“Are you travelling alone, Sir?”

Border crossings continue to get more unpleasant.

Today at Heathrow: the first time i have been selected twice in one pass through a customs channel.

“Excuse me sir, are you travelling alone?”.  

Questions then include did i pack it myself, where i live, where I’m travelling to and from, have i been anywhere else, do i know what alcohol and tobacco allowances are, what cash do i have, what about controlled substances, blades, explosives, firearms, obscene material, etc?

So far, UK border still compares favourably to Guernsey in the following ways: the Guernsey intimidation squad use high-pressure techniques like piling questions on top of each other, and repeat questions. UK so far gives time to answer each question. Guernsey goons will start searching bag without saying anything, and send items into room next door, without saying anything. UK will ask “may i search this”, “may i swab that”. They have the authority to anyway, but it lets the subject know what’s happening, and is good manners. Guernsey goons ask all kinds of crap about life that is none of their business, whereas UK sticks more to what’s relevant to border crossing. Either way, it isn’t really conducive to wanting to continue living in a location, or even a region.

The heathrow official releases me and i continue down the green channel hall, which has dozens of officers. Four seconds later, a female officer: “Excuse me Sir, are you travelling alone today?”.  I say your colleague has just done me, she says okay, i continue walking and she seems to take me at my word. 

Schengen, which is most of Europe, is just as bad.

Perhaps i should live somewhere remote, with a few million people, a decent country size, with mountains and lakes and sea, and mostly cut out these stressful border crossings.