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" Good manners: The noise you don't make when you're eating soup. - Bennett Cerf"

Learning good table manners puts you at ease to enjoy your dinner and your company regardless of restaurant.

I remember a story my friend Natalie once told me about how she lost her appetite when the guy sitting in front of her spat out some food on the table. I hope they weren't on a date.

I hardly think this is a common occurrence except maybe in certain countries where spitting is accepted in its culture. I know in some other countries, to slurp and eat noisily is indicative of 'enjoying one's meal'.

Nevertheless, take a minute now and have a think of your own table manners. What do you think of them?

Now, check if you do these things.

Being the Perfect Dinner Guest

I still have my occasional slip ups at the table, but I know the more I'm aware of them, the better I'll get or rather, the more I'll be at ease. Remember, table manners are more than using the right fork. It is also about being a perfect guest, learning the art of conversation and learning to be a host yourself.

I was reading a little bit of history of Colonial Africa, as depicted by Karen Blixen in her classic book 'Out of Africa '. In those days without phones, television, the internet and other entertainment sets and gadgets, at that time and in that place (Africa), conversation was a highly prized art. You could spend five days getting to see somebody, and when you went, you were invited to stay the night. You talked and so the better you are at conversation, the more prized guest you'll be.

The film Out of Africa (DVD) is really good! Watch it if you can.

If you have any questions about cutlery etiquette, especially when you're using cutlery of another culture, just ask. Don't be afraid to ask for a western set if you find it too difficult. Your host is more interested in sharing a meal with you, rather than see you in an awkward state.

I've established a new section "The Art of the Table" and will be adding new articles (usually embedded as links within the section page)

New Blog Button

Francisca Brunet Burgess wrote to me on Elegantwoman's Facebook page, requesting a blog button.

And so here it is! Add it to your blog if you like. Cut and paste the html code below

<a href="https://elegantwoman.org" target="_self"><img src="https://elegantwoman.org/image-files/elegantwoman-button.jpg" alt="YourSiteTitle" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Add the above code to your website or blog.

What's Coming Up

I will continue to write about the art of the table - there's just so much to learn!

I want to do a more in-depth study of my feature of elegant women.

I've already included biographies, pictures, quotes of Audrey Hepburn but I hope to do more and extend it to other elegant women.

I've recently added the newly crowned Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

She is fascinating. I particularly like the part of her education.

Thank you once again for your support (and patience with me and the development of the site where errors abound), they are greatly appreciated!

Warmest regards to you and your family,

P.s. I promise to be active on twitter and Facebook. While I'm busy reading, researching, planning and writing pages on elegantwoman.org, I occasionally blog.

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