who actually talks anymore

3 Nov 2004

in these days of online chatrooms,email,mobile phones who actually would try to talk to a stranger, think about it, on your way to work you pop in a newsagents, supermarket, petrol station to buy a paper, you pick it up approach the till......what happens next seems now the norm, the assistant will take your money ring the amount up and if required give you change, no smile not much eye contact,maybe a thank you. this week after a conversation in the pub over the weekend about manners and general conversation i have tried a new approach i have tried three different venues to get a paper in the morning. i now approach the counter and stand in front of the till until i get eye contact, then i say good morning how are you today, whatever happens the person serving you will have to reply,i then ask how much the paper is, when i get the reply i hand over my money with a smile and a thank you. after recieving change again a smile and a thank you, has each time got a smile and thank you back, simple good manners but how often do we use them today, if somebody is entering the shop on you way in/out say brightly good morning, see what response you get you might be surprised. after trying this for three days this week it has made me think about my own lack of good manners. try it and see it could cheer you up in the mornings lol

:lol:

3 Nov 2004

Well - I am always ready to make conversation. I think it is a sad life if we lose the art of just talking. A few words and a smile cost nothing and gat make you and the other party feel good!
Alex
(Always a chatterbox - even in real life)

3 Nov 2004

I just knew that if there was a thread about talking Alex would have to join in!!! rolleyes

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
WTF is a gat??? :shock: confused

:? :? :?

3 Nov 2004

yes but what a nice reply alex made, that is the right attitude in life
three cheers for alex

3 Nov 2004

Quote by Sgt Bilko
I just knew that if there was a thread about talking Alex would have to join in!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
WTF is a gat??? :shock: :? :? :?

Ha Ha Ha Ha!!
(Isn't it nice to have mates on here? :roll: )

3 Nov 2004

Well I'm a chatterbox too, in virtually all the media mentioned. But I still talk (and listen) lots too.
I was on the Oxford tube from London last week and it was generally quiet, but not at the set of seats I was in, we had a party of conversation. There was a couple sitting opposite me who had been to a show the night before to celebrate the lady's birthday and next to me was avery interesting lady who is a legal person dealing with disputes in broken families. She loved opera and we discussed music and the arts, her work my work and business - it was fantastic. And we didn't get to know each others names or have any drinks - we just conversed biggrin

In supermarkets I usually look for the least happy or most bored looking checkout operator and smile and talk to them - its amazing how that sort of thing can change your whole day. It doesn't always work but most people really enjoy traditional verbal interaction no matter how mundane the situation may be.
So I don't think its a lost thing, it just takes a bit of courage to break the silence sometimes.
You may have guessed - I'm not very shy wink

SA
XXX

4 Nov 2004

We consider ourselves lucky. We moved into a small village in Scotland 6 months ago. within 48 hours our neighbours knew who we were, where we came from, our occupations, why we had moved and a lot more besides.
Although there is just one thing we keep from them wink

:wink:
The local newsagents know us by name, and the pub landlord pours our usual without even having to be asked, but that might :beer: say more about us than him :beer:

4 Nov 2004

I can't help but think of the North - South divide when I read this. Where I live (NW) it's quite normal to chat to people in shops or on the bus if you don't know them. confused

:? :?

4 Nov 2004

we think you might be right sgt
im from manchester origanally(long time ago)and all my family is from there,so i visit quite often,and yes they are so much friendlier than down here,dont get me wrong there are some lovely people from the south(i married one)its just the mundane little conversations like in the checkout queue and the pubs,and on holidays its usually the northeners that we get to chat a lot is just a observation please all you southerners dont hang me,i love you all kiss

4 Nov 2004

If you speak to strangers around my way, they'll most probably mug you for your phone... sad

In good old East Kent, it really spooks me when peeps say hello when you pass them in the street. :shock:
Hxx

4 Nov 2004

Talking is normal - shop keepers, check out operators, people in queues, lost little old men and women, neighbours etc etc. Even had one of my Y10s stumble across where I live the other week and he stopped for a very pleasant chat!
Of course, I'm up north were people are human and warm and lovely lol

:lol: :lol:

4 Nov 2004

Quote by Sgt Bilko
I can't help but think of the North - South divide when I read this. Where I live (NW) it's quite normal to chat to people in shops or on the bus if you don't know them. :? :?

Nope fraid your way off the mark there!!
Everytime I go down London I get lots of strangers, on the tube, in the supermarket, in restaurants even on the streets who start conversations. Taxi drivers down south are deffinately more chatty than up north!!

4 Nov 2004

As a northerner I have to say I like all forms of intercourse be it verbal or non verbal :happy:

4 Nov 2004

4 Nov 2004

Round here, you HAVE to greet the total stranger you pass in the street. It's the law.

4 Nov 2004

In my neck of the woods, if someone you've never met before speaks to you, it probably means you're under arrest. rolleyes

Thank God for the Munches I say. :bounce:

4 Nov 2004

Le Sergent Bilqueau a ecrit:

I can't help but think of the North - South divide when I read this. Where I live (NW) it's quite normal to chat to people in shops or on the bus if you don't know them.

Yes, you're right Sarge, as a southerner in exile I definitely notice the difference here in the north - I moved up here three years ago.
Mike.