OFF: immigration trivia quiz

[Steve Youles]

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On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 15:58:01 +0200, Henderson Keith
<keith.henderson at PSI.CH> wrote:

<snip>

P.S.  Still don't understand why the Canadians (and Aussies too?)
didn't get to go through the 'express' line, but that the Swiss
were able to, since I guess they are part of something called EFTA,
I think it was (what the heck does this mean?).
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EFTA = European Free Trade Area.  This was something actually set up by
Britain, when de Gaulle refused us entry to the European Economic Community
as it was then called.  It still exists and countries affiliated to it are
granted something like associate membership of the EU, that is, they get
all the benefits and none of the disadvantages...

I had the opposite problem to everyone else re: immigration.  I had trouble
*leaving* the UK, owing to the fact that I had packed some souvenir inert
bullets in my luggage.  These were for my son (11 years old, the same one
who only likes Hawkwind for the explosions) and he and I had bought them at
a couple of military museums we visited.  We had already checked our
luggage in at Gatwick when I was paged to go back to the check-in desk.  I
was told they had spotted somnething they weren't happy with in my bags and
that the police were present!  The boy and I ended up being interviewed by
2 armed cops (Heckler & Koch 9mm submachine guns) and a customs officer.
Their opening gambit was "You appear to have ammunition in your suitcase"
and I had to fish it out for them to inspect.  They let us keep the bullets
but confiscated my son's potato gun...

So now Hawkwind fans are going to be regarded by UK Customs as not only
potential drug smugglers but as arms smugglers too.  I apologise in advance
to anyone who ends up going to jail for several years on that account...

Steve