The London taxi cruised up outside the hotel where we had hailed it, but the passenger in the rear street didn't seem to be in a hurry to emerge. From their gestures, she and the driver appeared to be exchanging heated words. We looked for another cab, but it was dark and raining hard, so we waited patiently till the passenger exited. "Arguing about the fare," my wife asked the driver snootily. "Oh, no, no," he responded, "she was worried that her Italian husband would be asked to leave the country because he's an immigrant - and I told her he jolly well ought." A friend offered an interesting counterview to the immigration crisis, saying the British nurses are never available to attend to her mother in hospital because "it's time for my tea, dear", while the immigrant nurses don't mind either extra hours or actual work when attending to their duties or patients.
It's a confusing time to be in London. If you were expecting chaos following the remarkable verdict to exit from the European Union (EU), there's remarkable calm, at least on the surface. Everyone's talking reasonably about Brexit, as if the outcome isn't real. Beyond the jokes doing the Twitter rounds is an amusing game of musical chairs - David Cameron has resigned though he wasn't responsible for exiting from the EU; Boris Johnson, who campaigned to Leave, then got cold feet and decided to stay with the EU economically, has been foisted out by his biggest supporter, Michael Gove; Theresa May's stake seems to be the most sustainable, though she chose to Remain. Which makes you question the referendum and its result. And everyone from taxi drivers to hotel concierges, bartenders and waiters - the bulwark of the tourist trade - has a point of view that would be interesting if it wasn't contradictory.
But now that the die is cast, the British are playing to their Britishness. At an auction of British paintings this week, the prices did a dervish dance to deliver unexpected results. Bookstores are reporting increased interest in British writers, which, in an increasingly globalised world, seems an absurdly provincial idea. No doubt, there'll be a demand for British design, and fashion, soon, but let's hope they'll hold on to chicken tikka masala as British (or Commonwealth, the other trending word in London), for steak and kidney pie is the most unappetising food on earth.
But, apparently, in all the uncertainty around business, the Indians have decided it isn't such a bad thing because "leasing prices have already fallen by about 10 per cent", so every South Dilliwallah is making enquiries about properties in Belgravia. Prices of goods in stores are expected to follow suit, so my wife has been spending time telling the attending staff they might as well give her a discount, or she'll take her business elsewhere in the EU. So far, it isn't working, but she's still hoping to sweet-talk her way into a bargain.
Meanwhile, the unsteady pound hasn't been such a bad thing for rubberneckers like us who're getting a little more for our shillings and pence. And since we'd always required a separate UK visa anyway, the falling out for the Indian visitor hasn't been as tectonic as one might have expected. Especially since, Leave or Remain, business is taking the view that status quo is the likely way forward. Damn if, in this game of thrones, no one wins but everyone loses - or did I mean it the other way round?
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
