Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Lagondanet on 24 July 2015, 21:13:21
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We are going to Switzerland for a week at end August via Tunnel. As a precaution we have also booked parallel crossing by ferry back via DFDS Dunkirk. Otherwise Rotterdam or ........ Given current problems any advice?
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We are going to Switzerland for a week at end August via Tunnel. As a precaution we have also booked parallel crossing by ferry back via DFDS Dunkirk. Otherwise Rotterdam or ........ Given current problems any advice?
Ferries in and out of Dunkirk appear unaffected and that would be my choice of crossing every time ;)
To add... If there are still disruptions for ferries to/from Calais, take tha M2/A2 all the way to Dover... It avoids Operation Stuck Stack :y
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Thanks.
My wife might fly back from Berne early to meet work commitments.
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Dunkirk is a better port for Switzerland really... Then go through Belgium for toll free travel ;)
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We are taking our time out: Folkestone Metz Safenwil Gstaad
back: Gstaad Alterswil Pontarlon Besancon Dijon St Omer.
Return crossing is our only real anxiety.
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If what we are seeing in the media about the situation in in Calais is true, then I'd avoid the place like it had been hit with ebola, bubonic plague and syphilis............... all at once! ::)
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If what we are seeing in the media about the situation in in Calais is true, then I'd avoid the place like it had been hit with ebola, bubonic plague and syphilis............... all at once! ::)
Yep... Dunkirk gets left alone because it is so little used in the grand scheme of things :y
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If what we are seeing in the media about the situation in in Calais is true, then I'd avoid the place like it had been hit with ebola, bubonic plague and syphilis............... all at once! ::)
Yep... Dunkirk gets left alone because it is so little used in the grand scheme of things :y
Immigrants are starting to infest there to, not as bad(yet) as Calais, other ports getting problems now. When Calais gets mobbed 1st escape route is Dunkirk (same thing happened 70year ago), that was immigrants too :D
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Watch out, the Belgians are coming :D
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Watch out, the Belgians are coming :D
What, all of them???
Anyway, it's not a problem; we funnel them into Sheerness docks, and have a welcoming committee of the 'natives.'
That will be enough to make them change their minds about the whole business, and opps off back home again. 8)
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Like I said before, why the hell hasn't,t Ccameron insisted on troops (ours or Frenchies) protecting the route? It is unacceptable regardless of your view on immigrants. The cost to the people of Britain is immense.
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Like I said before, why the hell hasn't,t Ccameron insisted on troops (ours or Frenchies) protecting the route? It is unacceptable regardless of your view on immigrants. The cost to the people of Britain is immense.
Doesn't need troops, needs the French to control there own borders first, they need to put check points back up, mainly at Italian border, then eyeties need to do the same as do the spainards,, instead of just giving them a €20 note and a wash and lunch and saying on your way out of our country, then off to Calais they go,
The law states they have to claim asylum in the first friendly country they reach, since when is England the first friendly country when you leave Africa,enforcement of the letter of the law.. Send them back on there own national carrier, simples
Caught at Dover, give em a shower, confiscate there phones, then on a bus to airport next flight back, stop giving them food and shelter in Calais.
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Remember, for mainland Euroland, there are no borders. So no borders to control.
No point trying to blame this on French policies, the UK needs to look at its own policies, make the place far less attractive.
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Remember, for mainland Euroland, there are no borders. So no borders to control.
No point trying to blame this on French policies, the UK needs to look at its own policies, make the place far less attractive.
I know there are no borders to allow freedom of movement, but times have changed, and border controls need to be brought back, not like they were, just cursory check of passports and loads, as happens now,the advantages to cross border crime will also drop.
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Like I said before, why the hell hasn't,t Ccameron insisted on troops (ours or Frenchies) protecting the route? It is unacceptable regardless of your view on immigrants. The cost to the people of Britain is immense.
When did using troops as police ever work well?
As for British troops in France, the only way we'd manage that would be if Germany got there first.
A fundamental point of the EU is that internal borders are effectively open, so this sort of immigration/asylum should be sorted at the external border. Which is the Mediterranean, or Eastern Europe. France, for example, has enough problems dealing with immigrants etc who want to stop there, to not just help anyone on their way whose destination is somewhere else.
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I bet your glad your not going today
http://news.sky.com/story/1525081/traffic-gridlock-holiday-misery-for-thousands
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Like I said before, why the hell hasn't,t Ccameron insisted on troops (ours or Frenchies) protecting the route? It is unacceptable regardless of your view on immigrants. The cost to the people of Britain is immense.
When did using troops as police ever work well?
As for British troops in France, the only way we'd manage that would be if Germany got there first.
A fundamental point of the EU is that internal borders are effectively open, so this sort of immigration/asylum should be sorted at the external border. Which is the Mediterranean, or Eastern Europe. France, for example, has enough problems dealing with immigrants etc who want to stop there, to not just help anyone on their way whose destination is somewhere else.
It's just lunacy turning these migrants loose when they arrive. >:( It's a pan European problem and it should be dealt with as such. ::)
Maybe some of the EU's poorer countries like Romania or Bulgaria could benefit from hosting migrant camps and processing centres? :y
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We are going to Switzerland for a week at end August via Tunnel. As a precaution we have also booked parallel crossing by ferry back via DFDS Dunkirk. Otherwise Rotterdam or ........ Given current problems any advice?
Ferries in and out of Dunkirk appear unaffected and that would be my choice of crossing every time ;)
To add... If there are still disruptions for ferries to/from Calais, take tha M2/A2 all the way to Dover... It avoids Operation Stuck Stack :y
Well it is the only way you can go ???....you don't need too avoid stack as you cannot go anywhere near it...unless you are taking a lorry on holiday then you could spend 3 days on the M20....BUT it takes a whole lot longer when stack is on taking the M2 route as every one else is doing the same the M2 is only a dual carriage way :y
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We are going to Switzerland for a week at end August via Tunnel. As a precaution we have also booked parallel crossing by ferry back via DFDS Dunkirk. Otherwise Rotterdam or ........ Given current problems any advice?
Ferries in and out of Dunkirk appear unaffected and that would be my choice of crossing every time ;)
To add... If there are still disruptions for ferries to/from Calais, take tha M2/A2 all the way to Dover... It avoids Operation Stuck Stack :y
Well it is the only way you can go ???....you don't need too avoid stack as you cannot go anywhere near it...unless you are taking a lorry on holiday then you could spend 3 days on the M20....BUT it takes a whole lot longer when stack is on taking the M2 route as every one else is doing the same the M2 is only a dual carriage way :y
Precisely why Boris Island could never take off...
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boris island could take off as that is the A2 which is a 3/4 lane carriageway
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boris island could take off as that is the A2 which is a 3/4 lane carriageway
Not wide enough, either as a runway or a road...
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not wide enough????.....since re routed 4-5 years ago it certainly is wide enough for a road too wide for some the amount of accident occur on it :o
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Fill the Dover end of the tunnel with several thousand tonnes of readymix concrete. Then allow all those who want to run into the tunnel to do so. Then do the same thing at the Calais end of the tunnel. Jobs a goodun. :y ;D
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I'm all for closing the tunnel, as its run by dishonest cheese eating surrender monkeys who use underhand tactics to screw you over.
Shame, as it could work so well...
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I'm all for closing the tunnel, as its run by dishonest cheese eating surrender monkeys who use underhand tactics to screw you over.
Shame, as it could work so well...
It must work to a certain extent as they made a profit of £57.1 million euros in 2014...wouldn't mind being on the end of that from something that does not work??????
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I'm all for closing the tunnel, as its run by dishonest cheese eating surrender monkeys who use underhand tactics to screw you over.
Shame, as it could work so well...
Think somebody doesn't like the tunnel.
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From personal experience I have to agree with TB. IME, yes they will get you underneath the channel eventually, just don't count on the year/month/day/time* on the ticket, :( :( :( whereas I been very rarely delayed even in very bad weather on ferry crossings. :y :y :y
* Wait your turn as appropriate. :( :( :(
Stuck in cattle class on a Eurostar with the only food available making British Rail at its worst seem like haute cuisine was not a pleasant experience. :( :( :(
Stuck in Calais for hours and hours, waiting for buggins turn regardless of ticket time, not a lot of fun either. :( :( :(
Personally, by choice I will never use the funnel choke point again unless there is no viable alternative.
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To be fair, both times I've used the Tunnel the service has been ok, although I dislike the principle behind it and resent paying money to sit in my car for the crossing ::) It's a shame we can't just drive through it instead :-\
Fortunately for me I never have a dilemma between Ferry or Train as LPG cars can't take the train :y
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Stack as now been lifted for 3pm....be back by Tuesday I guess :y
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I have used the tunnel a few times , £25 day return andf forgot to go back. Great service.
Haven't seen a single workable solution to the migrant problem behind the chunnel security problems and the enormous cost to Britain :( :(
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Seems to me-but what do I know?-that much like the drug problem we are tackling the migrant problem from the wrong end.We are spending I don't know how much trying to stop it at the end rather than tackling the problem at source.Surely if the money were spent to make where they're coming from a better place to be than it is then they'd have no great reason to leave in the first place.Simplistic I know what with corruption and the like but could it not be do-able?
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Seems to me-but what do I know?-that much like the drug problem we are tackling the migrant problem from the wrong end.We are spending I don't know how much trying to stop it at the end rather than tackling the problem at source.Surely if the money were spent to make where they're coming from a better place to be than it is then they'd have no great reason to leave in the first place.Simplistic I know what with corruption and the like but could it not be do-able?
Ah yes what we need is a huge ring fenced foreign aid budget that is protected by law! ::)
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I have used the tunnel a few times , £25 day return andf forgot to go back. Great service.
Haven't seen a single ethical solution to the migrant problem behind the chunnel security problems and the enormous cost to Britain :( :(
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Seems to me-but what do I know?-that much like the drug problem we are tackling the migrant problem from the wrong end.We are spending I don't know how much trying to stop it at the end rather than tackling the problem at source.Surely if the money were spent to make where they're coming from a better place to be than it is then they'd have no great reason to leave in the first place.Simplistic I know what with corruption and the like but could it not be do-able?
The problems in the country's,were the immigrants are coming from is religion and tribal, its been going on for hundreds of years, and will take more than money to sort it.
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Seems to me-but what do I know?-that much like the drug problem we are tackling the migrant problem from the wrong end.We are spending I don't know how much trying to stop it at the end rather than tackling the problem at source.Surely if the money were spent to make where they're coming from a better place to be than it is then they'd have no great reason to leave in the first place.Simplistic I know what with corruption and the like but could it not be do-able?
Ah yes what we need is a huge ring fenced foreign aid budget that is protected by law! ::)
No - what we need are machine guns at tunnel entrance - only have to shoot a few to put the rest off trying ;) PC or what
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Seems to me-but what do I know?-that much like the drug problem we are tackling the migrant problem from the wrong end.We are spending I don't know how much trying to stop it at the end rather than tackling the problem at source.Surely if the money were spent to make where they're coming from a better place to be than it is then they'd have no great reason to leave in the first place.Simplistic I know what with corruption and the like but could it not be do-able?
Ah yes what we need is a huge ring fenced foreign aid budget that is protected by law! ::)
No - what we need are machine guns at tunnel entrance - only have to shoot a few to put the rest off trying ;) PC or what
Mmm the final solution. Klop
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No - what we need are machine guns at tunnel entrance - only have to shoot a few to put the rest off trying ;) PC or what
Considering where they come from, and what they have to do get to to/through the tunnel, we'd only have to shoot all of them. That isn't really an option.
But, the softly softly approach we're taking at the moment isn't working, so a more effective solution is required. As this is an EU wide issue, it should be sorted at an EU level by enforcing the EU's external borders. And that is why we're all really screwed, as the EU is incapable off achieving that. It's just another entry on the list.
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Many are coming via Libya. They used to have an effective tyrant in charge, like Iraq had as well. But then nameless governments decided it would make things better to get rid of the tyrants and replace them with err nothing with the former and a corrupt ineffective democracy with the latter, which created a power vacuum, which was then exploited by Al Qaeda but the US largely destroyed their leadership through drone attacks, so now we have something much more cuddly, PC and benevolent...... ISIS. >:( >:( >:( >:(
There is a very simple lesson, if you are going to topple tyrants then support the country and build democratic institutions for the next generation or two, yes it take 20 to 40 years of assistance, not nothing in the case of Libya or in Iraq 5 years with a hasty total troop withdrawal by a clueless Nobel peace prize winner, who ignored his generals, where he was working to a re-election timetable. :( :( :( :(
Guess what, the generals were right and he was wrong, not once but now twice where they also said not putting boots on the ground would fail as well. The third big fail is on its way where the Taliban are winning again in Afghanistan. :( :( :( :(
And there there is the war in Europe, but the US just might have got this one right at last, by training Ukrainian troops before considering providing them with defensive weapons. :y :y :y :y
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After the weekend clearing of the backlog, it,s all kicked off again. M20 is once again a bloody great car park. Ho hum.
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And now it seems we may be faced with an influx of black Americans seeking asylum because of the recent police v black American problems,deaths during arrests/whilst in custody etc.
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And now it seems we may be faced with an influx of black Americans seeking asylum because of the recent police v black American problems,deaths during arrests/whilst in custody etc.
At least they're generally well educted and a positive influence on society... Besides that would free up some space for us to move there :D
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And now it seems we may be faced with an influx of black Americans seeking asylum because of the recent police v black American problems,deaths during arrests/whilst in custody etc.
At least they're generally well educted and a positive influence on society... Besides that would free up some space for us to move there :D
There's loads of space there anyway! :y
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Anyone got recent experience of crossing to France via the Tunnel during 'operation stack'? Are cars equally affected as trucks? We booked our crossings and accommodation in Folkestone a year ago. Maybe we should also/instead cross by DFDS from Dover to Dunkirk?
Our timings are:
Stay in Folkestone Tuesday 25
Tunnel to Calais Wednesday 26 AM
Stay in St Omer Monday 31
Tunnel to UK Tuesday 01 AM
(Also booked ferry back from Dunkirk Tuesday 01 AM)
3 wedges travelling together
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Anyone got recent experience of crossing to France via the Tunnel during 'operation stack'? Are cars equally affected as trucks? We booked our crossings and accommodation in Folkestone a year ago. Maybe we should also/instead cross by DFDS from Dover to Dunkirk?
Our timings are:
Stay in Folkestone Tuesday 25
Tunnel to Calais Wednesday 26 AM
Stay in St Omer Monday 31
Tunnel to UK Tuesday 01 AM
(Also booked ferry back from Dunkirk Tuesday 01 AM)
3 wedges travelling together
You would be best contacting them for advice. What I can say is that there will be severe traffic and delays getting onto the train.
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Dunkirk both ways or Newhaven Dieppe if it's running and the timings work ;)
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Thanks All.
Al. Yes we are considering both.
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Keep the sunroof closed..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3177135/Summer-trouble-Holidaymakers-face-chaos-amid-warnings-severe-threats-fresh-forest-fires-south-France-10-000-tourists-forced-flee-flames-engulfed-campsites.html
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Keep the sunroof closed..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3177135/Summer-trouble-Holidaymakers-face-chaos-amid-warnings-severe-threats-fresh-forest-fires-south-France-10-000-tourists-forced-flee-flames-engulfed-campsites.html
Not going to South of France & fixed sun roof anyway. :y
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Here,s a radical idea, a few thousand tons of concrete either end of tunnel. No tunnel for the migrants to try and get through. :D
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During WW2, explosive charges were laid across runways in the south of England (Lee on Solent in particular IIRC) so as to render the runways useless to the enemy in the event of an invasion.
Does anybody think that explosive charges are present somewhere in the channel tunnel so that it can be flooded if there is a chance of GB being invaded??
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I sure I remember some politician saying that the tunnel would cause a lot of trouble when it was first suggested
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I sure I remember some politician saying that the tunnel would cause a lot of trouble when it was first suggested
Tunnel isn't the problem. Its the bloody French who are the problem, .
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Even if they walked through to the uk , they would be sent back ...No ? :-\
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Even if they walked through to the uk , they would be sent back ...No ? :-\
And I thought I was naive... :o
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Even if they walked through to the uk , they would be sent back ...No ? :-\
;D ;D ;D
They'd be put up in a hotel and given beer tokens! ::)
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It's fast becoming a serious issue... they will clearly stop at nothing to get here, so perhaps it is only inevitable that the authorities will need to reappraise the approach from a softly softly civilian one to hard line military one :-\
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Nah, sooner or later we'll be told "As it's only 4000 people we've decided to let them all in so that we can save the country millions in lost revenue"...
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It's fast becoming a serious issue... they will clearly stop at nothing to get here, so perhaps it is only inevitable that the authorities will need to reappraise the approach from a softly softly civilian one to hard line military one :-\
A British military intervention would be a jurisdictional nightmare and once aware the people trying to get through would exploit that. So it's a no-go.
Plus any thoughts on the occupation of Calais should read this. Sound familiar? ::) ;D
"Calais was regarded for many years as being an integral part of Kingdom of England, with its representatives sitting in the English Parliament. This was, however, at odds with reality. The continued English hold on Calais depended on expensively maintained fortifications, as the town lacked any natural defenses. Maintaining Calais was a costly business that was frequently tested by the forces of France and the Duchy of Burgundy, with the Franco-Burgundian border running nearby.[19] The British historian Geoffrey Elton once remarked "Calais—expensive and useless—was better lost than kept".[20]"
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I was thinking more long the lines of securing/defending the entrance to the tunnel rather than the port as a whole :-\
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I was thinking more long the lines of securing/defending the entrance to the tunnel rather than the port as a whole :-\
Even in that scenario, mission creep would be inevitable.
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I was thinking more long the lines of securing/defending the entrance to the tunnel rather than the port as a whole :-\
And that is all that is needed for that part of the operation to stop them :y
148 immigrants Got through this week.. And that is the ones they Know about.
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Let them into the tunnel but divert them through a newly built tunnel back to france :-\
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I was thinking more long the lines of securing/defending the entrance to the tunnel rather than the port as a whole :-\
And that is all that is needed for that part of the operation to stop them :y
148 immigrants Got through this week.. And that is the ones they Know about.
Alternatively increase traffic volume and speed.
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What I don't get is the HGV drivers know there are proplems at the tunnel so why not go a different route and avoid the tunnel delays
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What I don't get is the HGV drivers know there are proplems at the tunnel so why not go a different route and avoid the tunnel delays
Because they don't have any choice... They take the crossing they are booked on, especially as it's expensive enough for a short crossing ;)
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Its no good sending them back to France....we should find the countries of origin, transport them through with military escort, take them to an airfield then fly them to the country of origin.
If the countries won't accept them....fit them with a parachute, and just shove them out !!!!!!!
Sorry....no sympathy here....... >:(
When it rains here, where do you go....to the nearest shelter.
I am not that good on geography, but I can't remember the UK being anchored anywhere near the African continent !!!!!!
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What I don't get is the HGV drivers know there are proplems at the tunnel so why not go a different route and avoid the tunnel delays
Because they don't have any choice... They take the crossing they are booked on, especially as it's expensive enough for a short crossing ;)
Yep the Calais route is much cheaper for hauliers. Even if heading west to say Portugal it's cheaper to drive from Calais than do the Plymouth-Santander ferry. ;)
However, if you factor in the cost of sitting on the M20 for a couple of days and all the aggro involved at Calais for the drivers, you'd think that haulage companies would be looking at alternatives. :-\
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These people get stopped by the French police and released again......as per usual the French hidden agenda of 'they want to get out so let them keep trying until they do' as a major contributor to it.
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What makes me laugh is that the French seem to think it's our problem. It wasn't us who forced them to sign away their own borders. If they took control of the border on the way IN there wouldn't be a problem. ::)
Sadly, it is our problem, but only because I suspect all the French have to lose is a few tourists who'll vow never to go there again whilst we're cut off from mainland europe.
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If the flow of migrants was heading the other way could you imagine the British authorities allowing 3000 odd people (including children) to rough camp in and around Dover? :-\
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If the flow of migrants was heading the other way could you imagine the British authorities allowing 3000 odd people (including children) to rough camp in and around Dover? :-\
Why not? One out, one in works well enough at night clubs...
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I was thinking more long the lines of securing/defending the entrance to the tunnel rather than the port as a whole :-\
Even in that scenario, mission creep would be inevitable.
Shouldn't be a problem, Paris will be an open city. ::) ::) ::)
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Traffic permitting ;D
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I sure I remember some politician saying that the tunnel would cause a lot of trouble when it was first suggested
Tunnel isn't the problem. Its the bloody French who are the problem, .
I disagree (mostly). Yes, the French are clearly keen not to put up too much of a barrier, but the problem is definitely within the UK. Stop them from wanting to come
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How do you do that, though? I get the impression a great many of them are trafficked out of their country of origin by people who make millions out of that process as a business. Many of these people probably have little or no access to the internet so their knowledge of "England is a land of free stuff" will come from the people who stand to make money trafficking them here.
Even if you change the rules on benefits etc, do you think the traffickers will change their tune to those desperate to leave?
You'd still need direct action to eliminate the traffickers that the country of origin has no stomach for..
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Yes, it's not just the benefits situation, which we might be able to resolve, it's the availability of jobs here. They can get naff all in France because the French economy is stuffed.
Maybe we should vote in another Labour government and align our economy with France, Italy, Greece, Spain, etc... ;)
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How do you do that, though? I get the impression a great many of them are trafficked out of their country of origin by people who make millions out of that process as a business. Many of these people probably have little or no access to the internet so their knowledge of "England is a land of free stuff" will come from the people who stand to make money trafficking them here.
Even if you change the rules on benefits etc, do you think the traffickers will change their tune to those desperate to leave?
You'd still need direct action to eliminate the traffickers that the country of origin has no stomach for..
All interesting stuff.
We in Britain , along with other coutries like France, created the environment for this disgusting human trafficing. Libya is now a lawless country where bribes rule thanks to US getting rid of Ghaddafi. I knew we didn't have an end game. Lets not forget that these migrants (some of which speak better English than white people born and bred in the UK) are paying maybe £1000 for each leg of a journey to get to Britain to a trafficer with no guarantee that they will get to the promised land . Let us not forget either that successive governments of whatever political hue have welcomed migrants. Like it or not Britain needed and still needs foreign workers to do the menial jobs at low pay in order to keep prices down for everyone else. That is the main reason we haven't closed our borders. This government is addressing the welfare issues that make Britain an attractive destination. A question you could do with asking your PM is why the UK have opted out of the EU law that allows a country to demand an immigrant (even from another EU country) shows means to support themselves including buying healthcare. That is what Spain does and consequently is not a country of choice for Africans.
As Aaron says it would be nice to see the EU collectively doing something in Africa and the Middle East instead of leaving the Italians and Greeks in the lurch. Ain't going to happen.
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That is true. The root of the problem is in our meddling in these places. We aren't capable of supporting the evacuation of the whole of the middle east, so we really need to sort the place out. The thing we have failed to understand is that a ruthless dictator is the only system of government that will work there. Having removed a few of those, putting them back will be a bit toxic, politically, as will putting boots on the ground, or anything else that will help resolve the problem. Maybe the migrant issue will get to be bad enough that these options start to look more palatable?