DAY 237 - LUXEMBOURG AND TANDEL

16 December, 2011

2336.6 miles–5,018,201 steps

A fierce storm gathered pace during the night, rattling the windows. Snow was forecast. When Alice told me about the day ahead and suggested that it could be a good one to get involved in rather than to set off walking, I didn’t take much convincing.  The key event of the day was the commemoration of the US forces who were killed in the Battle of the Bulge and is organised every year by the Friends of Patton’s 26^th Infantry, who felt the full force of the German counter-offensive in the Winter of 1944 in Luxembourg and the Luxembourgians have never forgotten their sacrifice.

Before the act of commemoration, which was a Night Vigil in Tandel about an hours drive north of Luxembourg city, there was another packed day. In the morning I was given the privilege of attending a session of the UK Trade & Investment Conference along with Alice Walpole (HMA Luxembourg), Paul Arkwright (HMA to The Hague) and Jonathan Brenton (HMA to Brussels). The presentations were extremely encouraging—the Benelux team were ahead of forecast on virtually every measure. At heart I am a salesman, to a greater or lesser degree all politicians are, so I love to hear about potential high value deals and targets and working with British businesses to make sure we get our share of this huge market of Benelux, which in cash terms dwarfs trade with China, India, Brazil and Russia.

One side issue on the ‘small world’ theme, was that Michiel Veldhuizen, Head of UKTI in the Netherlands was actually from Durham—my home-town before setting off on the walk. Moreover, his parents are moving back to the Netherlands and their home, which is one of the finest in the city overlooking the cathedral, was up for sale.  Over drinks I took soundings on ‘offers in the region of’, but concluded swiftly that unless my Premium Bonds have come up whilst I am out of the country, then it is well out of my league, but great to catch up on news from Durham.

One of the things, which I have seen at first hand on this walk, is just how incredibly blessed we are with the quality of our diplomats and trade representatives. These people would be flying high in any commercial organisation and the fact that they choose to devote themselves to helping other people make money, rather than having that as their primary objective themselves, is hugely impressive and I don’t think we pay tribute to them enough largely because their work goes on day in day out behind the scenes. But it is a fair bet that if you read of a major new order overseas or a major new investment in the UK, then British diplomats and UKTI have played an instrumental role in bringing the deal to fruition.

As if to underline this appreciation of the diplomatic effort in support of British business, Alice walpole was invited to give the keynote address at the British Chamber of Commerce Christmas Lunch at the Hemicycle, Kirchberg. I had a stroke of luck because I had previously worked with Liz Main, now one of the leaders of the British Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg, when she served in Rt Hon Sir John Wheeler’s Office when he was Security Minister for Northern Ireland and I was his Parliamentary Private Secretary. I asked Alice what she would like me to do, she looked at me and said with a smile, “Get in there circulate and try and be interesting.”  “I’ll do my best Ma’am,” I replied. I found a great place next to Francis and Angela Hoogerwerf, Matt Moran, CFO of Lombard, Mikkel Stroerup and Marine Tse of the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Steve Giddings  of National Grid—in fact I was reflecting that even though I had only been in Luxembourg for a few days, I was meeting some people for the third time. It was a great opportunity again to spread word of the Truce and to listen to views on Europe and the economy.

Alice gave a brilliant and inspiring speech re-asserting the UK commitment to Europe, which was re-assuring to the audience, well to a point. I must confess that I have found since the deployment of the British veto in Germany, France and now in Luxembourg, there is a sanguine view of the British; we seem to have earned in some, less diplomatic sections, the reputation of the disgruntled employee who is forever complaining about the firm and then one day comes in and presents his resignation and is slightly surprised when the response is a sweet smile of ‘Okay, best of luck then.’ I am coming quickly to the conclusion that Britain doesn’t get Europe and in return Europe doesn’t get Britain. For Europe the EU is a political necessity to prevent more hundreds of hectares being taken up with war memorials and small white crosses. For Britain, it is understood to meant purely an economic trade zone, because England has had the good fortune to border Wales and Scotland, not France and Germany. Something’s got to give, but no one is in the mood to give ground. Saying ‘no’ to Britain goes down as well in Paris and Berlin, as saying ‘no’ to Europe goes down in Westminster, but you don’t read that in the Daily Mail.

After lunch I found myself in for a real treat as it was back to the Residence for tea with the US Ambassador, Robert Mandell. Bob is an easy going, but no-non-sense kind of diplomat; it is easy to see how Alice and he get on so well, even without the ‘Special relationship’ epaulet. Alice, Bob and I travelled up to the ‘Night Vigil’ in the US Ambassador’s bomb/bullet proof Cadillac—the doors were so heavy I was unable to close it and needed the burly chauffer to slam it closed. It was a fascinating conversation on the way up in the car as we were able to range freely and widely across the whole political and economic situation.

For some reason I anticipated that we were going somewhere to stand in a field for the act of remembrance, but as we drew up at the school building where the event was to be held, there were hundreds of people there in military and civilian dress and the entrance to the school was marked out with flaming tree trunks. The Night Vigil is held in a different town each year and when it is their town the residents turn out in force, such is their genuine gratitude for what the Americans did for them. This wasn’t forced sentiment. This was genuine gratitude. For them the events of that cold December evening could have been yesterday, not 67 years ago, and their expressions of thanks and genuine remembrance for the 50,000 plus US casualties, who died in order that they may be liberated. They include General Patton, America’s greatest wartime General, who is buried Luxembourg—with his men.

Again it brought home to me, as I spoke to the veterans and locals, that this is why the EU and NATO are vital to them—through NATO, chiefly the Americans and British guarantee their physical security; through the EU, chiefly the French and Germans they guarantee their political stability. Viewed from Luxembourg and especially from Tandel, it all makes perfect sense in a way which viewed from Durham or London it couldn’t, not in the same way at least.

Bob Mandell spoke movingly, taking the lessons of the events that night 67 years ago and effortlessly brought them up to date and applied them to the modern setting of political and economic uncertainty. The event finished with a party and presentations and again, as if to emphasise the ‘small world’, the singing of Al Jolson and Andrews Sisters classics was led by ‘Cas’ –the forces sweetheart from Deal in Kent—she did us proud.