Owning the West
Qatar owns more of London than King Charles. Indians own more homes than the English. Do the Brits have a right to be concerned about this?
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You can listen to me read this essay here:
The ship is sinking and everyone keeps dancing and getting drunk. There are a few trying to warn the others to prepare. At least put on a life vest. Maybe get into a lifeboat. But the fools only dance faster and drink harder.
Back to the 1980s, I was living in London, on a street called Princes Square, between Bayswater and Nottinghill Gate and just a few blocks from Kensington Gardens and “Embassy Row.”
It was a popular area for Arabs living and working in the area at that time. I should add there were many Indians. I was very thankful for the Indian restaurants that made up for the terrible British food.
These Arabs weren’t the illegals of today. They were highly educated and rich, with luxuriant moustaches and impeccable manners. They wore Harley Street suits with crisp white handkerchiefs in their pockets, shiny shoes and manicured fingernails— with that the one long pinky fingernail. Looking back, I really can’t remember seeing many women. Those I did see wore niqabs as they walked their children in the park. I didn’t think much about them.
I do remember a big story in the news when a Muslim killed a sheep outside his house for some holiday, letting the blood run in the gutter. Back then, everyone insisted that it wasn’t very British, it was barbaric and unsanitary and shouldn’t be allowed!
According to Hoag Levins’ 1983 book Arab Reach, London in the early 1980s was becoming a hub for “recycling petrodollars,” with Saudi investors acquiring significant London landmarks and establishing financial institutions in the city. These included luxury hotels, prime real estate, and some commercial properties.
How much London has changed. It started in the 1980s with the wealthy buying up real estate and land, which was allowed because, you know, MONEY.
