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Remembered Today:

visiting after Brexit


chaz

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37 minutes ago, nigelcave said:

Just a query really - presumably this is unenforceable in law as there is a customs union - i if you buy product 'x' or 'y' in a country that is a member of the customs' union, that should be that?

It's unenforceable for practical reasons. No customs posts, and no one to man them. All paid off years ago. Anyway, no need to go down a main road, just take a side road where there never was any check.

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You'd be surprised as to how many are creeping around the byways out of Luxembourg ...

 

The point remains, surely, that they have not a legal leg to stand on: I think, as mentioned earlier, for cigs into the UK it is something like 10,000 (I suppose for even the most formidable smoker they would have issues trying to say for personal use only ...). 800 is only about ten days' supply if you smoke a la lamented late Baroness Trumpington or John Reid - to maintain political balance - before they saw the light.

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There are checkpoints that seem to have appeared on quite a few of the French motorways that I have noticed on a few recent trips... not sure what they are looking for exactly because I haven't been stopped, but these appear to be around where the old customs checkpoints used to be... anyone who lives in France on here that may be able to offer an idea? They may just be police checkpoints looking for dodgy cars and stuff, but they are very big and lots of concrete barriers in place for them... just wish I'd taken a few photos :)

 

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During the state of emergency, there were checks on some of the Rhine crossings from Germany into Alsace, such as where the A36 crosses from the German autoroute near Mulhouse. We thought it was a counter-terrorism measure. Other crossings such as Marckolsheim remained abandoned, so it was relatively simple to find an open crossing. One customs building somewhere near Saarbrücken is now a nightclub.

 

We have encountered checks of every car along the D35 (the Route des vins); in one operation, they were looking to check that gilets jaunes were accessible. In another they were checking passports and car documents (foreign plated cars) and all drivers' licences. My husband's paper one caused great interest. It had decayed into eight pieces and he told them to be careful with it as it was an historical document, which amused them. (This prompted him to be sensible and get a photocard licence.) That road is within a few minutes of the border and they checked everyone. I assume it may have been to do with immigration.

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3 hours ago, bazunitec said:

There are checkpoints that seem to have appeared on quite a few of the French motorways that I have noticed on a few recent trips... not sure what they are looking for exactly because I haven't been stopped, but these appear to be around where the old customs checkpoints used to be... anyone who lives in France on here that may be able to offer an idea? They may just be police checkpoints looking for dodgy cars and stuff, but they are very big and lots of concrete barriers in place for them... just wish I'd taken a few photos :)

 

It isn't usually the Police or Gendarmerie, it's the Douane, who have nothing better to do than make trouble.

One thing is that it is the Douane who enforce car tax, so they are busy typing car numbers into the computer, and stopping people who haven't paid.

Often you will see a Gendarmerie car nearby as the two organisations are at daggers drawn (to put it politely). The Gendarmerie can't wait to intervene on the side of the citizen.

 

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On ‎07‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 10:25, healdav said:

 

Lots of things have changed.

Like 90% of UK exports to Europe now pass through Dover and the Tunnel (2 minutes per HGV) and perishable food, medicines and other imports on a just in time 12 hour cycle arrive. Never mind the fags they are  just a faint hint of what customs and immigration officialdom  will be like when we Brexit. There haven't even been  planning permission applications yet for the new infrastructure on the Camber and Eastern arm at Dover - and after Heathrow we know how quickly  they are processed.

 

I am apolitical - my ideal is a hung parliament with lots of rope,- but the inevitable congestion in Dover and Calais will be hellish for locals and I seriously doubt if it will be feasible to run groups to the battlefields in 1919.

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Sorry for my above read 2019! Yperman 

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37 minutes ago, Ken Lees said:

This is all speculation. We don't even know if we will leave the EU yet! 

 

Move along, nothing to see here. 

Unfortunately, most of the people responsible for planning Brexodus have the same attitude. When it happens (even if the is IF), it will be too late.

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On 09/12/2018 at 10:32, Ken Lees said:

This is all speculation. We don't even know if we will leave the EU yet!  

 

Move along, nothing to see here. 

Things seem to be changing this week ; as you say : wait & see !

kind regards from the 'continent', martine

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will be interesting to see any changes, we are booked this weekend as last one this year, then back over mid march next year.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We normally go across to the battlefields at least once a year with our dog but this year we are not planning any trips given the uncertainty.

 

I have my own views on Brexit which I will keep to myself but I cannot see the French wanting to make it difficult to travel particularly with pets given the boost it gives to their economy (other nationalities are available) 

 

The issue we have now is uncertainty - once we have some clarity either way then things should sort themselves out 

 

For now though we are waiting to see what does happen before making a booking 

 

 

Liam 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Liam
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On 09/12/2018 at 09:45, yperman said:

- but the inevitable congestion in Dover and Calais will be hellish for locals and I seriously doubt if it will be feasible to run groups to the battlefields in 1919.

There are many routes to the battlefields that don’t involve either, particularly if you don’t live in the south of England.  I travel to the mainland on a regular basis and have never set foot in either Dover or Calais.

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If by mainland you mean the continent and live somewhere away from Southern England and can travel by air  or possibly ferries from Northern ports you may well be right. I was referring to tour groups travelling by road and ferry from the South of England, the home counties and Greater London. You may get some good discounts at the Great War sites. Enjoy!

27 minutes ago, Heid the Ba said:

There are many routes to the battlefields that don’t involve either, particularly if you don’t live in the south of England.  I travel to the mainland on a regular basis and have never set foot in either Dover or Calais.

 

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1 hour ago, Heid the Ba said:

There are many routes to the battlefields that don’t involve either, particularly if you don’t live in the south of England.  I travel to the mainland on a regular basis and have never set foot in either Dover or Calais.

Which places do you travel from?

Tony

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As to what happens/might happen post 29 March - at the moment i anticipate that I shall already be over there on that date, so it offers interesting possibilities. I suspect that it will be more or less situation more or less normal. My first trip to the continent (in a car) was in 1961; I remember getting my passport stamped on entry into Belgium, but nothing then happened in terms of stamps and hassles until we got to the Austrian-Hungarian border (I was en route to three years living in Budapest). That border crossing was quite interesting, even for one of my tender years.

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On 07/11/2018 at 10:36, healdav said:

Typical rubbish from someone who doesn't have a clue. What about people who move regularly back and forth to the UK with their pets, and several times a year? I know several.

This assumes that everyone goes from the UK to France or wherever once per year on their summer holidays. This letter just demonstrates utter non-comprehension of the modern world.

 

I am also at a loss to work out how my vet will know all about it - have they been issued with crystal balls?

 

My dog and I will not be travelling after March until the system is clear.

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On 07/12/2018 at 14:40, nigelcave said:

You'd be surprised as to how many are creeping around the byways out of Luxembourg ...

 

The point remains, surely, that they have not a legal leg to stand on: I think, as mentioned earlier, for cigs into the UK it is something like 10,000 (I suppose for even the most formidable smoker they would have issues trying to say for personal use only ...). 800 is only about ten days' supply if you smoke a la lamented late Baroness Trumpington or John Reid - to maintain political balance - before they saw the light.

I wouldn't be surprised. Most people have a favourite way of getting in and out along a road that isn't checked - ever.

 

On 02/01/2019 at 08:20, Liam said:

We normally go across to the battlefields at least once a year with our dog but this year we are not planning any trips given the uncertainty.

 

I have my own views on Brexit which I will keep to myself but I cannot see the French wanting to make it difficult to travel particularly with pets given the boost it gives to their economy (other nationalities are available) 

 

The issue we have now is uncertainty - once we have some clarity either way then things should sort themselves out 

 

For now though we are waiting to see what does happen before making a booking 

 

 

Liam 

 

 

 

 

The French couldn't care less how many dogs you take in and out of the country. It's the British who have this bizarre obsession with rabies and foreign ticks.

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On 02/01/2019 at 23:52, nigelcave said:

 

 

As to what happens/might happen post 29 March - at the moment i anticipate that I shall already be over there on that date, so it offers interesting possibilities. I suspect that it will be more or less situation more or less normal. My first trip to the continent (in a car) was in 1961; I remember getting my passport stamped on entry into Belgium, but nothing then happened in terms of stamps and hassles until we got to the Austrian-Hungarian border (I was en route to three years living in Budapest). That border crossing was quite interesting, even for one of my tender years.

You were lucky; that was three years after triptyques had been abolished.

 

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1 hour ago, Phil Wood said:

 

I am also at a loss to work out how my vet will know all about it - have they been issued with crystal balls?

 

My dog and I will not be travelling after March until the system is clear.

we went before the festive season, no noticeable changes.

our vet (has the official stamp required) is attending meetings, they get in with other certified (allowed to stamp passports) vets and are having meetings with government and official DEFRA type official bodies. as we will be travelling mid march wont get a better picture until then.  dont know if it will make a difference but Stormm has a EU passport bought from the French vet we use

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Booked gite and also North sea ferries for May 3rd, I envisage people in a blind panic-just like wrong type of snow, polar vortex etc, where there,s a will.....there,s a way........

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Have booked an apartment in Cambrai for Easter weekend. A friend has asked if I want to go over last weekend in March. I'm still mulling that one over 

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5 hours ago, healdav said:

You were lucky; that was three years after triptyques had been abolished.

 

Hmmm - come to think about it I recall a lot of paperwork relating to the car and that was certainly necessary going behind the Curtain, with much rubber stamping. I think we went out in a Ford Consul Classic (?) which was sold, IIRC, to the Bulgarian Defence Attache. One of the requirements was that my father was asked to sell the car for 'x' and the spare parts, which consisted of a small bag of basics, for 'y', where 'y' was about 25% of the value of 'x'. Presumably this helped with the importing of our old car into Bulgaria.

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