What’s That You Say?

I am in England, which seems okay. It’s like this every trip — there’s a disconnect between news and reality. The Twitter/X feed abounds with videos of nosy-parker British coppers popping ’round to say you caused Harm and Anxiety to someone because you posted “I love England unreservedly and fear Islamic migrants will lead to economic loss in the cold-ham-and-mustard sector of the economy.” That will get you a warning. Saying that “migrants should assimilate and not mind all the ham-eating” will get you six months in jail. I wondered if I would be flagged at customs for anything I might have said online, such as “‘Angry Young Men’ was once a postwar literary form. Now it’s the entire population of the high street leading around women smothered in black sacks.”

Not that I ever said that, because I didn’t want to be flagged at customs.