>> Over the years I traveled to the UK a couple of times, and at the >> border you always had to pass customs and immigration, they were >> always very unwelcoming. After brexit it will be the same ... still >> unwelcoming.
VC> YOU suffered that?
In the early sixties my parents bought a piece of land in Kerry, Ireland. My parents went there every year and after may father was pensioned it became their summer residence until they were too old.
I have lost count of how many times I heve been there, but in order to get there I have crossed UK borders many, many times. By ship, by hoovercraft and by plane. I have seen the Ferry terminals at Folkestone, Dover, Felistowe and Harwich om the East and Swansea, Pembroke, Fisguard, Holyhead and Stranrear on the West. And maybe some more that I have forgotten about. By motorcycle, by passenger car, Car with trailer/caravan and camper. Oh wait, Stranrear was not a UK border. That border I crossed somewhere on land between The Irish republic and Norhern Ireland. (By motor cycle).
I enjoyed staying in the UK and travelling through it. But ever so often crossing the UK border was..eh ... adventurous.. I can confirm that the border guards never made me feel welcome and sometimes they were just rude and arrogant. In the early days they gave you an "in" and and "out" stamp. My father once travelled to Ireland through the UK and then from Ireland to the US and from there back to The Netherlands. He ran onto problems next time he went to the UK. The problem was he had an "in" stamp without a matching "out" stamp. The UK border guard had given him an "in" stamp when entering the UK from The Netherlands but they gave no "out" stamp when traveling from the UK to the Republic of Ireland. No problem when you retun from the same route, they don't give an "in" stamp when enterung the UK from the Republic of Ireland. But don't come back via the US. Next time you will be accused of leaving the UK in an Illegal way because the "in" and "out" stamps don't match.
This was early seventees. Apparently it had not yeat downed on the UK immigration that the Republic of Ireland is a souverign nation, not part of the UK.
In the late seventees this attitide had not changed. On an occasion when I travelld to Ireland with my father, at the gate in Dover, we were asked the classical question
Border guard: "how long will you stay in the UK?" My father: "One day, we are passing through to Ireland." Borer guard: "and how long will you stay in Ireland?" My father: "That is none of your business".
Perhaps not the smartest response given the situation. But the border guard claimed they were doing the immigration for Ireland as well, so he had to know. After some delay we could continue our journey...
But the arrogance is telling. Even today it has not sunk in that "Brittania rules the waves" is history..
VC> It is not much better for a Bitish citizen but they still let in VC> budding bomb makers etc.
Bad guys will alway find ways to get in. Harrasing bona fide travellers will not stop that.
