Bad habits/manners....

mrskitty · 06-10-2006, 10:28

I was brought up in a very 'mixed' home where my mums side are very well mannered and my dads side dont care at all, so i have the knowledge and just use them when neccesary, but there are a couple of things i do that wind some people up rotten.
The first being reading at the table during meal times-i love reading whilst im eating-my mum used to go barmy but my dads mum used to read at the table all the time so he didnt care.
The other being eating snack food whilst a meal is being cooked or picking at the food-i love doing this but some people really have a go at me for it-meanies!

What do you all think?and are there any habits you have that are considered bad mannered?yeah im asking for trouble here....

WillowTheWhisp · 06-10-2006, 10:57

I hate reaading at the table. Mind you I do it at McDonalds - well it beats eating the food!

mani · 06-10-2006, 10:59

*L* no i dont mind occasional readin of the paper

i hate it when ppl chew loudly esp crisps - i literally have to walk outta the room to avoid a situation.

West Ender · 06-10-2006, 13:33

I hate bad table manners but the one thing I really can't stand is people who eat with their mouths open. I don't just mean at the table, either, where ever they are I really want to slap them - it's revolting. I must confess to reading the morning paper while I have my coffee and toast for breakfast but I'm usually alone while I do it.

garinda · 06-10-2006, 13:38

Some manners are just silly, and are derived from those ever upwardly mobile Victorians. What does it really matter what cutlery you use to eat, as long as you get the food to your mouth?

Howver I am a stickler for please and thank you. It just shows common courtesy and respect, and I will comment to people if I don't receive one, especially in shops.

West Ender · 06-10-2006, 16:44

I once heard a story that I liked about Gracie Fields and table ettiquette. She was just becoming well-known and was invited to a grand dinner with a lot of rather "superior" people. At table she was seated next to some Lord or other (I can't remember who) and when the soup course arrived she picked up her roll of bread and broke it into pieces which she dropped, one by one, into her soup and started to eat them from her spoon. All her fellow diners looked at her, aghast at this "faux pas", but Lord Whoever immediately picked up his roll and did exactly the same as she had done, dropping every little piece into his soup, and continued to chat to her while they both ate their soupy bread. That's what I call chivalry - and good manners.

ShortStuff · 06-10-2006, 22:13

I can't abide people who litter - especially people who throw stuff out of their car window, such as fag ends - it makes my blood boil! I also hate it if you try to help someone and they don't thank you i.e. holding a door for someone (usually eldery ladies or women with prams) and they just walk past you without even acknowledging you!.............In fact just last week I had such an encounter.

I was sat in the opticians on 1 of only 2 seats that can be accessed without going down some stairs, when a lady & her child plus a pushchair came in - she was about to struggle down the steps with the pram, so I immediately got up and said they could take the seat I had & I would go downstairs, her daughter was very polite and said thank you - the lady just gave me a funny look (almost as if she was peeved I'd got up as she couldn't moan about it to someone later!!!)

shillelagh · 06-10-2006, 22:35

Well i gave a bunch of kids a shock today. Had to go and pick a prescription up and there was a bunch of teenagers hanging around the door. Anyway someone came out and one of the teenagers grabbed the door and held it open for me - i said thank you and the lad said what! Mustnt be used to being thanked! I've always said thank you when someone opens the door for me or getting off the bus. If we were bad mannered mum would have swiped us one! I got swiped for getting off the bus once and not saying thank you! I was 19 at the time! Mum always said please and thank you dont cost you nothing to say and might make someones day - that was proved today with the teenagers. What i dont like is when someone is eating and talking at the same time. Always swallow your food before you talk. That way we dont get to see what your eating.

CASPER · 06-10-2006, 22:38

I'm with you Garinda. Their is no excuse for people who don't say please and thank you. It realy winds me up.
Thank you for listening

grannyclaret · 06-10-2006, 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I hate reaading at the table.

When we were kids we ate in the kitchen, our table was the mangle,(for wringing out the washing),,and i loved reading the tablecloth,,,which was a clean newspaper,,,

garinda · 06-10-2006, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by CASPER

I'm with you Garinda. Their is no excuse for people who don't say please and thank you. It realy winds me up.
Thank you for listening

No, no, thank you for agreeing with me.

Thank you.

LancYorkYankee · 07-10-2006, 00:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

No, no, thank you for agreeing with me.

Thank you.

Oh P L E A S E!

I've had freinds make fun of me for being overly polite especially with please and thankyou. I agree with the aboves that people who don't respond with a please or thank you really gets me annoyed!

Thanks SO much for listening. It really pleases me!

West Ender · 07-10-2006, 15:48

That surprises me, LYY, as all the Americans I've known were very polite.

Saying please and thankyou becomes a habit if it's taught from babyhood. My children and grandchildren were taught it, mainly by example as we were always as polite to them as we expected them to be. One thing though - they were taught to say "Thank you" and not the dreadful "Ta" and they were also taught to say "Hello". It makes my toes curl when I hear the mother of a small child saying to it, "Say hiya".

LenWeekes · 07-10-2006, 22:10

Good manners matter and can cheer up someone's day.
I go into shops where the local scum have a mobile phone glued to their ear and they grunt at the shopkeeper pointing at what they want.

They chuck their coins on the counter and saunter out, doesn't matter if the money is on the low side, they are probably carrying a knife anyway.

When I go in and say hello and smile, I am at risk of being sectioned.

When they realise I am not insane they say hello too, relax and we have a conversation.

LenWeekes · 07-10-2006, 22:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by West Ender

That surprises me, LYY, as all the Americans I've known were very polite.

Saying please and thankyou becomes a habit if it's taught from babyhood. My children and grandchildren were taught it, mainly by example as we were always as polite to them as we expected them to be. One thing though - they were taught to say "Thank you" and not the dreadful "Ta" and they were also taught to say "Hello". It makes my toes curl when I hear the mother of a small child saying to it, "Say hiya".

I agree, I have also found American children well behaved and respectful of adults.

Not like the kids here.