this is true, but the tory nonsense has exacerbated it. i (in uk) have a commercial carer (not nhs; i am bedbound) from lithuania (or estonia, or latvia - she keeps telling me & i keep forgetting) who is lovely, smart and kind. her only failing is that she can't cook, but that gives me an interest - last week i taught her how to do scrambled eggs on toast!

we need more people like this in the uk, not fewer. but our vile government will never get a clue.

"I'm afraid there is no money." - chief secretary to the Treasury under Gordon Brown