As Karen mentioned, there was a bit of "precision packing" on the way out from passion: Fortunately I have an estate car and we managed to pack 3 passengers, their luggage and a lot of Smurf goodies in it... but I kept forgetting things: like the Olympic stadium: we were all ready to go and fortunately, I went back in to say goodbye to Xavier... and that's how I remembered to pick the stadium up. And then as I walked outside, thinking "I have spent enough Euros now, it's time to go", I realised that I forgot to pick up the bully shelves!!! So I did put the stadium behind Karen's head in the car and run back in to pick up the shelves. By then everybody thought it was comical that I was running back in and everytime coming out with something else... and sure enough, I grabbed the shelves and added a Belgium Red Cross to the loot!
After some lunch, I dropped Karen, Rachel and Steve to the train station, I re-arrange the loot so that "big thing" in the boot would not move about (as I know it was relatively fragile) and headed for the motorway...
Sure enough I arrived in Calais well before time and managed to get the car on an earlier ferry, and doing so, went through French customs... A French custom officer stood in front of the car, putting his hand up and said "Stop"!
He asked me for my papers and asked me to open the boot. He had a good look and asked what was that "big thing" in bubble wrap... As I explained I made a small tear in the bubble wrap so that he could see what was under. He placed his hand inside and said "Ok, c'est bon".... I got back in the car and boarded the ferry.
I am not sure if I rung Karen to tell her that her Smurf had been "detected" at that point: I was so tired that I went straight to some seats in a quiet part of the boat and crashed there to sleep. Surely enough I must have slept solidly, as my alarm woke me up just minutes before we arrived.
Back in the car, I came out the ferry and headed for the British customs...
There was a least 6 custom officers on each side of the column of cars queuing to go through... and as I drove level with them, sure enough, one stepped out and pointed me to go into the side lane which leads to the search garage!
I parked there and the officer came up to the window. He asked me where I had been, where I was going and how long I had been away for... he then asked me to open the boot. When he saw the loot, he asked me again where I had been. Fortunately I had printed the poster of passion and all the directions to get to it and showed them to him.
He asked me if I had met with anyone there, and I explained that yes, I had met up with other collectors from the UK as well as some from other European countries.
He got me to take some of the bags out of the boot, which then revealed the "big thing" in bubble wrap in the center of the boot...
He made a larger hole in the bubble wrap and touch the ceramic below, as I explained that Smurfs came in all sorts of shape and sizes... He smiled, asking "and what do you do with them?"
Now at that point, I am not sure if it was because I was tired or because I had just woken up from sleeping on the ferry, but all sorts of very weird answers came flying into my mind... including some particularly rude ones (probably some came from Syd's influence) ... but I very calmly said, "well it depends, some I keep and some I trade..." He said "ok" and walked off with my passport and the passion poster and maps, while I put the bags back in the boot.
I saw him chatting with another officer, going through the papers, both smiling! When he came back, he handed me back my documents, smiled and said, "It's ok, just wait a second and we will open the main door". Sure enough, seconds later a huge metal garage door was lifted up and I was allowed to go through!!!!
So Karen's Papa Smurf did make it to the UK, however his clandestine attempt to enter the country was discovered!
Still, you'll see below that he has arrived safe and sound! My daughter keeps begging me to keep it, and funnily enough, even Mrs XoioX2000 liked it! Now she has said that she would not mind something like that in the garden! I was shocked: I know what I'll bring back next year then!!!!
Papa Smurf is now ready for his transit to Peterborough!
:):):)
I like the smell of Napalm, first thing in the morning...
Attom 
Lucie
