The UK is not part of the S— Zone [sorry, my German is not that good so the exact word escapes me at the moment] which means one must undergo Immigration/Customs when travelling to mainland Europe/ECC countries from there. As for knitting needles, I believe the revised list released in the USA late last year reinstated them in the context of little old ladies... Now, should someone like you or I try it, hmmm.

Glad you had a good time in Madrid, though, and some of my information proved to be of use. And that you were able to make use of that BA snaffu. Yes, I broke my New Year's resolution, in part due to the many messages I had from other FTers like yourself.