Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. The French are supposed to be merry; the Germans dull, formal, fond of military uniforms; the Americans boastful, energetic. The English are reputed to be cold, reserved, rather haughty people who do not shout in the street. They are steady, easy-going and fond of sport. People in England do not shake hands as much as people do in Europe.
The English themselves like to speak of the "Englishness" of the English and they agree that there are really some typical English features – egoism, a strong sense of individualism and intolerance of outsiders, independence and self-confidence, a strong belief in private property and love of comfort.
The English are a nation of stay-at-homes. "The Englishman's home is his castle" is a saying known all over the world. It is true that English people prefer small houses, built to house one family, perhaps with a small garden.
The fire is the focus of the English home. What do other nations sit round? The answer is they don't. They go out to cafes or sit round the cocktail bar. For the English it is the open fire and the ceremony of English tea. Tea is part of the prose of British life as necessary as potatoes or bread. It must be made "just like mother makes it", one teaspoonful of tea for each person. It is drunk with or without sugar but almost always with milk.
The English people often say something about the weather when they begin a conversation. In fact people talk about weather more in Britain than in most parts of the world. For one thing, the weather in Britain changes very quickly. One day may be fine and the next day may be wet. You can never be quite sure what the weather is going to be like. The English often say: "Other countries have a climate, in England we have weather. For another thing, the weather is a safe topic for conversation. It plays a big part in the lives of the British people. Every daily newspaper publishes a weather forecast. Both the radio and the television give the weather forecast several times each day.
The club is decidedly British institution. Club membership is a part of clubmen professional and business life. Membership of the club is regarded as carrying a certain social prestige. Most of the clubs are old. They derived from a coffee-house, where Englishmen gathered for company and conversation. The members of all clubs are to be selected. There exist school clubs and college clubs, political clubs and cultural clubs, town clubs and country clubs. There are sports clubs of all sorts. Sixty years ago clubs were regarded to be only male territory. Now nearly all the clubs are open for both men and women.
These are some peculiarities of the British way of life.