Seventeen years had come and gone since I'd been home. The anticipation of the trip was building to a climax. As the time drew nearer, each day seemed longer and longer. I came to the United States in 1952 from Ramsgate, Kent which is located in southeast England and is bordered by the English Channel. On a clear day you can see the cliffs of France from our sandy beach. I left my home to come here to work as a circus performer. For several years I performed aerial and trick riding acts among many other tasks. In 1959, I settled in Florida where I have remained ever since.

One day at work, Al Knowles visited and, after learning of my trip home (I was so excited I was telling anyone who would listen!), convinced me to visit a pet shop while I was there and write about a British fish store. What follows is an attempt to provide a little foreign flavor to our Newsletter.

The shop I chose to visit was Westwood Aquarium, located in the nearby town of Bradstairs, Kent. Owned by Martyn Miller, the shop is housed in a Super Store, which contained: a grocery store, a candy store (yum, yum for me), post office, electronic store, a restaurant, a toy store and a photo shop. It reminded me of the "mega store" concept here in the states.

The shop was not a large one, but on the day of my visit, it was very busy. I would like to thank the manager, Dave Watson and his assistant, John Wright for taking time out of their busy day to talk to me. Most of their fish are obtained from a wholesaler named Romly Marsh and various locations in Singapore. Each tank was well-stocked, very clean, supported by an under gravel filter and most were decorated with live plants. It appeared that the dominant manufacturer of supplies and goods was Tetra. This is understandable, since we were so close to Germany.

I brought along a copy of our Newsletter and left it with Dave and John. Several days later I returned and they both were very impressed with our publication. They remarked that "there is nothing like this over here," and were very interested in receiving more. So as our "unofficial liaison" to Kent, England, I promised to continue corresponding with them. At the time of this writing, I am preparing to send a package. Maybe we'll increase our foreign membership and get a visit one day from members in England (Warning from the Publication Department: Any members interested in back issues should purchase them ASAP or they may all end up in England!).