Cross Channel Voices We'll take a ferry to Calais Spend all our money on duty free We'll take a dinghy to Dover Spend all our money on a smugglers fee We'll stand on the deck In the stiffening breeze We'll cling on for our lives In unforgiving seas We'll laugh and joke And sleep and eat and drink We'll cry in silent fear, Hoping the boat won't sink We'll talk of holidays In Spain, Italy, the Greek Islands and France We'll talk of survival, of life, If given the chance We'll return on that ferry Beckoning White Cliffs of Dover We'll watch France fade, Wondering if life has begun, Or is over. _____________________________ The 21 miles / 34km stretch of sea between Dover and Calais, the UK and France and the European mainland, has been a gateway for centuries. Now more than ever it is symbolic of the schism between the will of a slender majority of people to leave the EU and a bemused Europe.
But moreover it is still seen as the gateway to a future, a life, a betterment, for thousands of refugees and economic migrants hoping to cross that narrow expanse of sea. And while we enjoy the luxury and comfort of leisurely travel by ferry to Calais and onwards for holidays and fun, many are risking everything to cross the other way in overloaded dinghies, battling the tides and waves, the cold and the busy shipping lanes...the allure of the White Cliffs of Dover is tantalising...almost within touching distance from the beaches of Northern France.
