20. Accept Courtesy Without Question
awkard.silen.seGesture for another person to traverse a doorway before you do. Kindly offer your friend the last biscuit in the packet. Mention to a dejected chum that it really is no trouble for you to walk him/her home, or loan him/her money for bus fare, or give up your sofa for the night if he/she needs somewhere to crash. After all, its just common courtesy. And yet, whatever the offer being made, if the offeree in question is a Briton, all youre going to get is a polite decline, or a counter-response along the lines of no, no, after you.
I insist. Theres something in us Brits which prevents us from dropping the constricting politesse and just accepting the kindnesses we are offered on a daily basis. When are people going to learn that wed much rather stew in our own problems than have them solved instantaneously by a willing companion?
19. Make Eye Contact With Strangers
FoxWhether walking down the high street, making the commute home, or simply perusing the wares of a local shopping centre, it is imperative not to catch somebody elses eye. The reason? We are both highly suspicious of others, and prone to feeling ashamed of ourselves for the most insignificant of reasons. If, by chance, we lock eyes with a passing stranger for even a fraction of a second, we must instantly look away, or perform an elaborate cover-up in an attempt to fool him/her that we were looking at something else entirely, for fear that they might think we are spying on them. Heaven forbid we intrude on anybody elses day in even the most minute of ways. Were so afraid of being judged that wed rather remain silent than mutter a timid bless you to the passing chap who just sneezed, let alone appear to be making a psychic engagement with a total stranger.