with anxious, acidulent face

Self-deprecating to a fault, he refuses any praise for his work.

O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

The world of snowdrop fanciers (galanthophiles) is full of headstrong egos. […] However, one gently spoken and quiet Gloucestershire galanthophile, Phil Cornish, sidesteps all that nonsense.