# Was it you? -poor aire etiquette



## LisaB (Apr 24, 2009)

Whoops I feel like such a grasser!

Have just returned from Vendee, ile de re and Brittany.

Without naming names we were parked on a tight packed aire and the only British van, then we were invaded the following day by another Brit, who parked in one of the bays along side French vans in the correct fashion.

We observed this couple then marching up and down the aire and admiring the turning circle at the top end. Much to our astonishment and amusement, the couple moved and pitched up - awning, chairs tables the lot, slap bang in the middle of the turning circle, there were many a French eyebrow raised.

To add further insult upon passing our van and saying Hi, the guy the boasted he had the best pitch on here even if it was the furthest from the water tap!!!!

Over the next 24 hours we observed many a French tut, raised eyebrow, frown and difficult manoeuvres! 

Whoops no wonder we have a bad name abroad"...............


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

So, did anyone tell him? He may not have been aware of his faux pas.


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## LisaB (Apr 24, 2009)

Well there were discontented noises from our continental cousins.

I sadly was going to then wimped out because Mrs was bigger then me and I hadn't had sufficient vin rouge at that point! Lol


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

We stopped at the Wissant Aire a couple of weeks ago and saw a MH was parked lengthways across three bays and needed even more space to manoeuvre out.

Everyone else managed to park comfortably in the reasonably wide bays - except him.

He was parked up against the small hedge dividing the MHs from the waste water grid.
A waste bin overflowing with stinking rubbish bags was up against his rear bumper.

He was parked where the MH on the right of the picture, taken last year, is parked but he needed four bays rather than one.

Yes, it was a GB plated MH!


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## Mike48 (May 1, 2005)

Only bad behaviour I've ever seen on an Aire is from Brits. One was an RV driver who parked his vehicle with slideouts with Smart car alongside on a packed Aire preventing others from parking, the second was a Brit couple who let their dog bark continuously day and night and the third was a guy in a Winnebago who played music so loud it could be heard 100 yards away. 

Shameful behaviour that makes you embarrassed to be British.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

So, when you (we) witness bad behaviour, especially if it's by Brits, what do/should we do?

Look the other way, watch with amusement/embarrassment, mutter oaths, tut-tut, claim to be Australian or politely attempt to point out the error of their ways?

OK -so it's nothing to do with me how they behave but I'd really like to see a recognised method of making them aware. 

How about a pre printed Post It type note explaining aire etiquette (MHF download)?

Wording suggestions welcomed


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## boringfrog (Sep 22, 2006)

*Aire*

We were at Gordes in Provence last year, we went to the aire to dump and fill up. A Swiss MH was parked up on top of the drains and blocking the water tap access. A French couple saw us trying to fill up and wrote a note a note put it on the Swiss windscreen, don't know what it said!


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## teal (Feb 23, 2009)

There we were parked middle of about 20 french units who most had their awnings out as theirs was that side but for us it would have been in road side. Anyway we were quite as a mouse as just admiring the surround.Next morning found one headlamp glass broke and flasher unit cracked.!.No comment.


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## cheshiregordon (Sep 24, 2011)

My answer under such circumstance is to draw on my ancestry and claim:-
I'm Welsh or Irish or English and if its very bad Scots leaving the British to take the blame.


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## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

LisaB said:


> Whoops no wonder we have a bad name abroad"...............


What didn't you speak to him about it??

Dougie.


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Generally I have found the French are very well behaved on the aires and observe good etiquette.It is very unusual to hear any excessive noise or objectionable behaviour from them and they all seem to go to bed at 10.30.

The only questionable thing I have seen was on a very popular aire which is always busy and a Frenchman had his awning out with table and chairs underneath,quite a few motorhomers arrived,were unable to find a pitch and had to move on.

The only yobbish behaviour I have witnessed was on the aire near Chamonix town centre.A family were under the influence most of the time and tended to shout rather than speak,played loud music and let a couple of very large dogs roam around.

And yes you have guessed it-they had a GB number plate :roll:


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

Here's a French MH last year that got thrown off site by the Municipal Police for refusing to clear up.


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

There is something very odd about this business. We have been embarrassed to be British although not very often. The odd thing is almost every French person we have chatted to has been very keen to tell us how ashamed they are of their compatriots! Not something I have ever found.
Maybe, we are all a bit frightened of being judged by the bad behaviour of our country-persons and so are a bit over sensitive?

Patrick


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## LisaB (Apr 24, 2009)

asprn said:


> LisaB said:
> 
> 
> > Whoops no wonder we have a bad name abroad"...............
> ...


A/ I am not a confrontational person, especially on holiday, my motto is live and let live and
B/ I am not too sure of the response received, had I have thought the couple affable enough for a flippant comment there would have been one.

Mrs appeared particularly efficient and they didn't really appear to really "let their hair down or relax en vacances" at all

We are not snow white with two deck chairs albeit stregically placed and two small dogs, so not up for parish councilling !

We all make mistakes and we found it vaguely amusing - even though we had to reverse into the aire prior to their arrival !


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Near Aiges Mort a couple of years ago we arrived at an aire that was really tightly packed.
A couple arrived very late and found nowhere to park.
I gestured that I would pull closer to the van on my offside. Th eitalian gent on the other side moved over the other way.
The gratefull couple pulled forward into the spot , wound out an awning a couple of foot, this made our hab door unopenable,
they got a couple of chairs out and a disposible bbq and set about cooking tea.
We left early next morning. I cant stand listening to babies crying all night.

This episode put Lady p of using aires.

Dave p


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

I was in the Sahara desert a couple of years ago ( Erb Shebby ) and there was about 18,000 square miles to park on and some bloke parked right next to me

Loddy


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

loddy said:


> I was in the Sahara desert a couple of years ago ( Erb Shebby ) and there was about 18,000 square miles to park on and some bloke parked right next to me
> 
> Loddy


 :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

wakk44 said:


> Generally I have found the French are very well behaved on the aires and observe good etiquette.


They just don't like paying the few €s to stop there Steve, by arriving after the parking attendant has been, and leaving before he/she comes back in the morning. :lol:

We once had a French MH'er park so close in front of us at the Dusseldorf Messe camp site, that we couldn't even walk between the the two vehicles. He had completely boxed us in..............all in pursuance of his desire to find a satellite TV signal between the trees. 
A quick knock on his door and a few hand signals, soon saw his dish retracted, and him moving forward a few feet. Blooming cheek. :x

Cheers,

Jock.


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

JockandRita said:


> They just don't like paying the few €s to stop there Steve, by arriving after the parking attendant has been, and leaving before he/she comes back in the morning. :lol: ................


Couldn't agree more Jock,I have seen this on several occasions and the culprits are not always French vans,this might explain why there are more pay barriers being installed on the aires.


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## satco (Jan 21, 2012)

well , you`ll find a certain percentage of idiots in every nation...
this possibly sums up to about 20%


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

loddy said:


> I was in the Sahara desert a couple of years ago ( Erb Shebby ) and there was about 18,000 square miles to park on and some bloke parked right next to me
> 
> Loddy


 :lol: :lol: :lol:

some people just don't understand us loners. Same in our local underground carpark. You park as far away as possible from other vehicles, to have plenty of room to open doors, not risk scratches etc.
about 20 empty spaces to left and right of you; and when you come back there's someone both to the left and right of you. The other spaces are still empty though. :roll: 
saluti,
eddied


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

eddied said:


> some people just don't understand us loners. Same in our local underground carpark. You park as far away as possible from other vehicles, to have plenty of room to open doors, not risk scratches etc.
> about 20 empty spaces to left and right of you; and when you come back there's someone both to the left and right of you. The other spaces are still empty though. :roll:
> saluti,
> eddied


It's strange isn't it - exactly the opposite happens at urinals!


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## Westbay (Mar 15, 2008)

We were parked up in an Italian spot a couple of years ago. About 20 vans there. Right on the top of a pass, lovely and quiet. 

Then at about 11pm, in rolls a big Italian van, turns on his generator and closes up all the blinds. At around midnight we’d all had enough, but strangely none of the continentals would say anything – they were all milling around moaning. So my wife gets some kit on, stomps over and bangs very hard on van door. Head pops out of window to be told in a very stern voice ‘turn that bloody generator off NOW’. Off goes generator and everyone nods to wife who stomps back to bed. Don’t come between a woman and her sleep.

ps next day she said that when the window opened she could see in the van, all the family in bed watching television.


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## tattytony (Jun 29, 2009)

While in Calais port aire a few weeks ago, we parked opposite the the turning hashed area when the aire was about half full just to make life a bit easier to get out as we were leaving early, then yes a Brit parked his MH bang in the middle of it :roll: 

When I explained to him it was a turning area his response was a shrug of the shoulders and then a flippant remark like you move then to which I replied you see that tow bar it will be attached to you bumper if you do not move then he did :lol:

Then yet another Brit in a smaller MH parked there :x luckily the attendant was around so he moved them on :roll:

All to save getting ramp/levelers out :roll:


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## LisaB (Apr 24, 2009)

tattytony said:


> While in Calais port aire a few weeks ago, we parked opposite the the turning hashed area when the aire was about half full just to make life a bit easier to get out as we were leaving early, then yes a Brit parked his MH bang in the middle of it :roll:
> 
> When I explained to him it was a turning area his response was a shrug of the shoulders and then a flippant remark like you move then to which I replied you see that tow bar it will be attached to you bumper if you do not move then he did :lol:
> 
> ...


Two or three weeks ago there was a Brit couple parked in an rv with the slides out in said hatched area!


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

When we're out we find that leaving our dogs food and water bowls outside the door usually ensures that no-one parks too close.

And when we're in we find a dog tethered to the door stops anyone parking near by.

Selfish isn't it!


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