Sunday, December 17, 2006

Intimate Strangers

There is an absolutely fascinating article on the BBC website (here) talking about how many people you see everyday who you don't know or speak to but recognise and wonder about them. I have to admit that this piece really intrigued me as did the many comments left there, most of which endorsed the whole concept. I see people everyday, some I recognise, fewer I smile at and a couple I say "Hello" to, although I don't know their names or anything about them. Of my neighbours I would recognise two - both of whom I've chatted to when I've been working in my front garden or have been walking past their gardens when they were working in theirs. But I don't know their surnames and very little about either of them. Another neighbour I don't know at all.

The trouble is that we British are not that forthcoming, well especially those living and raised in the South of England anyway. We tend to be reserved and diffident people and talking to complete strangers is considered a real taboo over here. It would be like stepping out of your own National characteristic and my own innate shyness. I was struck by the piece of the person from Nottingham who did start to talk to someone, who then changed their routine so that they never met again.

I am really attracted by the idea of doing something like this. I just wished I had the courage.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

*laughing* You are correct about our national characterizations, of course; but, as I was reading that you smiled at fewer people than you "recognized" and spoke to even fewer, I was mentally shaking my head and muttering, "Goodness! I speak to them all!" Viva la whatever. We are what we are. You are outgoing in your blog, I notice. Buffy and I would have a ball taking you about, were you to venture our way. We would either drive you crazy or have you speaking to total strangers, in no time!
Cop Car

Adele said...

CopCar,

You say "You are outgoing in your blog". It's easy to chat here but I always have to battle the life-long affliction of shyness. I'm better than I was but I always have been shy and have had real difficulties to talking directly to people. It's much easier online though.

Anonymous said...

If you've not read Ronni Bennett's recent posting, Blogging and Solitude, I'll quote her first two sentences.

"What a strong and interesting reaction to yesterday’s story about happiness and solitude. It appears that quite a number of us bloggers or, at least TGB readers, consider ourselves introverts."

Cop Car