the must-have handbook for life in England

So you’ve decided to move to England. You’ve made all the plans, bought that one-way ticket. You’re buzzing with excitement and ready to begin this expat adventure.

But when you land everyone is avoiding eye contact, standing on the right side of the escalator, and they all seem positively affronted when you engage in any sort of conversation that’s not to do with the weather.

Your bus is 2 minutes late and you hear people grumpily grumbling “typical” under their breath. Yet when the door opens, no one steps forward. In a panic you go first and immediately tutting begins behind you.

The only person to say anything to you chirps “Y’alright?” as they pass without waiting for an answer, making you rush to the bathroom to see if you look like the resurrected dead.

It’s your first day in England and already you realize that this foreign land is full of hidden rules and there is no one to tell you how to navigate them.

Or is there?

The handbook for living in England

Kate Fox has is the daughter of an anthropologist who has always been encouraged to observe the hidden rules which hold a society together. And there is no society more governed by cultural proprieties than the English.

I bought her book Watching the English: the hidden rules of English behaviour just weeks after moving to England and it is the best purchase I could have made as a brand new expat. It is a treasure trove of practical knowledge, but more than that it is an entertaining insight into a people that I have now grown to love. It did take me a few weeks to read all 566 pages, but every time I sat down with it I laughed… out loud… by myself. And really, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Don’t worry though, there is no requirement to read it all at once or even from front to back. It’s formatted in such a way that allows you to dot about depending on the topics that interest or befuddle you. From social rules surrounding queuing and the reluctance to make a fuss, to building friendships or finding lovers. It’s all here.

Who should read Watching the English?

Anglophiles, expats/immigrants in the UK, tourists, Britons. Everyone should read this book.

I would say it is essential reading for anyone living in the UK. Foreigners like me, of course, but also citizens of the UK, including the English, particularly those who are confused about why they do what they do (it helps to be capable of a lighthearted laugh at oneself).

I would even say that most visitors, regardless of length of stay, would benefit from having this book as a reference. Consider it a travel guide for social interactions instead of tourist attractions. If nothing else it will provide context for every encounter you have with an English person, and it will enhance your understanding of this lovely, and extremely socially awkward, country.

Have you read Watching the English? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Contents of Watching the English

Table of Contents

Part 1 Conversation Codes

The Weather

Grooming-talk

Humour Rules

Linguistic Class Codes

Emerging Talk-rules: The Mobile Phone

Pub-talk

Racing Talk

Squaddie-Talk and Two Types of Rider-Talk

Part 2 Behaviour Codes

Home Rules

Rules of the Road

Work to Rule

Rules of Play

Dress Codes

Food Rules

Rules of Sex

Rites of Passage

Conclusion: Defining Englishness

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