My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

This forum is the home of Mumsnet classic threads.

Mumsnet classics

what is the oddest thing someone has done when you have visited their house?

785 replies

2shoeskickedtheeasterbunny · 06/04/2012 23:25

mine was my DB, he did warn me but tbh I was so...... [bushock]
I was kind of 'oh ok"
he put old sheets on the floor to protect his carpet from...


dd's wheelchair wheels

guess where we won't be going again(this was after he insisted she was shoved in the corner of the table at a pub...just in case she got in the staff's way....WTF)


??? YOUR please

OP posts:
Report
SinnerBoy · 15/02/2023 17:55

Anyway, there are some horror stories on here, alright!

When I was a teenager, I used to help my dad's decorator friend, at weekends and during the school holidays. I was full time for a while, at 16.

We went to a house and when the woman let us in, there were two Scottie dogs and dogshit everywhere. I mean, you almost couldn't put your foot down, without treading on a turd. The stench was absolutely unbelievable.

As we had to put dust sheets down and sand the skirting boards, he got me to pick all the shit up with a coal shovel. I think I filled 2 or 3 black bags.... The carpets were completely drenched in piss and I had to kneel down and lie down, to get at the skirtings.

I've rarely been so miserable. In the van, on the way home, I said, "Mick, I'm not going back there tomorrow." He said, "No chance - I'll just fuck her off." I asked why he'd taken the job (he had to go in to do an estimate) and he said that he'd assumed she would clean up.

The funny thing was, she was well dressed and had nice furniture, ornaments, paintings on the wall, very middle class.

Report
SinnerBoy · 15/02/2023 17:48

Wormwoodgal · 23/08/2020 20:16

After the meal it was time to sing for our supper - the rule in Kazakhstan is that everyone entertains everyone else after dinner. An electronic keyboard was produced (luckily DH could play) and we tried many and various songs to see what our host recognised. At last we discovered the universal language of The Beatles, and serenaded our hosts with the Fab Four's greates hits.

My wife's Kazakh and I wouldn't say it's a rule! Her family are all Beatles mad, too, all ages. We've just had a nephew and niece visiting and he played a lot of Beatles tunes on the piano and wife's guitar.

Did you go to Kok Tebe and see this?

www.flickr.com/photos/48541674@N00/1350048650/in/dateposted/

Report
megan2021 · 03/01/2023 21:46

I had my first casual boyfriend age 17, we were part of a large friendship group and he had been absent from college for a few days. This was before the days of mobiles/ texting.

His mum called me and said he was sick with glandular fever and did I and his BFF want to come and visit him. We said yes of course, went to his house and was greeted at the door by his mum and told to go to his room. There he was laid in bed with his DSIS, DF, DGM and various random family members I had never seen before holding a vigil around him. We sat there in silence with them for 3 hours while they held his hand before getting the nerve to say we needed to catch the bus home.

Report
ColinRobinsonsfamiliar · 29/07/2022 18:41

Friend invited myself and another friend to her house one evening for a wine.

We hadn’t been before to the house.
There was nowhere to sit due to the copious volumes of clutter on every surface/chair/seat.
Brought s bottle of wine with me. Turns out she doesn’t actually drink.
So no glasses offered and no alternative drink offered.
TV on in the background.
As we chatted, her husband apparently couldn’t hear the Simpsons which was on in the background due to our chatting, so ramped up the volume so loud we could no longer have a conversation.
Host friend proceeded to just turn away from her 2 guests to watch the Simpsons with her husband.

I left. Friend number 2 came with me.
Fucking ignorant weirdos.

Report
RaraRachael · 28/07/2022 08:30

Rather than different foods for adults and children, a lot of my older relatives gave men bigger portions than women so my dad and uncles would get 2 sausage rolls and my mother, me and my sister only got one.

We were at elderly MiLs recently and she still did this - there were 2 extra bits of chicken left in the dish so she didn't even ask who would like an extra one, just automatically gave it to OH and his dad.

Report
StrangerYears · 28/07/2022 03:04

The different food for adults and kids reminded me...
family of 5 kids who were neighbours and frenemies. I was invited by the girl my age to stay for tea.
We sneaked into the garden to watch the parents sit down to a huge steak each and all the trimmings at a beautifully laid table.
Each of the kids were allowed one slice of dry bread and 20 (yep they were counted out) raisins whilst standing in the kitchen. Kids policed once another carefully over the allotted amount.

I went home for tea as I hate raisins!

As adults the kids are all very screwed up unsurprisingly.

Report
TheLoftHatch · 26/07/2022 08:43

I know this is a MN classic but I've just discovered it (and laughed like a drain!!)

My worst things...

As a teenager, going round to a school friend's house supposedly for a 'takeaway tea'. The mum ordered fish and chips for everyone but then served me a bowl with two boiled onions she had just cooked for me. She thought she was doing me a favour because last time I'd been there, I had casually mentioned I had a couple of pounds to lose.

Visiting family friends for a weekend who had a young DS with SEN. In the morning they served porridge for breakfast but the DS had a ritual where he liked to go round the room and rest his palm on the top of everyone's cooling porridge. It was his way of 'blessing' the food apparently and he'd get very upset if he wasn't allowed to do it. No one questioned this! His hand was not clean. I've never really been able to eat porridge since!

Report
PerseverancePays · 17/07/2022 12:37

I had a mum friend when the children were small that we used to visit as she had a huge (and filthy) ancient house, acres of garden and fantastic toys, so the children loved visiting. We were in the kitchen and she was changing her baby’s nappy on the kitchen drainer and used the sink rag to clean his bottom then rinsed it and wiped her toddler’s face!
The highchair had so much crusty food stuck to it you couldn’t actually see the wood any more, and as she was on baby number four it might well have been properly ancient crust.
Her husband used to come to the kitchen window and beg for cake and she would cut him a slab and give it him out the window, and then he would wander off again.

Report
Blowthemandown · 17/07/2022 11:00

@whatsallthefuss I proper belly laughed at that. And he is clearly a keeper!

Report
AngelinaFibres · 17/07/2022 08:54

Went to stay with my now SIL and husband.Five hour drive to get to them. They had got back from a run 1 minute before we arrived so were covered in sweat. They had drinks at strictly timetabled intervals so no drink for us until their next one in an houŕ. They went off upstairs to have a bath. Not together thankfully. Their system was to put 2" of water in the bath ( permanent black line drawn). The one who like it hot got in first. The other went in after. Left us downstairs. Now I would just laugh and go and make myself a drink but had only met her once then and she's 20 years older than me...and it was her house. My husband has never suggested going to stay there again. If we meet up with his siblings we always meet in a hotel now.

Report
PerseverancePays · 17/07/2022 08:16

MadamFolly · 07/04/2012 10:53

Ilove poor girl will have food issues for the rest of her life :(

That might be the least of her issues, that woman sounds insane!

Report
heartbroken22 · 12/07/2022 20:07

After enjoying our meal together...sister in laws Started doing the washing up and really scrubbing my sink, wiping it etc afterwards. Thanks love I thought my house was clean.

Report
HarrietTrotter · 05/07/2022 14:13

this is nothing compared to some of these.

Me and my sisters went to our mothers for dinner one day.
I found what appeared to be an insect leg in my mashed potato.

My sister went on to found the body, and everyone else ended up with parts of it too in their potatoes. totally gross.

Mum was really offended when we told her we couldn't eat it.

Report
nearlyspringyay · 23/05/2022 15:02

I've just lost the best part of a day to this thread:)

Weirdest one I had was got invited with four other couples to friends house for dinner. Walked in the door and the first thing the host said was that she was off her tits on valium. Her husband appears who is even more off his tits. They ordered in curry (no issue with that, and they paid for it although we would all have been happy to chip in). The delivery was delayed, it would be fair to see we were all well oiled by the time the food turned up. Sat down at an impeccably set dining table, five minutes later both of them are asleep in their plates.

Between us we cleaned them up and got them safely into bed, and had a party in their bar at the end of the garden. Took it in turns to watch they didn't choke on their vomit.

The worst one was a wedding in Highgate School, a beautiful wooden panelled 19th century room, this was in the days when you could smoke inside, there were NO SMOKING signs everywhere, understandably. A uni friends hideous girlfriend sparked up during the starters, the staff, and the table told her to put it out, so she did, in the butter dish, and then went round the table poking her fag end in everyones starter. She then flounced out and fell down the staircase. I have never seen anything like it.

Report
Crocsandshocks · 23/05/2022 12:45

When my DC were young I was invited on a play date. I went to go and sit on the sofa and she told me to get off as that's where her dog sat. I spent the playdate sitting on the floor and her dog on the sofa. I didn't go back.

Report
nometo4 · 23/05/2022 12:41

This one was very recent. Went to my friends birthday bash at her home. Her mother came downstairs. Friend grabbed her mother from behind and began swinging her around the room as if she was a tag doll (pretty big size difference between mother and daughter) mother clearly was uncomfortable but friend kept screaming "she loves it when I do this" most guests left after this

This is so incredibly weird!

Report
StressedMumm1e · 19/05/2022 20:24

Not when I visited their house, but for some inexplicable reason, my neighbour’s dog was wondering the street.
Our houses are in a U shape with all of the rear gardens facing a communal space, so I knew their dog as my kids had played with her in the communal space, I wouldn’t know them if I passed them in the street. All I know is that’s a professional woman and her grown up daughter, based on seeing them come and go.
Anyway, the dog, Molly, was wondering around at the front of our houses so I took her home. The door was wide open and I called in, knocked etc, as I didn’t want to just wonder into their house. It was obvious that no one was home.
The hallway was full of dog poo. Really gross!! I know the family come home every day because I see them cooking dinner in the kitchen when I walk my dog past their house every evening.
really gross, and definitely not just one days worth of dog doo!! Completely baffling!

Report
Kittylickingplate · 13/05/2022 14:08

Not a nice story.
I was at a friends house (I was 11 or 12) friend's Mum was sitting at the head of the small table, Father to the left of her. Suddenly friends fathers hand shot across the table and grabbed her mothers tummy, hard. She squealed and he laughed and said I was waiting for you to relax that.
It was awful, she had a few tummy rolls and he held on hard. Horrid man, I was in a state of shock.
I remember going home and telling my mother and her saying he was a right bastard. I was shocked again as she never swore.

Report
RelativePitch · 30/04/2022 18:55

Love this thread!
3 years ago my best friend was hosting a BBQ. I'd gone round early to help her. When I arrived she was cutting an enormous, crumbly worming tablet for her dog into pieces on a chopping board, stuffing the bits into pieces of cheese for her dog to take. She then simply shook the wormer dust from chopping board over the sink and wiped the knife off with kitchen paper and proceeded to use the same side of the chopping board and the same knife to cut up fruit for the Pimms. There was still very obviously worming tablet residue on the chopping board. I did ask her if it were perhaps wiser to use the other side of the board and she said that I was being a bit precious. I love Pimms, but I couldn't quite bring myself to have a Pimms and Droncit chaser that evening.

Report
Knifer · 21/04/2022 14:31

I know I'm resurrecting a zombie here, but after the update most of the threads on talk are zombies and this will at least be a very entertaining one.

I have two.

One- I stayed over a friend's house after a night out when I was in college. I had the spare room, as we were opposite sex and both in relationships. Anyway, I got woken up at 6am by his mum flinging open the door and bashing on the light. I looked at her in sleepy confusion and she said "I'll need you to get up and keep an eye on the mushrooms. Dad's got work at 8." Walked downstairs feeling like I'd slipped into another universe and sure enough, a pan of sliced mushrooms was slowly frying on the cooker. "Just stop those from catching." Which I did, feeing completely uneasy and creeped out. As soon as the mushrooms were done, she tipped them onto a plate and threw some bacon in the pan and then asked me to go and wake Miles (my friend) for his breakfast, but do NOT wake Dad yet. I did. I gave him a brief overview of my morning and he sat bolt upright and looked at me in disbelief. He told me a few days later that his mum simply couldn't see why either of us felt it so unusual that she'd ask a woman in her house to help with breakfast, especially because I hadn't been busy! And she wasn't about to use her husband's first name with me- she didn't KNOW me!

2-

When I went to a school friend's house for tea and was quizzed over dinner about if I'd ever had food like this before, if I knew what all the items were called, about the food my mum serves and if my dad eats with us, if we eat the same food as our parents, if we are allowed snacks before bed, what my favourite biscuits were, if I preferred to drink my milk cold or warm, if we have sheets on our beds etc. Looking back she was probably concerned as we were absolutely dirt poor and trying to ascertain if we kids needed some help, but it was the most bizarre way to do it.

Report
Wormwoodgal · 23/08/2020 20:16

Some years ago DH and I were visiting our best friends in Almaty, Kazakhstan (this was before Borat, when few people had heard of it).One evening their Kazakh nextdoor neighbours invited us round for a meal. Great! I researched the etiquette - take shoes off when entering the house, take a gift - no problem. The language barrier was there, but we managed to communicate using sign language and lots of smiles. Then (unexpectedly) the four of us visitors were invited to have a sauna before dinner ... single sex! FBF and I, having been at school together, had no problem in stripping off together and sauna-ing together. MBF and DH similarly. Then we enjoyed a gorgeous multi-course meal with our generous hosts and their extended family, accompanied by many, many (hic) toasts with vodka. After the meal it was time to sing for our supper - the rule in Kazakhstan is that everyone entertains everyone else after dinner. An electronic keyboard was produced (luckily DH could play) and we tried many and various songs to see what our host recognised. At last we discovered the universal language of The Beatles, and serenaded our hosts with the Fab Four's greates hits. A wonderful, memorable, if unexpected evening!

Report
iusedtoloveopalfruits1 · 18/08/2020 22:00

This didn’t happen to me but to my DH before i met him
Christmas day round at DH aunts house. Let’s call her aunt 1. Aunt 2 also there with her boyfriend and his sister and her husband.
Aunt 1 has a rather lovely large house and is a fabulous hostess. Aunt 1 serves champagne/Prosecco. As the day goes on it the sister of aunt 2’s partner is getting more and more drunk. Turns out she’s been topping up her champagne with vodka from her handbag all afternoon.
After dinner they play a game of charades. The now very very drunk sister of aunt 2 boyfriend happens to pick out something related to winnie the pooh. In her miming of the word pooh she has a little accident Blush
Not sure what happened after that needless to say they have never been invited back for christmas dinner.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

oldbagface · 06/08/2020 22:53

Place marking

Report
selmabear · 30/12/2019 02:08

This one was very recent. Went to my friends birthday bash at her home. Her mother came downstairs. Friend grabbed her mother from behind and began swinging her around the room as if she was a tag doll (pretty big size difference between mother and daughter) mother clearly was uncomfortable but friend kept screaming "she loves it when I do this" most guests left after this 🤦‍♀️😂

Report
SnootleTheSnake · 05/12/2019 18:16

An acquaintance of our family (who luckily we rarely have to see but occasionally is forced on us) will go through kitchen cupboards, fridge and help themselves to any food you may have. And should you be eating, your plate. No asking or explanation.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.