Recent content by Elwyn

I think some posters need to take a step back and think about this objectively. All this ranting against rail ticket irregularity investigators is unhelpful. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a private company or the police, someone will investigate fare evasion so long as it is an offence. If the...

Having worked in the Border Control business, I would say that fingerprinting is not new. The UK has been fingerprinting many visa and asylum applicants for decades, as do many other modern countries. There is a lot of passport fraud about (in the UK we seize tens of thousands of misused...

I travel on it from time to time and agree that I don’t think you can get breakfast after 1200. They use a different menu after 1200. In general they serve 1st class first and hot food for the other passengers often has to wait till that service is done.

The railways in NI were attacked by the IRA all the time during the Troubles, particularly on the cross-border line. Often bombs and bomb scares would have lines closed for significant periods of time with the usual RRBs instead. I don’t think all that inconvenience and damage changed anyone’s...

This BBC link quotes BTP as saying they received a report on 3rd Feb that the suspect was at Manchester Piccadilly. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-68188055 If Ezedi is travelling he’ll presumably try and disguise himself eg with dark glasses and perhaps some form of head or face covering...

Timetable here: https://www.translink.co.uk/timetables?LocationId=&Name=&LocationType=&TransportMode=Bus&page=1 On Saturdays the only suitable bus leaves Upper Queen St at 09.45 arriving Stena ferry terminal 10.03. (Note that Upper Queen St is not the Europa Bus station. Its a 5/10 minute walk...

The absence of a passport (or a visa, if one is required) when a flight has to divert to another country is not unknown. Most Border authorities have some discretion and it is usually possible to temporarily admit passengers who do not have a passport or visa when it is clear that the problem is...

“I did notice Customs present” is obsolete these days. Borderforce do both passport and customs controls. They are all Borderforce officers nowadays. Same uniform. Same powers. Passport control in the UK requires everyone to be checked. The Customs aspect is different and is intelligence led...

Borderforce’s work isn’t only about establishing that you are a UK citizen. They are also Customs Officers and so there’s scope there for questioning where you have come from and why, from a Customs perspective. They also identify people of interest to other agencies eg the police. So if there’s...

There is a fair bit of scientific research that says gluten is an essential part of a balanced diet and has health benefits. Avoiding gluten can lead to increased risks of heart disease. So unless you happen to be gluten intolerant, some gluten in your diet is probably good for you...

I have a friend who is a psychologist, and some of her clients are folk who have experienced trauma. I know some have been in bad traffic accidents and are struggling to cope as a result. She tries to help them overcome their fears. If you thought it might help, you could discuss how you feel...

Your mention of a refund for stopping short reminded me that we got offered about AUS$150 for our missed excursion at Kalgoorlie. Looks as though that’s a fairly regular feature! The freight trains were impressive. Reminded me of those in Canada and the US. Some double stacked as you say, and...

I travelled on the Indian Pacific last week (leaving Perth on 19th Nov 23). It ran to time to Kalgoorlie but we were held outside the station for about 90 minutes to allow a late running scheduled Perth – Kalgoorlie passenger train to enter the station first. Even though the scheduled train was...

I used to travel between Newhaven & Dieppe in the 1970s. Sometimes in a storm the ferries would sit in the lea of the Isle of Wight till the seas reduced. One of the Masters explained that going in or out of a harbour in a storm can be very hazardous. In shallow water the propellers and rudder...

There are no security checks on the inter island flights in Orkney & Shetland, nor for Oban to Coll and Colonsay. These are 8 seater aircraft (Islanders usually) and I assume the powers that be know that the risk is low and that if every passenger had to pay a passenger tax for what is sometimes...