England respect · Courtesy in England
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Courtesy in England
Courtesy in England
See the UK article for more information
The English are in general very polite people, and like most other places it is considered bad manners not to say "please" or "thank you". A nod or a smile are also often the response. Sometimes, strangers and friends address each other by "mate", as they do in Australia. Thus it is common to hear "Cheers mate" or "Thanks mate" or "You all right, mate?", etc.
The English are said to be reserved, and this is often thought to mean that they are reluctant to communicate with strangers. This is a misconception. You will find that most people are happy to talk to strangers; it probably won't be a deep conversation, but mostly small talk about where you come from, if you're enjoying your visit, etc.
It is said that the English invented queueing, and they become very annoyed if anyone jumps the line although this is probably the same for most countries. Don't be surprised if you get shoved to the back of the line. (The same "patient queueing" applies to waiting in traffic jams as well: don't use the horn excessively as most people in England seemed to have grasped that it doesn't make the traffic go any faster and it is seen as impatient and rude.)
When you find yourself in a restaurant or being invited to someone's home for a meal, just general table manners apply. Depending on the house you are visiting, manners can be either extremely important (you can be seen as a disrespectful person) or it can cause you to be looked well upon. In some cases, bad table manners can be seen as uncivilized and it usually indicated a bad upbringing. Regardless, it is generally important to have good table manners in any situation.
It is considered rude to put your elbows on the table whilst eating, it is rude to speak whilst eating or eating with your mouth open (eat with your mouth closed). Always ask for an object on a table, do not reach over someone to grab it. Use both the knife and fork whilst eating, with the head of the fork facing down. The host will usually offer you a second plate of food (if in his/her home), and it is considered rude not to accept the offer as the host will think you dislike the food (however if you say something along the lines of "I'm full" in a polite way, then the host will not take offence as a satisfied guest is what the host is aiming for). It is considered polite to ask for more and this gives the impression that you like the food. When leaving the table, always ask permission if you can leave; a simple phrase such as "May I be excused for a moment?" will suffice.
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England Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.