When I had first moved to London, I dropped a "How are you?" to a stranger on the street to which they responded with a "No thank you." My feelings were slightly hurt.
This reminds me of a video of a Japanese woman talking about some culture shock when she visited Disney World in the US and an American child came up to her and complimented her hoodie. She was stunned for a moment because apparently just complimenting a stranger unsolicited is just not generally done in Japan & it took her a moment to realize what he doing.
I'm from Australia and recently visited London, I'm used to walking around and giving a quick "G'day, how you goin'?" to randoms in the street and getting a: "Good thanks, mate, yourself?" In response.
I remember listening to a podcast where a London resident described someone saying “Hello” to him in America as if it was a hostage negation. He claimed that “In London, if someone you don’t know starts talking to you, you’re either getting mugged or arrested”
Years ago, I arrived in London from Canada to visit relatives. The whole time I was in London I was wondering "What's wrong with people? Why don't they talk to each other, or even look?" Then I got on a train to Chester and everything changed in a moment! "Can I help you get that baggage up on the rack, dearie?", "Where are you from?" etc. Finally, I'm in human land!
There is truth in this. Sometimes if I’m in a particularly cheery mood I’ll smile at people and they smile back. My daughter told me it’s because they think I am “simple”.
When I worked in London a few decades back I used to have a laugh thanking people for making way for me and saying hello. The expressions on some peoples faces were priceless and made my day. However the most glorious moment was a young lad who gave up his seat for me because he thought I was pregnant (I didn't have the heart to tell him I was bloated from gas due to a medical condition). He was so proud of himself, I thanked him profusely and told him he was a credit to his family. He positively glowed. Bless. 😂
The laughs are recorded, because actual British people were only crying.
“Friendliness isn’t a crime until next year.” Close enough.
i’m from brazil and when i went to london i laughed at a cab driver’s joke and he gave me a free ride lol
When I had first moved to London, I dropped a "How are you?" to a stranger on the street to which they responded with a "No thank you." My feelings were slightly hurt.
This reminds me of a video of a Japanese woman talking about some culture shock when she visited Disney World in the US and an American child came up to her and complimented her hoodie. She was stunned for a moment because apparently just complimenting a stranger unsolicited is just not generally done in Japan & it took her a moment to realize what he doing.
"friendliness to strangers is not a crime until next year" if only this was posted in 2019
I'm from Australia and recently visited London, I'm used to walking around and giving a quick "G'day, how you goin'?" to randoms in the street and getting a: "Good thanks, mate, yourself?" In response.
This makes me want to visit London just so I can go around and say "Hello" to random people on the street.
"I did not mean to be happy."
"I did not mean to be happy" 😂😂
I remember listening to a podcast where a London resident described someone saying “Hello” to him in America as if it was a hostage negation. He claimed that “In London, if someone you don’t know starts talking to you, you’re either getting mugged or arrested”
Years ago, I arrived in London from Canada to visit relatives. The whole time I was in London I was wondering "What's wrong with people? Why don't they talk to each other, or even look?" Then I got on a train to Chester and everything changed in a moment! "Can I help you get that baggage up on the rack, dearie?", "Where are you from?" etc. Finally, I'm in human land!
"Hello."
I was once a victim of the "friendly greeting"
"They are generally friendly but they will headbutt if cornered" as a Northerner I can confirm we do headbutt for less 😂😂
There is truth in this. Sometimes if I’m in a particularly cheery mood I’ll smile at people and they smile back. My daughter told me it’s because they think I am “simple”.
"Friendliness to strangers won’t be a crime until next year"
“Friendliness is not a crime until next year” Hahahaha
When I worked in London a few decades back I used to have a laugh thanking people for making way for me and saying hello. The expressions on some peoples faces were priceless and made my day. However the most glorious moment was a young lad who gave up his seat for me because he thought I was pregnant (I didn't have the heart to tell him I was bloated from gas due to a medical condition). He was so proud of himself, I thanked him profusely and told him he was a credit to his family. He positively glowed. Bless. 😂
I live 100miles north of London and I can tell you that once inside the boundary(m25) the rules of driving change.