Immigrants. Immigrants Everywhere.

I've just returned from a hugely enjoyable few days in London and am struck by the huge numbers of immigrants.  Immigrants everywhere.

It started when we checked in to our hotel: a reception desk manned entirely by immigrants.  Not a British staff member in sight.  Smiling, polite, personable and efficient staff - but none the less immigrants. Then, venturing out to explore surroundings, it seemed almost impossible to find an eatery without again encountering immigrants.  Immigrants everywhere.  They now seem to own the smaller individually owned restaurants we like and employ other immigrants as staff - again smiling, polite, personable folks and generally much more efficient than typical British waiting staff I've encountered, but immigrants for all that.  Granted, the fare on offer was generally superbly prepared with fresh ingredients and attractively served with a smile in clean, pleasant ambient surroundings but - by immigrants.  They seem to man the shops everywhere too, generally with a pleasant engaging and personable demeanour but - they're still immigrants.

I suppose, if they're employed or are business owners, they'll be contributing to our tax revenues but - they're still immigrants for all that.  They'll be calling on our nation's resources.

Thankfully, the one place where these immigrants were in the minority was at Gatwick Airport, There, foreigners were vastly outnumbered by genuine born and bred British folks en-route to their holiday destinations.  Brash, loud and generally with very little in the way of grace or dress sense, but British through and through.  There were immigrants manning the security hall and catering businesses, but those immigrants were different - generally sullen and unsmiling.  They seemed to respond with little natural grace, I thought, to the grudging sullenness of those never-ending numbers being subjected to security or the unsmiling demands for fast food or alcohol often devoid of a basic "please" or "thank you".  They took little pride in their surroundings, apparently content to thole cluttered dirty tables and waste food and spilled drinks on the floor.  That's immigrants for you.