Reddy De Mey, Belgian TV journalist, who recently turned politician, tells in an interview that when his mother was in labor during WW II, she was unable to get him out. Until, the midwife gave his mother a cocktail of beer and cognac, that was. This cocktail must have been so relaxing and eased the pain so much that his mother could deliver Reddy on this world, or baby Reddy must have said: “They have good stuff out there, I’m out of here!”

Reddy is known for his ‘bon vivant’ style of living in Oostende, where you can find him every Friday evening in one of the many local pubs enjoying good Belgian beer. Since he travels a lot by train, he enjoys having a good beer at the station or in the train, even when it is still morning. He recalls that once he was on the road with a camera man and a sound man, and both men were drinking ice-tea the whole day. He says: “Steak with French fries, and ice-tea. That is so inhuman!”

Newsletter April 2000