Menzies mentioned...
My brother's dog Puddles on the dock. (Dirona obviously don't think much of the docking skills of the locals based on the fender deployment!)
I've noticed on many TV programs, travelogues, etc, that it is a feature in the UK. The Brits wear their fenders proudly - like all round the boat - and always down where they do the business. Bitter experience perhaps...too many to pull up...lazy..? Not sure...
Maybe Dirona's set-up is a case of..."well, if they all do it, maybe they know something we don't, so we better as well?"