A bit of caution would be advised for those of you planning to come to London for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics, the summer holidays, a shopping spree or just on a straightforward business trip. The queues at Heathrow’s border control have been getting longer and longer, causing serious discomfort to travellers. Recently, as the coalition government’s fortunes wobbled dangerously on many matters, the Heathrow mess gave another stick for the Opposition to beat them with.

It seems that especially terminals where non-European Union passengers land are abysmally crowded because the budget cuts have left airports with far fewer staff, or at least that is the accusation from the Labour Party. Random checks by the media at the airport also confirmed that in April passengers sometimes had to wait for nearly three hours before they were cleared. Terminal 4 apparently was one of the main bottlenecks and weary passengers had to hang around interminably, during peak hours.
The immigration minister, Damian Green, has been forced to answer questions about the Heathrow chaos in Parliament and conduct personal checks at the airport as well. There is probably some truth in the allegation that the airport staff has been reduced but with the Olympics round the corner these queues are going to become very embarrassing. According to some figures, even on normal days the airport deals with over 70,000 passengers. Thus, there are plans to put 500 more immigration officers to hasten the border control procedure. But the government is caught in a cleft stick: it would be difficult for them to propose any shortcuts as stringent security measures require that passports are checked more thoroughly and this is only going to increase as the Olympics come nearer, so they can merely hope that more staff will hasten the process. Therefore, folks, perhaps this is the time to exit London because by July not just the airport, the entire city will be under siege by tourists. And hopefully after the big “O” the government would have at least sorted out the airport muddle!

London might prove this week that it is the only city in the world that prefers a mayor who looks like he has just tumbled out of bed. (And, if re-elected as the polls predict, Boris Johnson would no doubt be thrilled with a “bedhead” description). Despite the fact that the Conservative Party to which he belongs has decidedly sunk to new lows in the recent country-wide local council elections, Mr Johnson is expected to get his second mayoral victory. Of course, while I do support the Labour Party candidate Ken Livingstone my secret sympathy also lies with the courageous Siobhan Benita, an Independent candidate who has Indian blood in her. She was quite well covered in the media, but in the end, Mr Johnson is probably poised to be swept back on his eternal aggressive optimism and crazy humour as well as his promise of cutting taxes. His ultimate delivery might be questionable, but in these difficult times, people would be tempted to vote for his irrepressible spirit. Boris is very “British” in many ways and his trademark tousled informality is a happy reflection of London. Let’s not forget with the Olympics around the corner Londoners don’t want a change right now, unlike the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, I finally got close to (though not personal with alas!) my own long-time favourite — the golden-haired actor, Robert Redford. He was in London to celebrate the arrival of his Sundance Festival at the O2 arena. Thus, as though mesmerised, we listened to him at a party one evening at the O2 at which a few aspiring young filmmakers received some recognition and financial support for their future projects. The festival had opened with the film Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World, which was narrated by Prince Charles and starred him as well. Though it might never be a box office hit, Redford appreciated the Prince’s work stating there was a “common shared feeling about the importance of the environment”. While all sorts of great and commendable things were happening all around in the festival, I have to say that I could only stare at the great Redford, and listen dreamily to that magical voice while my mind swam back to when we had all seen him in the unforgettable Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid… As I told someone, raindrops have been falling on my head ever since. Not surprising either, as this is a very wet London, right now.

A marvellous part of being a writer in the United Kingdom is that one often gets roped into activities that are both inspirational and fun. And this week I was invited to be a guest lecturer on a course in creative writing which is run by Arvon (the foundation for creative writing) at the fabulous former home of the playwright John Osborne (Look Back in Anger). Set like a jewel among rolling verdant hills of Shropshire, which are dotted with sheep and ablaze with the sharp yellow of the rapeseed plant, the 18th-century imposing building was given by Osborne’s widow to Arvon to further the cause of literature. So after a delicious risotto dinner cooked by some of the 16 resident writers attending the course I gave my presentation over tiramisu and wine, seated in a cosy room. And the question and answer session went on till midnight, in which the main tutors, well-known authors Maggie Gee and Jonathan Lee, also joined in. It was so stimulating that early the next morning I was outdoors, wandered around some of the 30 acres of thickly wooded estate, with its flowering rhododendron bushes, and bluebells spread out like a carpet. The whole atmosphere, far from the madding crowds, would automatically stoke creativity. If only we had places like this in India what a boon they would be for aspiring writers.

The writer can be contacted at kishwardesai@yahoo.com