They also happen to be multimillionaires, not grand or flashy, but still relishing their success. Their story is a reminder of how great opportunities can be fashioned out of falling well behind the times.
Most places have a telephone box on every street corner.
The Westhoek from which both men come is a sidelined bit of Dutch-speaking Flanders tucked away near the coast in Belgium. The name means West Corner, and curiously, it is very close to France. Language awareness is a very important part of the story. Here in Belgium we have a linguist. Language keeps Belgium on tenterhooks - the Flemish north and the French south, with a little German island in the West, and Brussels, officially neutral in the middle.