Decline and Fall England , Part ?

Our roving correspondent Roseann, en route to Africa but spending a few days in England, writes:

"I am less and less enamored of England as it becomes weirder and more restrictive and more crowded (350,000 immigrants from Eastern Europe alone last year). Driving is truly insane - Ethiopia will be a breeze after this. They are "considering" lowering speed limits from 60 and 50 mph on A and some B roads (country lanes mind you, barely big enough for one H2) to maybe 40. I go 30 and find it quite a challenge in a car as wide as a bathtub!

"It's also an intolerable Nanny State but with really weird rules. You cannot have or use personal defense spray (CS gas they call it here), nor of course can you have handguns, but our friend Garry has a hunting license that allows him to shoot foxes and other "vermin" for farmers, as well as in his own property - even with neighbors 75 feet away. With a scoped .303 hunting rifle. Go figure.

"A side note on London,which I used to love but now I'm not so sure. Maybe it's the crowds and the fact I've grown so used to solitude as a preferred life, but I was totally creeped out after 6 hours battling shoulder to shoulder, and people here have gotten just as obese and consumer-driven as in America. The city is full of rubbish (I don't think it was this bad 10 years ago when we were here), and is insanely expensive. In fact just hit the top 2 most expensive places to live in the world. The weak dollar (.49 something is the exhange - ACK!) is killing me: cost $66 to take the train in, $24 for a pub lunch not including a pint, and $5 for 500ml of water.

"I'm off to Edinburgh tomorrow, and today I am shopping at "jumble stores" for used tupperware to pack my iPod, Powerbook, cameras, and binoculars into my checked bags and prepare for Fun at the Airport Day on the 21st. Since you aren't even allowed a book, I have no idea what to do for the long flight ...."