Posted by Prue Eckett on February 27, 2004 at 21:28:40 from 210.86.110.155 user PrueEckett.
In Reply to: Riot Act Re: The 'i' word posted by Ian E-N on February 27, 2004 at 18:18:16:
The UK was somewhat crowded when we were there, but in reality, not so much more than most places. We certainly noticed it in London but the centre of Birmingham, Solihull Mall, York town centre etc were much what we kiwis find in suburban shopping centres back home. We saw more villages between the main centres but traffic out of the main areas was very similar to under down-under.
Yes, at the Eden Gardens in Cornwall we queued twenty minutes at 9.40am on a sodden day in November and thanked our lucky stars when we came out as the queue was an hour and a half long by then, but that was as extreme as it got.
As for the immigrant context, we share this world with one hell of a lot of people. Who can blame anyone if they want to flee the violence and poverty in one place to find a safe relatively wealthy safe haven? If the tables were turned, who here would stay?
I personally found the culture mix in the UK really interesting and fascinating and I suspect that its only the minority of each(surprise surprise) who cause the problems. Pity they get the majority of press.