There's always a few who just have to answer a reasonable question with a snide 'put down'. I would hate to imagine what their CRM skills are like.
The original poster asked a reasonable question, qualified it with a statement that he or she wasn't a pilot and then a few of you prove to everyone else that it only takes one or two sad gits with big ego's to make it appear as though we are all condescending "know it all's". No wonder the press have a field day winding us up.
Back to the subject, Zones, it will differ from company to company but the fact that you 'felt' the a/c descend may have not been a descent at all but just a decelleration. Quite often in that area, inbound to a London airport you may have been informed about holding and there is no need for anyone to rush into the holding pattern.
The a/c may have been descending but if the Captain had gone to answer a call of nature and seen a friend in the cabin and decided to have a chat then that is no big deal either. The F/O is more than capable of handling the a/c in a terminal area and indeed has to be able to do everything including land the thing in the event of an incapacitation.
It is far more difficult to do this sort of manouvering somewhere like the Greek islands or Spain where the accents can cause confusion or the 'bigger picture' is not as obvious due to some a/c being directed in their own language. When in the London area you will invariably find the controllers calm and eloquent which is not usually a problem for a pilot to reselect the ALT, hit FL CHG, twiddle the HDG SLCT knob or line select something on the FMC.
As for appearance, well that comes down to the attitude of the pilot. Not the end of the world but it doesn't take that much effort to have a quick peek in the mirror and do up at least two of the buttons. With or without tie should not even be a consideration.
Hope that answers the question in a slightly more civilised manner. Some of those other replies remind me of a Captain I once flew with who managed to make a 35 minute positioning flight feel like a 9 hour long haul sector. You finished the duty as fatigued and stressed because this one person knew it all and just had to let you know all the time how clever he was and you were not worthy to even ask a question.
It's always the pompous ones!
[This message has been edited by OzDude (edited 29 May 2001).]