Anne Colling is an experienced traveller, but even she can have worrying incidents and spooky meetings!

Dope haul from Barbados?

I have been to Barbados a few times - I’m lucky enough to have friends there who find me somewhere cheap and reasonable to stay.

Last year, my daughter and I were coming back through customs, when we were called over. At first I was amused. I thought it was hilarious - but then I realised it wasn’t.

The officers concentrated on my case only, taking things out and testing them. They found traces of drugs - hard ones, too, they said. They emptied the case completely, then got out the rubber gloves. This seemed even more ominous. Then they wiped out the entire case and said that it contained traces of drugs.

We were kept at the customs point for about 45 minutes, and then someone decide to let us go home. Before we left, I asked them how my case came to be in this condition. “Did you stand next to someone who you thought was using drugs?” they asked, but I said I really would know. I am 73 years old, and have never even smoked a cigarette!

They then told us that my clothes could easy have picked up traces, and these could then have nbeen transferred to my case when I packed it.

The first thing I did when I got home was to dump that case, and buy myself a new one. My daughter and I are off again in May, but this time, I will be most careful about who I stand next to!.

PS: what I couldn’t understand was that I had 1000 cigarettes in the case for my sons, seriously over the limit at that time. They were taken out of the case, then carefully repacked, without even being mentioned . . .

A Maltese Reunion

I went to Malta in January 2003. One day, I was sitting by the window reading when a gentleman came along and stood nearby. I glanced up, and saw that he was wearing a Leeds Rhinos cap. I Remarked on it, and told him that I came from Bramley; we chatted for a while, and then he went on his way.

The next day he came up to me and said if I’d lived in Bramley all my life, I must know his sister-in-law, so he took me over to meet her. I was completely gobsmacked. I went to school with her, but hadn’t seen her for almost 60 years!

We had a great time catching up, but what is even better, because of that meeting I have now been to a class reunion, where I met all my old classmates. I enjoyed it so much, I’m off to the next one in April!

Anne Colling, Spring 2004.

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