thanks for the replies - and for the sarcastic ones...nice try. Sarcasm is a fairly witty way of hiding ignorance.

I've seen people pushing sticky rice on pieces of meat with the tines pointing downwards and with the left hand, and thought it was too difficult to do, so I wanted to know if you are expected to do it in a formal dinner in England.

And Dukey..."get real" is an answer comparable to "it depends": it applies to everything and solves nothing.

This thread reminds me of the time we were in San Jose, CR, at lunch in a hotel. A man next to us was eating an ice cream sundae, which was melting, with a fork. My wife had to restrain me from screaming. ((*))