Anyone had any good round robins this year?

VillanellesHairPin · 2018-12-22T09:16:44+00:00

I don't get any! My parents get a few which I always read when we visit.

LoniceraJaponica · 22/12/2018 09:48

One set of our friends have recently retired and they have been "doing their bucket list"
Their letters are boring and full of loads of long haul destinations they have been to.

This Christmas their letter had 3 paragraphs full of their travels (which I didn't read) and one of just general news (which I did read).

Another friend sent a chatty newsletter which was interesting and informative.

IsItCoffeeTimeYet · 22/12/2018 12:48

A long standing family friend, in her 90s sent a very short letter about how all her friends had died, her health was deteriorating, she'd been mugged and was despairing at the state of world politics.
Very depressing!

IsItCoffeeTimeYet · 22/12/2018 12:51

I also recieved one similar to Lonicera An entire side of A4 about their holiday (snore). The other side was more interesting, although I got a mention and the info was wrong, so I'll take the rest with a pinch of salt!

VictoriaBun · 22/12/2018 12:58

I inadvertently opened a Christmas card to my neighbour ( our address ) it was a card for Brother and sister in law. I realised it's my neighbour but the really sad thing is the man of the house ( the brother part of the card ) has been dead at least 4 years. No round robin obviously, but just very sad that the sibling has no idea his/her brother is no longer about.

EastMidsGPs · 22/12/2018 14:44

Used to eagerly await one my DM received every year. From a man if the cloth and his wife it always lurched between sanctimonious mutterings to pages of down right bragging, all wrapped up in the spirit of Christmas. Sadly the round robin had not appeared this year. We knew this would be the case as X died in the summer. We received a post mortem RR from him which began 'if you are reading this please be reassured that I am now in the arms of the Father ....' and so it continued.
Rather sad no RR I always enjoyed the pictures of the dog at the vets or the car going for its service and MOT.

MiddlingMum · 22/12/2018 16:42

We've had two. One chatty and interesting, and we enjoy getting them each year. One full of boring news about people we've never met. I only got as far as the first paragraph before putting it in recycling.

Original poster

VillanellesHairPin · 22/12/2018 18:45

IsItCoffee oh yes that's really sad and wow must be terrifying to be mugged at that age

Victoria I wonder why the sister in law of the person doesn't let them know!

always enjoyed the pictures of the dog at the vets or the car going for its service and MOT.

I love this!

So had he written his round robin pre passing away?

OP posts:

EastMidsGPs · 22/12/2018 19:00

Villanelles

Yes, he'd written a two sided A4 sheet 'goodbye'. All neatly typed. His family sent out copies to all who received his annual RR.
DM knew his wife through work so I am not sure why she was ever on his list. I am pretty certain DM never met him in person. I was always amazed at how self indulgent and full of himself he was given his profession.
One year the dog paragraph featured a series of photos of a pre op vet visit, dog on drip at vet's, post op surgery scar with stitches (and cone of shame), scar healing with stitches removed and discharge from vet's visit 😂.

Another time he slipped in that his son in law had been arrested but never elaborated on why!

BringMeTea · 22/12/2018 19:04

Horrible about the nonagenarian? being mugged.
Eastmidsgp a RR from beyond the grave? For realz? You win.

Heuschrecke · 22/12/2018 19:32

Yes, a lovely one from an old college friend of mine who has spent her entire married life living all around the world because of her DH's job (we're all a bit ancient now!). I love her RRs every year. They've recently retired and settled back in the UK.

But I can't add to this, because I know that a MNer (who I know I don't know) also knows her because, on a similar thread a few years ago, the MNer repeated a sentence - word for word and using the correct names - from that year's RR

Reallybadidea · 22/12/2018 19:46

My mum gets one from a very religious family which one year had something along the lines of them adopting their son's girlfriend because her own parents were horrible. Apparently the girlfriend's birthday was also the same day as the due date of a baby she had miscarried. The implication seemed to be that the girlfriend was the reincarnation of the miscarried baby.

It all went a bit quiet when one of the teenage daughters got pregnant. Fortunately normal service was resumed a few years later with the news that another of their children had been miraculous healed of something (apparently even the surgeon agreed it was a miracle). I am always agog at the slightly bonkers nature of it.

Sadly my mum hides the letters from me now, which is a shame because I genuinely was interested to see how it all panned out.

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 22/12/2018 19:53

We had a great phrase in one this year about the son of family who has “rather stagnated this year, despite turning 30”.
What a way to describe someone!

Original poster

VillanellesHairPin · 22/12/2018 21:03

I think you definitely win East, that is commitment to the round robin. Also love this below!

Another time he slipped in that his son in law had been arrested but never elaborated on why!

Hodge that is brutal! My aunt gets one from a university friend and she often writes very personal and/or disparaging things about her stepdaughter. I have no if the stepdaughter knows about it or not!

OP posts:

myshinynewusername · 22/12/2018 21:06

I have had two this year. One is from one of my great aunts, who writes it by hand and then has it photocopied. Half of it is subtle bitchy comments/gossip about the various people who she feels have wronged her during the year.

My uncle has also sent his now usual bore fest, including nearly half a page about his new mobility scooter, including a picture of it! He actually leads a really interesting life and goes to a lot of great places, but he always concentrates his round robin on the boring minutiae of his life.
I asked him once why he didn't put his travels and stuff in the round robin and he said that he prefers to tell people about the details of his life that they don't get to see.

2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney · 22/12/2018 21:50

The usual supply . The worst being the one with a photo of very poorly grandfather clearly in hospital bed using oxygen to breathe with rest of family beaming beside him.
Mortified on his behalf.

MilkyCuppa · 22/12/2018 22:08

We have a family friend who we stopped visiting a few years ago because her house had become so filthy it made you feel itchy and you were worried about ruining your shoes. Her letter this year said that her DS had started a food business from her home kitchen and sales were doing well.

This is the same kitchen where (before we stopped visiting) we refused to eat anything because the cat was urinating on the worktops, there was cat hair in the food and there were piles of clothes and dirty knickers mixed up with dirty dried-on dishes and utensils waiting to be washed. I have no idea how (or even if) her DS has a hygiene certificate and the thought makes me feel quite sick.

EastMidsGPs · 23/12/2018 06:49

MilkyCuppa
😂😂😂
As I child I had to be firmly reminded to say nothing when we visited DM's aunt whose house smelt and was less than pristine - we never ate or drank there.

Loving the RR, I do hope the tradition doesn't die out. I always think they are a great stage for those who feel they have much to say. Not bring tidy minded enough myself, I now wonder .... do they keep notes throughout the year? Taking photos especially for the RR?

AlecOrAlonzo · 23/12/2018 07:00

My parents get one that's written mostly in the third person with the odd first person sentence. It's very weird.

"John was busy redecorating the back bedroom in March. Mary had chosen a pale green for the walls. I decided, however, to go with blue as it was on sale."

brizzledrizzle · 23/12/2018 07:10

I had one last year including a photo of half of the couple in intensive care after coming out of surgery I don't normally get them but my mother does, most memorable was a lovely one from a couple whose daughter had come out and about how her and her partner were happy together and the writer had welcomed a new family member, I thought that was lovely.

GlowWine · 23/12/2018 07:41

I usually get 4, two on paper and two by email which have not arrived yet.
Of the paper ones, one is really quite boring and in the third person, just a list of events arranged by month, totally devoid of any interesting details: my life would read:
May
We all spent a week in a cottage in Orforf
Little Glow has a good school report
Big glow goes on a school trip to Yorkshire
Glow has a job interview but just misses out

And so on. It tells me nothing, really. The second one is more conventional, but no real deliberate bragging. I do feel a bit jealous, they have much higher disposable income, live in a beautiful house and move in very MC circles (chair of the lions rotary club etc) but it's nice to see them do well.

Then around Christmas day itself I'll expect one from a more distant relative in my generation, and in the past that one has included quite personal details I would not have shared. About teens growing up troubled, issues at school. Marriage counselling, etc. I cringe and never mention it. My sister (below) also gets these and agrees.

My final one comes from my sister, chatty and full of stuff I know but I like to be reminded. Occasionally our family gets a mention (like shared holidays) . This one is a kind of welcome review of the year for me, but others may well yawn as I do at the others.

And because I feel so meh about RRs I am not to inflicting them on anyone. The people we are close to know our news throughout the year and the rest don't need to know or don't care.

SophoclesTheFox · 23/12/2018 08:01

totally placemarking as I love RRs but won't be at my parents this year to read their usual crackers, so I will rely on the kindness of strangers

brizzledrizzle · 23/12/2018 08:20

this isn't about a round robin but a xmas card, it's so sad.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-46650950

I'm not an emotional person normally but

Stuckforthefourthtime · 23/12/2018 08:26

I dearly love a round robin! Some are lovely and some are hilarious, theyret always such an interesting insight into the writer (not necessarily the insight they meant to give, mind).
Would never write one though...