Chapter 10

The things a guy will do for his wife's birthday ... especially when she's married to her brother ... and is a multimillionaire in her own right. The Belgian Rally worked wonderfully.

Dal and the Valmaat crew packed up everything automative and shipped it back to Uusikaupunki.

We packed the Vellamo aboard a freighter and shipped her across the Atlantic to Quebec City on the St. Lawrence.

In Antwerpen, we visited the diamond sellers. Wendy got a small fortune in necklaces, brooches, pins and bracelets. Atturi was induced to watch as Inkeri had her ears pierced and one quarter karat diamond earrings installed in the holes. He immediately changed his mind about 'keeping up' with his sister.

"Your turn, Art?" asked Wendy, much to the amusement of the resident doctor who installed Inkeri's studs.

"No! Thank you! Mom," Art said.

"David?" She turned to me with a sly grin, "Sailors have pierced ears."

"Pilots, especially Colonel Aces, don't wear earrings!" I said.

Inkeri became the proud possessor of a collection of diamond jewelry suitable for a demure miss..."For later," Wendy said.

Although it was indeed, a small fortune, it was nothing compared to the same purchases in the New World, had we bought in New York or Boston ... even a purchase in Canada would have been thousands more.

Having exhausted our "Wanter," we went to the canal and took passage aboard a passenger barge for our next adventure.

We barged from Antwerpen to Ostend and on, by channel ferry, to Ramsgate and then by tunnel train to St Pancras railway station. This needs explanation;

The Tunnel Train is a narrow gauge underground from Ramsgate to Canterbury, hence to Faversham, Sittingbourne, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester, Strood, Gravesend, Dartford, Greenwich and London St. Pancras. Only the beginning and end are above ground ... everything else is underground. It took a little more than three hours to make the run. The kids were astonished. Wendy and I were, too, but you can't tell that to the children.

Wendy said, "What a great bomb shelter this would make." Wendy has had close encounters with bombs from Russia. She would know.

London is for mens clothes. Her birthday is my birthday so we celebrated mine two weeks late ... In case you forgot ... we are twins ... before transference.

Just what I always wanted ... clothes for my birthday ... clothes was what I got from my mom before my shocking experience with the pruners.

These clothes were much better than jeans from Sears.

Bespoke; in England it means custom, made to order clothing. Seven suits, two dozen shirts, six hats and accouterments.