Last weekend saw the great English school holiday getaway start. Obviously many did not forward plan, simply did exactly what they did pre covid restrictions. Result – hour and hours of queuing to get away.
People seemed not to understand the reason. Obviously, the phrase ‘we want to get our passports stamped’ did not set alarms ringing when used during the Brexit campaign. When I was 19, my fiancé was a travel agent who got discount on holidays. I had my passport stamped in Tunisia and another year in Greece. Once the mortgage came along foreign travel was no longer affordable.
On the Tunisian holiday we arrived in the dark, with armed officers in the airport. A very long queue to get passport checked (and they scrutinized it and you), then the bags were physically checked and my woman’s weekly sifted through and unsuitable pictures blacked out.
Being part of the EU meant you didn’t have to queue on entry to another EU country. The agreement was your own country would check you had all the relevant paperwork. On arrival in another country, you simply went on your merry way. When I was able to afford to travel again, I found this new freedom a little scary but we all got so used to it, which is why those queuing to get into France got caught out. To each and every one of you who voted to leave the EU, you got exactly what you asked for.
There lies the difference between the UK leaving the EU and Scotland leaving the UK. Scotland wants to be independent to re-join Europe and interact with our neighbours. England wanted independence from Europe to put up walls and barriers to stop their Britishness being watered down.