To be fascinated by "hobbies"

[SmileEachDay]

"I/DH/MIL have "a hobby" which takes a couple of hours/3 nights a week/the whole of April"

What ARE these hobbies? And why so mysterious?

Is colouring a hobby?

Years ago I went for a job where I was asked what my hobbies were. I said it was a masculine construct, busy work. Said I had the gift of repose. I got the job. It was shite but that's not the point here.

(While I read and garden, I hardly think of them as hobbies in that sense of the word. It's just what I do)

On another thread I've said I've begun a hobby, though again, that's not what it is, any more than book club is. Running out of ways to describe things.

If it is I definitely have a hobby along with moaning about the buffoons I work with, watching boxsets and drinking wine in my pjs

Twattery I was very tempted to give Urbex a go a few years back...being a 35 year old, unfit Mother of two though I decided not to....mainly because of the fear of asbestos! Apparently it's common for young teens to go without any protective equipment etc but the pros wear breathing masks.

Subbuteo is also the name of a tabletop football game, and it was called that because its inventor wasn't allowed to trademark his first choice of name. Which was 'hobby'.

I have made a mental note of that, as I am doing a charity pub quiz in a few weeks (does that count as a hobby?) Wouldn't it be brilliant if that was one of the question? MN is so educational sometimes!

So, essentially a large part of people's supposed mystifiedness about other people having hobbies is really either just a peculiar aversion to the word hobby, which is somehow sounds too 'keen' or uncool to describe whatever activity they do. Or it's a defensive reaction because they secretly feel a bit guilty that all they do in their spare time is sit on their arses in frint of the telly, necking wine.

Eolin - no guilt here! It's taken a lot of practise for me to get this good at sitting on my backside drinking wine 😂😂

How is going to the gym a hobby? That's like saying brushing your teeth is a hobby.

""Is colouring a hobby?""

I can remember when CVs/job applications had to include 'hobbies', so we'd have to put 'reading' and lie about going to the gym, or gardening.

Growing up all the lads had hobbies, but unless there was a lot of disposable income, the girls didn't.

The Women took as much interest in 'doing the pools' as the Men and that would take up Saturday evening. I think Women were supposed to embrace the Soaps, as their hobby.

""How is going to the gym a hobby""

Because you are donating time and money to it and it is an essential past time.

Cooking is a hobby, if it's none essential cooking, but most would call it an interest.

Eolian - no guilt here! It's taken a lot of practise for me to get this good at sitting on my backside drinking wine

Oh I'm quite good at it too . But I do have a couple of hobbies as well.

Eolin - me too I volunteer one night a week, bake and colour.

DHs hobby is.... Er.... Warhammer you are not alone, my thirty year old dp loves this, as does his group of approximately 30 year old friends who occasionally gather here and eat me out of house and home like teenagers
He also does LARP, MMA, Gym, writes and plays video games.
I do a bit of photography, crochet, cross stitch, paint, do soft pastel murals, and when I had access to a kiln I used to do pottery too.
I always say DP has his hobbies, because they are too varied to stick under one topic, where as if I'm talking about my 'hobbies' I tend to say I'm crafting or at one of my craft clubs because it fits. We tend to alternate what we are doing at any one day aswell, so one day a week is my craft day and he has two days for his hobbies. (he has more because he cant do most of his at home where I can, I'm not LTB ).

I play in an orchestra (one evening per week)
I take part in amateur dramatics (two evenings per week plus show weeks)
I sail (daytime Sundays).

I'm afraid I refer to them as hobbies.

I'm sorry. I'll leave now.

DH knows a (quite well known) urbexer. He's a total wanker (and that's being nice). I'm sure there must be plenty of nice urbexers, but all I can think about is this guy when someone mentions urbex.

I do yoga (in a Tuesday night, which couldn't possibly be identifying even if you knew exactly where I lived, as there are at least 5 Tuesday night yoga classes in a 3 mile radius of my house). And sometimes crochet stuff. And watch Netflix.

DH plays videogames and watches shite on YouTube. I'm fairly confident none of the above info about our hobbies is identifying in any way. Saying who the wanker urbexer might be more identifying (but I'm pretty sure that he can't be the only urbexer who is an arsehole, given that a certain percentage of any population are always arseholes).

I'm always a bit astonished about people having hobbies

lol. You're astonished about hobbies, you must live in a permanent state of surprise. This is a most bizarre thread.

I have hobbies; pottery, papercraft and mixed media art. I have friends who run, ride horse, do Zumba, make jewellery, go mountain biking or road biking, play badminton, play guitar in a band, play drums in a band ... - now, don't be keeling over in shock

@ShatnersWig - your hobbies sound great!

hobbies are things like train spotting and painting military models. Pastimes are the naice, middle class approved activities

Is colouring a hobby?

I would say yes, I always thought a hobby is anything you choose spend your time on solely or primarily for your own enjoyment, rather than for money, or for health reasons, or for good karma etc. I don't believe they have to create or achieve anything (though obviously colouring does) unless of course that why you enjoy it.

I think other people's definition of 'hobby' can be quite different though, hence the variety of different response on here and other 'hobby' threads.

Eat your bullseye, ZebraOwl

Thing is, I have horses, so I tend to say I ride or am out at the horses all the time. However, if I were to list exactly what I do with them - by which I mean a number of niche sports, nothing kinky - I might be at risk of outing myself. Particularly given my username and tendency to refer to certain types of children's fiction randomly, or if I gave any details of my horses themselves (unusual animals), let alone anything personal about myself!

Doing sports is an activity. Jigsaws are a pastime. Family trees an interest as would be dogging. Making cards and knitting and other sucklike are crafting. I'm at a loss what would be defined as being a hobby though

I do am-dram. That pretty much fits the description in the OP. Maybe they're all doing it.

High five Shatners!

This is my DH and I of a weekend..... (he's Boba)
It does take up a fair chunk of time but the clubs we are part of raise a lot for various charities. Very fun though!

MyLittleSuperHero, I'm so glad my DH isn't the only one that likes warhammer. It honestly drives me insane and I don't understand it at all. At one point him and all his friends (all late 20s) would meet up every week to play it. We even had a.... Ahem whispers a massive war hammer game table... I'm ashamed to say that I've been to warhammer world haha. He has calmed down a bit now and seems happy to just make and paint his models.