London is a city of over ten
million people, so if you go to London, don’t chat with the natives and tell me
you didn’t have a good time, I say you passed up ten million reasons to enjoy
yourself!
Take Mahmood, an Afgan who
works in a vast and open souvenir shop near Piccadilly. It’s a busy, bustling store and Mahmood
patrols the front door, not really hawking product, but standing by to answer
questions. A few minutes of looking at
gloves attracts his attention and he comes over to help. His English is excellent and shortly you
learn he was an interpreter for American forces in his home country…make that
battleground…he’s probably seen more gunfire than a Chicago policeman…well that
may be an exaggeration. Afghanistan is not as lawless.
Mahmood |
When Mahmood applied to come
to the United Kingdom, he ran into a roadblock.
But, the story has a happy ending.
He contacted his former American bosses, who contacted British
authorities and the doors opened. “I
came here with nothing,” he tells us, smiling.
He has reason to smile. He’s now
a Londoner, with a good job and bright prospects.
He’s not alone. London is a melting pot and with the demise
of the British Empire has become even more so.
Did you realize London’s mayor is a Muslim? Sadiq Khan, who was born in Tooting, a burb
of south London. Which brings up the
question of, what does melting pot really mean?
Here’s a thumbnail of London’s ethnicity:
87.5% White
6% Asian, British Asian (on
the British census, there is no Arab category)
2.9% Black, British Black
1.9% Mixed
1.6% Chinese and others
37% of London’s population was
born outside the United Kingdom
What about religions in
London?
52.9% Christian
13.5% Muslim
5.5% Hindu
2% Jewish
1.7% Sikh
1.1% Buddhist
22.7% Don’t claim any religion
We didn’t ask Mahmood about
his religion, but I’m betting he isn’t Jewish.
Just down the street we meet
Michael, a British Bobby, a happy guy and happy to help. Saw him pose with
tourists and use their camera to help them get a group photo. His ex lives in the U.S., near St. Louis and
he is white and a native Londoner. Likes American football and enjoyed roaming
the U.S. The Metropolitan Police got the
right man to patrol Leicester Square!
Do you know how did the
British national police force get the slang name Bobbies? Quick answer, Sir Robert Peel…hence
Bobby…worked to create the Metropolitan Police Force, which just covered London
at first, but in the 1850s went national. Also called ‘Coppers’ because of the
buttons on their original tunics.
Chat with anyone else? Oh, hell yes!
Wherever you go, all you have to do is show a little interest. Even in a pub called The Comedy Pub? Yes, sir.
Marek, a young man, but the
head barman is from Poland. “So, how did
you manage to pick up English?”
“Well, I’ve lived here three years, but a couple of years ago my
English was still not good. It was New Year’s and I thought to myself,
New Year, New Me! I couldn’t bear to give up smoking and drinking,
so I decided to really learn English. It helps that I work here,” he said,
with an arm sweep around the room. “I have to speak English all day
and most of the night.”
“What other languages do you speak?”
“I worked as an interior designer in Poland and had to work with Czechs
and Slovaks, so I speak those also.”
The man speaks four languages and works as a barkeeper! In America
he’d be a linguistic god!
How about the other fellow tending bar?
Graham is from Glasgow, but has an English accent, not a Scottish one.
“Came here with my parents when I was very small. They have thick
accents. I don’t know why, but I never picked it up.”
We got to chatting about travel. Graham has visited several places on the
continent. What did you think about Germany and the German people?
“Very clinical.” And, I’m thinking, very profound.
Graham on the left, Marek on the right |
PART II OF PEOPLE OF LONDON COMING SOON…
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