Good manners are simply codified kindness, and being in possession of
them enhances the quality of your everyday life and that of the people
around you. At home and abroad, Debora and Kay have done the fieldwork,
made the mistakes, and committed enough embarrassing faux pas for two
lifetimes, in the hope that you don't have to.
Illustrations by Denise Dorrance
Good manners aren't about cutlery, codes or cleverness - they're about
kindness.
Writers Kay Plunkett-Hogge and Debora Robertson have honed their
combined social wisdom into a warm, witty, how-to guide on how to live
modern life with manners - and have a lot of fun along the way.
Debora and Kay have done the fieldwork, made the mistakes, and committed
enough embarrassing faux pas for two lifetimes, in the hope that you
don't have to! Their funny, frank handbook is your cheat sheet to every
social situation, your right-hand man(ual) to styling out life with sass
and a modicum of grace.
Their tried-and-tested guidelines are divided into five main
categories:
At Home: family life; sharing is caring; entertaining at home;
dinner; welcome to the neighbourhood
At Large: work; public spaces; public transport and petiquette -
pets in public
At Play: social life; eating out, staying away; dating in the modern
world
@ Your Computer: digital decorum; phones
At the End: dealing with illness and death
Good manners are not about knowing what to wear for drinks at six, being
pretentious or catching people out with some mysterious
salad-fork-related regulation. In essence, good manners are simply
organised kindness, and Kay and Debora will show you how being in
possession of them will enhance the quality of your everyday life and
that of the people around you.
