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Written by Dorikri
Dorone: se già qui in Italia, questo nome sembra pesante, immaginate un pò se pronunciato da Anglosassoni. (Più avanti vi racconterò come mai a mio padre fu affibbiato quel -terribile- nome!)
Da bambino lo chiamavano Roon o Roony e quando entrò all’università, non so se per sua scelta o per scelta dei suoi compagni, diventò Brandy; forse anche perché mio padre preferiva il brandy al cognac.
Brandy non discendeva, né proveniva da famiglia diplomatica, anzi, direi che, fossero più o meno tutti difensori della legge.
Quando a trentadue anni conobbe e frquentò la diciottenne Jacqueline, prima a Chungking e poi a Nanking, certamente non immaginava che nella sua vita tutto sarebbe cambiato. Lei, mia madre, era l'unica figlia dell’Ambasciatore francese in Cina, lui era un maggiore di cavalleria, ed era addetto militare presso l’ambasciata di Sua Maestà la regina dei Paesi Bassi a Chungking.
Jacqueline dal canto suo, discendeva da una famiglia che annoverava molti diplomatici tra i suoi avi.
Grand’père, mio nonno, quando mio padre andò a chiedergli la mano di sua figlia, scherzando -ma forse no- gli disse che poteva acconsentire soltanto se fosse diventato un diplomatico: «Sa, Jacqueline è la quinta generazione...». Brandy a quel punto ripensò al fatto che nel 1944 durante la guerra, di stanza in Australia, aveva sentito dire che gli ufficiali olandesi che avevano almeno tre anni di guerra sulle spalle, trasferendosi a Londra o New York, potevano iscriversi a un corso di preparazione alla carriera diplomatica; a fine guerra, avrebbero seguito un altro corso di tre mesi e dopo un anno di tirocinio presso un’ambasciata, avrebbero potuto continuare la carriera. A mio padre , ancora di stanza presso l'Ambasciata in Cina, non fu però mai rilasciata l’autorizzazione a lasciare il suo reggimento. Brandy era innamorato e a Grand’père disse: «Per Jacqueline questo ed altro». Si recò all’ambasciata Olandese e si mise in contatto con il Ministero degli Affari Esteri, richiedendo i moduli per iscriversi ai corsi di specializzazione e, usando la Valigia Diplomatica * , si fece mandare le lezioni, rispedendo poi indietro i compiti man mano eseguiti; comunque il fidanzamento si fece, e il 3 agosto 1946 si unirono in matrimonio a Chungking. Sposatisi, via India e Kashmir, raggiunsero i Paesi Bassi, dove papà arrivò in tempo per presentarsi all’esame presso il Ministero. Venne promosso e inviato a Bruxelles per fare un tirocinio come secondo segretario di ambasciata, e superato l’esame finale, tornò a Bruxelles per un altro anno come console; in quel periodo nascemmo, io il 10 Giugno 1947, e mia sorella Patricia l’8 giugno 1948. Poi, per poter proseguire nella carriera, mio padre dovette fare un anno presso il Ministero degli Esteri a L’Aja, dove il 10 febbraio del '50 nacque Alexandra. Patricia morì a Nizza il 2 luglio 1951
Dorone: if here in Italy, this name seems heavy, just imagine the problems for Anglo-Saxons to pronounce it. (Later on, I will tell you how this -terrible- name was given to my father!)
As a child, he was called Roon or Roony and when he attended university he became Brandy.
I don't know whether he decided to call himself so or whether his study mates did. Another reason could be that my father's preferred shot was brandy.
Brandy did not descend, nor did he come from a diplomatic family.
In fact, they all held a Master's degree in law.
When at the age of thirty-two he met and dated the eighteen-years-old Jacqueline, first in Chungking and then in Nanking (China), he certainly did not imagine that everything in his life would change.
She, my mother, was the only daughter of the French Ambassador to China; he, my father, was a cavalry major, and he was the military attaché at the Embassy of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands in Chungking.
Jacqueline's family was definitely a diplomatic one.
Grand'père, my grand-father, when my father went to ask him for his daughter's hand, joking -but maybe not- replied that he could only accept if he had become a diplomat: "You know, Jacqueline is the fifth-generation ... ». Brandy then remembered that in 1944, during the war, while stationed in Australia, he had heard that Dutch officers who had at least three years of war on their shoulders, moving to London or New York, could enroll in a preparation course for the diplomatic career; at the end of the war, they would have followed another three-month course. Then, after a year of internship at an embassy, they could have continued their careers.
However, my father, still stationed at the Embassy in China, was never granted permission to leave his regiment. Brandy was in love, so he "declaimed": "For Jacqueline, that's the minimum I could do!".
He went to the consular representation to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking for the enroll forms. Using the Diplomatic Bag*, he could receive the lessons, then send back the tasks gradually performed; in the meantime, they got engaged and on August 3rd, 1946 they married in Chungking. After the ceremony and a honeymoon in India and Kashmir, they reached the Netherlands, where Daddy arrived just in time to attend the exam at the Ministry.
He was promoted and sent to Brussels for an internship as a second embassy secretary. When he passed the final exam, he returned to Brussels for another year as consul; in that period we were born: me on June 10th, 1947, and my sister Patricia on June 8th, 1948.
Then, in order to continue his career, my father had to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a year in The Hague, where, on February 10th, 1950, Alexandra was born. On July 2nd, 1951 Patricia passes away in Nice.
* Every Embassy, from any country and in any country, has this means of sending and receiving
confidential mail exchanged with the Ministry. It is not a bag like the one we use to travel with.
They are bags, of any size (according to the need), in which letters and packages travel.
They are closed and sealed and then unsealed by people authorized for this task. Both at the Ministry and at the reference embassy, there is an office responsible for sealing and unsealing the Bags and nobody, but absolutely nobody, in addition to these two persons in charge, has the authorization to deal with them. For many years, and even for several centuries, these Bags have contained very important documents, articles intended for official use, keys, codebooks and other necessarily secret materials (literature and cinematography teach) but also letters, parcels, and gifts from and for the families at Home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_bag
Written by Dorikri
Da bambino lo chiamavano Roon o Roony e quando entrò all’università, non so se per sua scelta o per scelta dei suoi compagni, diventò Brandy; forse anche perché mio padre preferiva il brandy al cognac.
Brandy non discendeva, né proveniva da famiglia diplomatica, anzi, direi che, fossero più o meno tutti difensori della legge.
Quando a trentadue anni conobbe e frquentò la diciottenne Jacqueline, prima a Chungking e poi a Nanking, certamente non immaginava che nella sua vita tutto sarebbe cambiato. Lei, mia madre, era l'unica figlia dell’Ambasciatore francese in Cina, lui era un maggiore di cavalleria, ed era addetto militare presso l’ambasciata di Sua Maestà la regina dei Paesi Bassi a Chungking.
Jacqueline dal canto suo, discendeva da una famiglia che annoverava molti diplomatici tra i suoi avi.
Grand’père, mio nonno, quando mio padre andò a chiedergli la mano di sua figlia, scherzando -ma forse no- gli disse che poteva acconsentire soltanto se fosse diventato un diplomatico: «Sa, Jacqueline è la quinta generazione...». Brandy a quel punto ripensò al fatto che nel 1944 durante la guerra, di stanza in Australia, aveva sentito dire che gli ufficiali olandesi che avevano almeno tre anni di guerra sulle spalle, trasferendosi a Londra o New York, potevano iscriversi a un corso di preparazione alla carriera diplomatica; a fine guerra, avrebbero seguito un altro corso di tre mesi e dopo un anno di tirocinio presso un’ambasciata, avrebbero potuto continuare la carriera. A mio padre , ancora di stanza presso l'Ambasciata in Cina, non fu però mai rilasciata l’autorizzazione a lasciare il suo reggimento. Brandy era innamorato e a Grand’père disse: «Per Jacqueline questo ed altro». Si recò all’ambasciata Olandese e si mise in contatto con il Ministero degli Affari Esteri, richiedendo i moduli per iscriversi ai corsi di specializzazione e, usando la Valigia Diplomatica * , si fece mandare le lezioni, rispedendo poi indietro i compiti man mano eseguiti; comunque il fidanzamento si fece, e il 3 agosto 1946 si unirono in matrimonio a Chungking. Sposatisi, via India e Kashmir, raggiunsero i Paesi Bassi, dove papà arrivò in tempo per presentarsi all’esame presso il Ministero. Venne promosso e inviato a Bruxelles per fare un tirocinio come secondo segretario di ambasciata, e superato l’esame finale, tornò a Bruxelles per un altro anno come console; in quel periodo nascemmo, io il 10 Giugno 1947, e mia sorella Patricia l’8 giugno 1948. Poi, per poter proseguire nella carriera, mio padre dovette fare un anno presso il Ministero degli Esteri a L’Aja, dove il 10 febbraio del '50 nacque Alexandra. Patricia morì a Nizza il 2 luglio 1951
*Ogni Ambasciata, di qualsiasi nazione e in qualsiasi nazione si trovi, ha questo mezzo per mandare e ricevere la posta riservata, scambiata con il Ministero. Non è una valigia come quella che noi usiamo per viaggiare. Sono delle sacche, più o meno grandi (in base alle necessità), nelle quali viaggiano lettere e plichi, che vengono chiuse e sigillate e poi aperte da persone autorizzate a questo compito; sia al Ministero che all’ambasciata di riferimento, c’è un ufficio preposto alla chiusura e apertura della Valigia e nessuno, ma proprio nessuno, oltre a questi due responsabili ha l’autorizzazione ad aprirle. Per moltissimi anni, e anche per diversi secoli, queste valigie poterono contenere documenti importantissimi (letteratura e cinematografia insegnano) ma anche lettere, pacchi e regali da e per le famiglie rimaste in patria.
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valigia_diplomatica
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valigia_diplomatica
Dorone: if here in Italy, this name seems heavy, just imagine the problems for Anglo-Saxons to pronounce it. (Later on, I will tell you how this -terrible- name was given to my father!)
As a child, he was called Roon or Roony and when he attended university he became Brandy.
I don't know whether he decided to call himself so or whether his study mates did. Another reason could be that my father's preferred shot was brandy.
Brandy did not descend, nor did he come from a diplomatic family.
In fact, they all held a Master's degree in law.
When at the age of thirty-two he met and dated the eighteen-years-old Jacqueline, first in Chungking and then in Nanking (China), he certainly did not imagine that everything in his life would change.
She, my mother, was the only daughter of the French Ambassador to China; he, my father, was a cavalry major, and he was the military attaché at the Embassy of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands in Chungking.
Jacqueline's family was definitely a diplomatic one.
Grand'père, my grand-father, when my father went to ask him for his daughter's hand, joking -but maybe not- replied that he could only accept if he had become a diplomat: "You know, Jacqueline is the fifth-generation ... ». Brandy then remembered that in 1944, during the war, while stationed in Australia, he had heard that Dutch officers who had at least three years of war on their shoulders, moving to London or New York, could enroll in a preparation course for the diplomatic career; at the end of the war, they would have followed another three-month course. Then, after a year of internship at an embassy, they could have continued their careers.
However, my father, still stationed at the Embassy in China, was never granted permission to leave his regiment. Brandy was in love, so he "declaimed": "For Jacqueline, that's the minimum I could do!".
He went to the consular representation to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking for the enroll forms. Using the Diplomatic Bag*, he could receive the lessons, then send back the tasks gradually performed; in the meantime, they got engaged and on August 3rd, 1946 they married in Chungking. After the ceremony and a honeymoon in India and Kashmir, they reached the Netherlands, where Daddy arrived just in time to attend the exam at the Ministry.
He was promoted and sent to Brussels for an internship as a second embassy secretary. When he passed the final exam, he returned to Brussels for another year as consul; in that period we were born: me on June 10th, 1947, and my sister Patricia on June 8th, 1948.
Then, in order to continue his career, my father had to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a year in The Hague, where, on February 10th, 1950, Alexandra was born. On July 2nd, 1951 Patricia passes away in Nice.
* Every Embassy, from any country and in any country, has this means of sending and receiving
confidential mail exchanged with the Ministry. It is not a bag like the one we use to travel with.
They are bags, of any size (according to the need), in which letters and packages travel.
They are closed and sealed and then unsealed by people authorized for this task. Both at the Ministry and at the reference embassy, there is an office responsible for sealing and unsealing the Bags and nobody, but absolutely nobody, in addition to these two persons in charge, has the authorization to deal with them. For many years, and even for several centuries, these Bags have contained very important documents, articles intended for official use, keys, codebooks and other necessarily secret materials (literature and cinematography teach) but also letters, parcels, and gifts from and for the families at Home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_bag
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