I'm going to talk about the chapter o” HOME RULES”.

First, I’ll try to explain the importance of houses and privacy for the English. Later I’ll
focus on some general home rules, and finally I’ll refer to some gardening policies/principles/regulations. I’ll close my presentation giving a
hypothesis that the author raises or proposes on this subject.

As I was saying the main idea of this chapter is the importance of PRIVACY for the English They really have a privacy obsession. It’s for this
reason that English people want to live in their private house with(owning) a small garden. Perhaps if you have ever travelled to England you
might have seen the typical Victorian houses with small gardens

1_Here, she explains that when you’re looking for a house address in England it’s difficult to find because the streets are never straight, and
their names and street numbers are hidden and cannot be easily seen or found. She exposes the first rule: the moat and the drawbridge,
which would come to say something like that they’d like to live in a castle to protect their privacy but they can't, and then they try to hide
their house instead.

2_ she adds that the house is more than a castle, because for the English their house is also their identity.

There is a rule that is the construction of the nest that comes to say that when they move to another house they have to do some reform by
themselves, they are so fond of DIY* (the activity of decorating, building, and making repairs at home by oneself rather than employing a professional). In this
way they put their personal stamp on the new house. Obviously there are some class rules when it comes to decorating or organizing the
house. She describes a lot of/plenty of examples, for example: Upper and lower classes don’t match/combine furniture and fabrics, while
middle classes combine more. Needless to say, that the upper class inherits the furniture.

3_ there are also rules when you have to talk about moving house: (Here, there are three main points)

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Firstly, you have to complain/moan about the all the moving process (from the purchase of the house to the reforms), and say that the reform
has been a absolute nightmare, a trauma. This is evident,clear,crystal clear in all social classes, but if the house is bigger you have to complain
more. Of course, this is a way to proudly display the house, because while you are complaining you are already talking about the house

Secondly, it’s totally forbidden to talk or ask about the price of the house. It’s accepted to discuss the value of the home but in no case about
the price.

Thirdly, you have to look down on the taste of the previous owner (you have to disparage the taste of the previous occupant). And you have
to downplay your skills and highlight the things that you have done wrong in the improvements (DIY), just talk about your goofs and mistakes in
improvements (DIY).

And finally she also says that it is common to complain or make fun of the real estate man, because he’s someone who makes judgments about
something as important as the house for the English.

Let’s move to the rules regarding the gardens. Every English house has a front entrance or small garden and another larger garden at the back.

The front garden is likely to be more carefully arranged. There is an important garden rule that is that you may not enjoy in it. They never,
ever sit in their front garden. You can only be there growing the flowers or fixing things. The front gardens are for others to enjoy and admire.
They are also the only space for interaction with the neighbours; if they have to talk about something they do it in the front garden. There is
only one exception of people who sit on them: counter-culture groups such as hippies or squatters who have sofas.You hate/detest showing
your private life to others.

Instead, they can have fun in the back gardens. These also tend to be cared for. The writer talks about how there is an implicit rule that you
have to take care of your gardens (NSPCG). The UPKEEPING OF GARDENS IS A MUST(priority)

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Obviously gardens are also influenced by social class. In general terms, higher class gardens tend to look more casual, more natural and less
effortful(laboured) And the lower class ones are more colourful or garish.

Finally, the author gives an explanation/reason for this obsession that the English have for houses and their privacy. Previous writers (that she
quotes) have pointed out that it could be because English consider that their home is their homeland; also the typical bad weather might
be a secondary reason that. But she links the obsession for privacy with a lack of social skills; in other words, the English ,staying at home,
avoid social contact.(English are not keen on socialising much.

'Home is what the English have instead of a Fatherland'. (For example, The Germans live in Germany, the Romans live in Roma, but the English
live at home). Another possible explanation would be the weather

First of all, the writer draws the attention

With this idea in mind

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).

-Nest: a bird's house in a tree