Talking Point: On Being Late
Created | Updated Nov 16, 2009
Punctuality is the thief of time.
- Oscar Wilde
Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting.
- White Rabbit, Alice In Wonderland
We all know someone who's constantly late. If you don't, then chances are you are that person. Some people could sooner walk on water than they could turn up on time somewhere. But for others anything other than punctuality is total anathema to them.
It might just be a personality or cultural thing.
For many there's something utterly nerve-shredding about being stuck dead-still in a traffic jam knowing you're going to be very late for something important. But for others, they can take a more philosophical view of the situation at hand. And what's considered 'late' in one country might be deemed too early in another.
Does lateness annoy you in others? Are you fastidiously early in order not to give offence in case you might be late?
Would you say you had a 'relaxed' attitude to time?
What's the latest you've ever been for something? Were you forgiven?
Is being punctual a British thing? For instance, do our Mediterranean cousins enjoy a more relaxed attitude to time in general? Are we Brits a bit uptight?
And what is meant by 'fashionably late' anyway?
Is it a myth that dictators always make the country's trains run on time?
Over to you.