And here is Duke's poem from the Latest Newsletter

LE TOUR DE BRUSSELS.

The ferry left from Dover on a flat and calm North Sea
For the 2 hour trip to Dunkirk as smooth as it could be.
The touring map was simple from Dunkirk to Trier
Straight through Brussels, in two hours we’d be there.

Now the Belgians are a casual lot and leave some things to chance.
The omissions on their road maps led us a merry dance.
The motorway went straight to town; the ring road was quite plain.
A ten minute drive round Brussels, then the Motorway again.

With the first sign on the outskirts the details disappeared,
The second sign made it obvious that all was as we feared.
But four confident travellers with experience to burn
We all were very certain there would be no wrong turn.

The suburbs grew more dense as the ring road ran round town
But when we reached the city square we all began to frown
The tunnels are a feature as they dip beneath the ground
But we found that they looked just the same the second time around

The third time after two long hours of driving that familiar track
The same tunnels convinced us to take ourselves right back
We stopped and asked instructions on which way we should go
From a Pakistani gentleman who really didn’t know.

His advice was “ask a policeman” their English is OK
Don’t ask a Belgian because they won’t know the way
The Africans just speak French and wouldn’t know where to go
But I’m from Pakistan a British colony you know”.

His English may have been spot on but directions weren’t so good
So carefully and slowly we went the way we thought we should.
Eventually with great delight the Motorway was found
“What did we do in Brussels?” We just drove round and round.

So if you’re bound for Europe and short cuts are your thing
Just try a run through Brussels it’s just a simple ring
Tackle it with confidence, there’s no need at all to fear
But it really is quite possible you’ll still be there next year.

Duke