THERE'S only one present Belgium visitors Stefaan and Marie-Paule Verkamer could possibly have brought for their hosts in Lurgan.
Chocolates.
They also brought quite a few cigarettes, but that kind of spoils the stereotype.
Stefaan and Marie-Paule are staying in Lurgan for 10 days with Trasna Way man Jeffrey McBride and his wife Joanne.
The two men first made contact o
ver 25 years ago using Citizen's Band Radio. Jeffrey was a keen CB man, using his radio with a SSB extension to reach Stefaan, who was only new to the world of Citizen's Band.
"Jeffrey was one of the first three calls I made," said Stefaan.
"The first was to France. Jeffrey was the second."
Jeffrey explained: "After the first time we couldn't find each other again. We stayed in touch by phone and letter writing."
Jeffrey spent three summer holidays in a row in Belgium with Stefaan and his family until Stefaan put an end to it.
"I said 'stop'," recalled Stefaan. "It was time we came over to stay with Jeffrey."
And so they did, staying with Jeffrey at his parents' house in Dervock.
The two families drifted apart and it wasn't until this year they got back in contact.
"My parents have died and we received money for the home," said Stefaan.
"The first thing I did was make contact with Jeffrey to organise to come over."
Stefaan's family live in Wervik, just 200 metres away from the French border. The city in West Flanders is most famous for its tobacco - hence the cigarettes brought over as a gift.
Jeffrey has three daughters and Stefaan has three sons - one of them named after Jeffrey.
"I'll never forget the time he called me up to tell me he'd named his son after me," said Jeffrey.
Jeffrey has yet to meet his Belgian namesake, but it's hoped he'll make the trip to Wervik in the next few years.
The full article contains 325 words and appears in Lurgan Mail newspaper.
