Gentlemen then and now
Clearly, he must have manners, humour, humility, talent and courage, but there will always be more materialistic giveaways, too
Country Life / October 28, 2015
A member of the Athenaeum once put up a notice after his umbrella was taken from the cloakroom. It read: ‘Will the nobleman who has taken my umbrella please return it.’ A friend asked: ‘How do you know it’s a nobleman?’ He replied: ‘The rules state that this club is for gentlemen and noblemen, and no gentleman would take my umbrella.’
According to Somerset Maugham, the only value of being a gentleman lay in the fact that it wasn’t a pretence (he also said it was almost impossible to be one and a writer), but with the world changing faster than a baton handover in an Olympic relay, is it possible to have a definitive picture of one? Clearly, he must have manners, humour, humility, talent and courage, but there will always be more materialistic giveaways, too.
Gentlemen then and now
1912 2012
The Proms Glastonbury
The Quorn Duke of Beaufort’s
Rolls-Royce Land Rover Discovery
Baden-Baden Rock
Royal Ascot Glorious Goodwood
Guinea fowl Venison
Bloomsbury Group Hay Festival
Norfolk Dorset
Henley Henley
Shooting at Elveden Shooting at Alnwick
Belgravia Fulham
Moustache Clean-shaven
Cigarettes Nicorette
Rudyard Kipling Antony Beevor
Tobogganing in St Moritz Skiing in Val d’Isère
Rectory Old Rectory
Ballroom dancing Strictly Come Dancing
Claret New Zealand Pinot Noir
Epsom salts San Pellegrino
Wisden Wisden
H. M. Bateman Matt
Fagging Counselling
African grey parrot Buff Orpington
Scotland in August Scotland in August
Manservant No servant
Kedgeree Muesli with blueberries
Bread-and-butter pudding Sticky-toffee pudding
Fob watch Diving watch
Gertrude Jekyll Arabella Lennox-Boyd
Dining room Kitchen
Herbaceous border Wildflower meadow
Royal Yacht Squadron Royal Yacht Squadron
Arthur Conan Doyle Sebastian Faulks
The Savoy Grill The Wolseley
Nightshirt Turnbull & Asser pyjamas
Ironed newspaper Today
English setter Black labrador
Whist BBC Ten O’Clock News
White tie No tie
12-bore 20-bore
New pair of Purdeys Grandfather’s Purdeys
Catching lots of salmon in Scotland Catching no salmon in Scotland
Polo in India Polo in Midhurst
Five perfect gentlemen
Sir Walter Raleigh for courtesy
The Light Brigade for heroism when facing certain death
Beau Brummell for exquisite dressing
Ernest Shackleton for rescuing his men
Lord Carrington for knowing when to resign
Five gentlemen of literature
Lord Peter Wimsey
The Scarlet Pimpernel (Sir Percy Blakeney)
Mr Knightley
Raffles
Richard Hannay
Five things a gentleman would never do
Holiday in Florida
Own a yacht without sails
Wear fuschia socks
Order Cristal Champagne
Plant a hanging basket
The 39 steps to being a gentleman
Which manners maketh the (modern) gentleman? Rupert Uloth has the definitive list.
Rupert UlothOctober 28, 2015
A gentleman…
1 Negotiates airports with ease
2 Never lets a door slam in someone’s face
3 Can train a dog and a rose
4 Is aware that facial hair is temporary, but a tattoo is permanent
5 Knows when not to say anything
6 Wears his learning lightly
7 Possesses at least one well-made dark suit, one tweed suit and a dinner jacket
8 Avoids lilac socks and polishes his shoes
9 Turns his mobile to silent at dinner
10 Carries house guests’ luggage to their rooms
11 Tips staff in a private house and a gamekeeper in the shooting field
12 Says his name when being introduced
13 Breaks a relationship face to face
14 Is unafraid to speak the truth
15 Knows when to clap
16 Arrives at a meeting five minutes before the agreed time
17 Is good with waiters
18 Has two tricks to entertain children
19 Can undo a bra with one hand
20 Sings lustily in church
21 Is not vegetarian
22 Can sail a boat and ride a horse
23 Knows the difference between Glenfiddich and Glenda Jackson
24 Never kisses and tells
25 Cooks an omelette to die for
26 Can prepare a one match bonfire
27 Seeks out his hostess at a party
28 Knows when to use an emoji
29 Would never own a Chihuahua
30 Has read Pride and Prejudice
31 Can tie his own bow tie
32 Would not go to Puerto Rico
33 Knows the difference between a rook and a crow
34 Sandals? No. Never
35 Wears a rose, not a carnation
36 Swats flies and rescues spiders
37 Demonstrates that making love is neither a race nor a competition
38 Never blow dries his hair
39 Knows that there is always an exception to a rule
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This article features in our Gentleman’s Life magazine, out today with Country Life