He was menaced by Indians. At one point he lost his plant collection in a flood, and later had to eat specimen berries bound for England. During World War II, seeking escape from German bombs, British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham had a tumultuous stint with the Seattle Symphony. He famously described Seattle as a cultural dustbin. He allegedly tipped over a food trolley and poured yogurt over a male steward after being refused alcohol.
British bureaucracy is fundamentally honest, if self-serving.
On both sides of the Atlantic, it is an honesty for which we can be thankful. Thousands of people were killed in India's recent earthquake because building codes were ignored. At the same time, bureaucracy is ponderous. Henceforth, culling will be at the discretion of local vets. In the life of democratic government, image has become everything.