People interrupting conversations so that they can talk to the person you are talking to

[feelokaboutit]

Hi

A fairly trivial matter, but still I would like to know what people think.

I was at a meeting for parents at my kids' primary school last night. After the meeting I was talking to another Mum. We were nearing the end of our conversation but still very much talking when another Mum came up to her, started talking to her in a "helloooo soooo nice to seeeee you" kind of way. Whereupon the Mum I was talking to completely turned her back on me and the one who had interrupted us completely ignored the fact that I was there at all.

I was hurt and think this is rude.

What do you think?

Yanbu. Fucks me right off.

Rude.

Very rude. Both of them.

YANBU. Very rude. I know a few people who do this and it infuriates me that they can arrive 'late' to people who are already in conversation and just start yakking away without noticing that they're interrupting.

Agreed - rude!

Of course it's rude. They were obviously raised in the gutter.

Rude. I don't mind too much if it's a quick sentence, like "see you tomorrow then" or "I'll call you later" and the other person is dashing off, but a full conversation - not on.

Very rude

Fucks me off totally, absolute standard school gate practice.

Sometimes people may have play dates or lifts to arrange, but often they just start talking to their mates over you.

Very cliquey, unthinking and nasty. One of the reasons it's incredible hard to make friends at our school hate, you never get to chat long enough before one of the loud mouths bowls over and interrupts.

Gate not hate

It's incredibly rude in my opinion.. This has happened to me a couple of times, the worst was when a friend and I were chatting, an acquaintance turned up and she & my friend did this. She then told my friend that she had a piece of juicy gossip for her about a 3rd party, and whispered it in her ear. There was nobody within earshot but me.

What was the most frustrating was that my friend just couldn't see why I was so annoyed, when I complained to her afterwards.

Okay thank you. Glad my hurt feelings weren't out of place...

The worst thing about this is that it makes you feel totally unimportant and as if you are worth no consideration....

Still, neither of the two people concerned are my friends and I don't think they are likely to become friends either

YANBU

Of course it's rude. They were obviously raised in the gutter.

Personally I find its more well to do people that do this.

YANBU. Very rude.

YANBU very rude indeed. My SIL's mates (although not SIL herself) do this. I avoid going to her parties now if I can.

YANBU. It's rude and commonplace at DS's school.
Watch the offenders when they're parking their cars. It's very telling on what to expect
yes, that is sad but I'm fascinated by brazen fuckwittery

Does anyone agree that this is rude too, or has happened to them ?

I was out at the weekend, at a "do" where there was dancing. A friend (not a good friend, but a friend still), pulled me onto the dancefloor and I went willingly to have a boogie with her. As soon as we got there, she spotted a couple of other people I don't know and proceeded to dance with them, leaving me shuffling my feet on my own and feeling rather silly and exposed. After a couple of minutes I slinked away.

It's a small thing, but the kind of incident you remember, isn't it ?

I have a friend who is the interuptor, i always get really flustered when she does it, the other day i was talking to an old school friend i hadnt seen in years and she came up behind me and plonked her hand on my shoulder and started answering a question someone else had asked her, it was so bloody rude, my old school friend actually took a step away, i was really mad!

I don't mind the new person coming over - I mean if you walk into a situation everyone is usually in conversation and you have to join in with somebody... rather than line up and wait a 'turn'.

BUT the polite thing to do is the person approached should then say 'oh hello x, you know y don't you? we were just discussing blah blah...' and include both people or 'hello x, this is y - we know each other from blah blah' if it's a really sensitive convo then either change the subject or say 'we need to catch up, i'll grab you in a minute or two.. ' and turn back to the first convo.

Agree with badguider - I think approaching you both is fine but it shouldn't have led to you being frozen out.

AF i think that is rude, particularly if you were uncomfortable about dancing in the first place

AF - that's so rude, and embarrassing for you, left dancing on your own. I suspect drink had something to do with it. Or she's just a thoughtless, selfish cow!

I have often been the person waiting to have a word with someone who is chatting with another person. I feel really awkward, because they can see I'm waiting, but don't welcome me into their chat so I feel like an intruder.

Usually I go away, which is inconvenient because I usually need to ask something like "Is it still OK for your DS to come play this afternoon?" Often I don't have mobile numbers for other parents.

MsV, I suspect she saw a more "interesting" prospect on the dance floor. She is one of those people who scan the room, y'know ? More fool me, I suppose, but I did actually want to have a dance.