Reverse culture shock: Cities change, but some things stay the same

It’s noon when we hit London, and Gatwick, an absolute armpit of an airport that’s currently being disimproved by overdue improvements.Once we’re past the usual long, ugly, angry queues at immigration, I notice, bleakly, how very unaesthetic my countryfolk are as a nation compared to, say, the Swedes or the Thais – Americans, insert your own “teeth” joke here — although, at least, since it’s sunny, folk seem less collectively miserable than…