No Customer Service in Customs

I mean, really.  This wasn't due to a work stoppage?  An employee sick out was clearly happening right in front of my eyes.  We started with 5 agents, then one by one they left until nobody was stamping passports!

1 hour and 55 minutes standing in a line of 150 people.  By the time we got to the front, there were at least 400 people behind us.  Why, you are asking?  Only ONE agent checking non-EU/UK passports!  And again, at times, no agents were working.  A lady missed a connecting flight when she thought a two hour layover was enough time...We had 6 employees in purple coats directing traffic, one agent checking frequent travelers, and 1 checking our passports.  When the family of 5 was up there with a language barrier and took 30 minutes to get through, I wanted to scream at someone.  Here's the sign that kept flashing on the overhead monitor:

So many things could be said, but I know it's going to be pitch black when we get outside.

But, we do, and thanks to our wonderful friends, we are staying at the London Bridge townhouse of P.D. James.  Here's the view walking to her home:

Now, that feels like England!  Here's what the Regent Street decorations are this year: