Good piece in today's Telegraph about the demise of the British stiff upper lip.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/06/03/do0304.xml
There is undoubtedly some truth in what the writer says, that we Brits have become more emotional and likely to tell people how we really feel rather than always say "Fine, thanks" when people ask how we are. But a) we are still less likely to be emotionally effusive than many other nationalities, and b) we are still pretty much of the stiff upper lip school in 'official' situations, even if we have been changing in our private time.
Good example the other day. I was flying British Airways and there was a really bad jolt of turbulence. So bad that some of the female passengers started screaming.
After a pause, a voice came over the intercom: "This is your captain speaking...I do apologise for the slight discomfort in travelling conditions this morning..."
by Michael Gates
