HA, ENGLISH SANGFROID
By Dr. Tilak S.Fernando
Picture credit: Daily News
A crowded
and confusing maze of corridors inside the Heathrow Airport did not pose a
problem for me as hundreds of passengers after landing kept on moving towards
immigration counters and baggage halls all the time (every three minutes either a plane takes off or lands at Heathrow).
Metaphorically speaking, I appeared like a 'lost lamb in a flock of sheep
driven forward automatically without a shepherd'!
Immigration
control was not sophisticated those days like now where separate lanes
facilitate and a quick turnaround for British/European passports holders to
exit, as opposed to long queues for other categories including Commonwealth
citizens.
It is only
fair to say that the British immigration officers at the airport are highly
professional and simultaneously courteous to visitors. I say this now with
years of experience having lived in the UK for decades, and travelled far and
wide, to and from UK to other destinations, since my first visit. I feel I am
entitled as a 'foreign traveller' to comment on my personal experiences how a
visitor feels confronting the British, as opposed to officials at other major
international airports whom I have come across who are abrupt, suspicious,
stern looking with frowned faces with no smiles at all, which give the
impression to the visitor at the portal of a country as unwelcome!
The
Official entry permit from the British High Commission in Colombo, supported by
a chest X-ray, helped me to get through the immigration control with ease, but
with an official endorsement on my passport as per Commonwealth Immigration Act
which read: "The condition attached
to admission to the United Kingdom is hereby varied so as to require the holder
not to remain in the United Kingdom later than ......... (given a date).
Modes of
transport
Generally
student visas were granted on a yearly basis, and renewals depended upon the
confirmation from a seat of learning that the student had been diligently
engaged in studies during the preceding year with proven attendance records.
Visitors' visa depended on the circumstances and the period of stay in Britain and
varied from three to six months, according to individual circumstances.
Some Sri
Lankans were often confused with the 'entry permit' issued at the British High
Commission in Colombo (usually for six
months from the date of the official seal on a passport) with that of an
'imaginary' notion of a resident visa to live in Britain, which was NOT the case. The decision on a
resident visa was at the discretion of Immigration officers, who were
authorised to act independently by the Home Office in the UK, in accordance
with Immigration regulations at the port of entry.
Three to
four decades ago one might say it was 'plain sailing' as many travelled to
Britain as bona fide students with requisite documentation, while the
professional categories migrated with official work permits for employment. Of
late, things have, of course, changed with tentacles of travel spreading into
many forms and shapes.
Travellers
to the UK for the first time had to depend on someone's assistance at the
'arrival gate' in London to guide and escort to any destination, as a new comer
could easily get lost in a concrete jungle. After getting accustomed to CTB &
CGR train travel in Sri Lanka, one needed in London to get used to commute by
different modes of transport where systems varied and appeared more
sophisticated.
The London
underground 'railway line' up to Heathrow airport had not been extended during
my arrival, therefore, I had to use a
coach service up to Victoria in Central London, a name of a town, which I had
read in books back at home from where one had access to London Transport Buses,
Green Line Country coaches, British Railway and the Underground (Tube) trains
etc.
Tube train
will fascinate the new comer to London it being a vast arrangement of
underground railways running throughout London area, even crossing the River
Thames and under the riverbed. It's a meticulously worked out railway net work
where one could travel from one end to the other, changing at various
intersections and come back to the starting point without getting lost.
Once on a
BBC Sinhala Sandesaya programme, my interview discussing 'The London
Underground Railways' with the presenter Badra Gunatilake, I recollect how she
introduced the topic comparing underground railway and stations that surfaced
to the ground level at high streets pavements as 'ant hills' and the millions
of commuters kept moving in and out of those as 'armies of ants' during morning
and evening peak traffic. That, I thought, was an apt description of what one
could observe during peak period travel in London.
Various
underground routes are identified on a conspicuous 'London Underground map'
indicating different coloured lines with specific names (which will be dealt
with separately in a different dispatch). These maps are available to commuters
free of charge at ticket counters to help those who are not familiarised with
the system to plan their journey.
Foolish
act
Originally
the London Transport operated buses with conductors and a driver to issue
tickets, but with the advancement of new technology and to minimise operational
costs, provisions were made seemingly to have only driver cum conductor for some
operations. Some buses in local routes had barriers to prevent passengers
by-passing without purchasing a valid ticket and for this purpose three pronged
cross-bar type gates were fixed inside the bus near the driver.
One
experience that embarrassed me most within days of my arrival in London was
during my travel in such a local bus on my own for the first time. On a busy
morning, I waited at a bus halt where a conductor cum driver automobile stopped
to pick me up. I hurriedly got in, and paid the fare and obtained a ticket too.
What I did not realise was that I had to push one of the protruding bars
attached to the gate for me to proceed forward. Quite ignorantly and being
nervous and excited, as everyone's eyes were cast on me inside the crowded bus,
I struggled to 'squeeze through' the
tiny gap in between the gate attachment, rather than pushing a bar forward to
get into the passenger area quickly.
The
'English' sangfroid I must say was at its height at that very moment as not a
single mouth opened to advise, criticise or make fun out of my foolish act, except
the bus driver placed his palm on his chin with a wryly smile and patiently
watched me with open wide eyes, as I was struggling to pass through the gate.
Finally, he gave a slight push to one of the bars of the gate to let this
'idiotic boy' pass through.
With all
blood rushing to my face with embarrassment, I kept my head down till the end
of the journey. I was learning fast in my new environment, and next experiment
was to conquer the London Tube Train.
Daily News - 2013 Life Abroad
