Talking to strangers in London is surely grounds for being sectioned under the Mental Health Act, no?

Wait… people talk to strangers in London? Now in Nottingham where I come from this would be the easiest challenge ever but London.🤷🏻‍♀️

Not about something that appeared in national media, but talked to strangers at a couple of bus stops today about … buses. Various ethnicities but honestly so unimportant can’t remember which.

Oh, in west London.

Curse of O'Brien strikes again. One mention of the odd headmistress, and there she is on Question Time.

Not much in the media to joke about, tho

I don’t understand this or Walkers comment 🤷‍♀️.

As a northerner who has lived in London I can confirm that conversing with strangers of any ethnicity is considered a primary symptom of a psychopath in the Metropolis. The rule is in inverse proportion the further north one travels.

youtu.be/PT0ay9u1gg4?...

"Hello brown stranger" he opened with. "How about those immigrants coming over and murdering everyone?"

I remember a USA guide to living and working in Germany (not that long ago) NEVER SMILE.

Having a dog on same regular walks recommended. Assuming dog is not out of control Pit Bull.

English friends (fully paid up Anglo-Saxons) may get grumpy in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 because people may talk to them at bus stops, in shops.. I learned soon after I came south..

Oops you got the real feel of London!

you don't need different ethnicity for that. English are the most reserved bunch!

If a random chap tried to engage me as I waited for the Clapham Omnibus I'd shoo him away with my umbrella. The weirdo.

Do white British share jokes at a bus stop ? Most seem to spend the time on their phones & avoiding eye contact🙄

Does anyone in London share a joke at a bus stop?

The last thing I’m going to do is strike up a random conversation with some weirdo at a bus stop.

OK , so I’ll not engage you in conversation 🤪

🤣🤣 bsky.app/profile/jame...

😂😂😂😂

Seems fair and balanced in my mind 🤷‍♂️😁

🤣🤣 I’m a pretty good judge of character, I can spot the difference between good weirdos and bad weirdos 😁

😂

There's a really easy one at the moment.. Person A - Man, that fucking Orange Twat Person B of not-Person-A-ethnicity - Yeah fuck that arsehole. Totally

OMG on the very basic level,why are not celebrating difference?

What talk to somebody at a southern English bus stop? Correct, never happened.

I'm British and it's fair to say don't stand at bus stops. But if I did I probably wouldn't even speak to anyone regardless of ethnicity let alone share a joke. I'd rather get on with my day without the social interaction with strangers.

How did we get here? I really don’t understand how we are at a point where the Evening Standard is allowed to publish overt racist bull****. This should not be acceptable. It’s incredibly depressing because I really don’t know how we are going to get ourselves out of it. Any ideas?

This is what would happen.

Thanks for sharing. Miss that show.

This was an absolute classic! 😂😂

Was going to post that. And wonder if Tory boy who wrote the article would approve of the jokes we would all share (all about Bad Enoch etc)

Did the "joke" contain the word "woke"? I've come across a few of those in the past and chose not to engage.

I don’t think I’ve ever shared a joke at a bus stop ffs

We moved from London to Dorset 30 years ago. At first my wife thought any stranger saying 'Good morning' to her was probably a murderer.

Yeah but James, it's the first rule! For Christ sake didn't they teach you anything at school? 🙄

I teach. The last 5 years it has been hard to find common ground with anyone. Because of youtube, tiktok. Streaming et Al. If I go back a ways, yes. Queen songs. Everyone knows them. Famous films, if they have been made into memes. So, yes, possible. But totally because of developments in media.

Actually spoke with a lovely lady originally from Liberia this afternoon and we shared a joke about how we both were incredulous about Trump being taken seriously as president when he always behaved like a petulant toddler. That really did happen. What a pleasure it was to talk to her!

You don't talk to strangers in London. Ever. That's Manchester. It's why we're happier up here.

Aye, same in Yorkshire

I don’t doubt you’re a Londoner, but it’s strange to hear people say this. I talk to people/people talk to me all the time. Especially waiting for public transport & in the supermarket. Not as much as other places granted, but still happens. London born and raised & older then I’d like to admit.

Today,at a bus stop, I helped an elderly white lady with a walker with boarding - chated and laughed. Later helped a young black mother, toddler and scooter - all 3 chatting and laughing. In supermarket chatted with Asian man about plants. Commuters don't speak, no-one talks to tourists,Londoners do

Dead easy, To Anyone in London "I see the Orange shit monkey has been given an award for high IQ!"

Wow. If I was the secret police I’d arrest and torture anyone who tried to tell me an unsolicited joke when I had to catch a bus somewhere.

Here's a test for him. Tell the same joke in a work email to a supervisor.

I told the vampire nun joke to a group of my ladies. One is from the Philippines, the other from Malaysia, a woman from Lithuania and two British ladies. They all thought it was hilarious ... maybe it's the way he tells it.

is the "Bus Stop Test" the new "Cricket Test" and will Norman Tebbit sue over copyright infringement?

None of the above is in the Life in the UK Test by the way

‘Goodheart’ more like bloody weirdo….