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And in readiness for the Oo Es of Eh and prompted by an Italian guide on such matters we bring you Holidos and Don’ts – tipping.

A tip first of all is a contract To Insure Promptness and our American friends certainly provide that.

We have all seen cab drivers hurl luggage down at a measly tip or God forbid none at all.

While even of you have just got out of the Uber in the dodgiest and wrong part of Washington DC you are expected to open your wallet.

Tipping 100%

But what percentage of your bill should you give your service provider?

Well from experience a fifth of your tariff will elicit a warm wide smile and priority the next time you seek custom.

And so as not to look foreign, or worse, mean work it out beforehand so you’re not scrabbling around for notes.

Boston a gut

The rule of thumb too is that every service provider is entitled to your extra gratuity.

Even if you are that gormless inexperienced 21-year-old waiter getting your order wrong.

At the Black Rose Irish bar in Boston.

Now every American service provider knows the drill.

And that it is tips that make the job viable.

Everybody you would think, apart that is Faceache.

The Tragic Bus (Boy)

One of our waitress bosses at the sadly departed Guadalaharry’s Mexican restaurant by Quincy Market, Boston.

When we worked as Bus Boys, the lowest rung of the hospitality sector.

The convention for clearing the tables while the waiters schmoozed was widely accepted to be 10 per cent of their overall tips.

Which of course, said Faceache, and no I can’t remember her real name, ignored.

What was free, as well as Nachos which I have hence gone off for life, were the daily putdowns.

And getting called ‘Biafra’ on account of my then svelte figure.

All of which would have been helped with a healthy cut of her tips which I had helped win.

Customer is always right

Share it out: Everybody should get their cut

Those post-university experiences and my cousins running bars and diners in New York has led me to value the American tipping culture.

And it does work too as we witnessed first hand when our table were given free drinks on the eve of Cousin Eddie’s wedding.

Because of our extended wait.

Our American friends and family, of course, expect similar courtesy when they visit foreign shores.

A Brit of a lesson

But alas, at least here on our shores it can be erratic at best.

Which is when my formidable Auntie Kathleen, daughter of Donegal turned Queen of Queens hospitality would come in.

Reminding staff on these shores of the Holidos and Don’ts – tipping.

And what she would require for herself and her party if they did not meet her standards.

Time, if not life, has been kind to our favourite TV psychiatrist as we go back to the future for the reboot of his story, with Frasier bustin’ for Boston again.

And who can blame Dr Crane for returning to Boston tee-hee party after three decades?

We retraced our footsteps too in Boston last year after 35 years.

Frasier, of course, crashed onto our consciences in Cheers, and the Doc will find it is still there down the stairs.

And everyone will know his name if he walks through the bar.

With the rebranded drinking den (it was known as the Bull & Finch) a magnet for television sitcom fans who gladly pull up Norm’s stool for a beer.

The Merch of Boston

Boston, as American cities do but we here in Europe tend not to as much, was quick to see the possibility of merchandising the programme.

When we first visited, and stayed back in 1987.

It was the height of the sitcom’s popularity and my travelling pal Neilly manned one of the carts around town.

And, of course, we returned with t-shirts, tankards, you name it…

Alas, all of which have been lost to time, extended girths and moves around this and other countries.

The Bull & Finch, or Cheers, on Beacon Hill, past the Common, is, of course, one of just a host of great traditional bars around Boston.

Rose of Boston

And it was good to see that The Black Rose, State Street, Downtown, had lost none of its lustre.

In the years since I poured beer, waited tables (though no Carla me) and manned the door.

As the 24th biggest city in the US with a population of 675,647 and with land reclaimed from the harbour Boston is spacious.

But also a nice cosy hub down by the historic Old Boston, by Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.

Best bar none

And anyone who goes down there should bar hop from the Bell in Hand Tavern to the Green Dragon Tavern to the Sam Adams Downtown Boston Taproom.

There is naturally competition among the bars down here as to who is the oldest.

And claims too of Sam drinking down there, while the Taproom also sells the best Adams merch.

The irony may be that the modern-day Sam and Frasier’s rival/friend metamorphosed into a bar owner who doesn’t drink.

But that won’t stop you… and to bluff it as a local then you should ask for a Sam (that’s Adams, not Malone, keep up) at the bar.

Sleepless since Seattle

We’d hope that the years since Seattle for Frasier have been kind in Chicago, a blue-collar sports city which has much in common with Boston.

Because Carla, and we do hope she makes an appearance having had a cameo in Frasier is there to meet him with the old gang.

As we hear much of the Frasier cast won’t be returning.

And with Frasier bustin’ for Boston again, so are we.

And when you do then we’d recommend flying out of Dublin with Aer Lingus and a sample weekend trip in April would be €603.92.

With you avoiding pre-clearance and staying at the Envoy Hotel which looks out over the Boston Tea Party Museum.