To find it odd my brother still calls family friends

[AdrienneVole]

Auntie and Uncle?

Mostly they are a very distant relative but he calmly tells me he saw Auntie Carol and Uncle Colin in Tesco.

I am 35 and he is 38 ffs!

Not sure where that stray 'a' came from....,though I'm sure the OP will be quick to jump in and try to ridicule me for this, seeing as that's how she likes to be

The Queen called her mother 'mummy'. That was sweet I thought.

YABU. I'm older than both of you and still have some 'Aunty' and 'Uncles' who we are not related to. Nowt wrong with a bit of respect.

My oldest cousin does call my parents by their first names but only because being 71 he is only 6 years younger than my DF and 3 years younger than my DM. However cousins in their 50's and 70's still call them Auntie and Uncle.

I still do it and my DH (36) has family friends to whom he refers to as Uncle and Aunty..

Your comment on how he calmly told you tickled me, somewhat

No, of course they aren't our mates. But I suppose for someone you bump into very occasionally calling them Auntie/Uncle is a bit funny.

Soot you're the one being unpleasant, you know.

At my wedding (and before) I couldn't bring myself to call my PILs by their first names ... (growing up, all adults were addressed by surname and title (Mr/Mrs/etc) and all under about 25 were expected to stand up when an adult entered the room).

The guests guffawed, to my intense mortification ...

I know loads of women 50 plus who still refer to their elderly parents as Daddy and Mummy. I think it is seen as posh. Prince Charles is the only man I know who does it. Most men prefer Dad and Mum.

Really? Oh yeah, cos I'M the one trying to get people to laugh at someone behind his back....oh...wait......

What age do you have to stop calling your parents mummy and daddy? I still call mine mummy and I'm 47, my boys 13 and 15 still call me mummy it's not seen as odd ( I don't think)

What else happened when your brother saw Auntie Carol and Uncle Colin in Tesco's? Did he start tugging on their sleeves and asking for sweets?

Soot, it's a lighthearted thread, there's no malice in it.

Mrs.B I stopped saying mummy and daddy when I was at secondary school I think because it didn't sound cool in front of my friends .

Malicious? It so isn't.

However, I find it very difficult to address people in "authority" by their first names. I'm a 35-year-old mature student and I still feel weird calling my supervisors by their first names instead of "Dr. Jones" etc., even though some of them are my age or even younger

Same here!

Our Psychiatrist at work calls me and says "Hi Mindfields, it's Olivia" and I always reply "Hello Dr. Lorenzo"

• names changed to protect the innocent ...

My grandparents' friends are Auntie Maisy and Uncle John to me and my brother, doesn't matter how old we get... But we started referring to my parents' siblings by just their first names when we were teenagers. Never occurred to me that it was odd until now!

I'm nearly 65 and still have an aunt ed who is 95

How many people havent read the OP properly and answered regarding their ACTUAL aunties and uncles

Yes, that made me chuckle too

I think I had family friends who were Aunties when I was little because all my extended family lived far away. I certainly saw them more than my actual aunties! I'm also Auntie to my friends daughter

It's just habit, it hurts no one, why let it bother you?

Some of my cousins still call me Cousin Uterus and refer to themselves as Cousin Kerry etc. (Irish side tho. Dunno if that's an Irish thing.) They call my mum Auntie xxxx.

Then there's the sub-continental aunties who aren't aunties at all but who you absolutely MUST call auntie.

When I'm going away and my friend is coming to feed the cat I always remind the cat that she needs to behave for Aunty Kathy.

My block is calling my old teachers by their first names. My parents were teachers and lots of their friends taught me. I just cannot call them john and Ken, they are mr smith and mr Jones. I sound ridiculous but can't move on!

When I'm going away and my friend is coming to feed the cat I always remind the cat that she needs to behave for Aunty Kathy

Hahaha I do this too!

I still call actual and honorific uncles and aunties by their "titles".

How many pp's DC do the same, by the way? I've noticed that mine are some of the few who do that with our very close friends, most of their peers just use first names

Mum's NDN was auntie Freda. She died not long back and I sent flowers to 'auntie Freda'. I'm 43. That's what I've known her as all my life.

My dog has an auntie too, his groomer. He seems to know when I tell him aunty Claire is coming to visit . To be fair she's as bad and refers to him as her favourite nephew!

Olenna- my children do. Any friend of mine I refer to as Aunty. Also, all my cousins except for the teenager I refer to as the kids' aunties and uncles. I personally think the use of first names is a bit 'over familiar' and remember fondly the days when children had to call adults Mr and Mrs X. I personally would like a return to that!