French customs are on the hunt

[Boathook]

You worked at Northwood at the time.
Lol

Tea boy I assume.

If he was, he knew everything of importance then! Teaboys / girls and security were very good people to be friendly and polite to when I worked for a big national, company years ago.

 

[penfold]

No shit, Sherlock.
A couple of years ago, the Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov turned up in Scotland and the first thing the RN learned about it was a report on a Scottish newspaper website.
And this is a fact, I worked in Northwood at the time.

HMS York scrambled to Scotland in security scare as Russian fleet comes within 30 miles of Britain for the first time in 20 years

Mild egg-on-face; to be fair Kuznetsov is mainly a hazard to the matelots onboard, or occasionally the floating dock it's sitting in.

 

[RupertW]

You can't sail in the channel for long without hearing "vessel so and so this is CROSS Joburg calling for your compulsory report"

And once on a yacht on a delivery trip in February we were called by them as we came up the Alderney Race. Very polite but asking for our port of departure and our intentions. Must have been surprised to see us at that time of year.

You can if you keep your VHF switched off all the time to avoid the chatter.

 

[Tomahawk]

They want to get some revenge for "la variante anglaise"

Not at all.. They want revenge for the English AZ working whilst their own Institute Pasteur sttempt is a complete failure. Out of genuine curiosity, I am wondering if the different national cultures played a part in English success and French failure.

 

[Adios]

Not at all.. They want revenge for the English AZ working whilst their own Institute Pasteur sttempt is a complete failure. Out of genuine curiosity, I am wondering if the different national cultures played a part in English success and French failure.

The institute is of course named after a world leader in the field but that was a long time ago. All western nations are going to the dogs, falling apart culturally. The french pride perhaps though? Thats going to be the last bit of their culture left. Did they collaborate with other nations on it or insist on doing it all themselves?

 

[Bristolfashion]

Not at all.. They want revenge for the English AZ working whilst their own Institute Pasteur sttempt is a complete failure. Out of genuine curiosity, I am wondering if the different national cultures played a part in English success and French failure.

You really think that jealousy over vaccine production is directly fueling over officious (but entirely correct) customs& border checks specifically against British citizens?

Weird.

 

[Koeketiene]

Mild egg-on-face; to be fair Kuznetsov is mainly a hazard to the matelots onboard, or occasionally the floating dock it's sitting in.

True - these days, she's unlikely to ever ho to sea again.
But this was in 2011, and she was on her way to the Med. Her penultimate deployment to that area IIRC.

The reason she was 'missed' is rather embarassing.
There was an agreement between the UK/Germany/Norway to patrol the UK/Norway/Iceland gap with maritime patrol aircraft.
This would provide for at least one flight/day.
Then Germany withdrew it's Orions from service - this meant 5 flights every week.
Then CMD retired the RAF Nimrod and cancelled their successor.
This left only 2 Norwegian flights per week.
And that particular week the weather had been quite bad and both Norwegian flights had been cancelled.
And so a Russian task group can turn up in Scotland without warning.
Satellite coverage does generally not work when it's cloudy can't be a full replacement for MPA aircraft.

 

[Adios]

You really think that jealousy over vaccine production is directly fueling over officious (but entirely correct) customs& border checks specifically against British citizens?

Weird.

No of course he doesn't

 

[Frogmogman]

The institute is of course named after a world leader in the field but that was a long time ago. All western nations are going to the dogs, falling apart culturally. The french pride perhaps though? Thats going to be the last bit of their culture left. Did they collaborate with other nations on it or insist on doing it all themselves?

You really do hate France and the French, don't you. Maybe you should consider getting help.

I guess National pride and patriotism are a "good thing" when it pertains to England, but reprehensible in the case of the dastardly Frogs.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

True - these days, she's unlikely to ever ho to sea again.
But this was in 2011, and she was on her way to the Med. Her penultimate deployment to that area IIRC.

The reason she was 'missed' is rather embarassing.
There was an agreement between the UK/Germany/Norway to patrol the UK/Norway/Iceland gap with maritime patrol aircraft.
This would provide for at least on flight/day.
Then Germany withdrew it's Orions from service - this meant 5 flights every week.
Then CMD retired the RAF Nimrod and cancelled their successor.
This left only 2 Norwegian flights per week.
And that particular week the weather had been quite bad and both Norwegian flights had been cancelled.
And so a Russian task group can turn up in Scotland without warning.
Satellite coverage does generally not work when it's cloudy can't be a full replacement for MPA aircraft.

LOL
You really were the tea boy!

Some of us really did work in Maritime Patrol you know. ?

 

[dom]

You really do hate France and the French, don't you. Maybe you should consider getting help.

I guess National pride and patriotism are a "good thing" when it pertains to England, but reprehensible in the case of the dastardly Frogs.

And you really shouldn't invoke words like 'hate' to dismiss a point of view with which you happen to disagree. Solidarity is key to the fight against Covid-19 and to establishing a global blueprint for collaboration and readiness to deal with future pandemics.

And yet, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson have all found themselves in the gunsights of Macron and the European Commission something companies and governments across the world have decried.

There is a legitimate argument to be made that President Macron's notions of French pride have been entirely unhelpful, including to Sanofi itself which is at pains to do the right thing. Is it not reasonable to call-out Macron's absurd "quasi-ineffective" broadside against the AZ vaccine? Or that many French doctors believe that fueling such emotions will ultimately kill French people? And do remember that the French Government have some form on this, a point which many French CEOs aggressively make themselves.

There is nothing remotely anti-French in pointing this out. Anymore than it is anti-British to point out Boris's bumbling over here.

 

[Adios]

You really do hate France and the French, don't you. Maybe you should consider getting help.

I guess National pride and patriotism are a "good thing" when it pertains to England, but reprehensible in the case of the dastardly Frogs.

I might be winding you up a bit tbh, sorry bored. I should add touchy to pride next time ?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Not at all.. They want revenge for the English AZ working whilst their own Institute Pasteur sttempt is a complete failure. Out of genuine curiosity, I am wondering if the different national cultures played a part in English success and French failure.

Nope. They two groups just tried two different approaches, one of which worked and one of which didn't. Several other possibilities have been abandoned. That's science for you.

 

[Frogmogman]

And you really shouldn't invoke words like 'hate' to dismiss a point of view with which you happen to disagree. Solidarity is key to the fight against Covid-19 and to establishing a global blueprint for collaboration and readiness to deal with future pandemics.

And yet, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson have all found themselves in the gunsights of Macron and the European Commission something companies and governments across the world have decried.

There is a legitimate argument to be made that President Macron's notions of French pride have been entirely unhelpful, including to Sanofi itself which is at pains to do the right thing. Is it not reasonable to call-out Macron's absurd "quasi-ineffective" broadside against the AZ vaccine? Or that many French doctors believe that fueling such emotions will ultimately kill French people? And do remember that the French Government have some form on this, a point which many French CEOs aggressively make themselves.

There is nothing remotely anti-French in pointing this out. Anymore than it is anti-British to point out Boris's bumbling over here.

My post wasn't anything to do with the ins and outs of the vaccines, nor about attacks on Macron. It was to do with the continual snippy remarks about France and the French from Athomson. I realise that it's intended as a wind up, and appreciate his acknowledgement of this. I too am bored, but of the dreary anti-french sniping.

FWIW, like most French citizens, I'm hugely critical of Macron's performance over the vaccines, and the disappointingly slow roll-out. Until we get a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated, things can't return to normal. As someone in the hospitality business, I have quite a lot of skin in the game.

 

[dom]

My post wasn't anything to do with the ins and outs of the vaccines, nor about attacks on Macron. It was to do with the continual snippy remarks about France and the French from Athomson. I realise that it's intended as a wind up, and appreciate his acknowledgement of this. I too am bored, but of the dreary anti-french sniping.

FWIW, like most French citizens, I'm hugely critical of Macron's performance over the vaccines, and the disappointingly slow roll-out. Until we get a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated, things can't return to normal. As someone in the hospitality business, I have quite a lot of skin in the game.

Perhaps it's a question of English usage, over here people feel perfectly able to have a go at some political figure/Government Dept without impugning in this case French citizen's ability to be thoroughly decent people.

It looks like in the end we all agree on this, so let's move on

 

[Dan Tribe]

Your daughter must frequent the lower grade establishments, in the SE/Med perhaps. In the more conservative parts I have been called un rosbif, always with a grin, on assorted occasions, often when sharing a bottle.
I find English and French people get on very well, the bureaucrats , in their many guises, are the problems. On both sides of the ditch!

They were post graduate students from a Paris university doing a term in UK as part of the Erasmus scheme. Does that meet with your idea of lower grade establishment?
I understood that doing foreign study gave them some credit towards their national service.

 

[Tomahawk]

You really think that jealousy over vaccine production is directly fueling over officious (but entirely correct) customs& border checks specifically against British citizens?

Weird.

Knowing the French, and taking account of Brexit and how the Institute Pasteur attempt failed yes. The Belgian customs kicked against red fuel in a similar way.

 

[awol]

You really think that jealousy over vaccine production is directly fueling over officious (but entirely correct) customs& border checks specifically against British citizens?

Weird.

I thought the checks were aimed specifically at Daydream believer - probably justifiably.

 

[Sandy]

It was to do with the continual snippy remarks about France and the French from Athomson. I realise that it's intended as a wind up, and appreciate his acknowledgement of this. I too am bored, but of the dreary anti-french sniping.

Sadly, @Athomson has made it onto my ignore list. At least I expect never to bump into him as I enjoy French hospitality.

 

[Adios]

Sadly, @Athomson has made it onto my ignore list. At least I expect never to bump into him as I enjoy French hospitality.

LOL well I suppose I better put him on ignore as well then in case I waste time replying. I'm sure if I tried to take offence as easily as he has everyone would end up on that list sooner rather than later.