German in the UK

"There are all kinds of high cultural, scientific and philosophical reasons why German is an important language, and many of those are of interest and importance to many people, but for me it is enough that German is a language that brings pleasure in the speaking. Britons travel enormously in Germanophone countries and I think if they knew how simple it is to use the language in a very basic way in restaurants and shops and on the ski-slopes it would spark a real interest. After all "was ist das" and "Mein Name ist Stephen" are not so very difficult to understand... German speakers are always happy to hear someone try and very willing to reply slowly and helpfully in such a way as to help one understand. German is not, as people with no ears seem to think, guttural. It is certainly not the least bit ugly, in fact it is to my ears one of the most euphonious and beautiful languages I know. I wish I spoke better, but I get such pleasure from my attempts."