English people drink tea
English people are reserved
... but tolerant
Another thing which would put this in perspective is that tanks
-that's right; those rather heavy armoured things - of the British
Army come equipped with a kettle so the crews can make tea. So a
rather large many-tens-of-tons heavy tank comes equipped with a
kettle, which is probably more than can be said for many "RV's"
(Recreational Vehicles - "motor-homes") sold here in the US. Don't
think this is empty hearsay - I checked with the manufacturer and they were
happy to confirm that the "Challenger" tank does indeed come with a
"boiling vessel". Apparently it is one of the most contentious design
issues that the "boiling vessel" is mounted within the turret - one
assumes this makes it difficult to finish making your pot of tea if
the vehicle comes under attack and the turret is swinging around!!!
On the plus side, you are not obliged to "have a great day" or even a
just plain good day or nice day. Americans who are poets,
philosophers, artists or other folk who have difficulties with the
all-day-with-a-wide-smile culture can find it very pleasant to be
allowed to be moody without anyone giving them a major-league
pain-in-the-arse
Someone describing travelling on "the Tube"
Warming up on a subject area I often delight in:
A few years ago two people (a man and a woman) ended-up in trouble and
being fined or some such similar punishment in a magistrate's court.
It seems though that the legal system's preoccupation did not match
the issue which brought the might of public opinion crashing down upon
them. Here is what happened:
Now really getting moving on the general theme, I was watching a
documentary on The Obscene Publications Squad of the Police Force and
the difficulties they faced, not the least of which was getting cases
past a jury, however well-presented. A detective described how they
had been trying to "get" a company whose business was the purveying of
"erotic" literature and video material. Knowing the ambivalence of
the public in Mainland Britain, they waited looking for an opportunity
to claim some major transgression and though they had this when they
raided the place and found amongst other things a video showing a sex
scene involving a fire extinguisher!. Now, the role it played
was not explained and I for one am not sure that I even want to know.
This viewpoint seems to be representative - the jury were "visibly
shocked" but also "clearly felt this was none of their business" (they
returned a "not guilty" verdict).
Returning back from my flight into topics I tend to favour and getting
onto more mainstream issues:
Broadly it is generally the case that Britain is easy-going.
English people drink tea...
Yes - this is true. To get an understanding of the correct depth, you
must understand that "having a cup of tea" is the solution to many
situations. If a building was hit by a huge meteorite and the
survivors crawled out from the rubble, the assembled survivors would
conclude that it is time for a cup of tea...
English people are reserved
English people are generally rather reserved. I have been mistaken
for other nationalities, even while in England. Greetings and bidding
farewell tend to be very clipped - the opposite of effusive (almost
like acting as a counterbalance to the Italians). My landlord here
was thinking of flying to England and felt almost aggrieved at the
brevity of the greetings I suggested as appropriate...
English people are tolerant
It has been commented by many travellers that English people in
general do not seem to "raise an eyebrow" about anything.
After a works outing to Southend (a seaside resort near London) two of
the party realised a mutual attraction they had not previously been
aware of. To fulfil this, they set off to a First-class compartment,
which on these trains where closed compartments on one side of the
First-class carriage accessed through an entrance door from a corridor
down the other side of the carriage. Pulling down the blinds and
binding the door shut, they proceeded with consumating their new-found
one-ness. However, annoyed at observers trying to look through gaps
at the edges of the blinds, they stomped into the main open-design
standard-class carriage and completed consummating their new
understanding, right there amongst families returning from Southend
with children running around. Now, the error they made which brought
the ire of public opinion crashing down on them was that after
completed their act of love they sat back and lit-up post-coital
cigarettes - and this was in a no smoking carriage!!! This was
the unacceptable behaviour which got the conductor called, after which
the police were called, etc, etc...
I don't want to overly push it suggesting Britain is a totally
brilliant and faultless place, but it is not bad...