As Canadians, we generally feel strong ties to the United Kingdom; among the reasons, our heritage and Commonwealth membership, and the fact we still celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday. Given the cultural similarities, in terms of dating, English men should be comparable to Canadian men. Shouldn’t they? Alas, while men are normally on a different planet to women, English men might as well be in another galaxy. But once you start to learn the hidden rules — it’s taken me four years to get to this point — the payoff just might be worth it. Here are 7 tips for those of you looking to get bowlered over.
Don’t be fooled by the accent
Ah, accents, so very classy and so very charming. And that charm will wear off. Once it does and you realize that they’re not all Hugh Grants, Colin Firths or Daniel Craigs, you’re left with the reality of the English male: he can be a gentleman, or not, and he can be educated, or not, just like any other guy. (By the way, English men don’t have an accent — it’s the foreigner that has one. That’s you.)
He’s either 100 per cent in, or running away from commitment
There is no in between. If you want to bag yourself an English gent, then you’re going to have to learn to spot this character flaw early, and make your own fight-or-flight decision — and make it fast. The consequence of a bad call here could be years of heartache at the very worst, and at the very least a bruised ego and possibly some in-public teeth-gritted drama (you or him).
Sexual inhibitions?
I’ll keep this short and semi-sweet: Do yourself a favour and read the chapter on sex in Kate Fox’s Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, which perhaps best sums up the English and sex in some of the punchiest one-liners I’ve ever read. These include: “No Sex Please, We’re British!” and “But we don’t have sex, we have hot water bottles” and, my favourite, “Lie back and think of England, you mean?” Jokes aside, Englishmen are like any other hot-blooded male on this planet: they like sex. Still, stereotypes don’t come out of thin air, and if you’re talking about sex with an Englishman, be prepared for him to revert to his inner schoolboy. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy sex; just, it, well, erm, makes him a bit embarrassed to talk about it, especially when he’s with you. So walk up to the bar and buy him a pint (or two); maybe let him get the first one in, given the chivalry thing. If you’re in luck, you might be in for a sleepless night in the best possible way. When he finally stops joking, he’ll be plenty serious.
READ ALL THE REST: http://blogs.slice.ca/the-slice-guide-to-dating-english-men/
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