Fascinating things, gardens, they make you do the most irrational things. For instance. You get the idea you would like to grow tomatoes. Not the simple way, of course, which is by buying plants and putting them in, but the hard way. About 18 months ago I was served with a beautiful tomato in my […]
A tradition that is rooted not only in our own soil, but in the minds of the rest of the world is the devotion of the English to animals. Certainly, they will speak affectionately to and of their dogs and horses, which is more than they will do concerning their friends and family — but […]
(by R. Lynd) Cats are the enemies of conversation. I have a friend who, after an absence of many years, has lately settled down in London, with a wife, a cat and a garden. Owing to the cat, I doubt if our friendship can continue. I called to see him and was shown into the garden, […]
“These animals are being fattened for eating?” Candidus inquired as he looked around the hall. “Certainly not.” “Then they are sacred animals?” “All animals in this country are sacred.”
I think the dog owner is responsible for his dog biting postmen. The animal picks up the mail and carries it to the owner. It may be a rates bill, an income tax demand. The owner grumbles and the dog thinks the postman is the cause of his master’s displeasure. The cure lies with the […]
Most people in Britain work a five-day week, from Monday to Friday; schools, colleges and universities are also closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Therefore from Friday evening till Monday morning people are usually free. Everyone looks forward to the weekend and when Friday comes along, as people leave work they say to each other, “Have […]
For many English families Sunday begins with the by now traditional “lie-in”, when, instead of getting up at 7.30 or at 8 o’clock, as during the rest of the week, most people stay in bed for at least another hour. And there are many younger people — Saturday night revellers in particular-^ who never see […]
Nowadays, only a small proportion of British people regard Sunday as a day which must be confined to religious purpose. Times have changed. Housewives who once may have frowned at the neighbour who put her washing out on a Sunday today join her in the local 24-hour-Sunday-opening launderette. Some, who still wouldn’t be seen “carrying […]
(by R. Daglish) I once took a foreign friend of mine who thought the English a restrained and silent race to Hyde Park Corner on a Sunday morning. With its old, spreading trees, its wide stretches of carefully mown grass, its solid bandstands and asphalted paths, Hyde Park is like many another London parks, but […]
Attitudes to leisure have been much influenced by the modern love of moving around and by the ease of travel. Industrial workers have two weeks’ holiday with pay each year, most professional workers a month or more. Factory holidays are much concentrated in the period between mid-July and mid-August, and those who look for rationalization […]
