Etiquette - and Manners !

Sydney people are often accused of being short on manners and this week saw an interesting exchange of insults on social media.   It seems that a thirty-two weeks pregnant woman bought a $ 4.50 takeaway cup of coffee at a Randwick restaurant - and then sat at the outdoor chairs and tables complex to drink it.

A waitress told her to "move on " as the seating was only available for those who purchased the higher priced " drink in " version.  The customer took umbrage because it was a slack time of day and there were plenty of unoccupied chairs and tables.

Cafes that provide outdoor chairs and tables do so in the hope of attracting more customers and that ruling would certainly apply in peak times, but a more flexible approach at other times of the day would seem a better way to establish friendly customer relations.

It has long been contended that Sydney drivers are more forgiving when it comes to letting others join the traffic flow on stop/start morning commutes.  Melbourne drivers are accused of staring straight ahead and avoiding eye contact with those waiting to enter the flow but this could be a matter of the more temperate Sydney climate resulting in a better state of mind.

Overcrowded trains have long been a point of contention over manners.    The elderly and very pregnant women are often totally ignored by healthy young males occupying a coveted seat on long commutes but often this omission is rectified by unlikely people.   Noticeably, it is young Asians who vacate while those of European linkage hide behind their newspapers or assiduously study their I-Pad.   Possibly because care of the elderly is an ingrained Asian tradition.

The custom of opening a door for a lady seems to have been overtaken by the age of the automated door.  In office buildings where individual offices still have conventional doors it is often noticeable that a woman with a child in a stroller has difficulty in accessing without help - and that help is usually in the form of another woman.  Possibly the offensive rejection of help from men by some feminists may have soured the urge to chivalry in some men.

Despite the retreat of manners in our ever accelerating society, something deep down in the Australian psyche comes to the fore whenever there is a tragedy.   Complete strangers take the trouble to place flowers as a form of remembrance at the place where death occurred - and this must bring incredible solace to the bereaved.

It seems that beneath a hardened exterior,  the etiquette of understanding and unity is expressed by the laying of flowers !