A note on queuing

The British are supposed to be good at queuing. The Japanese are better. They queue to get on trains. There are even painted lines to show people where to queue. But the most astounding thing was the queue of homeless people for food handouts under a bridge near the Metropolitan Government Offices in Shinjuku. They sat five in a row, one behind each other. There were at least sixty homeless, sitting and waiting patiently whilst the food was set up. No shoving, no shouting. No edging closer. Just sitting.