To ask what the weirdest thing you experienced or saw at someone else's house when you were a child?

I'm having fish and chips for tea now because of this thread

(On a plate, with a fork sorry)

You are dead to me, Oldish

A stuffed elephant’s penis on the wall of a big game trophy room. Not kidding.

I'm absolutely loving reading through this thread! Some proper laugh out loud stories and my gosh (!!!) for the sadder ones!

Not necessarily weird but growing up I had one friend who's dad was quite rich and he had a fancy pants house all designed. Looked great, airy and bright especially as some of the walls and doors were glass (probably something like Perspex but glass effect). Not frosted, full on see through glass.

Even the bedrooms had a glass wall feature, including her bedroom.
I remember playing there and we'd go play in the bathroom (no glass walls thank god) for privacy.

Looking back now, probably an architectural dream but seems very zoo enclosure like....

Fish and chips on plates here too, but that's because we split the portions up, two between 5 as they're huge!
Knew my home life was odd but my brother's friend recently wrote an article about her life, daughter of a rock star, had Queen (band) over, very chaotic childhood. Turns out she thinks our home was weirdest. Must admit, most shocking house I went to was clean and we had tomatoes, fresh , home grown and it was warm in the house.

BillHadersNewWife. I've loved the anecdotes from your grandmother about Liverpool in the turn of the century. My own grandmother was killed in a bombing raid on Mill Road hospital in 1942. A real tragedy as my dad was only 4.

Anyway, my mum was odd when we were kids. She would do a "big shop" on Saturday, then we would be locked in our rooms on Sunday morning so she could have a lie in and we wouldn't eat all the food. My dad worked on Saturday night, and if he got home and we were still locked in, he would go ballistic at her. He'd then make us mountains of toast and buckets of tea!

The only explanation I can think of is that she was a war child and was really stingy with food. My dad was too, but he went the other way and had the attitude that his daughters wouldn't grow up like him.

Ironically, she left when I was 9, so I did grow up without a mother. My dad's biggest fear

My sister's friend had three goats that lived in the house with them, there was straw on the kitchen floor as that was where they slept but they'd obviously gone further into the house as the soft furnishings were half eaten. The house stunk.

I dunno what happened there!!

To ask what the weirdest thing you experienced or saw at someone else's house when you were a child? http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3789963-To-ask-what-the-weirdest-thing-you-experienced-or-saw-at-someone-elses-house-when-you-were-a-child#93003094

Sorry - her children

Went to visit my godmother and their children in their mahoosive house. We weren’t allowed upstairs at all. The children weren’t even allowed upstairs to fetch toys that they wanted to show us as no children were allowed upstairs in the daytime’

I’m having fish & chips for tea as well now because of this thread. I will be putting them on plates this evening as I’m gonna have curry sauce, but would normally not bother, cos I is common.

I was five years old and an only child. My school was a bus ride away so I rarely saw friends outside of school. One day I was invited to my best friend's for tea. She was Italian and from, what seemed to me, to be an enormous family. I walked home from school with her across a field and over a style (which seemed a huge adventure) and then to the farmhouse where the family lived. My friend was the youngest and the older siblings were all so lovely to us. We all sat round the kitchen table and the mum made sausage and chips for everyone. It was such a treat as chips were for high days and holidays and I have no idea how she managed to make enough for all of us.

I was used to a quiet home with just my parents so this loud, crowd of people was totally alien to me. They mostly spoke Italian but their affection and friendship was obvious.

I moved not long after that and lost touch with my friend. 50 years later I found her on FB and I was so pleased to be able to tell her how special that afternoon in her house was.

Now I think that my kids were the ones with the weird family - 5 kids, grandparents living in the garden, dogs everywhere and noise. Hope that visiting children felt the same warm welcome that my friend's family gave me - even though I understood nothing that was said!

Re the fish and chips, my parents decant indian takeaway into pre-heated dishes before serving at the table in the manner of an elaborate meal cooked over many hours (although they do not pretend they cooked it, just are not capable of serving a meal from foil containers). It rubs off, I serve takeaway with napkins, plates, serving spoons and proper cutlery and can see myself edging towards the pre-heated dishes too .

In the spirit of the thread: I grew up in a very perfect, ordered home. My mother was a fabulous, adventurous and capable cook so we ate the best of what we could afford but they were formal (see above). When they went away (quite often) we were sent to stay with the most fabulous neighbours. They had 8 children and usually a few extra students or relatives staying too. They could walk on the furniture and the tv, the toasted sandwich maker and deep fat fryer were always on the go. The mum smoked and despite all those kids (there were two of us) always had time to listen and be interested in everyone. Nothing was out of bounds and whatever we did was just fine. My brother and I loved going there.

I have since learned that the dad was a bedbound invalid upstairs. We never made concessions to him (being quiet, etc), the mum was doing whatever she could to keep them going but their children were all good looking and very clever and ended up being very successful. I didn't manage it (formal mum too ingrained) but I aspired to be a mum like that. She was fabulous and we were lucky to spend that time in that household.

It wasn't weird, but the antithesis of what I was used to.

Funky could it have been that she was lying as she didn't want you to think less of her for wearing the pants? (Really hope so... I realise it's also possible she wasn't)

I'm having fish and chips for tea now because of this thread

(On a plate, with a fork sorry)

@SchadenfreudePersonifiedhad I honestly think it tastes better eaten with your hands Three sensible folk, I think using cutlery is just plain weird for fish and chips

I'm common as muck too, apparently, lol! I just always found it easier to eat the fish and chips out of the poke, saves washing up

At least there's the two of us to keep each other company Luckystar - I think there was another poster upthread who regarded fish and chips as a night off from the washing up, too!.

Fascinating! Although a worryingly amount of pervy friend’s dads!

Visited many unusual homes as a child. I think a lot of it must’ve gone over my head but I do recall once visiting friends of my mum whose grandson lived with them (his mother had had him v young and reportedly been in prison). They lived in a large Victorian townhouse which was like going back in time. I remember the boy offering us some crisps from their pantry from a cardboard box that had a pair of his dirty underpants in it Why that’s stuck I have no idea!
Another I vividly remember was a friend from school who had 9 siblings. They lived in 2 terrraced houses knocked together and you couldn’t see the carpet in any room as clothes were strewn everywhere, even up the stairs. They also amusingly had a guinea pig who had escaped and just roamed free in their garden - believed to reside underneath a disused camper-van.

Could have been a car battery, North. We used to take a portable tv camping and ran it from that.

I nearly didn’t post my memories as they sounded a bit grim, but they pale into insignificance next to some of these.

I had a friend in my teens who was very quiet and well behaved but who was a tiny bit cheeky one afternoon in front of her parents. Her equally quiet and mild-mannered Dad asked if she would like “a spanking”. It wasn’t a creepy thing so much as an attempt to humiliate her by treating her as a much younger child. It worked, too, she was so upset.
I remember being horrified because in my home you did something wrong, you got told off. No adult would ever make you look stupid and embarrassed in front of your mates like that . Put me off her parents tbh, who I thought were ok.

This thread has made me want to laugh and cry in equal measure.
It reminded me of going to tea at a friends house when i was about 7. The weather was nice and i remember her mum bringing us what she called a picnic tea to eat in the garden. It was a couple of sandwiches and a packet of crisps to share. It wasnt what i was use to having for tea as i had a packed lunch at school so would always have a hot evening meal but it was fun to sit in the garden to eat. A little later when we went inside and my friends dad excitedly told her they could watch tv that night as he had "sorted it". Her mum lit a few candles in the lounge and we sat down for a bit watching tv before my mum came to collect me. I later asked my mum why we didnt light candles at night like my friend as to me it was something new and exciting. My mum looked a bit puzzled but said nothing and i thought no more of it. Anyway friend and i went to different high schools so i didnt see her for years until i bumped into her a year or so ago. We had a quick chat and i later told my mum id seen her again. It was only then she said oh yes that was the little girl who whos parents were evicted wasnt it? I had no idea what she was talking about and she then told me that the family were evicted a few weeks after id been for tea and the gas and electric had already been cut off. I felt so sad that something id thought was exciting must have been so terrible for the family. I still have no idea how he got the tv working either!

I am obviously as common as muck, and until this thread had been totally unaware of the fact. confused

I eat fish and chips with a knife and fork too. Class has nothing to do with it. Greasy hands aren't a good thing, and using a knife and fork is just as easy.

I don't have any strong feelings about it, it's just what I prefer. I don't want to get the grease on my furniture. Having said that I can't remember the last time I had chippy chips at home, I really only have them at the seaside.