Janet CollinsBack Soon
August 27th 2010 02:45
Apologies to all my readers for the long hiatus. I will be posting again shortly.
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Etiquette and the Art of Drinking Tea
June 26th 2010 13:06
I was sitting in a waiting room recently when the fellow next to me proceeded to help himself to a cup of tea and then sat down next to me again and slurped his way through the whole cup. Very loudly too, I might add.
It was so irritating and it reminded me of the drumming I got as a kid about slurping tea. “Don’t slurp your tea, sip it”, Mum would always say.
In western culture it is deemed incredibly bad manners to slurp tea or any other drink. Along with eating with your mouth open and making very loud noises when eating, slurping tea or any other drink is not only impolite but incredibly irritating for most of the people around us. It sounds bad and it looks bad too.
In some countries slurping tea is not considered impolite. In China and many other Asians countries it can even be regarded as a sign of enjoyment and appreciation. Looking at the fellow beside me though, I had no reason to believe he came from an Asian or any other culture. So has this rule of etiquette which extends to most drinks but especially hot ones such as tea and coffee gone out of the rule book?
There are some who even go so far as to justify slurping as getting more taste from the tea although I would think this point is highly disputable.
Tea slurpers can pose a problem at work too. Given there is often very little distance between us and our fellow workers at the office, for example, where many of us are trying to concentrate, intermittent slurping can cause great irritation for others in the workplace.
In our cafes too, tables are now so close to one another that the person or others sitting at the next table can see and hear everything we are eating.
Do you slurp your tea? Maybe you do it because you think it is the done thing. Maybe you slurp your tea without even realizing you are doing it. Pay attention next time you are drinking a cup and listen for some of the noise you might be making.
Here are a few pointers to help you drink your tea (or coffee) quietly so as not to drive all those around you to distraction.
Firstly, one of the main reasons people slurp their tea (other than they just don’t know not to) is that the tea is probably too hot. It has been said that it should be consumed at a temperature of no more than 65 degrees centigrade. If it is too hot for you to drink quietly, let it sit for a minute before drinking it.
When you are at home by yourself, take note of how you drink your tea. Can you hear your own slurps? If you are aware of them, you have a much better chance of stopping or minimizing them.
Noising eating and drinking sounds are not that pleasant so be aware of them. You’ll be far better company without them.
And remember with that next cup of tea….sip it. Don’t slurp it.
Image credit: www.telegraph.co.uk
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
Respect for the Driver...Heh!
April 30th 2010 23:50
Mobile phones and the use of them pose all sorts of dilemmas every day. One of the ones I was confronted with recently was a passenger in my car, whom I had agreed to give a lift to, talked incessantly on a mobile phone for the whole journey. And it wasn't a critical phone call either. It was completely social.
To get things straight first, I have no objection to someone making a call when they are traveling in my car. The difference is that when I am offering a lift to someone, I don’t expect them to spend the whole time in my car talking to someone else.
The situation arose after I volunteered to give a ride to someone who was working at the same job as me. I hardly knew this person and was happy to oblige but from the time I picked this person up to the time we arrived at our destination, she spent the whole time talking to someone else on her phone. I found this rather rude.
Are there any real rules about this? No.
There is a social interaction etiquette though, even if it is unwritten.
First, I didn’t really want to hear a whole one-sided conversation while I was actually doing this person a favour. I was taking them to a job….by car. I would have thought that this was enough for this person to have enough respect for me to either engage in a conversation with me or otherwise just keep the phone off, unless the call was at the very least, important. Perhaps something like lining up other work.
This incident has made me less inclined to be so generous in transporting people who do not have the means to get to an out of the way location. Am I being hard or even brutal?
I don’t think so.
The trouble is that mobile phones have been around for so long that most people think they can get on them any time. It doesn’t seem to matter what the situation or that the people in close quarters don’t want to hear some inane conversation they are having with their girlfriend/boyfriend/flat mate.
So if anyone wants anyone else to do them a favour such as transporting them to where they have to go, think about this: the driver is doing you a favour and may not want to hear your conversation. Unless it is important, make the call when you are out of the car. That is, if you want another lift somewhere.
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
LONG SILENCE
March 12th 2010 14:59
Apologies for the long silence on here. Watch this space for a post in the next few days.
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
Hugs, Kisses and a Touchy Feely Society
January 12th 2010 05:21
I have often found it rather amusing that society in general has become so touchy feely. In fact, gone are those stuffy English rules about only touching people from the elbows to the hands and not any higher. We kiss and hug just about anyone we meet and touching anyone on the shoulder, the shoulder blade, the back, the waist or just about anywhere but real private parts seems almost obligatory if we want someone to trust or like us. It can also leave me feeling rather annoyed or irritated, particularly when I am subjected to uninvited hugs or rubs from distant colleagues or worse, people I have never even met.
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
Banquets and the Alternate Food Drop
December 30th 2009 12:33
The Wedding Banquet
I am often surprised that a lot of people don’t actually know about the practice of the alternate food drop at formal dinners where there are a medium to large group of guests. It has been standard practice in Australia for as long as I can remember. Recently, however, I found out this is a practice that is peculiar to Australia and many people just don't understand how it works.
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
Letting Them Know You Will Be There
December 29th 2009 09:24
Responding to an invitation, whether it be a private or corporate occasion, is not only giving the person who sent the invitation information so they can provide enough food or drink for you, it is basic good manners. Declining to let a host know that you will or will not be attending is just downright rude. So why do so many people just ignore this simple acknowledgement?
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
Driving Us to Road Rage
November 17th 2009 05:11
Driver etiquette seems to have gone all by the wayside. There are still a lot of road rules and a lot of road courtesies but they are slowly either disappearing or being totally ignored.
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
The Bad Breath Dilemma
October 15th 2009 04:00
How do you tell a friend, a family member or even a colleague that they have bad breath? Is there a tactful way?
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
Etiquette and the Tip
September 28th 2009 11:17
In Australia, the subject of tipping always leads to a very colourful discussion. There are those who are dead against tipping for service and others who are very happy to tip. Is it, or should it be, good etiquette to tip someone who has given you really good service, just good service and just service?
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Posted By: Janet Collins - Category: No Category
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