Bloody rude, if you ask me.

[bubble99]

We took the boys to a horse riding display/show today. There were Cossack riders doing amazing stunts and Spanish riders doing some amazing dressagey things. It was held in an indoor arena (like a big top tent) and was sold-out. At the end of the show all of the riders came out once for bows/applause etc. We were clapping away, when I noticed that peole were getting up and leaving. Some had started to leave before the riders even came out for their applause.

How rude is that? Yes, the carpark was busy, but what example does this set for children? That people who spend an afternoon entertaining you, are not worth acknowledging. I noticed, as well, that nearly all of those leaving were middle-class,Boden clad, broadsheet readers. The type of parents who regularly bend my parent governor ear at school to ask why Tarquin and Jemima aren't in the same class as the 'nice' children.

Rude, rude people. People who treat others as 'furniture.' I felt so sorry for one of the spanish riders, he was bowing to a disappearing row of people and looked confused and hurt.

Agree with you.

Good, GDG(S). Wouldn't like to this I was ranting in vain.

Not at all! I'd think it was downright rude too - how could anyone turn their backs on them?

think I was ranting in vain. My hands are still wobbling from all of that clapping.

Middle class Boden clad Broadsheet readers..... sounds like a lot of MN'ers!! Will anyone here admit to being there with you this afternoon?

This was a joke, BTW, no offence meant to those whose personal lifestyle choices involve the above.

I'd like to think that it's because we have such on-tap, one-sided entertainment these days, DVDs etc. But I don't think these people would have got up and walked out at Covent Garden. I suppose opera singers are deemed to be 'more worthy' than generic cossack riders. We live in a 'nice' area of London, but TBH people still act like w***s, just with less swearing and better clothes.

Message withdrawn

bubble - sounds like a fantastic show - would love to go to something like that. I agree that manners maketh man and some people set their kids a very poor example of how to behave. Blame the dads! They probably wanted to be the first to race out of the carpark.

I'm a broadsheet reader too, Dior, and I have the odd item from Boden in my wardrobe. But you know what I mean though? I despair of some children in our area. No hoodies, very little crime, but arrogant little shits. I was behind a ten year old(ish) boy in a newsagents recently, the 'little man' behind the counter told him how much his purchases had come to and the little twonk just airily waved a fiver in his face, no eye contact, no thankyou. I'm sure his parents think they've done a fab job bringing him up though.

Message withdrawn

Maybe they had heard what happened to me. I got toffeed in the head at one of these events.

They were riding round, throwing sweets into the audience, hard. And a very hard piece of toffee caught me on the temple and left a very large egg-shaped lump

But I agree, very rude to leave early

Unless they were dying for the loo and had just been holding on till the end of the show....

But don't you think that this kind of poor example setting is virtually invisible? These children are being taught anti-social behaviour, but because it doesn't (usually) involve bad language and crime it's deemed less anti-social. If articulate, educated people set this example, what hope is there for the rest of society?

Gosh! I'm off on one tonight, aren't I?!

I agree with you totally, Bubble - I was brought up to be aware of other people and to be polite.

It's the lack of awareness that gets me too these days - it's looking out for number one all the bloody time

Hey bubble - did you read my thread about going to see Grease? I wrote to the newspaper (and had my letter published!) I was so angry at the appalling behaviour of the audience. Mrs Angry, that's me. I despair sometimes

I remember that thread, MM - totally rude to talk through a performance! Am aghast at what's OK these days (a man in the Post Office lit a cigarette at the bloody counter the other day!).

What, all of them, triceratops? It was a bloomin' stampede!

Good for your DS, Dior! It's all of these 'little' things which make society more human.

Minker. Being toffee'd is the perfect excuse to leg it at the end. Were you heckling though? Catching one of grandpa's Werthers originals for an ill-timed.."Call that a canter? I've seen more life in one of the pies here" would be reasonable punishment.

Aw, it was only a little heckle, Bubble

Honestly, these riding types can't take a jolly jodhpur-related jibe in good spirit, I find

Moo. Don't get me started on theatre etiquette.

We went to see Chitty chitty whatsit at The Palladium a few years ago. DS2 was only 3 and so we decided to go to a Saturday matinee. A matinee for a kids show semed like a safe bet. We got there and in the row in front of us were a bus party of bitchy Michael Ball fancying queens. I am hot on my children's behaviour and can say, hand on heart, that they were not unduly noisy. Everytime they so much as moved (and they weren't kicking the seat in front) one of these 'See You Next Tuesdays' would turn around and hiss. I tried to reason that a Saturday matinee of a children's show would of course have children in the audience. 'He' was having none of it. We had to put up with him weeping and snogging his boyfriend during Hushabye effing Mountain, though.

We didn't. We moved.

Grrrrrrr on your behalf, bubble. I tell you it's lucky I didn't have a machine gun when we went to see Grease - I would have made them sit still and shut up then "You feelin' lucky, punk?"

Was it 'the spirit of the horse'? I've seen that show twice and it's fantastic. You are right to rant. Not only were those people unforgivably rude, they were awful people not to be sitting there choked up and teary-eyed and stunned at the beauty of it all, like I was!

Why bother going at all if all you can think about is how quick you can make your escape?!

I read the NOTW!

I think you're completely right Bubble. Have you seen this article, it was in the Observer yesterday (I'm one of those broadsheet reading types but do try to mind my manners ), saying something very similar.

good article on manners

"TBH people still act like w*s, just with less swearing and better clothes. "

I totally see your point of view. We've just moved from a scummy city to a rather nice village in a more rural setting, the next county along. I am fidning some people just as rude and unpleasant even though they're at the opposite end of the social spectrum.

Yesterday I experienced two incidences to remind me of this... from the type of people who have been brought up with an inflated sense of self- importance, who are used to always getting what they want and who treat almost everyone else like 'furniture' (as you say)

1. We took dd1 and our new baby to an outdoor museum. We stopped for a cup of tea and cake. When we'd finished dd2 (3 weeks) needed (breast)feeding. DH took dd1 to look at the ducks. I saw this very well-to-do elderly couple looking for a picnic table.

I did the typical avoid-eye-contact and focus on the feeding baby thing. The woman came right over and asked me if she and her husband could sit on the other side of my table. I said very politely "Well, I'm just feeding the baby at the moment but when I've finished we'll be going"

She said something about sitting on the other side "Do you mind!?" as she perched herself down. I should have been more assertive and said "Yes, I do, I would like some privacy to feed my baby" but my post-pregnancy brain could conjour up nothing useful and I'm not the most assertive person anyway. Instead I sat and finished feeding the baby as quickly as I could. Her husband looked uncomfortable which in turn made me feel uncomfortable.

Why don't these people pick up on social cues?

Even if I had outright declared "no", I could tell she was the type who would have given me an argument about it.

2. Later on, DH and I took a walk along a country lane, with no pavement, 5 or so minutes from our street. It's not a through road to anywhere major and so very quiet. We had dd1 in the pushchair and dd2 in a sling. We stood at the side of the road whenever we heard a car coming. At one point Mrs Hoity-Toity went passed us on her bike and then turned and laughingly declared "You're walking in the middle of the road!"

There was ample space for her to ride around us. She probably assumed we were not dressed countryfied enough to actually live in her area.