5 Things Iranians and Brits Have in Common by Lois Pryce   

Back in January we hosted the launch of Lois Pryce’s Revolutionary Ride, her book about her motorcycle travels through Iran.  There were Persian snacks, Persian music and so many people wanting to hear more about her travels. Not only did we have her come to speak at the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival (listen to the podcast here), but she was also the subject of The Yes Tribe’s Adventure Book Club held in our basement last night. We are also planning an event in our Long Acre store with Lois, so keep an eye on our events page.

We love having her around so much that we are one step away from getting her to join our Fantasy Football League, giving her a locker and getting her to bring back magnets from her holidays for our staff room fridge. We like to think she loves us back, well she did kindly write this blog post for us (* writes ‘Stanfords 4 Lois 4eva’ all over our notebooks). Lois, over to you:

Five things I was surprised to find that Iranians and Brits have in common…(Warning: broad generalisations ahead!)

  1. Tea

Let’s start with the obvious one. In Iran, as in Britain, it is the humble cup, or indeed glass, of tea that keeps the entire country moving. Nothing can happen without tea – no work, no social event, no business deal or quite truthfully, no human interaction that lasts longer than a few minutes. Tea is used to punctuate, to ruminate, to celebrate and commiserate. The format may be different in Iran – it is drunk black and sweet in tiny glasses – but the concept is the same; it’s a moment of downtime and togetherness. Tea lubricates the nation.

Tabriz bazaar tea

 

  1. Ta’arof

You know that thing we do in Britain when we offer to pick up the cheque for dinner and a whole pantomime of politeness ensues – ‘No, I’ll pay!’ ‘No, really, it’s my turn.’ ‘No, no, I insist’… and so it goes on until the requisite amount of insisting has taken place? And the same when we hold a door open – ‘You first’, ‘No, you first’. ‘No, please, you…’ Well, not only do they do all this in Iran too, they even have a name for it. It’s called ‘Ta’arof’. Just like us Brits there’s an expected formalised politeness to every transaction although the Iranians take it even further, with shopkeepers and taxi drivers often going through the procedure until the offers and refusals have taken place three times and everyone’s happy. But take note! Don’t think you can accept a freebie on the first offer – that’s not how it works in Iran, or in Britain for that matter…

 

  1. Picnics

So, you think you’ve got it down, lounging on Hampstead Heath with your tartan travel rug, your Thermos and ye olde fashioned wicker hamper. Well, think again, my friend. You wanna know how to picnic? You wanna see some serious hardcore picnicking? Go to Iran and find out how it’s really done. It’s true, the picnic is a British institution dating back to medieval hunting parties but Iranians have taken the concept to a whole new level. Everywhere you turn in Iran you will find families and  groups of friends or colleagues laying out a rug, brewing up the tea, preparing the shisha and chowing down on a gargantuan spread. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. Here in Britain we tend towards the traditional beauty spots and beaches, but Iranians will regularly be found picnicking on motorway verges and even on traffic islands in the middle of Tehran – and it seems, thoroughly enjoying the experience.

 

  1. Island Mentality

In Europe – but definitely not European. In the Middle East – but definitely not Arabs. Britain and Iran stand equally alone in their geographic and cultural positions. Both former empires with distinct identities and strong sense of national pride, neither country are very comfortable with the idea of mucking in with their neighbours. In the same way that you don’t have to travel very far in Britain to find someone banging on about ‘British identity’, you don’t have to wait very long in Iran for someone to point out that they are Persian – with their own language, traditions, culture and ancient history. But for some reason, when Iranians do this it makes them sound dignified and noble, rather than like a Daily Mail reading UKIP voter.

  1. GSOH

Ah, that most desired characteristic in the personal ads – the Good Sense of Humour. Well obviously, we Brits rule the world with our devilish wit. Monty Python, Spike Milligan, Blackadder, The Office, the list goes on. We are so damned funny and not just on the telly. We make clever jokes to our friends, witty observations just pour out of our mouths; we really know how to ‘ave a larf in Blighty, oh yes. I have spent time in a lot of countries and no-one mucks about like the Brits do. Or so I thought until I arrived in Iran, expecting a nation of solemn, religious fundamentalists – and found myself amongst a nation of some of the best jokers, pranksters and fun-loving clowns I have ever known. This is nation of people who smile and laugh and goon around in what I would like to humbly call, the great British tradition.

So, next time you read a news story about ‘Iran’, remember, they’re just a bunch of funny, tea-drinking, polite, proud picnickers – like us.

-Lois Pryce

 

Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce £14.99

 

 

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