I find it a very sad reflection on the UK that getting "back home" always seems to be the worst part of any travel. Having been born here (UK) and lived all my life here, why do we make it so long and stressful a process to return home after being away for a few days? Sometimes I have looked at the queues of "non-Brits" waiting to get into the UK at Heathrow and wondered just what sort of first impression they get when faced by lengthy queues to often woefully understaffed desks - this coming quite possibly after a long-haul flight where the last thing you want to do is stand in line for a few hours just to clear "formalities"