Anne MacIntosh had a sheltered upbringing in the New Forest and had never been abroad before. Married with two young children (Matt aged 4 and Frank 2), she was keen to experience something different. So when her husband Chris who was working as a welder in Antwerp asked her to come out there she happily agreed...

Antwerp Cathedral.

Chris had found a flat by the time that Anne and the boys arrived, but what a flat! A bare room with a cooker and a room upstairs stuffed with furniture but without beds for the boys. And the toilet! A seat and a pipe - gravity fed - was on the roof. The other flats were occupied by Flemish workers but Chris's mates were very friendly.

It was a bit like 'Auf Wiedersehn Pet'. Joe was the the stereotypical Glaswegian heavy drinker, 'a super guy, but he would get us into bother!' Glasses would be sent flying across bars, flowers stolen from passers by, and in his company they would inevitably be turned out of bars. John asked whether Anne had female company. She didn't. But their male mates were great. Dusty used to lend his keys so that the children could be showered and use the loo.

Anne says she got to know every inch of grass, every swing, every sandpit in Antwerp. She used to explore with the boys on foot and by bus. She couldn't speak Flemish or French, but picked up enough to be able to get by on their adventures. They lived in the red light district which was in the centre of town, and if she were ever to move back to Antwerp that's where she'd go. It is the most colourful part of town. In the mornings there were a couple of ladies sitting in the windows who the boys would wave at.

After Antwerp, Chris went on to work in Holland, and Anne decided that, as it was time for the eldest to start school, she wanted to be home. Anne doesn't regret her time there despite the loneliness; it was when she grew up.