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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

re: Space awareness in campsite loos

132 replies

Mindyourownbusiness · 09/07/2012 10:44

Went camping this weekend, lovely little break, great very spacious facilities, shower rooms, long row of loos and handbasins and mirrors opposite (about 12 in a row). Also a row of mirrors with just worktop/ shelf (no basins) for make-up, hair drying etc I suppose.

First morning - in l goes with my toilet bag to do my oblutions. I was standing in front of second to end basin looking in mirror cleaning my face with cleanser/cotton wool with a headband on etc and thinking - ' oh this is nice /great facilities etc etc ' ( last place we stayed they were very very basic and not good ). There was no-one else in at all.

With that in she comes - a youngish woman about thirty/thirty five, walks past the whole row of sinks to get to the end one next to me, maybe eight inches between our elbows, then proceeds to vigourously brush her teeth.

Hmm Hmm Hmm Why ?

This sort of thing has happened to me before and l just dont understand - l really dont.

I even went back in later with my friend and l pointed out where l had stood and where she stood and there was no extra space or extra light or any other factor at all to explain why she chose that sink. Also l observed lady later interacting with her group and she seemed intelligent , polite etc etc.

Very puzzling and makes me more than a little Angry l'm afraid.

Rant over.

OP posts:
Mindyourownbusiness · 09/07/2012 14:09

Or maybe ...

there is someone lurking on here who actually does this ?

Come on - put us out of our misery and tell us why.

I dare you

Grin
OP posts:
AdoraBell · 09/07/2012 14:17

It's the herd mentality. One of the reasons I hate, with a passion, camping. If I didn't have DCs and the options were camping or stay home I'd stay home. No problem with sharing, meeting people etc, but when I want to use the bathroom I need a bit of space.

Jins · 09/07/2012 14:19

I'm not a psychologist but I did do a course on environmental psychology. It included the concepts of personal space, defendable space, ownership of space etc.

Every single example mentioned goes completely against everything I was taught.

Nervousfirsttimer · 09/07/2012 14:20

I think it's just a complete lack of special awareness. It's the same twats who stop dead in front of you in the street for no reason, leave trollies in the middle I narrow supermarket aisles while they peruse the rice, try to cross the road just as the traffics lights turn green, nobbishness is neverending it seems. Sometimes I think I'm in the Truman show!

Nervousfirsttimer · 09/07/2012 14:26

Spacial awareness, not special! (but think some of these people are quite special!) Grin

fluffydressinggown · 09/07/2012 14:31

I asked someone to move in the cinema once, it was empty and they sat in front of us so I asked them to move somewhere not in front of me.

They looked amazed that there was a WHOLE cinema for them to chose their seats in. It was as if they had walked in and seen people and homed in.

My DH was Blush at my rudeness but I had had enough of 6 foot men blocking the screen!

phantomnamechanger · 09/07/2012 14:37

the beach one has happened to us - set up our camp complete with windbreaks, blankets, chairs, toys, picnics and 8 of us - 2 minutes later another family comes and plonks themselves about 3 metres away, between us and the sea - why they could not go a few more metres either side! they had a radio too and the naughtiest kids, who obviously also had no concept of personal space as they thought it ok to walk within 2 inches of our picnic kicking sand all over!

I would have to be very desperate to go in a loo cubicle next to someone else!

Aboutlastnight · 09/07/2012 14:45

I'd hazard a guess that maybe it's to do with attention.We evolved to notice unusual/moving aspects of an environment - an example is the drive home from work: many of you will get home and have very little memory of the drive home - but if you witnessed an accident you would remember that.

It may be subconsciously our eyes are 'drawn' to movent/sounds/colours incongruous to our surroundings, and subconsciously we move towards them. For those of you with personal space at the forefront of your consciousness, you may notice more and consciously make a difference choice to those who subconsciously move towards you.

This could s be bollox tho. Am delirious with a chest infection, 3 kids in flat and Mr Bloom is looking hot...

Nervousfirsttimer · 09/07/2012 14:48

Hm maybe you have a point About... Or maybe they are all just dickheads??

NorbertDentressangle · 09/07/2012 14:49

I get the parking thing happen all the time.

Another situation that I've noticed more and more recently is that I can be in an empty aisle in a supermarket and stop to peruse a selection of items, standing back slightly from the shelf so that I can see the range and compare them etc.

Someone is then guaranteed to walk up the aisle and, with their trolley welded to them, stand in between me and the shelf of goods I'm looking at.

Why can't they stand next to me? Why do they have to squeeze in and block my view preventing me from looking, let alone selecting anything off the shelf?!

Mindyourownbusiness · 09/07/2012 14:54

Thats very interesting About. A sort of primal herding instinct - it must be ok/safe over there cos there's another of my own species there - sort of thing. Or is that bollox and l've got complete wrong end of stick ?

Who's Mr Bloom?

OP posts:
Nervousfirsttimer · 09/07/2012 14:57

Norbert.. Even more annoying is when the offending person works for said supermarket and is filling the shelves in front of you but preventing you getting what you actually need! Angry

vezzie · 09/07/2012 14:57

The people who sit next to you on the train for no reason: do they look young or shy? Sometimes I think they are young women who have picked me to sit next to in case some sweaty space invader of a 25 stone man, or a perv, gets on at the next stop and chooses to sit next to them if they are on one half of a two person seat.

That was my devil's advocate moment for the day. In fact, people who invade space are disgusting savages.

Aboutlastnight · 09/07/2012 15:04

It's more that your attention will always be drawn to a red tent on a green landscape or the locked door in a toilet block. It's a primal instinct for hunting - an automatic process which occurs in your subconscious. Perhaps people are drawn to other people...

Or maybe they are just twats. I have longed tk finish an essay with those words.

Birdsgottafly · 09/07/2012 15:06

My DP does the car park thing, his reasoning is 'safety in numbers' and won't be advised that he is putting his paintwork at risk.

Birdsgottafly · 09/07/2012 15:08

Sorry, btw, thinking about it, he does it in other situations.

It's 'saftey in numbers'.

MarysBeard · 09/07/2012 15:15

I find it easier to park when there is another car to line up with. Especially as I have a missing wing mirror (due to vandalism) at the moment.

The one that really creeps me out is in the gym changing rooms. Whole changing room empty and some woman puts her stuff 2cm from mine.

Mindyourownbusiness · 09/07/2012 15:15

yes I thought that sometimes Vezzie in the transport situations but it doesnt explain the ladies washbasins or loo or carpark ones - unless it's at night or something.

oh l think l get it now About so subconsciously people think --'ooh l'll go over there cos there's someone already there for a reason - good chance there's food there' but on a primal level so that overrides their social skills maybe ??

probably still got it wrong Grin think l'ii stop trying to analyse them just punch the next ones lights out.

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 09/07/2012 15:19

I went to a cake sale on friday to help out - there were around 12 whole cakes, for example victoria sponge, chocolate cake. We cut two of the cakes up and those two cakes sold and we cut another two cakes different and then they sold next.

No one person asked for a slice of an uncut cake, they were all labelled for sale and the price per slice.

StateofConfusion · 09/07/2012 15:32

I've read this thread to dp as he just arrived home with steam spouting from his ears.

He did the two space thing at the back of a rather empty aldi carpark and came back to discover TWO fucking arse wits had pulled in either side ignoring the lines and parking up against our car, he had dd to get in aswell, and got shouted at "to be fucking careful my car was expensive you know" as this man ran from aldi towards him.

Our facking car is wide and inconvienient but we need the width for carseats, you wouldn't buffer up to a van so why a car you can clearly see has carseats and has parked for space and miles from the store when there's 50+ empty spaces CLOSER! Safety in numbers, not if I scratch yours or my car because I can't get my pregnant self, gammy dp or children in!

Sorry dps rant rubbed off on me Blush

We always get the space invaders at beach/woods/parks. There's hundred of miles of space, why sit so close I can hear you chew!

StateofConfusion · 09/07/2012 15:35

To be honest I'd sit near by a friendly looking lady on trains at quieter times but not directly next to, I'm anxious on public transport alone. Luckily our bus drivers always the same one and it has individual seats so I'm ok there.

ledkr · 09/07/2012 15:38

Haha Me and dh often have a daytime date at the cinema as we work shifts. One day we were the only ones in there and sat down ready for the film. Two odd blokes came in and started walking towards us at the back,i knew what would happen and yes low and behold they sat right next to us!!! They were smelly too. I wanted to move but dh said no because its offensive so i moved anyway and left him sat with them Grin

Aboutlastnight · 09/07/2012 15:48

Yep ... The twat hypothesis wins I reckon

StateofConfusion · 09/07/2012 15:51

What about said

amicissimma · 09/07/2012 16:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.