I knew it was all going too well. Everything has been slotting nicely into place and our container is due to be delivered to our house tomorrow. We're all geared up to spend the first night in our new home.

Customs have decided to pick our container out of the hundreds that no doubt arrive in Calgary everyday, and will be searching it some time tomorrow - oh, lucky us

Everything should be hunky dory - it was all professionally packed and I haven't snuck in anything I shouldn't have (although the thread on dried foods has got me thinking as we did pack herbs and spices and 24 tins of baked beans! Plus, a wheelbarrow was shoved in - it was scrubbed within an inch of it's life - but that was not listed on the 'Goods to Follow'.

The reason we were given - although I don't suppose they need to give a reason at all, is that because we were UK police officers, we might be smuggling in weapons !!!!

First off, I don't know upon which document it would even have stated our profession - and secondly, do they honestly think we would jeopardise our future in our new home - and our new job (as, wait for it, a police officer) by sneaking in some secret arsenal of illegal or legal weapons hidden in the bed sheets ?

I'm not worried that they would find anything untoward, but I am concerned that if they decide to go through everything, what state is it going to be in by the time we get it ? - whenever we get it. They could open every box if they so decided, and turn everything upside down, and possible break stuff.

I bet some uncharitable soul on here is thinking 'tough' - get your just deserts ! I just don't want my picture frames dented !!

Sleepless night to follow - bah humbug !

Fingers crossed for you its fairly quick and painless and they don't make too much mess.

On the brightside at least its customs rifling through your stuff and not a bunch of skanks on a beach in Cornwall

Sorry to hear about your luck.

Just hope it's quick and painless.

Good luck.

It was 10 years ago when our belongings arrived, the customs guys were fine, they turned up in a van that had x-ray equipment in it, and every so often they would x-ray a box.

I think they were mostly worried about earth being stuck on gardening tools.

Oh no, poor you guys. I hope it all goes ok and dosent delay it by too much either. I can well imagine by this stage you must be eagerly anticipating your own things turning up.

Let us know how it goes please.

What bad luck Ann! Just what you don't need! It will probably be a lot less traumatic than you imagine - I would be having fits!

Where does the inspection take place? Please let us all know how it goes - we might be in the same position one day!

Best of luck

Joanne

Oh no- how stressful!!

Look on the bright side- at least your container has arrived and pretty quickly too!

I wondered how your girls were getting on at school?

Gryph

Poor Ann -what rotten luck -dont they know you can get guns in Canada and dont need to bring your own???
Keep us updated.

24 cans ! you could make a tidy profit on those, are they the real original Heinz ? Yummmm beans on toast.

Can I come around for you house for dinner?

I am sure things will be fine with customs.

Maybe they make sure they get honest cops this way!

Unlike the Regina cop who got suspended for three days. He got caught by a superior finishing his basement while on sick leave. He had apparently been abusing his sick leave for several months and I assume someone got suspicious and went round to his new home and found him (a) not sick and (b) drywalling his basement!

And before anyone says that they did this - I think that police officers are held to a higher standard than some other people - and rightly so.

That would depend a great deal on what sort of illness he was claiming.

It is possible to be "ill" and still be capable of working on your basement.

That's not good news. I am surprised our stuff wasn't searched by Customs as I am always pulled over for the random search's at airports!!!!!!!

I hope everything arrives in a timely fashion and in the same state it left the UK in.

Hi Ann,
You know in your heart that you have nothing to worry about, it's not even as if you packed the container yourselves, it was professionally packed, so everything will be okay by the end of the day and you will be able to sort your home out with all your belongings and home comforts. Customs are just conducting a random search and it's nothing personal.
I can totally understand why you are fretting though, because of arriving in a new country, and not knowing what officialdom can be like there, and in a way you have left part of who you are back in the UK. Here we know how the authorities work, but there, you are just another immigrant. I imagine that I would feel worried too, no matter how many times I told myself not to.
Come back and tell us that all is okay tomorrow and hopefully they won't take all your 'erbs and spices off for testing and will leave your baked beans alone, though I must say that in our family, 24 tins, (cans), wouldn't last long!
Thanks for telling us of your experience.
Robin

Indeed.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ill

Better hope the old man didn't sneak his collection of girly mags in without you knowing!