To roll my eyes when I see hobby...

[Badwifey]

So many threads were people complain about their partners hobby without mentioning what it is... unless it's some sort of obscure activity where there are few members it's highly unlikely to give you or your partner away!
Also same happens with jobs... just a bloody general idea.... I work in finance, I work in childcare, I teach.... not some nonsense about your "highly pressured environment"

I think posters are much safer by not revealing any identifying details: so hobby is enough, no details about their city and specific job . Details add up, people forget to name change and that's how they get find out the day they vent against their boss or a school.

As soon as you addd a competition at the weekend, or a specific event the next, things narrow down very quickly.

I roll my eyes at people who say too much.

I had a post about this (have NC’d since then) and everyone was telling me my partner’s hobby couldn’t possibly be that outing as I couldn’t say exactly what it was. It’s a niche one that only has about 50 members and he’s one of the “best” in the country (eyeroll.....). It really was outing to say what it was!

@Narya

I do that too! I know in my heart it's probably cycling, but it's much funnier to mentally replace 'hobby' with 'dogging' while reading the threads.

I always imagine something extremely niche, complex and expensive that involves a lot of gadgetry. Like electric fishing standing one-legged in a specially adapted canoe while yodelling.

OR something like a Hobbycraft mash-up of competitive beaded cross-stitch perfume bottle cover making.

I have recognised 2 people on MN, I haven't told them, and I am sure it happens quite a lot.

As soon as you discuss a specific event or location where others were present, it's quite easy to figure it out.

Me too, Zippy!

D&D, Warhammer and Lorien Trust widow, that's me!

What I cant bear on top of "hobby" is:

"Setting" like i work in an early years setting.... so you work in a nursery? Why is that outing? Just say what you do!

There was another one but its left my mind at the moment .

I tend to assume it’s painting tiny army men, like my DH.

Stinky spray paint, thousands of pounds of expense, stacks of unopened boxes cluttering the house, boring conversations about colour schemes and the relative merits of different army lists, ditching date night for important store events... it’s enough to make you wish he’d take up cycling

Could it be 'activities' Derren. DHs have hobbies and DCs do activities, so a post would read 'I'm just here Mumsnetting while waiting for DD to finish her activity, DH is out doing his hobby so when do I get to do what I want?'.

Oh so many posters worry about being outed! You read it all the time.

''I live on a new build estate and my child has just started nursery. Don't want to say my job/hobby/car i drive is because then that would really out me ....''

Right. Maybe so, I mean it's all so unique! And it's not like there are thousands and thousands of people on this forum ...

posh like cricket.

Cicket might be posh in some places, but it's not posh in County Durham or in the Pakistani community.

Oh, Pumpkin, have you ever knocked over a lead figure that took 2 days to put together?? 😳

Unpainted too!

@wijjjy neither is rugby in Scotland. But these threads with 'hobbles' are almost always Home Counties, solidly middle class.

Hobbies are meant to he done in free time

On MN hobby is used to make " opts out of ever being home with the kids" to sound more acceptable.

No one ever does these hobbies when the babies have been fed bathed and put to bed.

I’ve never quite managed that, although it is tempting. Since a thing the size of my thumb costs £80, might have to remortgage the house to replace a bigger build.

Whoever does Games Workshop’s marketing should win an industry award. or be shot

I agree its hard to give advice without some info so if you actually want advice not 100 posts saying what is hobby and if you feel its too outing just change the details a little say rugby instead of soccer , watercolour painting instead of model painting, chess club instead of bingo, or golf instead of cycling , its not like we actually care. Even sports/ clubs etc you think are outing probably aren't, a friend from south London said he was in a paragliding club off on a trip a few weeks back, I said oh that's interesting thinking niche hobby small club staying in b and b , i mean where would they practice, what are you talking 10/12 of them, no they had to go by train as there were 250 expected.

It's ALWAYS cycling!

I see these men out in Richmond Park every Sunday, they are insane. Their wives are presumably home dealing with the children.

Betcha that's only when the weather's nice. In our local parks I notice that the bikes and lycra just disappear as soon as it starts raining or gets cold. I suspect they all disappear off to the pub but still make out to their loved ones that they're cycling for miles and miles.

It all adds up though Laiste

There’s plenty of people who’ll live on a new build estate or have a DC at nursery or are history teachers or drive a mini or do ballroom dancing or whatever.

There’ll be less people who live on a new build estate + have a child who’s just started nursery + work as a history teacher + drive a mini + do ballroom dancing regularly + whatever other personal details are in all OPs other posts.

It’s that build up of detail over multiple posts that can lead to someone being outed, not just the one off post where someone mentions their job/hobby/car.

Some of these replies are really funny... I'm gonna start imagining the dogging one now next time I see it mentioned!

Yes also kids "activities"... surely most kids just do football, dancing or some other mainstream sport... why not just say it!!

The jobs one is just so funny... it seems like everyone here works in a highly specific industry that is super high pressured... no one will admit they work in a local supermarket packing shelves

It's bloody golf and squash in this house but maybe I should start saying hobbies in case anyone recognises me from my golf/squash playing husband

Games Workshop is insidiously clever. They suck kids in by being really nice, friendly and helpful, foolish parents like me thank god they've found something that keeps their kids occupied for hours on end, before you know it you're spending a fortune on bits of plastic and are constantly sustaining grievous wounds treading on the stuff.

i work in an early years setting.... so you work in a nursery?
I'm afraid that is the official jargon on all the Guidelines, documents, courses etc. I never said it, I preferred the word 'school', also I was a teacher and not an 'early years practitioner' which was also official jargon.

It's the lycra- such an unforgiving fabric.

The damn thing took weeks to paint, too! It was a genuine accident, though, it just skidded off the shelf. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Games Workshop stuff is shockingly expensive, so he buys the figures/books/paint and Lord knows what else, from
eBay now.