How worried should I be about my wife traveling to London March 27-30th?
February 7, 2019 2:57 PM Subscribe
Aunt is supposed to attend a business conference in London on the 27th and 28th of March and then Brexit happens and I'm worried bad things will happen.
Everyone at her company doesn't seem to have any worries. I keep reading the MeFi brexit thread and seeing predictions of food lines and such and I'm not excited for her to be in London when it all goes down. Am I overreacting?
Everyone at her company doesn't seem to have any worries. I keep reading the MeFi brexit thread and seeing predictions of food lines and such and I'm not excited for her to be in London when it all goes down. Am I overreacting?
Best answer: In the first couple of days, she ought to be all right. The people organising the conference will know the date of Brexit and will have done their best to plan for it.
Though the UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March, there is a chance the Article 50 period may be extended to July. If it does happen on 29 March, there is a chance the UK may not have a withdrawal deal in place, and that's when things get hairy.
Is your aunt planning to stay in Britain past the 29th? For the first couple of days, food supplies should be all right. Even if supplies of food from Europe are interrupted, there will still be enough nonperishable food stocks (dry, canned and preserved) to last a while. If she's staying over a week past the 29th, things might start to worsen.
I would worry more about the mood on the streets. If your aunt is white and speaks English as her first language, she should be fine. If she's not white, wears a hijab or speaks with a "foreign" accent, she should be prepared to deal with some possible aggression.
Football game day rules apply: avoid crowds outside pubs and bars. If there's a group (especially of men) being loud, chanting or singing, avoid them. On public transport, stay near the doors. If she is harassed on the street, duck into a pub or a kebab shop: kebab shop workers are surprisingly badass and they don't like racists. Try to be home by 10; most pubs close at 11, spilling a lot of drunk people onto the street at once.
Maybe nothing will happen. I hope nothing happens. I wish her luck.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:30 PM on February 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Though the UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 29 March, there is a chance the Article 50 period may be extended to July. If it does happen on 29 March, there is a chance the UK may not have a withdrawal deal in place, and that's when things get hairy.
Is your aunt planning to stay in Britain past the 29th? For the first couple of days, food supplies should be all right. Even if supplies of food from Europe are interrupted, there will still be enough nonperishable food stocks (dry, canned and preserved) to last a while. If she's staying over a week past the 29th, things might start to worsen.
I would worry more about the mood on the streets. If your aunt is white and speaks English as her first language, she should be fine. If she's not white, wears a hijab or speaks with a "foreign" accent, she should be prepared to deal with some possible aggression.
Football game day rules apply: avoid crowds outside pubs and bars. If there's a group (especially of men) being loud, chanting or singing, avoid them. On public transport, stay near the doors. If she is harassed on the street, duck into a pub or a kebab shop: kebab shop workers are surprisingly badass and they don't like racists. Try to be home by 10; most pubs close at 11, spilling a lot of drunk people onto the street at once.
Maybe nothing will happen. I hope nothing happens. I wish her luck.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:30 PM on February 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Where is she travelling to and from? There is a lot of discussion about how flights will operate to and from EU airspace on the 29th - I believe things should be OK and agreements have been reached (I'm taking a flight around that time) but it may be worth checking with her airline as to what they are expecting.
posted by mippy at 5:35 AM on February 8, 2019
posted by mippy at 5:35 AM on February 8, 2019
« Older Disorganized freelance client and not enough hours | Need resources for a woman leaving her husband in... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:16 PM on February 7, 2019