Deanna Raybourn Quotes

When two Eglishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather.

In the first half of the 20th century, fashion was simply not a very English thing to do.

Conventional manners are a kind of literacy test for the alien who comes among us.

On the Continent there is one topic which should be avoided-the weather; in England, if you do not repeat the phrase "Lovely day, isn't it?" at least two hundred times a day, you are considered a bit dull.

Although the advice that you get if you got to see Margaret is 'stand up for yourself, shout back, and argue the toss and then she will respect you', the trouble is that sort of advice to the English middle-class male of a certain age doesn't actually help us very much because we've always been brought up to believe that it's extremely rude to shout back at women.

I have an English family and I've lived in England for years.

I love New York, but I have to admit that I feel very English, and I do miss that sense of history that you have everywhere in Britain.

I'm very English, and we don't talk about emotions publicly.

Manbags are only acceptable if you are Italian, French, or gay.

It's a very ancient culture, British culture. You can't be seen to be too wealthy, and you certainly can't be seen to be giving away any of your wealth either because that's sort of vulgar, too. It's funny, that, because in New York, if you are wealthy, you have to be philanthropic to be successful.

American life is based on a reassurance that we like one another but won't violate one another's privacies. This makes it a land of small talk.

I'm sure there's some sort of cynicism or fatalism in Ireland and England. We are fatalistic here, and sometimes we need to be shaken out of that.

People in England have a lot of respect. It is relaxed here.

Privacy is not really a concept in Japan.

If you've lived in England for five years, for me, it doesn't make you English.

Humans become human through intense learning not just of survival skills but of customs and social mores, kinship and social laws-that is, culture.

I've always felt that English women had to be approached in a sisterly manner, rather than an erotic manner.

At every point I wished that I was born English. They need to make it colder in here. You could hang meat in this room. But, yeah...I grew up in a very English household. My folks were from Liverpool. I've said this before, but there is nothing more English than an Englishman that no longer lives in England.

An Englishman never takes his collar off when he is writing. How can you expect him to show you his soul?

It is not that the Englishman can't feel-it is that he is afraid to feel. He has been taught at his public school that feeling is bad form. He must not express great joy or sorrow, or even open his mouth too wide when he talks-his pipe might fall out if he did.

To be Radchaai is to be civilised.

The English take everything with an exquisite sense of humour. They are only offended if you tell them that they have no sense of humour.

Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.

Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?

Did they practice looking suspicious in mirrors? Welcome to the United States. Don’t even think about chewing gum the wrong way.’ (Carlos)