I’m not a betting man – well the occasional lottery ticket but that’s about it really – but I’d put good money on betting that I’ve heard something in the last week that you have probably not; a ‘bloke’ whistling a tune while walking along the street. I did hear a loud wolf-whistle in the spring but that was from a young French lad, part of a coach party of students, whistling at a young French woman. Well, I assume it was a women, these days it can be difficult to tell.
Anyway she seemed to enjoy the attention and was all smiles, but there were a few murmurs and tut tuts from po-faced fellow citizens walking in the same direction. It did seem rather strange I admit as I thought wolf-whistles had been banned here as ‘offensive’ some years ago, but it seems ‘our friends and neighbours across the channel’ as Bo Jo puts it have different ideas or laws or something.
That apart, when did you last hear somebody whistling? At one time it was quite common to hear the latest ‘tune’ of the moment or some other tune being belted out by someone walking along – as a popular song once ran ‘whistle while you work.’ It would seem that as a nation we are not as tuneful or as happy as we were, although in town most days and particularly at weekends we do have lots of people singing, belting out something or another usually with the aid of a karaoke machine. I assume that must have been something to do with that ‘Pub Singer’ in Worcester making the headlines earlier this year.
The pleasantries of life seem to be a fading tradition even here in St. Mary on the Wold. People are just not as pleasant and friendly as they were a dozen years ago and in the urban areas it seems already a thing of the past. Younger schoolchildren walking to the bus stop (yes we do have a few who walk) will walk straight past you, obviously having been told to ignore any adults, even those who live in the same road, but actually if you say ‘Hi’ or Hello or something they will respond with a smile and a ‘Hi’ so hopefully all is not yet lost.
Speaking of walking, if someone walks towards me, say in a corridor or pathway, I invariably move to the left. Why is lost in the mists of time, probably something to do with school days when you walked on the left because that was the way that it was done, and it got people around without the inevitable barging. That was when schools had some standards and rules mostly for the common good even if it didn’t seem like it at the time. A visit to any school now will show how far away that particular concept has gone, probably removed from school life in the mid-1960s at a guess, judging by the age of the many people you see barging around the streets and shops who would have been at school at that time.
Crossing a city road at something called a ‘Toucan pedestrian crossing’ is like being at the opening of the gates at a retail mega sale. As people just barge across, as we used to say, ‘willie-nillie’, woe betide an older or slow-moving person trying to cross, and what is it with young women with all terrain children’s buggies who use them as some sort of attack vehicle? No wonder huge four-by-four vehicles are so popular; these buggies are so big they need a huge space to stow the things. They always remind me of ladies of a certain age who years ago used two-wheel wicker basket shopping trolleys in a similar manner – those came complete with a single wooden stand sticking out at the front ready to impale the unwary.
What is interesting, though, is how people suddenly become quite different when queuing, for example in a cafe, or getting to their allotted seats in a cinema or theatre, where ‘excuse me, sorry’ and so on are the order of the day. Pity the same doesn’t happen in supermarkets, when it’s easy to get barged out of the way while looking at an item in the freezer cabinets or have someone walk in between you and the shelf you are about to take something from.
This behaviour carries on in the queue at the checkout, where invariably nobody speaks to the next person, or worse, has a loud conversation on a mobile phone even while being served by the assistant, and transaction completed, just walks off. It’s not just younger people either; staff working with the public will tell you how just plain rude some of the older generations are, particularly those who, by their dress and behaviour, think of themselves as either very important and middle class or both. Supermarkets where the whole community meets can be very illuminating places to see how sociable or otherwise people are. It’s obvious that some older people have little social interaction and look forward to a conversation with the checkout operator, which seems to irritate other people in the queue. I did hear some years ago now that all sorts of conversations and meetings took place in supermarket aisles at certain times. What a good idea, I thought, large stores helping out with community cohesion and this one advertised the fact with a large sign marked ‘pick-up point’. Waiting to be served one afternoon, I watched the area with interest but saw no activity so presumably there was little local interest in the project. It must have been one of those urban myths you hear about.
Part 2 will be published here tomorrow.
That’s why I love living in Canada (which I do much of the year). In small-town Alberta, people STILL say ”excuse me” when walking in front of you (even in a supermarket) and ”hi” if passing you on an otherwise quiet road. It makes me realise just how much we’ve lost. I’m glad to say that my own children were brought up to be polite and are passing it on to their children – but we seem to be in the minority now.
Tim. I thought tradition was Gentleman between traffic and Lady. If you crossed the road you changed sides. That drove me up the wall!
There is a lot more in history about ‘sides’ or so ’tis said. We drive on left because we defended the carriage by swordplay using the right hand. Americans had guns and could shoot across themselves. Not sure I believe that one. The gentleman sleeps on the right of the bed with sword on floor, ready to hand to defend the lady. Now if there is no pavement we walk on the right side of the road thus facing the oncoming traffic to squash self into the side when we see it. That is fine but we are taught to lead our dog on the left side. That is probably so we have right hand free, (sword play?) But that puts dog under wheels of traffic! Traditionally horses are led in the right hand. Not that any human could stop one if it really wanted to bolt. It makes some sense leading a horse and a dog – one in each hand. But there again, if you lead a horse along the road you must be on the left side of the road. So that doesn’t work because you have no way to stop it from turning it’s quarters out into the traffic.
Anyway when I first moved from near London, to studying in Sheffield I found Northeners totally undisciplined. Particularly on escalators. In London you stood on the left so people in a hurry ran past on the right. There folks stood anywhere.
Now in old age it is often children I find have no manners. I have to squash me and my dog as small as possible out of their way as they wizz around on bikes skateboards etc.
Sorry Norman. I don’t wish to socialise with anyone and you standing around in supermaket aisles are in my way and if you don’t move fast enough watch out for my trolley!
You pass to the left because in times gone by when swords were worn, invariably on your left side you could draw the sword efficiently to deal with the scoundrel to you right. It is also why traditionally you walk on the right of any woman you are accompanying. That is also why spiral stairs in castles went up clockwise so the defendant up the stairs had the full sweep of the stairs but the attacker coming up had his sword arm trapped by the middle supporting stair column.