This being the summer holidays I've been inadvertently given a couple of wry takes on what we once celebrated as "us" - Englishness in all its imperial glory.
And so the story comes to an abrupt end with a couple of wry, throwaway lines: "Well, they're all gone now, and I have made my preparations.
Milan Kundera, a Czech-born author who now writes in French, is top with "L'Identité", a novel of engaging directness and wry humour about a couple taking stock after the death of a child.
He participates in a marksmanship competition with a couple of wry "Glockmeisters" ("You can run, but you'll just die tired"), and he quotes an Internet Glock forum as evidence of militancy among Glock users.
There are also several perky comic songs by and about women in love, frustrated or otherwise, that one associates with the madcap revue singers of the 1950s: "I Love a Cop" (performed by Jenn Gambatese as a union worker whose heart leads her beyond the picket line) and a couple of wry, heart-baring spinster's laments from Fiorello's devoted assistant Marie, played by Erin Dilly.
Julia Raeside The wry sitcom about three couples entering their winter years returns with an episode set in Calais following a shopping trip to Cologne's Christmas markets.
The real magician of recycling, though, is Dario Robleto, who is represented here by modest pieces, among them a couple of his wry diva homages.
The most daring element of the British "Coupling" is its wry, sometimes outlandish humor.
(Scott) 'Old Cats' (No rating, 1 28, in Spanish) In this wry and revealing family drama from Chile, a couple face the indignities of aging and the demands of a grown-up child.
"I bet that loses its shine after a couple of years, huh?" She offers a wry smile.
