"....it's worth knowing that in some European countries there are quite extablished rules of etiquette for when dining out. There may be some cross-cultural stuff going on here where one person is referring to the good manners expected in their country when dining in a restaurant and other people are transferring the etiquette rules to amore informal setting...."
Thank you @SEB, for this. It has certainly helped me understand an earlier posting by another member. On an international forum such as this, it is good to have these differences pointed out.
On the subject of etiquette, I once remarked to a French friend how considerate I thought a French gentleman was who had been sitting across the aisle from me in a high speed train from Paris to the south of France. This gentleman had been speaking on his phone so quietly I was barely able to discern any sound at all. My friend told me that the gentleman was not being polite, that "you are not allowed to make phone calls while on the train"; that the gentlemen knew he was doing something he should not have been doing and no wonder he was being so quiet about it.
Thank you @SEB, for this. It has certainly helped me understand an earlier posting by another member. On an international forum such as this, it is good to have these differences pointed out.
On the subject of etiquette, I once remarked to a French friend how considerate I thought a French gentleman was who had been sitting across the aisle from me in a high speed train from Paris to the south of France. This gentleman had been speaking on his phone so quietly I was barely able to discern any sound at all. My friend told me that the gentleman was not being polite, that "you are not allowed to make phone calls while on the train"; that the gentlemen knew he was doing something he should not have been doing and no wonder he was being so quiet about it.
