Since moving to London from Ireland I have become increasingly aware of the overly polite and even formal way that English strangers interact with each other. From an angry “Um, excuse me, could you move down please?” through gritted teeth on the tube to a ridiculously apologetic “Oh, um, I think that seat might be taken if you don’t mind; sorry” us Brits seem to prefer apparently polite comments with nasty undertones to directly addressing the problem.
Recently this has reached new dimensions here at Hanson Search HQ where our friendly cleaning staff have a nasty habit of chipping cups and plates when doing the washing up, as well as disrupting carefully arranged desk-junk without leaving the surfaces looking any cleaner. Myself and my colleagues have actually taken to leaving hostile, yet polite, casual, yet stern post-its to ask if (cue sarcastic, self-righteous tone) it would be possible to clean inside the microwave as it is fairly unhygienic in its current state.
A friend recently directed me towards a hilarious site dedicated to such self-righteous scribblings the world over: http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/
I hope you enjoy; make sure you check out the “cake wrecks” section for moral judgement in icing.
By Nicola Blemings
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