Arriving at the correct time is considered incredibly important to British people.

If you agree to meet a friend at three, they will be phoning you to find out where you are at two minutes past. They will be annoyed with you when you do finally turn up and whatever excuse you give will not appease them. If you are known for unpunctuality, some friends will start lying to you by telling you an earlier time then the actual time of the arrangement. However if they have gone to all this trouble and you are still late, they will hate you for weeks.

If you are invited for a meal with anybody, they will expect to serve the meal shortly after you arrive and not an hour later. Either they will have to wait for you and serve an overcooked meal for everyone else, or serve everyone and feel embarrassed when you finally arrive when everyone is on their dessert. This will also make them hate you for weeks.

If anybody says ‘sharp’ after any given time, it means that you should be at least ten minutes early and arriving punctually will be considered late. If you are late you will be in such trouble you would be better off feigning illness or creating an amazing excuse and not turning up at all.

Saying ‘7.30 for 8’ for example, means that you should not be earlier than 7.30 but 8pm is the absolute outside time that you can arrive by. Later than this, follow the advice above.

If you invite people around, ask them half an hour later than you originally planned. Most people arrive early which will be annoying when you are not ready.

If you initiate a meeting anywhere do likewise, and for goodness sake don’t be late or you will never ever hear the end of it.

If you are late for church, the service will start without you.
Plays, concerts, movies, sports events and classes will also start without you.

So will weddings and funerals, unless it is your own.