy. After embassy staff contacted veterans associations in Australia, he was eventually repatriated.
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| Joh and Russ |
And if we were on a trip in Turkey and Syria, we could reminisce about gaols in Turkey and Syria - all part of the joys of diplomatic life overseas .....
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