General Chat

AnnC :-D :-D Love the school remark.

For a short time we lived in the north of hampshire - I was given directions to nearest surgery by a local - go up Tittymouse Lane and turn left!!

As a Londoner we nearly always use the names of pubs as directions, there were just so many.

Now pubs are closing down, names disappearing and giving directions can be a nightmare as there are no points of reference to offer.

Before the M25 my neighbours were taking their three daughters and a couple of cousins to Prestatyn on holiday by Escort van (as you could then).

I gave him the most direct route I knew, A3, South and North Circular,M1,M6.

Oh dear, not London, terror, terror. Somebody else gave them another route and they set off with the wife navigating.

Fourteen and a half hours later, having gone via Bristol, they were in Prestatyn.

My husband always had difficulty with left and right, so I would point in the direction we needed to turn.

One evening, we were on our way home and I was talking about something in the field and pointed to it. He immediately turned in that direction and there we were, in a lay-by. We sat and laughed our heads off.

I have a friend who lived in Wigan and was going to Liverpool for a meeting. Somehow, she managed to get there by driving through the Mersey Tunnel??? She has never lived it down.

Liz - I never dreamt that there was another husband like mine!

I could have written your posting. If anyone rang to ask why we were late - they were promptly asked if there were any roundabouts on the way!

His personal best was taking first exit off roundabout to head for London whereas we required second exit heading for the south. Directed him off first slip road, then told him to turn left - he turned right, drove about four miles found a pub. Enquired - returned the way we had come and at the T junction this time we turned right!

Back to the roundabout - he only repeated himself - off at slip road - he did turn right as told. Nooooooooo it is not over yet - on the roundabout (I switched off radio - no distractions) now then I am firmly saying SECOND exit - round we went, passed the first exit and the second and round again we went - passed the first exit and then with me yelling THIS ONE - he managed it - only just.

It must be 25 years ago and I recall every moment. On arriving home home, son jokingly asked 'any roundabouts'????

This is timely!

Got a 'phone call a couple of hours ago from a tradesman, who is coming here tomorrow.

He asked how to get here........... so I told him the easiest way, NOT the quickest.

He said he was looking at a map........ and then said......... "YOU SPELLED THE NAME OF YOUR STREET WRONG"

Errrr, No I didn't, I know where I live!!

He had a new street directory. Nice to know they check the spelling!!



:-0

Carol............we have a Cows***t Lane near to us, I must look at th sign next time I go past it to see what it is really called :-D

Our Titnore Lane is now Titnore Road :-S

Ah! so it is...........must've come out of the distant past when going to Brands Hatch!! or Yalding.....

As I have lived in this area most of my life I can direct most people in the right direction, but like Sharron use the names we have for certain areas.

One van driver was quite taken aback when I told him to go on down the road to 'Cow S**t Corner' ( There are cow sheds there) & turn right into Whores Lane. (Ellen Whorne Lane)

:-D :-D

This brings back a lovely memory from last year when I was in Sydney.

I decided to do the walk tour of old Sydney where the first settlers of Port Jackson arrived on the first fleet....I have a convict from that.....so I had a printed out copy of the route,well marked out,and got my son to drop me off as he worked in the city and pick me up on his way home.

It was very interesting ...not the usual of looking at all the modern sights.
I was walking along a road finding my next number on the chart when I saw 2 elderly ladies..of similar age to me,asking a local where The Hero of Waterloo pub was...they hadn't a clue...so I approached with my little map...and took them.and explained a lot of other areas of interest.
We ended up in this pub and we sat outside and had a cool drink and chat,and very enjoyable afternoon.

They were sisters who were on a cruise ship and had a relative who at one time had run this pub.
I took a photo of them sitting outside and when I got home sent them the pic of which they were most grateful as one was wearing a scarf that her sister had bought and later on she had lost it.

How nice that was,I could help them and they made my solo trip much more interesting.

I am fairly good at giving directions when asked by stopped drivers but hate trying to take in info, they go so fast lol I definitely prefer landmarks like pubs or shops etc, helps so much to reassure that you are going the right way.

O.h. couldn't find his way out of a paper bag, (or fight his way out for that matter) but luckily if I am navigating and him driving I am ok, except he never reacts very quickly so we do tend to go round rounabouts more than once lol

I end up driving myself and navigating, it saves so many arguments!

Lizx

I'm not bad at finding my way around (but I wouldn't have a clue about buses!)

My Mother was the worst. I gave her a map, said "we're here, and we want to go there"... we were in an area of a city neither of us knew.

I thought we would be there within 30 minutes; after 45 minutes I asked if she had any idea where we were ~ no................. stopped the car.......... I have no idea what she did, but she claimed the map was "upside down" and had taken us to the OTHER end of the city!

We were on our way to a wedding reception! Thank goodness the "happy couple" (who are now divorced) spent ages getting photographs taken :-(

:-D

I can direct people who are walking - but must remember not to direct them down small alleyways that are a short-cut for locals, but a maze for visitors!!
As a non-driver, I'm useless giving directions to those in cars, especially when a one-way system is involved :-(

Tut, tut Bob, its just as well you aren't giving directions..............unless there are two??

"Pratt's Bottom is a village in South East London within the London Borough of Bromley, located at the south eastern boundary of Greater London with Kent, and was formerly a part of Kent. It is located near Biggin Hill Airport"

By road, it's about 2 miles from

"Badgers Mount, a village in Kent, south-east England, situated approximately 4 miles south-east of Orpington and 4 miles north-northwest of Sevenoaks"

:-D :-D

As long as I'm allowed to wave my arms around, I can give directions, but tie them down and they'd be turning right instead of left :-0

Kent, near Biggin Hill.

I remember being in Dortmund, 1960-ish and being asked directions to somewhere(in german) and in my best german I replied (something like) entshuldigenzie, ich veiss nicht. and the reply came back in perfect english." oh! you dont know." aufweidersehen! and off they drove...........

of course there used to be a Pratts Bottom,

in surrey somewhere........on the road to brighton.....

edited,,,,,,,,,of course I WAS talking out of my backside there........

but I was recalling the film Genevive? when the Motor cycle cop stopped them for speeding............?? that was a iffy name for that village........

David Sedaris, a really funny American humourist, and his partner, Hugh, were looking for somewhere to live in Sussex.
They saw, what could, to his mind, be the perfect house - Faggot's Stack, with Titty Hill to the West and Balls Cross to the East.
Sadly they didn't buy it, but live in West Sussex.