06.03.2018 Views

The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

THE BOOK OF TELLS<br />

By covering their eyes, people are preventing themselves<br />

from seeing the thing that is distressing them, and by<br />

covering their mouth they are simultaneously concealing<br />

their distress and preventing themselves from saying something<br />

they might later regret. <strong>The</strong>se covering gestures are<br />

essentially symbolic. For example, when you hear about<br />

an air crash on the radio, you are as likely to cover your<br />

eyes as your ears - by covering your eyes you are behaving<br />

as if you had actually seen the accident, not just heard<br />

about it.<br />

<strong>The</strong> other two 'protective' adaptors are the 'head-clasp'<br />

and the 'cradle'. <strong>The</strong> best place to see these gestures is at<br />

a sporting event like a football match, especially when<br />

there's a lot at stake for both sides. When a player shoots<br />

at goal and narrowly misses, you <strong>of</strong>ten see the supporters<br />

clasp their head in despair - the hands rise up and cover<br />

the top <strong>of</strong> the head, creating a manual crash helmet. This<br />

is a natural, unlearned response, and it's found all round<br />

the world. It works metaphorically because it's designed to<br />

shield the head, not against physical blows, but from the<br />

psychological damage <strong>of</strong> witnessing some terrible<br />

spectacle.<br />

In 1996 the England football team played Germany in<br />

the semi-finals <strong>of</strong> the European Championship in Turin. At<br />

the end <strong>of</strong> the full period the score was 1-1, so the match<br />

had to be decided on a penalty shoot-out, where six<br />

players from each side have to take turns at getting the ball<br />

past the other team's goalkeeper. <strong>The</strong> teams were level at<br />

five points apiece, when Gareth Southgate, the England<br />

midfielder, stepped up to the line to take his shot at goal.<br />

This was a crucial point: if he missed and the next German<br />

player got the ball in the net, Germany would win and go<br />

230

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!