I recently spent time in London. My work colleagues joked about my getting sliced up, robbed etc. Social media painted an image of anarchy in the streets. Know what? London was fantastic and safe. I took the tube often, and I saw people offering their seats to the elderly and women with kids. The public transit system works. It's at the same level as Japan. The greenery of the city, despite the parched and dried out grass, was astounding. London has an incredible canopy of old growth trees everywhere. The low emission measures worked. When I was last there, I couldn't breathe because of the vehicle pollution. I was able to walk around in peak travel hours and not gasp for air. The streets where I was were cleaner than what I experienced the previous month in Europe. I visited the National Gallery and it was chock full of some of the finest artworks. Everywhere I went, was a living, breathing history. The historical buildings are impeccably maintained in most areas.Trafalgar Square has changed from my youth. Gone is the caked pigeon droppings. The place is clean, and the touts have been chased off. The grocery store shelves were well stocked with excellent quality fresh food. Excellent food was available everywhere. I was delighted to see the presence of dogs wherever I was. The British are a kind and compassionate society. People make room for the dogs and I think it calms the public too. Unlike Thailand, people pick up after their dogs. I keep hearing how bad Heathrow is. Well, it took me 5 minutes to clear the e gates and I was literally off the aircraft and on the tube into London after 30 minutes. The time was taken up by the walks from the gate all the way through the terminal. I used T2 to leave and all I had to do was scan my boarding pass. My biometrics are already on file with UK Border Services. Very different from my airport use in Denmark and Sweden. Maybe parts of the country are degraded, but the country itself is still strong and the people resilient. It can still call itself Great.
