Which is where the charm and the emotional impact of this book lies. They're probably the ONLY ONES who'd like to be. Nothing to worry about." Of course, the English aren't REALLY like this, but they'd like to be. Apart from a few cuts, scratches, a broken arm and a mild concussion. They are chaotic to the point of recklessness, irreverent and prone to inappropriate humour, they're driven by a passion to do the right thing, they stumble over the simple day-to-day aspects of life, they are emotionally inarticulate, deeply loyal, keep their heads in a crisis, move TOWARDS the gunfire and do what needs to be done to make a bad situation better and, no matter how battered or beaten they are, if someone asks how they're doing the answers is always "I'm perfectly fine. They break the rules when the rules are silly or even when they're just inconvenient. Mary's, both the institution and the people who give their lives to it, are quintessentially English in the way that they muddle through from one crisis to the next. The thing I enjoyed most about this book was that St. Good British Chaps win the day by muddling through
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