Greeting Etiquette in Britain (UK)

                                How to Greet someone in Britain

The Handshake

A handshake is the most common form of greeting among the English and British people and is customary when you are introduced to somebody new.

The Kiss

It is only when you meet friends, whom you haven't seen for a long time, that you would kiss the cheek of the opposite sex. In Britain one kiss is generally enough.

Formal greetings

First person "How do you do?"
Second person " How do you do?"
'How are you?' is a question and the most common and polite response is "I am fine thank you and you?"
First person "How are you?"
Second person "I am fine thank you and you?"
Nice to meet you – Nice to meet you too. (Often said whilst shaking hands)
Delighted to meet you– Delighted to meet you too.
Pleased to meet you – Pleased to meet you too. .
Glad to meet you - Glad to meet you too
Good Morning / Good Afternoon / Good Evening
Informal greetings
Hi or hello
Morning / Afternoon / Evening ( Theydrop the word 'Good' in informal situations).
How's you? - Fine thanks. You?

Thank you / thanks / cheers

They sometime say 'cheers' instead of thank you. You may hear 'cheers' said instead of 'good bye', what they are really saying is 'thanks and bye'.
                                                                                   

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Saint Valentine's Day: 14th February

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:
                        Good morning to you, valentine;
                        Curl your locks as I do mine ---
                        Two before and three behind.
                        Good morning to you, valentine.

Now a days, February 14 has become the date for exchanging love messages and a celebration of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. The date is marked by sending poems and simple gifts, such as flowers, to loved ones and secret loves. By far, Valentine's Day Flowers are the most popular gift today.

Types of Transport in Britain

Roads and motorways are Britain's primary domestic transport routes. There are some 225,000 miles (362,000 km) of roads in Britain.

Travel by car, van, bus or taxi is by far the most common means of transport.

The red double decker buses (pictured below) are famous all over the world. You can see loads of them in London.

                                                      Make a London bus out of paper

Meals and Meal Times

Some people have their biggest meal in the middle of the day and some have it in the evening, but most people today have a small mid-day meal - usually sandwiches, and perhaps some crisps and some fruit.

They have three main meals a day:

• Breakfast - between 7:00 and 9:00,
• Lunch - between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m.
• Dinner (sometimes called Supper) - The main meal. Eaten anytime between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. (Evening meal)

Traditionally, and for some people still, the meals are called:

(Traditional English Breakfast)
• Breakfast - between 7:00 and 9:00,
• Dinner (The main meal) - between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m.
• Tea - anywhere from 5:30 at night to 6:30 p.m.

On Sundays the main meal of the day is often eaten at midday instead of in the evening. This meal usually is a Roast Dinner consisting of a roast meat, yorkshire pudding and two or three kinds of vegetables.

DRINKING TEA

Tea

Britain is a tea-drinking nation. Every day they drink 165 million cups of the stuff and each year around 144 thousand tons of tea are imported.

Tea in Britain is traditionally brewed in a warmed china teapot, adding one spoonful of tea per person and one for the pot. Most Britons like their tea strong and dark, but with a lot of milk.

The traditional way of making tea is:

• Boil some fresh cold water. (We use an electric kettle to boil water)
• Put some hot water into the teapot to make it warm.
• Pour the water away
• Put one teaspoon of tea-leaves per person, and one extra tea-spoon, into the pot.
• Pour boiling water onto the tea.
• Leave for a few minutes.
• Serve