Confrontation at immigration
But what happens in that limbo world between the aircraft steps and the armed coppers hanging about on the public side of immigration?
Landing at Stansted recently, I joined the usual multiple lines queueing to present passports to immigration. In the next queue over were half a dozen beer-drinking football hooligans (Glasgow Rangers, apparently). One of them shouted something and I looked round. This, it seems, was enough to mark me out as a target. Now, before you jump to any conclusions, I'm a 41-year old woman travelling with my children, aged 3 and 7.
The smallest yob (why is it always the smallest ones?) had a look of pathological malevolence and began shouting and swearing and making threats at me and - astonishingly - at the children. The others joined in.
Can you guess what the hundreds of other passengers in the hall did as, without any kind of provocation, they set about abusing and threatening a mother and her children?
Yes, that's right - absolutely nothing. Look away... nothing to do with me guv... gosh is that the time?
Actually, it's not that I expected a man - or men - to intervene. I know you're mostly all big wusses really. It was the silence of the hundreds of other women that upset me most.
I was, as anyone might be, very frightened. But I was damned if I was going to let them see it. So in best 'mummy says' voice I confronted the tiny psycho (it may have helped that I was considerably taller than him) and told him that he could not talk to us in that way and I'd find a policeman to prove it.
To my absolute amazement, it worked! (Thank you Jo Frost!!)
Our blessing, too, on the immigration guy who, when I told him what had happened, pointed out the culprits (their queue was slower - there is justice!) and asked if we could be kept clear of them, acted straight away. I presume the yobs were 'delayed' somehow as we collected our bags without seeing any more of them.
Two morals:
Don't rely on fellow pax to do anything to help if you are set upon.
Don't be like me and scuttle off afterwards because the children are exhausted and your lift is waiting. Stay and see that they are arrested and charged! Wish now that I had.