Manners
When I was a small boy, my parents drummed into me the importance of saying "please" when I wanted something and "thank you" when I received it. Sometimes I would forget and my mother would snap, "What do you say?" As far as I know the "please" and "thank you" training goes on in nearly all British homes. We followed the tradition with our own children when they were growing up. "Have you forgotten something Ian?" "Oh yeah, please may I leave the table?" "And Frances. Can you remember those two little words?" "Errr...mmm... oh - thank you Daddy!" And now I see our granddaughters getting their "please" and "thank you" training from our daughter and son-in-law. In a human lifetime, I guess we say "please" and "thank you" a million times each. I will not complicate matters by throwing in all the "excuse mes" and the "pardons" and...