For all of you on a baccy run …..

Take care now 🙂

FOREST … Simon says

Well, actually he doesn’t say anything yet. Simon Clark, director of FOREST (voice and friend of the smoker) recently posted about the budget here. It got a lot of comments (currently 63) and some interesting points. Amongst them was a suggestion that FOREST have a tobacco run to Belgium which a number of people thought a great idea, as indeed l do. The current last post is mine :-

“@ JJ & Junican … l do indeed take people to purchase their tobacco/cigarettes abroad. As it has worked out, every trip has been people accompanying me because l was travelling anyway. l haven’t charged anyone for my services … period! Neither do l charge for helping people with their appeals or preparations for their own trips … everything is free.

(Junican said) my edit

“I think that Forest is more of a political organization, and thus unlikely to wish to be involved in activities which might antagonise politicians” 

What could be more political than a demonstration? For that is what such a trip would be. l don’t have the contacts to make any impact on the media so it would be pointless me even trying.

FOREST demonstration would in my view be a one-off with as maximum coverage as possible hightlighting purchasing abroad, no money going to the Treasury and all 100% legal. Also highlighting it fights smuggling. lt would also show the complete folly of the current tobacco control policiy that is being orchestrated by the Gov (incl recent Budget) and such as ASH. Hopefully it would also show the UKBA ‘at work’ but recent experiences lead me to believe that they’d leave us alone and come nowhere near us.

When we got back to UK, l personally would donate the tobacco l brought back to someone like the British Legion or Age Concern so they could distribute the tobacco to the Forces veterans and Senior Citizens that smoke and will be hit hard by this budget. What could l be accused of? … certainly not smuggling. Maybe ASH would accuse me of encouraging people to smoke but seeing as it would be going to Senior Citizens/War Veterans that have smoked all their lives and won’t ever give up, l think even ASH wouldn’t be that stupid. Imagine a headline showing a WW2 Veteran and the header ‘ASH want to take away the freedom this man and his fallen comrades fought for’ … or something like that. 

Now what could be more political than that?

Friday, March 25, 2011 at 9:56  Smoking Hot”

Simon? ….  Hello?

Yo ho, Yo ho … a Pirate’s life for me

Well all us smokers are all dastardly types according to the UKBA and many others like ASH . I’m shortly to leave EU bound for Blighty. Been an interesting trip so far and when l return to Blightly l expect it to get even more interesting. Savvy  me ‘earties?   🙂

Uncooperative UKBA, King George Dock, Hull

Went into UKBA (Customs) and spoke to officers at the enquiry desk I said  ” l’m going on the ferry tomorrow to Zeebrugge and then into Brugge to buy some tobacco. l intend to buy 3 kg of Samson and l’d like to make certain that this is ok because there are cases where you (the UKBA) have confiscated this amount and under.
I have all the relevant information with me so if there is any problem you can tell me what it is so l can sort it out before l travel.”

They point blank refused and said it was up to the UKBA officer who would be on duty at the time and would be that officer’s decision alone and not theirs. l said l didn’t understand and did the law change depending on which officer was applying it? They then went into total repetitive parrot mode and just kept repeating that it would be the UKBA officer’s decision who stopped me and not theirs. Finally, l just laughed and walked out.

So folks, there you have it. No help whatsoever … just a response of   “Try it and find out”.

l thought l was caught in a Monty Python sketch! 🙂

OFFER! P&O Ferries Hull – Zeebrugge 2 for 1 £45.00!!!!!!!!

Need details? … e-mail me for info on booking with P/O, shops, transport, etc 

info@nothing2declare.co.uk

Golden Virginia £4.40 50g   Samson £4.60 50g   Amber Leaf £3.90 50g

Fill yer boots m’hearties!

Update on Tobacco Companies restricting supply of UK brands

There have been no further responses from the 3 tobacco companies contacted. There was an initial reply from Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International but none at all from British American Tobacco.

In both the replies got, they refer to HMRC and recent large seizures of tobacco but furnished no details. Despite a great deal of investigation, l can find no details whatsover of these ‘large seizures’ so l questioned their actual existance. Turns out l was right to do so.

Since April 1st 2009 (good starting date, eh?) HMRC released their approach to ‘chain of supply’ and what they expected tobacco companies to do about it.

The crux of the ‘approach’ is to treat tobacco companies like UK shoppers purchasing tobacco from the EU. lf shoppers are stopped with what they consider large but we are still allowed to take them home but are issued with a Notice 1. This states the amount you bought back and warns that if you bring anymore back in a given period it will be confiscated. There are no fixed quantities for what HMRC consider large, it is left for them to decide.

This is basically what they have done to tobacco companies. If the seizures are large,  the tobacco companies will be issued with an Initial Notice (a warning notice) that lasts for 6 months. lf within this period another seizure occurs HMRC will then issue a Penalty Notice with a fine of up to £5 million (this of course can be contested). The only difference is that unlike the Uk shoppers, the tobacco companies have it stated what a large seizure is.

It is 500 sleeves of cigarettes (sleeve = 10 x packets of 20) and 50kg of tobacco or over. Anything under these amounts will not be considered large.

So were the tobacco companies issued with an Initial Notice? lf they were, why no details of such. If they were not, why the restriction of supply?

It doesn’t take a genius to note that sales of 500 sleeves of cigarettes and 50kg of tobacco to a shopper are probably not for personal use. Given that tobacco companies and HMRC monitor the sales and distribution of tobacco from the shops, how do such amounts get sold in the first place????

As for Mr Smuggler and the shops, one would think that to guarantee sales and supply that a self-imposed limit of 499 sleeves and 49 kg of tobacco ( or other blatantly obvious methods) would completely nulify the HMRC’s ‘chain of supply’ ???

In the meantime, the UK shopper cannot purchase his 3kg of tobacco as he was not made aware of the impending restriction of supplies. I have no doubt that Mr Smuggler and the shops did have pre-warning and took appropiate action. Our legitimate UK shopper is the only one that suffers … again!

Tobacco Cross 1st Class with Amber Leaves awarded for extreme valour in the face of the enemy (UKBA)

“Excuse me folks,can I just butt in this to-do
about some pissed pict trousered Che Guevara fan.
I have just arrived home half dead after being subject to humiliation,intimidation,inquistion,
starvation,water denial and mental torture for
3 hours and fifty minutes at the hands of
Her Majesty’s GrenzeSchutzeSonderKommando
(UK Border Guard..Hull Docks Gulag)
My alleged crime,I had been to Ostend to buy
an “allowance” of Amber Leaf………….WHY?
I may have to make this easy to read for socialists ,secondary modern and comprehensive
educated Yonners and numpties….WHY? again
BECAUSE it is a lot cheaper to buy in Belgium
YEP folks tis a fact of life 6 packs of Amber Leaf costs £480 less than in RIPOFF UK
After 28 pages of hand written interrogation I
was finally ejected into the bright sunshine of
Humberside in the hope of finding the valiant
men and women of England ready to storm the
Bastille of oppression
Alas only the swoop of a thin seagull broke the stillness.
I ,although ageing, am up for some rebellion ,some resistance,but when I glance around the Round Table of Blogdom in the quest for fierce Knights all I see are well used
keyboards and mice without balls.

Oh in case you are worried about the Amber Leaf,I’ve still got them

Cheers

The Gothic North

Wanted urgently ….Shakers and Fighters”

……………………………………………………………………………..

You sir, deserve this award. The location of your engagement and your adversaries are well known to us. My colleague suffered much the same in a recent incident although his ordeal was 20 mins shorter. He was also arrested twice (he is still unsure how you can arrest someone who is already arrested). He too had many pages of interrogation but does not have the figure. He came away with his goods, a Notice 1 and a written warning about his future conduct. He has the ID numbers of those concerned … maybe they are the same?

As in all resistance movements there are only a few who actually have the courage to stand up and do something positive … the rest stand back and offer mutterings of rebellion. Hasn’t it always been thus?

We shall however carry on and others will join us once they see that it is possible to stand up to the UKBA and win. Pour yourself a large drink, light up a cigarette and enjoy your victory … you’ve earned it.

We shall pour ourselves a drink also … to you, sir … and the next battle.

Duty Calls

l’ll be away for a few days as l’m taking some people to Bulgaria. Staying a couple of nights so they can enjoy the experience of Sofia. They’ll be purchasing their goods and giving the tax that they pay to Bulgaria instead of the UK.

I always enjoy these trips as it is another group of people who will learn what their rights truly are when EU shopping and not what they are led to believe by HMRC and the government.

Upon our return l hope they are not stopped by Customs but if they are … they will not be like lambs to the slaughter, they will have been well prepared by myself and l will also be with them. Personally l enjoy being stopped by these HMRC jobsworths, for that is all they are. They have a script that usually works for them and stick to it religously … except it doesn’t work for them when you know the truth . Don’t accept their script and the sham is revealed

Freedoms lost.

Am currently with some customers on a tobacco/cigarettes shopping trip. They’ve never been to Bulgaria and have been very pleasantly surprised with this ex-communist Soviet Bloc country. They can smoke in bars, restaurants etc with no-one treating them like lepers because smoking is here is normal. lt’s part of lfe, you either smoke or you don’t. lt’s a personal choice and no-one condemns you, shuns you, turns their noses up, make offensive comments … nothing!

They particularly loved the park in the centre of Sofia. lt was a very hot day which had brought everybody out to the park … couples, families, people walking dogs, kids, seniors etc. There was live music in sections of the park and many folk could be seen drinking alcohol … and of course smoking.

What my customers noticed most however was how the kids were enjoying themselves. They were climbing trees, statues, messing about by the little rivers and lakes with not a care in the world. What was even more noticeable to my customers was the lack of warning signs and wardens prohibiting and stopping these activities.

One of my group commented “England was once like this”