By focusing on such commonplace, prosaic and mundane matters as dog-fouling, swearing, drinking, smoking, nudity, public toilets and parking, Orderly Britain very entertainingly tells us much about social change and, more particularly, about the changing nature of British society.

'We British are, by and large, an orderly people. On one level that's no great claim to make. It is merely an observation that life on these islands is organised, generally predictable and largely co-operative, rather than chaotic and anarchic. It is orderly, in part, because we need to get along, but also because everyday life is heavily rule-governed ...'