Sunday 23 September 2012

Out of Control

Ever felt totally out of control, frustrated and really, really angry ?? Well that is exactly how I felt on Thursday night !


What happened ?    Well, after driving some 300kms to catch a ferry to the UK to visit our families and do some shopping, on arriving at the ferry port at 10.00pm we were told that the crews had gone on a wild cat strike in the last couple of hours and that our sailing was cancelled.  Stunned does not begin to describe how we felt as the only alternative was another 400km drive away.

What did we do ?     Given that neither myself or DH are in the first flush of youth, another 400kms to an unknown situation was not an option, particularly as we would have to drive back across the UK for several hours to get to our destination over there so - after calming down a little, we decided to turn tail and drive back home.

What happens next ?    Goodness only knows as the 'wild cat strike' has now turned into a full scale stoppage, and the  ferry fleet is tied up until further notice leaving 1,000s of passengers stranded on both side of the Channel.  We are some of the luckier ones , at least we are back safe & sound in our own home and not sleeping on the docks trying to get a boat.

We have cancelled our crossing until such time as the whole thing is resolved, even though the sales staff offered to keep us on a 'short list' for the first available sailing, the uncertaintity of it all is not worth the stress of waiting for a phone call, this way at least WE are back in charge.

The reason for it all?  You can read about it here

So sad when we think of the number of pleasant crossings we have made with this fleet over the last 20 years!


3 comments:

Suzanne said...

Oh Ann....I am so sorry. I know you were looking forward to family time. Hopefully the strike gets resolved quickly and peacefully. Glad you were close to home when it happened!

QuiltSue said...

Grrr. I can quite understand how angry you must have felt. Disappointed too as you were heading over here to see family. I suppose it could have been worse - you could have just landed in the UK before they called the strike? I hope something gets sorted out soon for you.

Sew Create It - Jane said...

That is so frustrating. Hopefully they will resolve the dispute soon and you can re-organize your trip.