Good morning all from a wet and windy Weston-super-Mare! Have a good day and very good luck to your Golden Boys!
Still gutted about earlier. Utd, we´ll never get a better chance to beat them. Enjoy the rest of the weekend all. Out and about in a bit, now the heat is dropping!
Morning all, bright and sunny, but cold here this morning. It is one of those days when you pull the thermal hat down over the ears, wrap up warm and get outside. My son-in-law works in Belgium during the week and returns here on a Friday evening. He leaves at 4.00 pm and gets home about 11.00 pm. This week he left at the usual time, but the journey took twelve hours because of the security checks in both countries. All of the toll booths on the auto-routes had been reduced to two lanes so that the checks could take place, creating huge tailbacks. Not sure what his plans are for this evening, but with Belgium on the highest terror alert I doubt that his return will be easier.
Belgium is in a very difficult situation - open the subways and something goes wrong and you are damned but shut them causing chaos and you are feeding the terrorists as well as disrupting ordinary people's lives - what is the right path?
Due to the ease in which known terrorists are moving between the two countries having a proper border similar to pre schengen would be sensible. I don't remember it being chaotic crossing borders before just a little time consuming. The only exception was driving into Gibraltar when the Spanish police were being difficult on purpose.
It is so difficult because Schengen makes sense. Why do you need border checks between states of an economic and politically aligned entity? Yet unless you have powerful borders to entry to the European Union - in ALL countries then you create danger. The US has a massive control to get into the USA in the first place - and then you can travel anywhere freely thereafter. Thankfully the UK stayed out. I am horribly close to thinking about voting No to Europe when the referendum comes - despite having been in favour all my life to date.
Very difficult indeed. It's all well and good to say sod them and get on with day to day life but I wouldn't want to be the one who made that decision should the worst happen. I actually think the Belgian PM should be congratulated on taking such a courageous decision at this time of the year - one can only imagine the reaction if Boris or Mr Cameron took the same measures for London.....
I completely disagree, The Schengen Agreement makes no sense at all. It was a political decision not one based on the realities of the geographical European setting. Even if it was a good idea it came well before any economically and politically aligned entity has been created, which will never happen now. There may well be a new shrunken version comprising some North European countries but I doubt it. One thing is clear it has greatly assisted the movement of terrorists around Europe.
I do hope we are not going to spoil things for people on this thread too...... please.....This has always been a friendly local Football and good vibes only please here. Thank you PS I do not read the content of ignored members any more but i see the dialogue with others.
I really am not sure that any nation can control it's borders. Think new York, think London. Neither of them are in the Schengen Agreement, yet still suffered terrorist attacks. Borders are only lines drawn on maps, they are not lines that should you cross one will show you a different type of human. As Leo says once you are in the USA you have free movement. Once you are in the UK you have free movement. Should there be border checks between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire in case a UK citizen from Birmingham wishes to pass through to place a bomb in London. Of course not unless you want a police state. Most people in the EU are very similar and are quite happy to get on with their everyday lives, so put up restrictions on where they can move and you will be moving towards the view of the National Front. The failing of the EU itself is that it didn't do anywhere near enough to assist Greece and Italy to deal with the inflow of people trying illegal means to get in.
I agree Yorkie, it should be elsewhere. I am afraid I might have started this off by mentioning the difficulties my son-in-law had in getting home on Friday.
We did not have police states pre Schengen just sensible check points to discover the identity and quality of people trying to enter your country. To suggest there should be no borders in Northern Europe whilst there are so many illegal entry points in Southern Europe is madness. If Hollande fails to beef up France's borders he will put Marie Le Pen in power as I'm sure the average person in France supports reinstatement of its borders.
I had to send off to the UK for a new tyre and tube for my wheelbarrow. I had read that it smelt strongly of rubber and when it arrived that was certainly true. Mme La Poste seemed relieved to get it out of her van. This morning I fitted it and despite washing my hands numerous times the smell is on them and is not reducing yet.
Agree Yorkie. Off to my niece's 5th birthday party this afternoon nd she has informed me that I cannot go on the bouncy castle. Children can be so cruel sometimes!
