Uninterested Cali Owners

[Rob GRIFFITHS]

@Rob GRIFFITHS i notice you speak English. I too speak English, what a coincidence, what are the odds! I assume that you must be passionate about speaking English and are available to talk about this at a time of my choosing. In fact I'm going to interrupt your holiday so that we can talk. if you don't want to talk don't worry, I'll go on the internet and complain to my chatroom buddies about you.

Exactly - very funny

 

[Rob GRIFFITHS]

Well said Eileen.

Where the hell did common courtesy disappear to.

What on earth are you talking about. This poor couple have not as far as I can deduce been rude to the original poster. Let me remind you of the original post:

>I went over and said hello and was about to discuss how wonderful the Cali is but they had no interest
>in talking to me at all, they then went and locked themselves in their van and made a cuppa.

So we have this vague snippet of interaction, where we are supposed to deduce that the couple were rude.

Why?

Well the original poster has implied they were rude with the terms "no interest" and "locked themselves in their van".

All pretty vague. Did they really lock themselves into the van? Or did they just simply shut the door after saying goodbye?

 

[Flood51]

I am new to camping, camper vans etc etc but to me the best thing about camping is the ease of meeting and socialising with other people. This is one of the attractions. That and getting up at 5 am to find the toilet block. Camping adds many more dimensions to visiting a place than staying in a hotel. It's natural to check out your surroundings when you get to a new campsite and I see no harm in being polite to other campers/caravaners and engaging in conversation. The number of times we have arrived and had offers of help to set up (politely refused so far as we are trying to learnt the ropes, literally) make the whole experience much more enjoyable.

I am also new to forum posting as well, vwcaliforniaclub.com being my first board but I must say I find the board "ecosystem" fascinating.

 

[calicasas]

In my experience this is quite a cultural thing.
In Spain at least it's natural people say hi, maybe chat and if you/they see that you click then you may talk some more, no one forces the situation or feels compelled to stay - they pick up on the social vibes.
Twice i have had a situation in the uk (and we have all been there) where I have made a polite 'hi' and before you know it, said individuals have felt compelled to spend the evening on your plot with a large keg of beer.
This has led to us being subconsciously reticent at saying 'hi'
The beauty of having being bought up in both the uk and spain is that I have taken evertything brilliant about each culture, but I have felt it fair to reflect on this aspect of my experience here without prejudice or critisicm...

 

[Velma's Dad]

Twice i have had a situation in the uk (and we have all been there) where I have made a polite 'hi' and before you know it, said individuals have felt compelled to spend the evening on your plot with a large keg of beer.

Yes I've 'been there' too. Let's be honest: while the great majority of campers (and 99.9% of Cali owners, obviously ) can sense very well when it's appropriate to make a social overture like "fancy a beer?", a minority don't have well enough tuned radar - which is different from saying they don't have good manners, and doesn't make them bad people.

To me, a campsite is a bit like being in a pub or restaurant or any other 'captive' environment - I might swap a few words of banter with someone at the next table if we had something obvious in common (eg we were both whippet owners) but I'd never think of saying "Fancy a drink with us?" and go over and sit down with them. It could happen, but obviously only after completely unambiguous signals from both sides. And the Brits amongst us should at least recognise that "Yes that would be lovely" doesn't necessarily mean they think it actually would...

 

[zoki]

Big respect to the OP for asking the people round for a drink that is a really kind gesture which you do not see much nowadays, I think his neighbours were in the wrong ( if his quote is correct) as there is a wrong and right way to decline an invitation. It is sad that is many big cities most people do not even know who their neighbours name so being on a campsite is a nice way to get back to the old time community feel

 

[Velma's Dad]

there is a wrong and right way to decline an invitation.

Not sure what 'wrong' or 'right' means here. Like most people, when I decline an invitation I almost always do it by giving a plausible excuse (like "We'd love to, but we have to go out to meet our friends / take the dog to the vet / fix the leak in the bathroom before it overflows / etc" ). White lies used to decline gracefully and spare any hurt feelings from a more direct rejection.

It's much harder to do that on a campsite, as your neighbour can see very plainly that actually you didn't have a prior commitment with your vet/friends/plumber/criminal barrister and you're still sitting under your awning sipping your own plonk (or worse still you've 'shut yourself in your van').

Perhaps the 'right' way to decline might be to say "Thanks a lot, but we just wanted to have this evening on our own, I'm sure you understand, no offence meant." To be honest though, I'd find it quite awkward to say that and I suspect a lot of people are like me.

(BTW, this isn't to criticise the OP, who seems to have been given a clumsy rebuttal when he just wanted to exchange a few words of chat, not make an evening of it).

 

[GrannyJen]

Personally I think a Gallic shrug is in order.

Hospitality was extended, it was not reciprocated,that's life.

A Gallic shrug, thoughts of "suits me, obviously not my types anyway" and get the decent plonk out and not the chateau Tesco that is normally reserved for first meets.

 

[alstevens]

I must be in the 'Cali no mates' category.... nearly 2 years in and no one has done more than pass by with an interested but polite glance or two .... odd really as I am usually more than happy to engage with citizens of the globe on almost any ( friendly) matter of the day... Oh well.

 

[ArunAlec]

Viv Stanshall, of Bonzo Dog fame used to ensure he had a train compartment to himself by enthusiastically inviting passing passengers to come in and share the compartment !

 

[LowMan]

Viv Stanshall, of Bonzo Dog fame used to ensure he had a train compartment to himself by enthusiastically inviting passing passengers to come in and share the compartment !

Viv Stanshall!! Dude, for that mention alone, you'd be more than welcome over at our van

 

[ArunAlec]

Viv Stanshall!! Dude, for that mention alone, you'd be more than welcome over at our van

You're on!

 

[T6Beach]

Last weekend we were at a campsite in the New Forest and their was a Cali pitched up, I went over to say hi to the couple and whilst chatting his wife called him into the van. He did not return ! Maybe it was my boring conversation or he was just pig ignornant.

 

[GrannyJen]

I find it amusing.

When I was at Cirencester I said "hello, good evening" three times to my neighbour who studiously looked straight ahead and blanked me.

I was going to leave him the number for the Samaritans but thought "we have enough business"...

 

[Ady77]

We have also come across some ignorant people on campsites, we realise not all of us want to jump into bed with each other but there is nothing wrong with a few minutes to discuss the weather! From my own experience, In order of igorance ( 4 being the most ignorant)

1. Campervanners
2. Tent People
3. Motorhomers
4. Big white box people

 

[Trailertrash]

I agree....... They keep having these collections for Africa and all the time there are these terrible cases at home.

 

[GrannyJen]

I must admit I have met some really interesting people on camp sites but when it comes to those who raise misery to an art form I am always happy to leave thinking "Thank goodness I never got to know "them""

 

[Loz]

I find it amusing.

When I was at Cirencester I said "hello, good evening" three times to my neighbour who studiously looked straight ahead and blanked me.

I was going to leave him the number for the Samaritans but thought "we have enough business"...

We will be at Cirencester next weekend, I'll test your theory.
Elan Valley this weekend though..

 

[GrannyJen]

We will be at Cirencester next weekend, I'll test your theory.
Elan Valley this weekend though..

I might see you there.

I may be at Cirencester on the 6th,

Another riveting talk on war memorials. I know how to entertain an audience

 

[Trailertrash]

I have always found that the very people who will completely ignore you for a week suddenly come over and want to tell you their complete life history as you are packing up to leave.

 

[Loz]

I might see you there.

I may be at Cirencester on the 6th,

Another riveting talk on war memorials. I know how to entertain an audience

In that case you are cordially invited over for a glass or 2...

 

[GrannyJen]

In that case you are cordially invited over for a glass or 2...

Sorry.

I don't socialise

 

[GrannyJen]

In that case you are cordially invited over for a glass or 2...

I most certainly will take you up on that.

A not very well kept secret is that the forum member who most often will qualify for "lush of the month" has signed up to "sober October" and there is lost time to make up for

 

[shudycamps]

Last weekend we were at a campsite in the New Forest and their was a Cali pitched up, I went over to say hi to the couple and whilst chatting his wife called him into the van. He did not return ! Maybe it was my boring conversation or he was just pig ignornant.

 

[shudycamps]

Wa'al, one would have to decide in retrospect that if a man was having a polite conversation with another Cali owner and the Missus summoned him inside to sit and stay...in my opinion you have been mercifully excluded. There are so many very nice people on these campsites and thankfully few morons.