to ask for your examples of weird behaviour from apparently normal people?

[Beelzbubble]

I'll start with my good friend who is normally very kind, conscientious and understands social etiquette.

She insists on giving me a lift home (I normally walk and never ask for lifts). Suddenly her phone rings while we are driving and she pulls up and parks in a road far away from my home and proceeds to have a 30 minute conversation with a recruiter about a forthcoming interview. All the time I am sitting like a lemon looking at her thinking "should I get out, presumably she knows this is rude and I will be late home" but I stupidly do not because I am too English and bite my tongue and twiddle my fingers waiting for her to get off, thinking she will be finished soon and we will be on our way.

She finishes her call and drops me off with no apologies for the impromptu phone call.

I can understood her doing it, because it might be something vital to her career. But she should have apologized.

'To all intents and purposes, MIL is polite and appropriate etc. Except... she almost always refuses to eat in our house. If it was because she didn't like my cooking*, I'd be annoyed but chalk that up to irrational MILness , but basically, although she's often at ours in the evening she'll choose to have a late lunch, even knowing she's at ours for the evening, and then just isn't hungry.'

Could it be that she feels that she doesn't feel able to reciprocate fully (e.g. you may be a much better cook than she is); and therefore doesn't want to eat at yours too often?

My MIL always asks for a cup of tea at my house, or readily agrees to one if offered, then takes a few sips of it and pours the rest down the sink or leaves it somewhere and ‘forgets’ to drink it then pours it all away when it’s cold. It’s very odd. Clearly she doesn’t like our tea I guess (no idea why, it’s just like the tea at her house) but this happens on every single visit. Stop asking for one or agreeing to one if offered?! Odd!

My SIL, who, if she gives us a present for the house (e.g. a vase, a dish, a picture etc) tells me exactly where she wants me to put it...

"this is for your sideboard to replace that African wooden tray thingie you have..."

"this is for the feature wall in your bedroom - it has the same shades as the curtains..."

My aunt, who was a lovely person otherwise, just could never be happy with any gift she was given. She would ring round family members a few days after her birthday and ask for the receipts so she could take the gifts back to the shop and exchange for something else. It became a running joke. I gave up and just sent a card every year.

Even worse when it's in a foreign language as it often is on one journey I make into town (and no, I'm not racist. I just find it annoying).

Do foreign-looking people annoy you as well, or is it just the sound that grates on you?