Yesterday, Matt had quite a day in London

Yesterday, Matt had quite a day in London, experiencing a series of frustrations. He spent nearly £30 on a train ticket for a trip from a town just 30 miles away—on a Saturday, no less. As he settled into his seat, the first person he sat beside, presumably from India, decided to hold a FaceTime conversation on speakerphone, making it impossible for everyone around to avoid listening in. The train itself was 40 minutes late, citing unexplained "signalling issues," and overall, the carriages were in a dirty state.

At the pub, he paid nearly £8 for a pint of beer. While on the tube, he kindly offered his seat to a woman, not realizing that she was with a man who quickly intervened and said, "no, man.

" The man did not seem to be British and appeared to take the gesture as an insult. Throughout the day, he was approached by homeless individuals asking for money three times. He also observed that several employees who are supposed to assist tourists and taxpayers on the London Tube struggled to speak English properly. A cab driver shared with him that "London is dead most nights," unless you belong to the elite global high net worth demographic or the top 1%. Restaurants were clearly struggling and often outrageously overpriced. During dinner in a neighborhood with an average rent of £3,663 per month, he noted that half of all local social housing had been allocated to individuals not born in the UK. He remained conscious of the need to keep his phone out of sight while walking, given that 80,000 phones were stolen in the previous year. On his return journey, he read that shoplifting offenses in London reached 90,000 last year, a staggering increase of 54%. To top off his day, the train back was delayed and abruptly changed its route once all passengers were on board, telling them it would no longer stop at all planned destinations. On his way home, he bought a tin of instant coffee that had a security tag attached to it. While he may have been in a bad mood—perhaps it's humorous to think how someone with my political views would be "triggered"—there's a more serious observation to be made. London feels like it's finished—truly finished.

The city is clearly in decline, with declining standards and a lack of identity or belonging. Traveling in and out of our capital has turned into a disheartening experience. The infrastructure is crumbling, as is the social fabric. Having frequented London since 1981, he cannot recall a time when it has appeared so visibly dire, with so many systems simply failing to operate as they should.

Matt Godwin