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12/10/2017

12/10/2017

Pet Rules and ‘Petiquette’ (II)
"...
I am convinced that the English get great vicarious pleasure from our pets’ uninhibited behaviour. We grant them all the freedoms that we deny ourselves: the most repressed and inhibited people on Earth have the most blatantly unreserved, spontaneous and badly behaved pets. Our pets are our alter egos, or perhaps even the symbolic embodiment of what a psychotherapist would call our ‘inner child’ (but not the sort of inner child they mean, the one with big soulful eyes who needs a hug – I mean the snub-nosed, mucky, obnoxious inner brat who needs a good slap). Our animals represent our wild side; through them, we can express our most un-English tendencies, we can break all the rules, if only by proxy.
The unspoken law states that our animal alter egos/inner brats can do no wrong. If an English person’s dog bites you, you must have provoked it; and even if the attack was clearly unprovoked – if the animal just took a sudden irrational dislike to you – the owners will assume that there must be something suspect about you. The English firmly believe that our dogs (and cats, guinea pigs, ponies, parrots, etc.) are shrewd judges of character.
If our pet takes against someone, even if we have no reason at all to dislike the person, we trust the animal’s superior insight and become wary and suspicious. People who object to being jumped on, climbed over, kicked, scratched and generally mauled by English animals who are ‘just being friendly’ also clearly have something wrong with them.
Although our pets usually provide a vital therapeutic substitute for emotional relationships with human beings, the superior quality of our communication and bonding with animals can sometimes also have beneficial side effects on our relations with other humans. We can even manage to strike up a conversation with a stranger if one of us is accompanied by a dog, although it must be said that both parties are sometimes inclined to talk to the canine chaperone rather than address each other directly. Non-verbal as well as verbal signals are
exchanged through the blissfully oblivious dog, who happily absorbs all the eye contact and friendly touching that would be regarded as excessively forward and pushy between newly acquainted humans. And pets can act as mediators or facilitators even in more established relationships: English couples who have trouble expressing their feelings to each other often tend to communicate through their pets. ‘Mummy’s looking really pi**ed off, isn’t she, Patch? Yes she is. Yes she is. Do you think she’s annoyed with us?’ ‘Well, Patchy-poo, Mummy’s vewy, vewy tired and she would appreciate it if your lazy old Daddy gave her a bit of help round here instead of sitting on his arse reading the paper all day.’
Most of the above rules apply across class barriers, but there are a few variations. The middle-middles and lower-middles, although just as dotty about their pets as the other classes, tend to be somewhat less tolerant of mess, and rather more squeamish about the ‘ruder’ kinds of misbehaviour than those at the top and bottom of the social scale. Middle-middle and lower-middle pets are not necessarily any better behaved, but their owners are more zealous about cleaning up after them, and more embarrassed when they sniff people’s crotches or try to have s*x with their legs.
The type and breed of pet you keep, however, is a more reliable class indicator than your attitude towards animals. Dogs, for example, are universally popular, but the upper echelons prefer Labradors, golden retrievers, King Charles spaniels and springer spaniels, while the lower classes are more likely to have rottweilers, alsatians, poodles, afghans, chihuahuas and cocker spaniels.
Cats are less popular than dogs with the upper class, although those who live in grand country houses find them useful for keeping mice and rats at bay. The lower social ranks, by contrast, may keep mice and rats as pets – as well as guinea pigs, hamsters and goldfish. Some middle-middles, and lower-middles with aspirations, take great pride in keeping expensive exotic fish such as Koi carp in their garden pond. The upper-middles and upper classes think this is ‘naff’. Horses are widely regarded as ‘posh’ animals, and social climbers often take up
riding or buy ponies for their children in order to ingratiate themselves with the ‘horsey’ set to which they aspire.
Unless they also manage to perfect the appropriate accent, arcane vocabulary, mannerisms and dress, they don’t fool anybody.
What you do with your pet can also be a class indicator. Generally, only the middle-middles and below go in for dog shows, cat shows and obedience tests, and only these classes would put a sticker in the back window of their car proclaiming their passion for a particular breed of dog or warning other motorists that their vehicle may contain ‘Show Cats in Transit’. The upper classes regard showing dogs and cats as rather vulgar, but showing horses and ponies is fine. There is no logic to any of this.
Middle-middles and below are also more likely to dress up their dogs and cats in coloured collars, bows and other tweenesses – and if you see a dog with its name in inverted commas on its collar, the animal’s owners are almost certainly no higher than middle-middle. Upper-middle and upper-class dogs usually just wear plain brown leather collars. Only a certain type of rather insecure working-class male goes in for big, scary, aggressivelooking guard dogs with big, scary, studded, black collars.
English pet-owners are highly unlikely to admit that their pet is a status signal, or that their choice of pet is in any way class-related. They will insist that they like Labradors (or springer spaniels, or whatever) because of the breed’s kind temperament. If you want to get them to reveal their hidden class anxieties, or if you just like causing trouble, you can try the canine equivalent of the Mondeo and Mercedes tests: put on your most innocent face, and tell a Labrador-owner ‘Oh, I’d have seen you more as an alsatian [or poodle, or chihuahua]
sort of person.’
If you are of a more kind and affable disposition, note that the quickest way to an English person’s heart, no matter what their class, is through their pet. Always praise people’s pets, and when you speak to our animals directly (which you should do as much as possible) remember that you are addressing our inner child. If you are a visitor eager to make friends with the natives, try to acquire or borrow a dog to act as a passport to conversation and as a chaperone."

(from "Watching the English" by Kate Fox).

10/10/2017

Pet Rules and ‘Petiquette’

"Keeping pets, for the English, is not so much a leisure activity as an entire way of life. In fact, ‘keeping pets’ is an inaccurate and inadequate expression – it does not begin to convey the exalted status of our animals. An Englishman’s home may be his castle, but his dog is the real king. People in other countries may buy luxurious five-star kennels and silk-lined baskets for their pets, but the English let them take over the whole house. The unwritten rules allow our dogs and cats to sprawl all over our sofas and chairs, always hogging the best places in front of the fire or television. They get far more attention, affection, appreciation, encouragement and ‘quality time’ than our children, and often better food. Imagine the most over-indulged, fêted, adored bambino in Italy, and you will get a rough idea of the status of the average English pet. We had the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals long before the establishment of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which appears to have been founded as a somewhat derivative afterthought.
Why is this? What is it about the English and animals? Yes, many other cultures have pets, and some, particularly our colonial descendants, are in their own ways as soppy about them as we are, but the English inordinate love of animals is still one of the characteristics for which we are renowned, and which many foreigners find baffling. The Americans may outdo us in gushy sentimentality and extravagant expenditure on pets – all those cheesy, tear-jerker films, elaborate pet cemeteries, luxury toys and dogs got up in ludicrous designer costumes. But then they always outdo us in gushiness and conspicuous consumption.
The English relationship with animals is different: our pets are more than status indicators (although they do serve this purpose) and our affinity with them goes well beyond sentimentality. It is often said that we treat them like people, but this is not true. Have you seen how we treat people? It would be unthinkable to be so cold and unfriendly to an animal. OK, I’m exaggerating – a bit. But the fact is that we tend to be far more open, easy, communicative and demonstrative in our relationships with our animals than with each other. The average Englishman will assiduously avoid social interaction with his fellow humans, and will generally become either awkward or aggressive when obliged to communicate with them, unless certain props and facilitators are available to help the process along. He will have no difficulty at all, however, in engaging in lively, amicable conversation with a dog. Even a strange dog, to whom he has not been introduced. Bypassing all the usual stilted embarrassments, his greeting will be effusive: ‘Hello there!’ he will exclaim, ‘What’s your name? And
where have you come from, then? D’you want some of my sandwich, mate? Mmm, yes, it’s not bad, is it? Here, come up and share my seat! Plenty of room!’
You see, the English really are quite capable of Latin-Mediterranean warmth, enthusiasm and hospitality; we can be just as direct and approachable and emotive and tactile as any of the so-called ‘contact cultures’. It is just that these qualities are only consistently expressed in our interactions with animals. And unlike our fellow Englishmen, animals are not embarrassed or put off by our un-English displays of emotion. No wonder animals are so important to the English: for many of us, they represent our only significant experience of open, unguarded, emotional involvement with another sentient being.
An American visitor I met had suffered for a week as a guest in a fairly typical English household ruled by two large, boisterous and chronically disobedient dogs, whose ineffectual owners engaged them in non-stop, stream-of-consciousness chatter, indulged their every whim and laughed affectionately at their misdemeanours. She complained to me that the owners’ relationship with these pets was ‘abnormal’ and ‘unhealthy’ and ‘dysfunctional’. ‘No, you don’t understand,’ I explained. ‘This is probably the only normal, healthy, functional relationship these people have.’ She was, however, sensitive enough to have picked up on an important rule of English ‘petiquette’ – the one that absolutely forbids criticism of a person’s pets. However badly your hosts’ ghastly, leg-humping, shoe-eating dog behaves, you must not speak ill of the beast. This would be a worse social solecism than criticizing their children.
We are allowed to criticize our own pets, but this must be done in affectionate, indulgent tones: ‘He’s so naughty – that’s the third pair of shoes he’s wrecked this month, ah, bless!’ There is almost a hint of pride in these ‘isn’t he awful?’ complaints, as though we are secretly, perversely, rather charmed by our pets’ flaws and failings. In fact, we often engage in one-upmanship over our pets’ misdemeanours. Just the other night, at a dinner party, I listened to two Labrador-owners capping each other’s stories of the items their dogs had eaten or destroyed: ‘It wasn’t just shoes and ordinary things, mine used to eat mobile phones.’ ‘Well, mine chewed a whole HiFi system to bits!’ ‘Mine ate a Volvo!’ (How do you top that, I wondered: Mine ate a helicopter? Mine ate the QE2?)" ...

(from "Watching the English" by Kate Fox).

06/10/2017

Class and Shopping Rules (II)

The Mark & Spencer Test

" If you want to get an idea of the convoluted intricacy of shopping class-indicators, spend some time observing and interviewing the shoppers in Marks & Spencer. In this very English high-street chain, you trip over invisible class barriers in every aisle. M&S is a sort of department-store, selling clothes, shoes, furniture, linen, soap, make-up, etc. – as well as food and drink – all under its own brand name.

The upper-middle classes buy food in the very expensive but high-quality M&S food halls, and will also happily buy M&S underwear and perhaps the occasional plain, basic item such as a t-shirt, but will not often buy any other clothes there, except perhaps for children – and certainly not anything with a pattern, as this would identify it as being from M&S. They would never buy a party dress from M&S, and are squeamish about wearing M&S shoes, however comfortable or well made they may be. They will buy M&S towels and bed-linen, but not M&S sofas, curtains or cushions.

The middle-middles also buy M&S food, although those on a lower budget would not do their entire weekly shop here. They complain a bit (to each other, not to M&S) about the high prices of M&S food, but tell themselves it is worth it for the quality, and buy their cornflakes and loo paper at Sainsbury’s. They will buy
a much wider range of clothes from M&S than the upper-middles, including things with prints and patterns,and they are happy to buy M&S sofas, cushions and curtains. Their teenage children, however, may turn up their noses at M&S clothes, not for class reasons but because they prefer the more youthful, fashionable high-street chains.

Lower-middles and some upwardly mobile upper-workings buy M&S food, but usually only as a special treat –for some, particularly those with young children, an M&S ‘ready-meal’ is an alternative to eating out at a restaurant, something they might have as an indulgence, maybe once a week. They cannot afford to foodshop here regularly, and regard anyone who does as extravagant and quite possibly ‘stuck-up’. ‘My sister-in-law buys all her veg and washing-up liquid and everything from Marks, stupid cow,’ a middle-aged woman told me, with a disdainful, disapproving sniff. ‘It’s just showing off – thinks she’s better than us.’ M&S clothes, on the other hand, are generally regarded as ‘good value’ by the thrifty, respectable, genteel sort of lower-middles: ‘Not cheap, mind you, but good quality’. Some lower-middles feel the same about the cushions and duvets and towels, while others regard them as ‘very nice, but a bit too pricey’.

If you need to make a quick assessment of an English shopper’s social class, don’t ask about her family background, income, occupation or the value of her house (all of which would in any case be rude): ask her what she does and does not buy at Marks & Spencer. I say ‘she’ because this test only works reliably on women: men are often blissfully unaware of the yawning social gulf between M&S knickers and an M&S patterned dress."

(from "Watching the English" by Kate Fox).

05/10/2017

Class and Shopping Rules

"The shopping-as-saving rule applies across class barriers, and even the bling-bling exception is not class-bound:
this style appeals to young people from all social backgrounds, including some upper-class public schoolboys, who
seem quite unaware of how silly they look, trying to dress like pimps and walk and talk like tough black ‘gangstas’
from American inner-city ghettos.
Most other aspects of shopping, however, are deeply entangled in the complexities of the English class system. As might be expected, where you shop is a key class indicator. But it is not a simple matter of the higher social ranks shopping in the more expensive shops, while the lower echelons use the cheaper ones. The uppermiddle classes, for example, will hunt for bargains in second-hand and charity shops, which the lower-middle and working classes ‘would not be seen dead in’. Yet the upper-middles and middle-middles would be reluctant to buy their groceries in the cheap supermarkets, with names that emphasize their price-consciousness such as Kwiksave and Poundstretcher, favoured by the working classes. Instead, they shop in middle-class supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, or the slightly more upper-middle Waitrose.
Not that anyone will admit to choosing a supermarket for its class status, of course. No, we shop in middleclass supermarkets because of the superior quality of the food and the wider range of organic and exotic vegetables, even when we are just buying exactly the same ubiquitous brand-name basics as the working-class shoppers in Kwiksave. We may have no idea what to do with pak choi or how to eat organic celeriac, but we like to know they are there, as we walk past with our Kellogg’s corn flakes and Andrex loo paper."

(from "Watching the English" by Kate Fox).

28/09/2017

The Brag-wall Rule

" Another helpful class-indicator is the siting of what Americans would call your ‘brag wall’. In which room of your house do you display prestigious awards you have won, or photographs of yourself shaking hands with famous people? If you are middle-middle or below, these items will be proudly on show in your sitting room or entrance hall or some other very prominent place. For the upper-middles and above, however, the only acceptable place
to exhibit such things is the downstairs loo.
This trick is ‘smart’ in both senses of the word (posh and clever): visitors are highly likely to use the downstairs loo at some point, and to be impressed by your achievements, but by displaying them in the loo you are making a joke out of them (taking the p**s, even) and thus cannot be accused of either boasting or taking yourself too seriously."
(from "Watching the English" by Kate Fox).

24/09/2017

Wisdom from Coach’s CEO.

"Coach’s new CEO, (the former CEO of Tom Ford’s Yves Saint Laurent and Jimmy Choo) Joshua Schulman, understands that “Design really can be transformative.” One thing I have learned while studying the masters of design, psychology and success is that your environment is the foundation that supports you in reaching your goals of happiness, success, health, wealth, relationships or it can have a detrimental impact on every aspect of you life. Obviously Schulman’s awareness of space has supported his dreams and played an important role in his success. Or, more accurately, multiple successes.

So, how is your environment transforming you?

In today’s article I will give you a 2 Simple Solutions to help you understand whether your environment is helping you live to your full potential or setting you up for breakdown.

Mitchell Owen of Architectural Digest explains that Schulman’s home is “a place where past meets present in perfect harmony.” Schulman’s home in harmony has no doubt given him a solid foundation for his unprecedented success in the world of retail fashion design allowing him to lead iconic global brands. When your space is a sanctuary for rejuvenation it allows you to go out into the world and be the best you can be, whether that is making clear headed business decisions, being inspired creatively, having vibrant health and energy or enjoying harmonious relationships. Your space is a reflection of your inner world. Your space also can transform your inner world so that your life can flow with ease and grace allowing you access to your goals, aspirations and dreams.

First, determine how your space can best support you. If you are an introvert who likes solitude, quiet and clutter-free space, it is important to create a calm sanctuary that supports your need to be nestled in your nest. If you know that a high-vibe revives your style of recharging, then create a space that is in energetic alignment to recharge your proverbial batteries. Recognizing what fortifies you is the 1st step in creating a transformative space that is a solid foundation for your extraordinary success in the world.

Second, notice if your space is in alignment with step 1. When you walk through your door at the end of the day are you certain that your space is going to renew, nurture and support you? If not, what one thing can you do today to begin making your environment a reflection of the life of your dreams?"

(from http://christaoleary.com/2017/08/22/wisdom-coachs-ceo/?mc_cid=e6ccba5315&mc_eid=9be3d90b6d)

07/06/2017

5 Ways to Face Your Stuck and Move Forward with Confidence!

"Are You Hiding From YOUR Stuck? We all feel stuck at one time or another, but it’s how we face our “stuck” that matters.

If you’re feeling like life is one step forward and three steps back, it’s important to know that we all feel that way at times! You’re definitely not alone.

The BEST News is…you can change this pattern! You have the power to create the life you’ve always dreamed of!!

Do you want to know the secret? It’s simple… And in just a moment, I’m going to show you how to take action easily today! You’re about to get unstuck from what’s been holding you back in life.

Step into your power and live the life you were destined to lead by following my five simple and easy tips:

1. Get up and get moving! When you’re feeling low or out of sorts it’s a natural tendency to pull in and isolate yourself. This is one of the worst things you could do when you feel stuck. Sitting around in a slump isn’t going to do any good for you. Get the energy in your body moving by releasing the humdrums and getting active. It’s fun!

Give yourself a good push to do the things you know you need to do and not just “want” to do. Once you get moving, you’ll see that taking action like this will help you become empowered in your life, one step at a time!

2. Unplug from Technology. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’ll make it easy. As you already know, there is more life to be lived and fun to be had than checking in with friends on FaceBook or watching the latest episode of the Bachelor!

Mix it up a little and find an exciting new hobby to stimulate your senses. Go out of your way to do something different or try something new, just for the heck of it. Take a dance class, go paddle boating, or try hiking. The key is to get out of the house and away from your normal day-to-day habits.

It’s all about intention! Being intentional about how you spend your time can help you move forward. Ask a friend or family member to take part and hold you accountable. You’re more likely to take action if you know someone else will be asking you about your forward momentum.

3. Get grounded. Connect with yourself and feel your own sense of beingness. When you’re feeling like you’re not in touch with yourself, find time to get grounded. This may be through listening to music that resonates with your soul. It might be by taking a long walk in the park, or on a trail to just get away from distractions and get back into your own body’s natural rhythm. I know you’ll find this to be a relaxing and rejuvenating way to get back on track.

Allow yourself to breathe and get into your body and become more aligned with yourself, so you can dispel any negative energies that might be lurking.

Many times we breathe in short and shallow breaths. Take deep intentional breaths that fill your lungs with air, this may feel like you’re breathing from your abdomen. Feel the air coming in and cleansing your body as you exhale. Allow the sound of your breathing to come into your awareness. Breathe in all the goodness and let the air out with the healing sound of your voice. Your new self-awareness will help you find the motivation to easily move forward.

4. Change the conversation that you’re having with yourself. Let’s face it, we often take too much stalk in what other’s think of us, but by far we are our worst critic. The conversations you have with yourself are far more important than the ones you have with others. Focus on being the YOU, you’re choosing to be. Remind yourself that you’re filled with limitless potential. You have the power within you to create the life you dream of living.

Allow yourself to attract what you require into your life. It’s simple! Create a higher energy frequency in order to attract more positive things into your life. Begin by being mindful of your breathing. Continue to breathe when you realize you’re holding your breath and allow your thoughts to flow with your breath as well. Just one of these simple tools will help you change the conversation that you’re having with yourself to one that is useful and powerful. Raising your energy frequency is powerful when it comes to creating change in your body and in your life!

5. Invite a NEW perspective. No matter how insurmountable your circumstances may seem, there is always more than one way to look at the situation. What if you choose to reframe how you view your life? What would be possible then? All things are possible!

Change your perspective and looking at change in a positive way will help you see the higher good that comes from allowing space in your life, so you can manifest the things you choose to have.

Imagine how awesome you would feel if you could wake up each morning feeling confident. You’d no longer struggle with troubling or negative emotions. You can transform your life through rapid quantum shifts and live the life you are capable of living.

Allow yourself to take positive movements forward each day. It’s the key to creating lasting change. When you allow Quantum Energy Transformation™ a part of your everyday living you’ll continue to create the results you want in your life. As you keep moving forward, you’ll create momentum and win the game of life."

by Joshua Bloom

06/06/2017

The Health-correctness Indicator (part II)

" ... While I have every sympathy for anyone with a genuine food allergy, the fact is that only a very small percentage of the population actually have such identifiable medical conditions – far fewer than the number who believe they are afflicted. These English chattering-class females seem to hope that, like the Princess and the Pea, their extreme sensitivities about food will somehow demonstrate that they are exquisitely sensitive, highly tuned, finely bred people, not like the vulgar hoi-polloi who can eat anything. In these rarefied circles, you are looked down upon if you have no difficulty digesting proletarian substances such as bread and milk.
If you really cannot manage to have any modish food problems yourself, then make sure that your children have some, or at least fret noisily about the possibility that they might be allergic to something: ‘Ooh, no! Don’t give Tamara an apricot! She hasn’t been tested for apricots yet. She had a bit of a reaction to strawberries, so we can’t be too careful.’ ‘Katie can’t have bottled baby food – too much sodium, so I buy organic vegetables and puree them myself . . .’ Even if your children are unfashionably robust, you must take the trouble to keep up with the latest food-fear trends: you should know that carbohydrates are the new fat (like brown is the new black)
and homocysteine is the new cholesterol; the F-Plan diet is out, Atkins is in; and on the genetic-modification debate, the official chattering-class party line is ‘two genes good, four genes bad’. As a rule of thumb, assume that there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ food, except possibly an organic carrot personally hand-reared by Prince Charles.
The lower- and middle-middles, taking their cue from the upper-middles (and from the Daily Mail, with its regulation five health-scares per day), are rapidly succumbing to the full range of ‘posh’ food-fears. There tends to be a bit of a satellite-delay effect, a pause in transmission of a beat or two, before the latest upper-middle food fads and taboos are taken up by the inhabitants of mock-Tudor and neo-Georgian estates, and then
another delay before they reach the 1930s semidetacheds. Some semi-detached suburbanites have only just realised that fat-phobia and fibre-worship are passé, long since superseded by carbo-phobia and protein-mania.
Once all the current carcinogens-du-jour and other food-fear fashions have been adopted by the lower-middles, the upper-middles will of course have to think of some new ones. There is no point in having a wheat intolerance if all those common people who say ‘pardon’ and ‘serviette’ have one too.
The working classes generally have no truck with this sort of nonsense. They have real problems, and do not need to invent fancy food allergies to make their lives more interesting. At the opposite end of the social scale, the upper classes are equally down-to-earth and sceptical about such matters. Although they may have the time and money to devote to whimsical food taboos, they do not suffer from the same insecurities about their identity as the fretful middle classes, and so do not need to define themselves through conspicuous non-consumption of
bread and butter. There are a few exceptions, such as the late Princess of Wales, but they tend to prove the rule by being noticeably more insecure and self-conscious than the average aristocrat."

(from "Watching the English" by Kate Fox).