A knife on a ferry

Posted by: Donuk on 26 September 2012

Recently we traveled on Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Santander.  Great trip - but had to fly back owing to industrial action.  Another story,

 

As foot passengers from Portsmouth, we had to have our baggage put through airport type security.  All our bags were scanned.  At the entry point to the security section was a large notice saying No Knives, and an "amnesty" box which presumably allowed me to dispose of any knives without repercussions.  Seeing that I and all my luggage were about to be scanned, I remembered that I had a nice Swiss Army knife in my pocket - always useful on holidays. 

 

I dashed back to the Brittany Ferries and asked a member of staff what constituted a knife.  He consulted with a senior colleague: the message was clear - pen knives were not allowed on the ferry.  He kindly offered to look after my knife for me until my return.  (The fact that I could not return via Portsmouth adds a further as yet unresolved twist to this sad tale.)

 

Is this not silly - if I had been a car passenger, I could presumably have had a whole arsenal in my boot?  If I wanted to skewer the captain, could I not have used a knife from the refectory? 

 

The implications of not being able to carry a knife for foot passengers who are going camping are grim.

 

Does anybody on this forum know the facts here - local lunacy or what??

 

Don, sunny downtown York (after much rain)

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by George Fredrik

Dear Sniper,

 

Are you living in the Philippines?

 

ATB from George

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Donuk
Originally Posted by Bruce Woodhouse:

 

Just got back from France, via another Ferry operator due to Brittany Ferries action cancelling our planned Caen crossing. We did wonder what Brittany Ferries would have done if we were in Santander this weekend. It would be a serious drive back to Calais for a crossing home!

 

 

Bruce

At the risk of hijacking my own thread I will tell you about our journey back a week ago from Spain while Brittany Ferries were on strike.  Well, we heard about this via a text message on the Saturday.  By this time we had moved on from Santander and were staying in Bilbao (wonderful train journey to get there).  We were offered a coach to take us from Santander to Calais - 18 hours!  The thought of sitting for 18 hours in a coach full of seething disgruntlement was too much to cope with.  We got on the internet straight away and were lucky enough to get flights from Bilbao to Manchester via Easyjet.  The result was that we stayed in Bilbao one night longer, got home a couple of hours earlier than we would have, and probably missed out on storms in the Bay of Biscay.  Oh, and following a telephone call to Portsmouth, Brittany Ferries have posted my pen-knife back to me.  I tried to discuss the logical challenges the current security rules posed to the foot traveler but predictably got nowhere.

 

We too fly as little as possible, mainly because I hate waiting at, and being humiliated at, airports (New York being the worst).

 

There, two rants in one post....

 

Don overcast downtown York

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Bruce Woodhouse

Don

 

Nice to know all resolved. Brittany Ferries have indicated they will reimburse our addtional costs as well as refunding the cancelled trip (we'd booked a night in Caen before the return ferry). I think in general a good company and the boats and service have always been really good.

 

We've been to Santander/Bilbao and the Picos several times. Great area.

 

bruce

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by beginner
Originally Posted by Sniper:
Originally Posted by beginner:
Originally Posted by Sniper:

Astonishing. In the Philippines (providing you have a license for it) you can turn up at an airport with a gun and they put it in a safe on the plane and you get it back at your destination. I am sure the same could be done with a knife. 

In the Philippines i have walk through security with opened bottles of water in both domestic and international airports and nobody has said a word to me

Well, that is because no one here, and I mean NO ONE, knows their job. 

 

So your telling me that the police are not really ment to make up fake drugs charges just to make you pay to get out of gaol, IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN 

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Sniper
Originally Posted by beginner:
 

So your telling me that the police are not really ment to make up fake drugs charges just to make you pay to get out of gaol, IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN 

Sounds about right. They do far worse than that of course. They are lazy, incompetent, armed to the teeth and greedy. They have no intelligence as such but they do possess a low cunning. They are above the law and most double as drug dealers, guns for hire and arms dealers. Best to make friends with the top guy in town and keep your hands scrupulously clean - you have no rights as a foreigner. You have no rights as a local. 

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by beginner
Originally Posted by Sniper:
Originally Posted by beginner:
 

So your telling me that the police are not really ment to make up fake drugs charges just to make you pay to get out of gaol, IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN 

Sounds about right. They do far worse than that of course. They are lazy, incompetent, armed to the teeth and greedy. They have no intelligence as such but they do possess a low cunning. They are above the law and most double as drug dealers, guns for hire and arms dealers. Best to make friends with the top guy in town and keep your hands scrupulously clean - you have no rights as a foreigner. You have no rights as a local. 

So do you live there Sniper, must be hard finding Naim gear there

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Sniper
Originally Posted by George Fredrik:

Dear Sniper,

 

Are you living in the Philippines?

 

ATB from George

For my sins, yes, indeed. Might be moving to Singapore soon though (good hifi shops there) 

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Sniper
Originally Posted by beginner:
 

So do you live there Sniper, must be hard finding Naim gear there

There is precious little good hifi available here and I have never seen or heard of any Naim outlets. Its pretty much a cultural desert. 

 

I'd like to hear about experiences with the local cops. 

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Donuk
Originally Posted by Sniper:

 

I'd like to hear about experiences with the local cops. 

Yes, me too, especially any involving pen-knives

Don, overcast downtown York

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by totemphile
Originally Posted by Russ:
 
Oh, I would also ask you this, Sir: Of all the acts of terrorism committed in the last 10 years, what percentage would you estimate were committed by Arab "gentlemen"?  I will not suggest that you have your head in the sand, because, while I value your right to your opinion, I would suggest that in someone sworn by my Constitution to protect me and my family, that it is hopelessly naive.  If I am attacked repeatedly by tigers, I will not look upon deer entering my property with the same degree of vigilance that I reserve for----tigers.
 
 
Originally Posted by Exiled Highlander:
On one hand you are arguing for greater security (more intrusive screening?) yet on the other hand you complain about searches - maybe you just want arab looking gentlemen searched?

Usually people do things for a reason and as the famous saying goes, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". This applied as much to the situation back in the 70s in Northern Ireland as it applies to your own issues in Israel and the US/world today. It can all get a bit blurred at times but those we blame now may not have been the ones who initiated the conflict.

 

I don't want to start an argument but there are always at least two points of views, which can easily lead to different interpretations of the same situation. Who is right or wrong, well, that largely depends on what side of the fence you are on....

 

Food for thought, no more...

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by Sniper:
 Its pretty much a cultural desert. 

 

 

You don't count Filipino or other SE Asian culture? (A HiFi shop doesn't really count as culture to me.)

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by beginner
Originally Posted by Sniper:
Originally Posted by beginner:
 

So do you live there Sniper, must be hard finding Naim gear there

There is precious little good hifi available here and I have never seen or heard of any Naim outlets. Its pretty much a cultural desert. 

 

I'd like to hear about experiences with the local cops. 

A friend of mine owns a apartment block in Imus Cavitie, anyway one day the police raid this apartment rented by this American guy (had some cam girl thing going on)march him down to the nearest ATM made withdraw $2000 and top that it was next to a jollybee (low budget mcdonald) so they made him buy them all dinner lol

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Donuk

.... and maybe a pen-knife??

Posted on: 02 October 2012 by Sniper
Originally Posted by winkyincanada:
Originally Posted by Sniper:
 Its pretty much a cultural desert. 

 

 

You don't count Filipino or other SE Asian culture? (A HiFi shop doesn't really count as culture to me.)

Filipino culture? What is that exactly? The only culture they have here is gun culture. Everyman and his dog has a gun and/or knife. In a cultural desert a hifi shop is an oasis of culture. 

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by Donuk

Hi Sniper,

Rather than hijack this thread, which was essentially about a problem I had on a recent holiday, why don't you start your own thread?

Call it something like "People of the world I hate, and why".  I am sure it would be very popular.

Thanks

Don

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by beginner
Originally Posted by Donuk:

Hi Sniper,

Rather than hijack this thread, which was essentially about a problem I had on a recent holiday, why don't you start your own thread?

Call it something like "People of the world I hate, and why".  I am sure it would be very popular.

Thanks

Don

yes with a pen-knife

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by beginner

more like a fan knife there

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by Sniper
Originally Posted by Donuk:

Hi Sniper,

Rather than hijack this thread, which was essentially about a problem I had on a recent holiday, why don't you start your own thread?

Call it something like "People of the world I hate, and why".  I am sure it would be very popular.

Thanks

Don

Yes, the thread is essentially about you. I get it.

 

BTW - I don't hate anyone - just telling how it is. 

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by Huwge

Car driver: Petrol, cotton wool, sachets of sugar, empty pop bottle, matches "Welcome aboard"

Foot passenger: Swiss Army knife "Denied"

 

Scratches head

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by Sniper:
Originally Posted by winkyincanada:
Originally Posted by Sniper:
 Its pretty much a cultural desert. 

 

 

You don't count Filipino or other SE Asian culture? (A HiFi shop doesn't really count as culture to me.)

Filipino culture? What is that exactly?

I don't know. I don't live there. It was a question. But each society has its own culture (although there seems to be a fear that they are becoming homogenized... globalization and all that).

Posted on: 03 October 2012 by Russ

Huwge hits the nail on the head.  There is an arbitrariness about the way laws and regulations which are intended to protect us are misapplied and abused by the bureaucracies around the world.  Having worked for the largest bureaucracy on the planet, I can tell you that while there are some very consciencious individuals in government service, there are some real mouth breathers and place-holders as well, who choose the easy path as opposed to the most effective one.  Don't get me wrong--even the policy-makers themselves often look to what will placate the mob (i.e., us) and give us a warm and fuzzy feeling about our beloved office holders.  Political correctness, at least in the United States and what passes here for an Executive Branch, plays a HUGE role as well.  It is far more of a hassle to be accused of "profiling" someone whose national and religious background matches that of the great majority of persons who have committed suicide attacks, than to pull a little old lady out of line who might as well have "Christian" tatooed on her forehead, and search her thoroughly.  I have seen it happen--at Newark Airport.

 

I suspect the major exception to this rule would be Israel.  When your life is on the line every second, it tends to create a greater focus on what matters.

 

Regards,

 

Russ