The CRS treatment

Well... This is not the update I was hoping to write. Much learning took place, but not much teaching!

Yesterday we got the full joy of the CRS treatment. The policemen themselves were perfectly human. If I allow my compassionate side to fully run free, I'd say a couple of them felt rather uncomfortable at their assigned jobs for that day. It could have been a lot worse, and they let us know it. We were pulled over on our way into the Jungle. Into a queue of mainly GB plates all undergoing the same inspection. They inspected the contents of the vehicle, asked lots of questions and when they saw that two of my tyres was doing a stirling impression of the Grant brothers it clearly made their day.

We spent 3 hours dancing to the tune of their orders at the side of the road in the cold. " In the car, out the car, open this, undo that..." Then they called the real police to give us another telling off. The gendarmes also made us pay a hefty fine, in cash, naturellement. During all the waiting around we listened to numerous thinly veiled threats of being impounded, arrested etc. etc. We were told that we had to get a 'garagiste' to come and change the tyres, but of course in rural France on a Saturday afternoon that simply can't happen. It was police harassment with kid gloves on. They didn't mean a word of it. Eventually they just let us drive away. With our bald tyres. To the nearest garage. That wouldn't be open! Except that we did find one who was doing a roaring trade in replacing the bald tyres on UK cars on a Saturday afternoon. At least one local economy is booming!

The light in gloom of this story is the solidarity displayed between French and English volunteers undergoing the same indignity. After we'd gone through all our pockets, scraped through the fluff at the bottom of handbags, under the mats in the foot-well (after 3 weeks of visiting the Jungle that was not a pleasant task) we were 5 euros short of the 90 euro fine. This would have meant getting a lift with the gendarmes into town (miles away) to a cash point and returning with the money. This would no doubt have taken a really long time. So I jogged over to the car behind me and asked them if they could lend me 5 euros. They kindly obliged.

We chatted while we were waiting. We all did a LOT of waiting. Then they were having to change their tyres. There's a pattern forming here.... except they didn't have a jack & their tyres were flat. More threats from the CRS about garagistes ensued... Fortunately, I had both a car jack and an electric tyre pump. A win for caring and sharing. So the moral of this story is. If you want to help in the Jungle, you have to be the picture of the perfect citizen. Your vehicle must have EVERYTHING it is supposed to have, carry your MOT cert, driving license and 90 euros in cash too. Just in case!

We will be going back shortly to try again. Wish us luck! Happy Sunday folks, I hope it is filled with sunshiny feelings xx