WesWorld

(I've decided to try to unbury the Belgian bits already posted)

The Brussels Sprout January 2nd
The announcement of a three way treaty between Nordmark, Germany and Great Britain signifies the decay of the great alliance which contained the Teutonic hordes in the Great War. Should the current veneer of German diplomacy wear thin and the inner Hun resurface, we must expect no help from our great friends in the United Kingdom, and that German wolves will close the sealanes to Belgian trade. Earlier accords between the United Kingdom and France leave the Channel coast unguarded by France, but the German navy is not yet to large for our Dutch compatriots to address. Belgium must work to further improve its ties to the Netherlands and France, and seek to strengthen the relationship with the United Kingdom in the hope of normalcy returning.

The Brussels Sprout, March 10th
Princess Juliana announced plans to travel this May to Azerbaijan to investigate reports that the magnificent horses of that area are imperiled. The Princess was reportedly impressed by the stallion presented to the Queen, and feels that her late husband, Prince Karel, would be loathe to let the breed continue its decline. The Princess reportedly is interested if there is something that can be done to save the breed.

The Brussels Sprout March 28th
Special from Ireland

The Queens Dutch yacht, the Nassau sailed into Galway Bay four days ago. The leaden skies turned the waters the color of slate. On the south side, the scoured stony slopes of the burren mark the northern extent of Clare, while the twelve bens of Connemara stand sentry in the north, like pillars holding up the low ceiling of dark clouds. Stretched across the mouth of Galway Bay are the Aran islands, barren highlands of rock and more rock, swaddled in a swath of green along the shore.

The small neat stone cottages dot vibrant green fields separated by low rock walls and regularly watered by the skies. Herds of sheep blanket areas like particularly low clouds. Small fishing craft, called currachs, dot Galway bay.

The Irish Government sent a contingent of their Irish Blue Hussars to serve as an Honor Guard to greet the Queens arrival in Galway, as well as serve as escorts during her stay.

Galway itself is a midsized town, with a sizable harbor supporting a shipping industry and fishing industry. New buildings grace the harbor area, denoting the presence of the American firm, Howard Electric Boat Company. In the harbor were symbols of Irelands growth, the two new Irish fisheries frigates, Deirdre and Eithne. Nearly complete, they were fitting out. The Deirdre had already been fitted with some weaponry and fired a salute as the Nassau passed.

The Queen has spent the first day in Galway, attending an obligatory dinner and paying her respects to the towns grandees. The Queen is traveling with several old friends and a small contingent of honor guards her governments insisted on. The Irish Blue Hussars proved likeable chaps and thorough professionals, quite proud of their land.

The Queen spent the past several days touring Mayo and Connemara in the Minerva sedan brought along for the purpose. This reporter was unable to accompany the Queen on that portion of her trip, but it is understood that she spent much of yesterday at the Monastery where Prince Charles der Belgen - des Belges now serves as Abbot. The Queen declined to answer what their conversation was about.

When asked how she found Ireland, she replied :
I am a great fan of touring, but I do not get to do much of it. The landscape here is so different from what I am used to that it is quite refreshing. The people are friendly but the cadence of their form of English is attractive, but a little difficult for this old ladies ears to catch.

When asked about the American firm and the regions future :
Well the National Schools provide a decent education, but there is no capital reserve here to put into development. I am told Ireland was famed for woollen goods, and there are plenty of sheep, but few textile mills and no capital to build one. Outside firms like Howard Electric Boat are a boon for the region as they bring in outside capital and provide good jobs, as well as attract other companies to support it.

When asked if the textile mills and other factories were possible investments opportunities :
One would not be surprised if there are such opportunities, the economy here was tied to mercantalist exports for too long. These are the types of development opportunities that we found so important to identify in the Kongo.

Your Majesty is known to have widespread investments and rumored to be extremely wealthy, is your Majesty considering investing?

While I am sure of the opportunity to do good here, I am rather on vacation, not scouting for investments at this time. Development is far more complex than it seems. What we found when we tried to the Kongo was that it was far to easy to pour time, effort and guilders into a project that would never prosper on its own. A great deal of research, planning and teaching must occur. That is why I established the Bank [of the Kongo], to create a entity that combined those skills with the financiers and capital to ensure the projects funded succeed.

What are your plans next?
Well the Nassau will take us across the Atlantic and back to New York City. I plan on calling on Sagamore hill and De Hollandsche Club, as well as seeing the city again. I have not been since invited to attend the tencentenary celebration in 1924.

"Currach"


These things are amazingly fast and manuevrable in the hands of a practiced crew. There are weekly races in the West and South West each Sunday during the Summer

There is a classic Guinness ad that has a group of Aran Islanders sitting in a little pub, when one guy sticks his head in the door and utters the (in Ireland anyway!) immortal line "Ta' siad ag teacht!!" (phonetrically it would be - taw sheed egg choct) ("They are coming!!"); which shows a currach in action, unfortunately my "youtube-fu" isn't that good.......


not "Coracle"

you are of course correct, and I should know that one- seen a number and I even have a little model currach on my bookshelf. Just when I was a kid I heard of coracles long before I learned there were the bigger currachs also. Bah, guess I flunked Ireland 101.

The Brussels Sprout, April 7th
Special from American Desk

The Queen arrived in New York City this morning. The Queen was rather insistant on riding the 11 O’Clock ferry to Liberty Island, where she ascended to the Crown.

This reporter had a moment to ask her what she intends for her American trip :
Well this evening the Belgian Ambassador has insisted on hosting a Dinner for a great many folks, including myself. Over the next several days I plan to really see the City, especially the Natural Heiratage Museum. I will take a trip out Long Island to see an old friend, and then we intend to take the train to Philadephia, to see that center of American Independence. Since I have never been privilidged to see the south, I wish to travel to Frankfurt, and take the train down through Nashville to Cullman, Alabama where I purchased coal land a quarter century ago. From there, off to Memphis and over the Mississippi river. In a bit of Hubris, I wish to cross the Mississippi river and visit western Arkansas, where I understand they named a resort to benefit from publicity around my coronation. I understand it was a rather picturesqe lodge but is now in Ruins. From there, back to Memphis and by river boat down to New Orleans where I will meet the Nassau.

Your itinerary does not include meeting with elected officials or calling on Washington?
America has little need of Kings and Queens, and I would not want to disturb busy peoples days by calling on them just to inform them that this old lady is on holiday.


The Brussels Sprout April 12th
It was announced today that Princess Juliana will represent the United Kingdoms of the Netherlands at a wildlife preservation conference in Persia. The Princess and entering will be accredited through the Swiss Embassy.

Of the various Kingdoms and provinces the Princess represents, there are several preserves in the Kongo, the Reserve Elephants de Roosevelt being the most famed. There are no such preserves in our Kingdom of Belgium.

The Persian Big Cat Project was launched earlier this year by their Ministry of Culture and Heritage. The Persian conference is focused on concerns regarding several big cat species, including the Java tiger, native to the Dutch East Indies. The late Dutch governor AC De Graeff, prior to his untimely death, proposed a series of National Preserves on the American Model. Provincial governments, led by Governor Hendrick van der Wetering of Borneo, have been debating legislation to extend those.

The Brussels Sprout, April 26th
News reports from Poland indicate they may adopt the Belgian model of a constitutional monarch chosen by election. While our experience in Belgium was that typically hereditary succession was followed, the electoral process allowed for elimination of unsuitable candidates, as well as provided flexibility when the hereditary line was severed.


The Brussels Sprout , May 5th
The government has issued specifications for a 90mm Anti-aircraft gun. The gun is to be manually loaded but have a semi-automatic breech. The government has been dissatisfied with the current 105mm, which is not suited to mobile operations and requires mechanical assistance for sustained high loading rates.

The Antwerp Twerpette, June 18th
Fortress command announced a new program today to enhance the depth of our defenses. Small armored turrets mounting a machine gun and the FRC 60mm anti-tank cannon and machine guns will be sited in small clusters commanding chokepoints. The armored turrets will be cast armor from the new Cockerill plants near Liege. Each 7.5 ton assemblage will be emplaced in a reinforced concrete footing sunk in the ground. A variant mounting the FRC 76/16 gun mortar is also planned for locations where indirect fire may prove useful.

The Ghent Gazette July 15th
In Ghent today Fokker towed a new aircraft out onto the runways. The mammoth D.121 is said to mass over 20 ktons with a wingspan in excess of 35m. Fokker’s previous record was the 33m wooden wing of the F36. While the government continues to feel there is no pressing need for a heavy bomber force, there was sufficient pressure to explore such a commitment. The funding for the D.121 prototype was appropriated by Netherlands government specifically to explore the challenges of such large aircraft.



The Brussels Sprout September 20th
The Ministry of Defense announced today an advancement of the mutual defense plans currently arranged with the Netherlands. The current commitment of a two divisions each to joint Corps is to be expanded on.

As members of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands are bound to come to each other’s aid in times of strife, a joint defense plan between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium will be prepared. The conceptual model includes each nation providing a pool of mobile divisions which can be allocated to joint defense, thereby bolstering the defense of both. Should sufficient troops be identified, this may mean that some divisions in each nation can be demobilized.

In each case, the nations fear involvement in a hypothetical larger Franco-German war. With the improved relations between Germany and France, many of the concerns have been allayed but not completely eliminated.

Quoted

Originally posted by Kaiser Kirk
The Ghent Gazette July 15th
In Ghent today Fokker towed a new aircraft out onto the runways. The mammoth D.121 is said to mass over 20 ktons with a wingspan in excess of 35m. Fokker’s previous record was the 33m wooden wing of the F36. While the government continues to feel there is no pressing need for a heavy bomber force, there was sufficient pressure to explore such a commitment. The funding for the D.121 prototype was appropriated by Netherlands government specifically to explore the challenges of such large aircraft.

And the flying battleship is here

Hmm, maybe a typesetter made an error..