Latest Moan From You and Me 2024

They tried at one point. Their strategy was as close to evil as it gets without actually getting their hands dirty. They chose to pay Turkey, a country that doesn't exactly have a great human rights record, to make the problem go away. If I remember right, Turkey responded by forcing people back over the border, back into an active war zone, including unaccompanied kids.

 

I honestly don't see why they need fingerprints. You have a photo in your passport. Why do they need another?

 

There's three of us shiney... Apparently so they tell me I have a smart Phone I haven't got a bladdy clue it's all electrickery to me...I can't get used to none of it and don't want to ..Don't anyone tell me it's progress ...it's a load of cods wallop

 

Oh well, open door policy then.

 

If its anything like the so called finger print thing on my phone its going to be a nightmare.

 

EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is part of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) which I think was subject of a discussion on here not long ago (last month?). It was supposed to come in previously in 2022, then put back 2023. Note it’s a Schengen thing and therefore includes Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. They are trying to tighten control of their borders, it’s a massive system and very unlikely to go away anytime soon.

 

Was wondering why my cornflowers were not in bloom. On closer inspection, I see that every bud has been completely eaten. Those pesky squirrels, I presume. Grrrr.

 

@pete The UK, apart from having all that extensive coastline full of holes has a rather porous border in Ireland where anyone can cross............

 

Yes, but it now appears the Irish want it closed, for some reason, suddenly.

 

It's not really as black and white as that. Or it wouldn't be if MEPs weren't complete and utter arrogant lazy so and sos.

They simply didn't try to control immigration. Instead they chose to bribe another country to make the problem go away.

 

I have a mobile for emergencies and to take photos. I don't speak to people, but e-mail. I am old fashioned. I don't even use the telephone.

 

I have an iPhone, a laptop and a landline .., I text and email, use WhatsApp and a little bit of Fbook and use the camera on my phone … I also write letters on paper with a pen and put them in envelopes, stick a stamp on them and walk down the road to post them in the post box.

Just as learning to drive and getting a car didn’t see me forgetting how to walk, I have embraced modern communication technology but haven’t forgotten how to use the older skills which have their own important qualities.

You only become too old to learn new things when you stop trying.

 

I have an iPad, an iMac, and a steam driven Nokia phone. Any financial stuff is done at home on the iMac, and only via websites, not Apps. I only use the phone for short calls and texts, along the lines of ‘where the h*ll are you?’ when I mislay OH in B and Q. Or letting him know what time I need picking up at the station. No good for photos though, just fuzzy ones.
I do have a photo of my Sparks card on the Nokia, which always gets a laugh when I produce it at the till in Marks and Spencer!

 

Or, do the ones that impose biometrics have something to hide?
Thailand started taking facial and finger prints in 2015, I think, might of been a year later.
Thailand has not seen a drop off in tourist numbers, tourist numbers had been rising until Covid.

When I was there in 2004, I received a text message from the British Embassy that they knew I was in Phuket with a young family when the Tsunami hit and that I could leave Thailand on the first evacuation flight. So, they must of been able to check my itinerary and get my mobile number from somewhere.

On my trips to the far east I have came across a few citizens that think because they are from the EU, the same rules apply to all, nope.
Thailand generally has a 30 day free visa, whether your entering by air or land. Most European countries can but not all, some get a 30 day free visa by air but only 15 days by land.

Vietnam has a 15 day free visa but it only applies to 25 countries in total. The likes of the Dutch, Belgium's, Swiss etc etc, to many to mention don't get a 15 day free visa, they don't need a visa, but they do need a eTA or eVisa to enter. British nationals, along with the French, Spanish, Germans, Italians and the Scandinavian countries do not need any electronic travel authorization to enter Vietnam, they also get a 45 day free visa, which only applies to 13 countries in total.