Are you a people watcher?

I was at a Christening today, up Chorley way. My friend and his girlfriend have a big detached house and the after-party was in their house and garden.

They'd gone to a lot of trouble to make things nice back at the house for the 60-70 guests.

In the back garden they'd set up a really large gazebo with sides and a load of chairs. It was a bit chilly when we got back to the house at about 1pm, but people stood outside but nobody would walk up the 5-6 steps to the actual garden and be the first to enter the gazebo and sit in one of the chairs.

I just fancied a sit down, so I walked over and sat down. Within about a minute every seat was full. The gazebo and chairs were obviously there for our use.

It's like the dance floor syndrome - why do people not want to be the first to do something?

Do you watch people? Not in a creepy way. I mean, do you notice things like this in group psychology?

Unfortunately about an hour later, the ice cream van came round as planned and an in my eagerness to lick a 99, some OAP pinched my seat.

Yeah i'd say I am a people watcher, on the bus and train when coming back from work you see some strange things that people do without thinking. Had 2 people actually confront me about it because I have been known to laugh at people when they do stupid things in public.

I used to spend time watching people on trains and buses but mobile phones have ruined that, really. I find that most people under the age of about 45 spend journies displaying a neurotic fascination with and attachment to their phones. If they're not actually using them for something, they hold them in their hand and subconsciously rub and polish them, and twirl them round.

I remember years ago, about 2002, being stuck on a train at Preston station. I say stuck, because the train pulled in there and sat there for 15 minutes. I was sat opposite an Asian lad who spent this entire time taking out his Samsung flip phone, opening it, looking at the screen, closing it again, looking at the outer screen, and putting it away again. He must have gone through this routine 30-40 times in the 15 minutes until the train pulled out.

Yeah the technology thing is a thing you see a lot these days, looking at their phones like they are ready for the most important call they will ever recieve.

Why some seem to find the need to broadcast their conversation is beyond me by speaking loud, christ someones they have the speaker so loud you can hear the person on the other and.

aaron_bwfc wrote:
Why some seem to find the need to broadcast their conversation is beyond me by speaking loud, christ someones they have the speaker so loud you can hear the person on the other and.

I've thought about this and I've concluded that it's because when people are talking into a phone, they like to be able to clearly hear what they themselves are saying. You notice it with some older people who are losing their hearing. They talk more loudly so they can hear themselves.

In the case of the smartphone army, it is pretty inconsiderate. I hate talking on the phone when I am on a train, if I absolutely have to, I will go and stand in the central bit between carriages if possible.

Yeah you have a point there, though I think some just like sharing their lives with the rest of us, especially the council estate folk going on about how they ''got smashed last night ''.

Oh don't get me started on people with the hands free thing in their ear who look like there talking to themselves then they turn their head and it looks like thy have a fucking tusk which they got when fighting a whalrus.

The new single decker trains we have , near me, no longer have that bit between compartments as its now just one long train unit and it is infuriating.

The times I do have to take a call now - from family I normally just stop it from ringing and send a text back to say I will call them after I get off the train, or if its business I will have to take the call, unfortunately, but I know I don't shout down the phone!

The much underrated show Nathan Barley had a cracking nick name for Bluetooth hands free headsets, Twathandles!

I'm a big people watcher. I always know who is around me, what their threat is, what they are wearing and whether I could take them out if necessary.

It's kept me alive so far.

Natasha Whittam wrote:I'm a big people watcher. I always know who is around me, what their threat is, what they are wearing and whether I could take them out if necessary.

It's kept me alive so far.

Just like chuck Norris.

Jason Bourne was just the start eh?

I used to live across the road from a guy who annoyed the fuck out of me - we called him Mr. Carwash.

He washed his car every single day of the week. When he came home from work in the evening he couldn't just go straight in the house for his tea, he had to walk round the car carefully inspecting it for the slightest speck of dirt and if he found one, he'd take a hankie out of his pocket and spend ages wiping it and polishing it up.

I wanted to throw dog shit on his car when he wasn't around but I don't have a dog and the people who do have dogs tend to pick the shit up and take it home with them. Inconsiderate bastards.

I like to study people - body language, and so on. I've learnt quite a bit about people this way.

Natasha Whittam wrote:I'm a big people watcher. I always know who is around me, what their threat is, what they are wearing and whether I could take them out if necessary.

It's kept me alive so far.

Have you been getting tips from Angry Dad ?

On the subject of watching people I once sat in the West Stand next to a middle aged guy who had a rucksack at his feet. Every five minutes throughout the game he would reach into the rucksack and pull out a tube of toothpaste and then proceed to squirt some onto his tongue! Totally bizarre!

Reebok Trotter wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:I'm a big people watcher. I always know who is around me, what their threat is, what they are wearing and whether I could take them out if necessary.

It's kept me alive so far.

Have you been getting tips from Angry Dad ?

On the subject of watching people I once sat in the West Stand next to a middle aged guy who had a rucksack at his feet. Every five minutes throughout the game he would reach into the rucksack and pull out a tube of toothpaste and then proceed to squirt some onto his tongue! Totally bizarre!

Pretty unusual that, how about this there's a bloke goes in the cafe i go to sometimes,takes a bite of food then takes out one of those red note books and a pencil writes something in the book kisses the page twice then puts it away he does it loads of times during his breakfast.

Yes it is very interesting, some people have funny way's.

Mr Magoo wrote:Yes it is very interesting, some people have funny way's.

Can I summise that you are talking from experience ?

I have read some of his post's, i find him very funny.