Vocal Voices

If you recall I went through Dover a couple of months back. They had 3 booths open at 1am and the queues were hours.

Today the authorities have prepared. 12 booths capacity, staff requested to be working these 12 booths 24 hours a day, no stinting payment, working with the French authorities to make sure it will all go smoothly.

Half the French border force didn't turn up to work or turned up significantly late. Late enough to cause total gridlock. It is high time the UK authorities started talking to Belgium and the ports of Oostende and Zeebrugge and started providing funds for ferry lines to sail to these ports.

The next possible step is to remove the French customs booths from the UK and force the checks on French soil. This should significantly mess up their own port which moves quite smoothly. Then, of course, UK border staff could become unavailable in Calais leaving queues for miles. The main problem with that is there are miles of roads which feed the port which don't inconvenience the town. So it would not be as bad as, for instance, Dover.

Calais is now 2x or even 3x the size it was the last time I sailed out from Calais. The best message would be to leave it empty because other European ports are carrying the load.

My own journey back is from Dover, August 6th. I booked an 11am ferry and the Travel Inn right by the port for the night before. My intention is to be in the queue, in Dover, some 4 hours before the ferry departs. I'll probably be late for the ferry but it is what it is. I can understand why the other crossings were 3x the price of Dover Calais.

Brexit is a train wreck, again.

Anyone using Dover-Calais during the school summer holidays is asking for trouble. We did it eight years on the trot in the late nineties and early noughties and always had a problem on one side or the other. I have often used it at other times and sailed through (pun).

Now we have Brexit as well, but "WE" voted for it so must suck it up, innit, bro!

Workingman wrote:Now we have Brexit as well, but "WE" voted for it so must suck it up, innit, bro!

Actually yes, I quite like this. There is nothing unusual about this kind of action from French border officers. It was just invisible when they had no power.

We might actually do something about it this time. Or not?

Of course it was the fault of the French, how could it be otherwise? Bless!

The French were blamed when we were in, now they are blamed when we are out. Make your mind up!

So eight years on the trot in the 90’s and 00’s it was a problem, but now it’s a problem it’s due to Brexit

If the French were blamed when we were in and the French are blamed when we are out,then may it’s that simple? It’s the French

It was a problem because of the numbers of travellers but your lot always wanted to blame it on the EU / French. Now we are out you still want to blame it on the EU / French hence my: "Make your mind up."

Brexit, is just making it worse, like it is doing with many other things.

I went to France many years ago both on the ferry and through the tunnel. It was probably befre the EU and no wait either going or coming back.

No mention of any problems at the other longer crossing points such as Portsmouth

So eight years on the trot in the 90’s and 00’s it was a problem, but now it’s a problem it’s due to Brexit
If the French were blamed when we were in and the French are blamed when we are out,then may it’s that simple? It’s the French

Precisely, MM!

I just love this naïve view that if we all rolled back on Brexit, the French would hug us, kiss us on both cheeks, declaim "nous t’avons toujours aimé!" and start happily working with us.

Dans vos rêves!

miasmum wrote:So eight years on the trot in the 90’s and 00’s it was a problem, but now it’s a problem it’s due to Brexit

If the French were blamed when we were in and the French are blamed when we are out,then may it’s that simple? It’s the French

Spot on MM, anything goes wrong these days and it's blamed on Brexit.