Creeping ever closer

[Sue Spence]

Dominic Mitchell wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 23, 2006 at 09:45:13AM +0100, Sue Spence wrote:
>> Years ago I obtained a similar visa at the consulate in LA. Nice plush 
>> place on Wilshire Blvd.  When I went to Cr*yd*n to obtain Indefinite 
>> Leave to Remain, the contrast could not have been more stark. I suspect 
>> there may have been some redecorating done at the Home Office premises 
>> there since that time. I hope so, at any rate - what a shithole.
> 
> British buildings are (generally) it seems very unpleasant places.  One
> of my worst experiences involved being confronted by the sheer ugliness
> and unpleasantness of Heathrow terminal 3 after a 24 hour flight from
> New Zealand.  A good welcome to the country it isn't.
> 
>>From what I've seen, most government buildings are pretty poor inside as
> well.  If it's not the awful 60's decor, it's the posters everywhere
> with things you couldn't care less about.
> 

Yes, all true. On the other hand, I accompanied my spouse to the INS in 
San Jose after he'd been naughty wrt his US permanent residency, and the 
decor wasn't a million miles different from what I saw in Croydon. 
Instead of broken plastic chairs and desperate West Indians yelling to 
get their passports back because they wanted to go somewhere (etc), we 
were searched by a security guard to make sure we hadn't brought weapons 
so we couldn't (easily) take somebody hostage if they weren't prepared 
to sort out his status. My husband had two small screwdrivers in his 
backpack and these were officiously confiscated  for the duration of our 
visit. :)

Much more recently I went to the Home Office in Durham and it was quite 
a bit more like it. It was clean, reasonably comfortable furnishings and 
a rational queueing system that didn't completely suck the life out of you.