“when you land at Heathrow you think at times you have landed in a Third World country”.
That’s because you have.
I came back from a “Third World” country in May of 2004 and had an overnight in London. I didn’t want to spring for a taxi or a hotel, but I was totally unprepared for the nastiness of British Customs when I showed my passport and told them I desired to stay at Heathrow, rather than leave the complex.
That wasn’t the end of it. Getting on my flight to O’Hare, the attendant refused to allow me to bring my carry-on with me, though it had been in the overhead in both directions.
If ever I fly to another country and need to change planes in London, I’ll request Gatwick, just to see if all Brits in transportation are as nasty as at Heathrow.
Yeah, that was my impression. Not sure what the question is here? Did the Pope perhaps send the Cardinal back to get some real spaghetti, maybe even some cut zitti, for the visit, or maybe a couple of open faced sandwiches for a midnight snack.