Hells Bells - it's happened!!

Chatting to strangers at bus stops is just showing polite interest and it may improve someone's day. My DH and I don't chat a lot to each other so conversation with anyone is welcome. That's not a criticism, we love each other dearly but he isn't a conversationalist. I think doctors' surgeries are often silent because they are full of mainly worried people. (Those same people can then go I to the surgery and reply "Fine thank you," when the doctor asks them how they are, before getting down to the reason they have come!)

I talk at bus stops, sitting next to people, anywhere really. Had the most interesting conversations, lightened the waiting and journey times. It’s lovely. When my husband retired he accompanied me on the bus but I had to sit next to someone else. When we got off he asked me who the lady was that I was chatting to. He looked amazed when I said I didn’t know her.

I aslo gew up in Yorkshire and spoke to everybody in buses and at busstops. In Germany its not usually done and I've got used to that as well now,
But once in Yorkshire travelling on the bus there was a discussion about teeth and false teeth and the man next to me turned to me asked if mine were my own.

It took me a while to collect myself and answer.

I love a good old natter with strangers . Sometimes it's interesting , some times funny and even the boring conversations can have a good side in the sense it is human contact. It's amazing what you learn sometimes.

If I am in Leicester Kitty and a very, very strange woman strikes up a conversation I will asks if it' you.

I grew up in a working class area where it was normal to speak to anyone. When we married we moved into what could be called a "middle class" area, first day I joined the queue at the bus stop and started chatting - everyone looked at me as if I had two heads or was possibly dangerous!

You could always rely on my DH to strike up a conversation with anyone he met, and, to a certain extent I enjoy passing the time of day with people as well.

On the other hand, I do not like talking if I'm on a plane or train journey. I put my ear-phones in, listen to music to zone out the noise, and like to be left alone.

The area was up into London and then out again

I travelled home in the rush hour this week from a day at my daughter’s (don’t drive in the dark so it was a two train and two bus journey). I had to stand on both trains and noticed thst everyone was busy with a phone. Standing where I was I had a good view of everyone. There wasn't a word passed between anyone. Nobody had a book or even a paper. I couldn’t read standing up so just spent the journey watching everyone else. I found it really weird.

If I didn't talk to strangers... five days a week I wouldn't talk. My husband talks about nothing but trains and football ( I actually like football...go Spurs!! ), but 24/7 IS a bit much.I talk to anybody that is willing to talk to me, at bus stops, railway stations, shops,cafes... doesn't matter where or what you say. If someone has reached out to speak to me I think it's because they need it. So oblige , what not?!? The other two days a week I'm taking and fetching grandkids to and fro schools...and they never stop talking [ sunshine]

Heather please give us some kind of a clue where you live so I can avoid it if/when I ever move house...

I don't see the problem. I am moving from Spain back to England, just because I miss the being able to chat to all and everyone. Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

I'm a scouser too and well used to chatting to strangers at bus stops, in shops etc.
When I was working as a volunteer in a charity shop, an elderly lady obviously wanted a chat and I was not busy so had quite a long natter with her. At the end she thanked me for talking to her and gave me £5 for the charity. That's sad isn't it and it has stuck in my mind.

Absoulty steve jIm a scouser too and chat to all

I should add it's ok for a little while to give a little advice if needed.but I don't want to hear all about uncle Tom Cobly and all ?

I like to chat to all and sundry about general things,but I try not to let them know I am a retired nurse as the conversation then evolves around entire medical histories of themselves,partners,.in fact the whole family plus the cat and dog and next door neighbour etc etc.it's ok for a little while,but I would rather keep conversation generalised?

You are all so lucky to live in areas of the country that are so friendly. It is not like that where I am. I will speak to anyone who raises their eyes from the ground long enough for me to catch their eye! Talking to complete strangers is looked upon as some form of derangement around here and it makes me very sad. For twenty years we have lived in the same road and know only a very few people to actually talk to. If you don't have a dog or child with you, you may as well have two heads as people can barely even say 'good morning', although we always do. Same in supermarket queues. I notice the difference when we visit other places. Count your blessings and enjoy being like your Mum, Kitty. Human contact is a basic need for most people and totally natural.

After shopping in town with DD1 I said I'd catch the bus home so she left me at the bus stop and set off to collect her car. She was not in the least surprised when my bus passed her to see I was sitting chatting away to someone. Yes, I talk to everyone - well, not quite. One of my buses serves the university and the students at the bus stop and on the bus are usually incommunicado - they are glued to mobile phones or are listening to music. My local Coop is about 5 minutes walk away. When I get back half an hour later DH says 'Who did you meet this time?'

if your a Scouser like me ,It's the norm to talk to anyone and everyone.Why not?

There's not much conversation on the Birmingham buses, but here in the Black Country everyone chats, including the driver. Is it something to do with small towns as opposed to big cities?

Winifred1. If you are a good listener, open & aren't rushing about, it doesn't matter which part of the country. People think London is unfriendly but I've had the most amazing conversations sitting in the Parks and Trafalgar Square, in cafes to places in the suburbs. Try a south London bus for chatty locals.
The weirdest conversation I had recently was on a train to London. I soon discovered that the woman who sat down next to me owned our house 40 years ago and proudly told me how they restored it (while I kept quiet about all the bodged jobs and the fact her now ex husband, a local teacher, is now serving life for murder).

Are people less likely to chat with strangers in different parts of the country. I was brought up in the Midlands where everyone is friendly but have settled in the Home counties( won't say where) but generally people are much more reserved.

My daughter chatted to a man she met on a train and they were married before the year was out!

I am a member of a well known gym and it is amazing how when you try to strike up a conversation with some people how they stick their nose in the air and look as stiff as boards.
I can be bubbly and sometimes a bit dippy, but I can make others laugh, as I can laugh at myself. I get called mad Jen lol. ( all in jest)
I love it, I talk to anyone and cause a good giggle where ever I go.

I love chatting to people, when I am in Liverpool everyone chats, I love it, also when I am in Cumbria everyone says Good Morning or whatever time of day it is, they are so friendly, in the Country where I live they do the opposite, when approaching anyone they look down as they pass. I really miss the friendliness in the UK

Apparently I'm embarrassing according to my kids because everywhere I go I talk to people. Always have, always will! At bus stops, on planes, in a queue, on the tube, surely it's just human nature to chat to people. We all need to interact with each other or what's the point of being here. If people dont respond well that's their loss!