From Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, by Kate Fox
The 'exception' to the no-sitting-in-front-gardens rule is clearly an act of deliberate disobedience: the seat is always a sofa, never a wooden bench or plastic chair or any other piece of furniture that might possible be regarded as suitable for outdoor use. This flaccid, often damp and eventually rotting sofa is a statement, and one that tends to be found in conjunction with other statements such as drinking herbal tea, eating organic vegan food, smoking ganja, wearing the latest eco-warrior fashions, decoration the windows with 'So No to GMO' posters ... the themes and fashions vary, but you know what I mean: the usual counter-culture cluster. -- p. 127