The Ghent, Belgium GTG last week was a tremendous triumph. It was the best of the ongoing GTG’s in Europe. Tonny Berteloot, our esteemed Moderator, hosted the GTG in his native country. It was more than a usual GTG; it was also held to celebrate our memories of Kevin Devine. Several of the attendees acquired watches from Kevin’s collection. I had the privilege of delivering them to the new owners. As we donned our Kevin watches we all felt his presence among us, not in sadness, but in celebration of his time with us. For me, I have that feeling each time I strap on Kevin’s tribute to the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos Edition. Pics to follow.
For the first time we welcomed several new attendees to one of these GTGs.
• Bruno C., who has a magnificent Portugieser 325 collection,
• Olivier H., his father and he are IWC ADs.
• Oliver S., our friend and ex IWC employee.
• Vishal M., from Mumbai
• Koen S., a new member of the Forum
• Lastly, Seffi G. who just joined the Forum. Her hubby is Jarrod, a regular Forum contributor. This lovely NZ couple is on a yearlong plus journey away from their homeland. They sold their home and quite their jobs to embark on this journey. Gute Fahrt guys.
Including wives and significant others, we had 17 attendees. Two regular attendees, CINQ and Giovanni, were unable to make it this time. But there will be a re-do later this year, I’m sure.
Several posts have preceded this report. Please forgive the redundant photos of the day we spent in both Brussels and Ghent.
We started the day with Koen, Ralph Edmondson, and me meeting Tonny in the Brussels’s Grand Place or Grote Markt. The Grand Place is the central square of Brussels. The plaza is surrounded by the magnificent Guild Halls of the city's merchants, Town Hall, and a Museum along with restaurants and pubs galore.
A view around the Grand Place:
Tonny’s dial side and movement side as we try to locate Ralph.
And a Tonny selfie?
Ah ha! Here’s Ralph:
What’s he wearing?
And, what’s Tonny wearing? It’s a new acquisition that I brought over along with the Kevin collection. I’ll let him to his own reveal.
Tonny, Koen, and Ralph preparing for the city tour:
The first stop is the iconic Manneken Pis, just off the Grand Place. He was dressed for some occasion, but it was not clear for what.
Tonny informed us that this Pub was the place for a few beers. The music and décor are decidedly funereal. I believe the last act here was Jerry Garcia. Sadly it was not open for business. I guess it died a slow death.
Not far from the Dead End Pub we stopped for a sandwich at a street side stand:
After lunch, we had a city tour of the Parks and Government buildings:
New Royals waiting for entry to the Palace:
L to R: Tonny, Ralph, and Koen.
After a good Belgium history lesson and Brussels walk around, we headed off to Ghent (Gent for some) for our much-anticipated GTG. The festivities started with a cocktail hour at our hotel. Introductions of the new attendees started with beer and watches.
Vishal
Jarrod
Bruno on right
Young AD, Olivier
After the cocktail hour, we headed off to the beautiful Ghent town center for a really special afternoon.
The walk around before the Canal Boat ride, the special part of the arrangements.
One of Jarrod’s favorites. One of four he has with him on his year away from home.
Jarrod and his much better half, Steffi. She is the newest member of our Forum and is the proud owner of several IWCs herself.
The walk over to the Canal Boat Ride:
Crossing the canal toward our Boarding area:
Tonny was a great host and arranged this private canal boat ride with refreshments for all. We had our own private guide for a walk around afterwards too.
Tonny, she is talking to you. What did you say?
Sights along the canals. Ghent is truly a beautiful city with a history it seems of citizens appropriating property of others on the sly…a weaving machine, a Spanish Cannon, etc.
A castle that had not ever been conquered until about 1991 when students in the city took over after an unjust, to them, increase in beer prices.
The post boat ride walk around and history lesson:
The city's graffiti wall.
After our marvelous afternoon, we retired to the hotel for the real reason for our GTG…the celebration dinner in honor of Kevin. It was a time to share our passion and watches with each other. Once again Tonny and his lovely bride, Sabine, were our hosts and event planners.
Settling in for the dinner and show and tell.
There were some very significant Portugiesers to share, particularly Bruno’s 325s which were complete with the import hallmark on the lugs and papers. Notice the minute repeater too. Awe inspiring…
Ralph brought along his newest acquisition, an absolutely spectacular PW. The dial is amazing and the movement’s workmanship is beyond description.
The dinning begins…before the watch show and tell.
Before the required table shot, Tonny and Mark handed out some prize packages for the guests.
Arne cannot go a day without a Poffertjes fix. He carries them in his luggage I understand.
The ladies received Dutch Waffles with caramel and Oliver shows off his Kevin 3227 Ingenieur.
Before we arranged the heavy metal table shot, I made a brief presentation in honor and celebration of Kevin Devine. We were able to Face Time with Alan Ross during the presentation. Kevin’s Blue’s Brothers buddy was there with us. It was a bittersweet remembrance. We all know Kevin was with us. Five of us were lucky enough to acquire one of Kevin’s watches to add to our collection, but most importantly the watch will be a constant reminder of him as we wear his watch.
I brought the watches across the pond to deliver to the new owners:
L to R: Gio’s Cousteau Divers watch. Jarrod’s Laureus DaVinci. My Galapagos AT. Oliver’s 3227 Inenieur. And lastly, Mark’s Laureus Spitfire Pilot’s Watch.
I know Kevin will be very pleased the watches are now in the possession of his friends who were here to celebrate him.
I don’t have any pictures of my talk time, but I believe Steffi shared some in her post.
Wrapping up the evening is the obligatory tabletop shot.
Backside too….
Thanks again to Tonny for arranging our GTG. It was a special gathering with both old friends and new faces. I am sure we will continue this tradition. Tonny, Mark, or I will post advance notice of the next one. All are invited. Hope you can make the next one.
One final note, the IWC Forum connects us all and makes these GTG possible. They are happening all over the globe. I can’t think of another luxury watch company that has this kind of interaction and friendships. We owe a debt of gratitude to IWC and our Moderators for making this possible.
Until next time….
