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Britain’s unsung immigration triumph
🌸 Blossom beverage | 🤴 King-for-hire | 🐦⬛ Forbidden foods
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King Charles meeting British schoolchildren in Luton. Chris Jackson/Getty
Britain’s unsung immigration triumph
Few people think of Britain as a nation of immigrants, says The Economist. Whereas New York’s museum of immigration draws millions of tourists a year, Britain’s “sits in Lewisham Shopping Centre in south London, between a discount store and a shoe shop”. But the UK actually has a larger share of foreign-born residents – one in six – than America. And for all the talk of multiculturalism failing, Britain is actually extremely good at assimilation. Skilled immigrants find it much easier to get a job here than they do in the EU. Teenagers who don’t speak English as their first language are more likely to get better grades in GCSE English and maths than native English-speakers. Contrary to the myth of immigrant “ghettos”, every ethnic group has “consistently become less segregated” since the census began keeping track in 1991. The leaders of Britain, Scotland and London are all the children of immigrants.
What explains this rarely acknowledged success story? The UK has some in-built advantages: it’s not close to any war zones, and “happens to use a language that lots of people speak a little”. The labour market is much more flexible than it is in Europe – hiring and firing is relatively straightforward, which makes it easier for immigrants to “find an economic foothold”. But just as important is the fact that, for all the nastiness in the press, “Britons are open minded”. Only 5% say they would object to living next door to an immigrant. Compared to their European peers, they are much keener for migrants to “learn the language, obtain qualifications, adopt the culture and become citizens”. Sure, the UK hasn’t been a model for success in some areas recently. “But on integration it is the place to beat.”
Drinking
With the cherry blossom in full bloom, says The Oldie, it’s worth remembering: it’s all edible. Try picking a few bunches on a dry day, including their little stalks – they contain much of the flavour, and add a gratifying pink tint. Put the whole lot in a roomy bowl, cover generously with boiling water and leave to cool, then strain, sweeten with a little lemon juice and use as a fragrant cordial. A hint of “almondy bitterness” gives it a more sophisticated flavour than its more famous cousin: that tart, the elderflower. The blossoms can also be candied like rose petals or eaten, along with young cherry tree leaves, raw in a salad.
Quirk of history
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Getty
Being king might sound great, says Rebecca Boyle in Atlas Obscura, but in ancient Mesopotamia, timing was everything. Rulers of the Assyrian Empire relied on “sky priests” to divine the whims of the gods by reading the stars. A total eclipse was regarded as “very bad news”, and if Jupiter made an appearance during the blackout, it meant the king was “doomed to die”. The fix was a so-called “substitute king”. The real rex would conduct palace business “safely out of sight”, while a fake king – usually a prisoner of war, criminal or peasant – ceremonially replaced him for anything from a few days to three months. He would be wined, dined, presented with gifts and “even provided with a virginal queen as his consort”. By the eighth century, the substitute got his own court, cooks and entertainers. But this was a “time-limited high life”. On a day decided by the sky priests, the replacement was ritually murdered, “to fulfil the prophecy”.
Podcast
An addict using fentanyl on a Portland street. Patrick Fallon/Getty
The US state that tried legalising all drugs
Three years ago, says Mike Baker on The Daily, Oregon became the first US state to decriminalise the possession of hard drugs. Much of America had already benefited from legalising marijuana – more tax revenue, better distribution of law enforcement resources – and the feeling was that the same could work for heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. Funding for the decriminalisation campaign came from the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros; even Portland’s district attorney agreed that it was time to try “something different”. When the decision was overwhelmingly approved in a state-wide referendum, one advocate talked about “taking a sledgehammer to the cornerstone of the drug war”.
It hasn’t gone well. The idea was that police would give drug users $100 fines, which they could avoid by calling a hotline to get treatment. But people simply didn’t call the hotline. Before long, the streets of Portland and other parts of Oregon became scenes of total lawlessness: users “shooting up or cooking drugs on the streets”; businesses having to hire private security; local residents carrying around overdose treatments in case they encountered someone needing them. Opioid overdose deaths surged, rising 50% in 2021 and then another 30% in 2022. It was so bad that in the county where Portland is, there were more deaths during the pandemic from overdoses than from Covid. Lawmakers are now reversing course, by effectively recriminalising the possession of hard drugs. But some still think the plan only failed because the promised investment in treatment centres didn’t materialise, and that decriminalisation will be given another shot. In truth, “it’s going to be a long time before we get there again”.
Eating
Don’t tell François: an oblivious ortolan bunting singing on a rock. Getty
“A hot rush of fat, guts, bones, blood and meat”
The thumb-sized ortolan bunting is not known for its song or stripy feathers, says All That’s Interesting, but for its “mouth-watering, sinful taste”. The delicacy is so yummy that people put a napkin over their heads when they eat it, to block out external sights and sounds. The other reason, legend has it, is to hide the gourmand’s shame, and it’s not hard to see why. Captured ortolans are kept in dark cages, force-fed figs and millet until they’ve doubled in size, then drowned in brandy, plucked, roasted and eaten feet-first in a single bite, leaving only the beak behind. “It’s sort of a hot rush of fat, guts, bones, blood and meat,” Anthony Bourdain once said. “And it’s really delicious.”
The EU banned the hunting of ortolans in 1979, declaring the tiny songbird a “protected species”. But in France, “this only fueled the dish’s desirability”. In 1997, The New York Times reported on a secret restaurant in Bordeaux where committed gastronomes feasted on “forbidden” foods, including ortolan. One diner compared eating the birds to adultery: “It has been in France forever. The husband does it; the wife does it. Everyone knows it and does it.” And it goes all the way to the top. As former president François Mitterrand lay dying on New Year’s Eve in 1995, he enjoyed a lavish final meal: capons, foie gras, 30 oysters and, illegally, two ortolans.
Quoted
“A little credulity helps one on through life very smoothly.”
Novelist Elizabeth Gaskell