... it takes a great deal to produce ennui in an Englishman and if you do, he only takes it as convincing proof that you are well-bred.
And I definitely do that very British thing of, take things with a pinch of salt, stiff upper lip, you know what I mean?
That is the nature of the British psyche. It's very blunt, plain, very linear. It's pragmatic: it records life as it is.
I'm English. All we do is blush.
Even an Englishman was niver improved by bein' blown up.
The British have a remarkable talent for keeping calm, even when there is no crisis.
British people don't express when they are in pain. They don't think it's elegant.
The British do not expect happiness. I had the impression, all the time that I lived there, that they do not want to be happy; they want to be right.
I studied in Britain and spent great moments of my life there as a student living in Belsize Park. I admire the British trait of the stiff upper lip in the face of adversity. My wife studied in Britain, too, and both of us have many friends there.
The English have an extraordinary ability for flying into a great calm.
