gorroval

What's a phrase your parents or grandparents said constantly that you've only just realised has completely vanished from everyday British speech?

Posted by orroreqk@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 1833 comments

Has anyone here been diagnosed as neurodivergent (autism/adhd) in adulthood? What was the process like?

Posted by Lurcher_Owner@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 75 comments

gorroval@reddit

35F, diagnosed about 5 years ago. Getting to the assessment took ages, not helped by how the local NHS service was "restructuring" and then COVID happened. The assessment itself was very odd from an adult perspective. Like, tell a story with these objects, put these jigsaw pieces together, now we're going to leave the room for five minutes, just do something on your own for a moment. It felt like I was an alien being graded on how human I could appear, like I was going undercover 😂 If you do go down that route, can I recommend making a list of any particular symptoms that concern you. When you're there in the assessment, you'll almost certainly forget half of them! My team dithered for a while about whether they thought I *was* autistic. It only occurred to me later that if at some point I'd said "oh, and if I think I've done something wrong I have sobbing meltdowns and hurt myself" they might have been less unsure 🙃

Was I wrong for assuming I was next to be served, and leaving when the server was rude?

Posted by Frantastic79@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 175 comments

gorroval@reddit

Conversely, I'm autistic and if I'd been in OP's place I would 100% have burst into tears, legged it out the door and spent the next three days questioning whether I should just run away to the hills and herd goats for the rest of my life 🙃

How many times a year do you “call sick” at work?

Posted by Aggravating-Fig-9274@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 1525 comments

gorroval@reddit

So true. Bad enough when I go off on a trip and come back to find someone's stolen all my board pens, my tables have been rearranged and 9Z have eaten their exercise books. Plus I generally leave my laptop and USB drive in school (to discourage working at home) so all that would happen is I'd lie on the sofa worrying about what I was going to teach the next day anyway!

South facing giant Victorian bay windows, how are we dealing with these in terms of letting the cooler air in in the evening?

Posted by blackcurrantcat@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 15 comments

gorroval@reddit

Can I make a recommendation for window screens? We have our house fitted out with FlatCats which velcro onto the frames. They're custom made and given that you're in a Victorian terrace too I imagine you'll need to do the same but it was worth the initial outlay. Our boys have yet to escape.

How do I stop my upstairs from getting way hotter than downstairs?

Posted by Food_Cats1@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 225 comments

gorroval@reddit

In this situation too (though not pregnant as well, thank goodness). Have you tried sleeping with ice blocks wrapped in a tea towel? Doesn't help the overall temperature of the room but might let you get some sleep. Cats will be cats, unfortunately. Ours are incredibly melty at the moment. They're also really cross that all the sun is behind blinds. You could slip an ice block into their beds (again, wrapped up) or put some ice cubes in their water? In the end their fur will help them thermoregulate much better than we can!

What University Societies were you a part of?

Posted by YetAnotherMia@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 35 comments

gorroval@reddit

I spent a couple of years doing pole dancing while I was at Oxford. Not officially affiliated with the uni but most of us were students and i got involved because they had a stand at Freshers' Fair. It was a really nice, supportive atmosphere, I got a bit fitter (used to be able to hang off a pole by the inside of one knee), generally a good time was had by all. I was on the mailing list for the Assassins' Guild for a year, but I never actually joined a game. It sounded fun but I was just too awkward. I also started a Sherlock Holmes society. Well, I say society, it just ended up being a friendship group with a bunch of queer people who got together every week to watch weird versions of Sherlock Holmes. If you haven't seen the one with the dinosaurs, I really recommend it. It's awful.

I love the UK! Do you?

Posted by Wooden_Skin_8544@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 258 comments

gorroval@reddit

Only if we do the stick and bucket dance! 😉 (I don't actually do morris, because I'm chronically socially awkward and can't bear the thought of trying to join a side, but I always like to watch it!)

I love the UK! Do you?

Posted by Wooden_Skin_8544@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 258 comments

gorroval@reddit

I love the folklore of the UK. I love our traditional music and dances, and I get misty-eyed about white horses on hillsides. I have a lot of feelings about the decline of many of our traditional crafts but it's been cheering to see a lot of young people becoming more involved in them.

Ladies: do you wear make up to work?

Posted by LunaValley@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 880 comments

gorroval@reddit

35, never worn makeup to work. Don't wear it anywhere to be fair. Every 5 years or so I go through a brief phase where I suddenly think I'm going to wear eyeshadow again, or maybe get into lipstick. It never sticks (metaphorically or literally) and frankly I've got better things to do. So I don't bother, and spend my time wearing fun dresses and bright tights instead.

Those of you who are teachers, do you remember every student you’ve ever taught?

Posted by AndyKWHau@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 126 comments

gorroval@reddit

Oh that sounds like something I would do! (When I was at uni I did a spell in the Lolita subculture. A couple of the girls had a thing for massive pastel-coloured wigs and it was SUCH a struggle when they wore a different one to the meetups. There was one incident where I couldn't recognise a girl at all and my god it haunts me fifteen years later 🥲)

Those of you who are teachers, do you remember every student you’ve ever taught?

Posted by AndyKWHau@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 126 comments

gorroval@reddit

I have this too!! Literally last week I met a colleague who recognised me instantly, but I didn't have a clue who she was! I had to figure it out by a process of elimination. I'm autistic and apparently face-blindness is a fairly common symptom of it. Ghastly, it's so embarrassing, especially since apparently I'm cursed to be readily recognisable in the street 🙃

Those of you who are teachers, do you remember every student you’ve ever taught?

Posted by AndyKWHau@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 126 comments

gorroval@reddit

Depends entirely on the student. I could teach 200 students in a given year. And of course I also have mild face-blindness, which doesn't help matters. There are students from my very first tutor group whom I still remember over a decade later. Meanwhile there are kids I see around school who I *know* I taught last year, but I've completely forgotten everything about them. And God help me if I ever meet them outside of school, I barely recognise some of my colleagues in their civvies 🤣

Why are run-on sentences more acceptable in British English?

Posted by Icy_Mixture1482@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 368 comments

Have you ever heard of carnival morris?

Posted by NaturalDisaster2582@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 18 comments

gorroval@reddit

Omg thank you so much for this! I love morris and the history of English folk dance but I've never even heard of this! It sounds like something very, *very* peculiar to the north west which is fascinating. That's my evening occupied!

What reoccurring fantasy/dreamscape visual narratives do you find yourself mentally conjuring when doing mundane tasks?

Posted by Lilac_Whisky@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 13 comments

gorroval@reddit

I thought of this post as I was swimming this morning! 🙂 Personally I write fanfic in my head. If only there were a way to beam it directly from my head onto my page I would be so productive!

What phrase(s) would you permanently ban if you had the chance?

Posted by MixAway@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 3420 comments

gorroval@reddit

I also hate both of these! The first because it's awfully twee for something that made my childhood and adolescence way harder than it needed to be, and the second because it always kind of feels like they're implying neurotypical people don't or can't have hobbies or things they're really into. Plus, I don't think any of my interests are so all-consuming that they can be pathologised. Like, I am very interested in folk music, but I don't have the Roud Index tattooed on the inside of my eyeballs. Meanwhile some 4 year old can name every type of lamppost in the country built since Queen Victoria.

Have we stopped needing pockets?

Posted by Sea-Still5427@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 60 comments

gorroval@reddit

I'm a teacher and need to be carrying a red pen, a clicker and a whiteboard pen at minimum. I can't rely on my cardigans to have pockets. My Popsy dresses, however, always do. Would be lost without them. (Not sponsored.) (*Whispers* call me)

Do you know of any rising Subcultures in the UK ?

Posted by Independent_Force240@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 394 comments

gorroval@reddit

Then you may enjoy [this Tradfolk article](https://tradfolk.co/customs/customs-uncovered-the-stick-and-bucket-dance/) about its Discworld origins and the fact that there persists a Roundworld competition to find the best interpretation of it.

Do you know of any rising Subcultures in the UK ?

Posted by Independent_Force240@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 394 comments

gorroval@reddit

Re: folk, I love that when I go to see Morris sides (which sadly isn't often where I am now) the old men are starting to be outnumbered by (often very obviously queer) young people. The children yearn for the Stick and Bucket Dance.

Do you actually call football “American football” every time?

Posted by cocoa_pebblee@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 119 comments

gorroval@reddit

Football is played with your feet. American football, or more correctly *handegg*, is not. So yes, we would always make the difference clear. As for "college football", do Americans actually care about what sports their local(?) universities are doing? I mean besides the people actually engaged in them, I suppose. I barely care about the Boat Race any more (though that's mostly because the filthy Tabs keep winning).

Where can I buy some good crop tops that will suit a teen boy?

Posted by Distinct_Guess3350@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 43 comments

gorroval@reddit

It's never too early to learn to sew! If you're into, for want of a better word, "gender-bendy" stuff (yes, clothes should be genderless but alas we live in a gendered world), you'll quickly run into the problem that things just aren't cut for your body (I've had the same problem in the opposite direction). Taking up a vest or tank top isn't the absolute easiest thing, but it's not the worst. It's also pretty easy if you have a professional sewing machine so you might be able to get it altered by someone on the high street. If so else fails, just cut a few inches off with pinking shears and call it punk!

Would you feel comfortable booking a holiday to Abu Dhabi right now?

Posted by cbz2345@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 87 comments

gorroval@reddit

This. Love when peers are like "Oh, you should go teach English in Dubai!" or whatever. It's like, Susan. They would stone me. Honestly I never know if I feel angry or sad or just baffled that most of my friends' chief concern when they choose a holiday destination isn't "Is my marital status subject to the death penalty there?"

Do you actually take your full lunch break away from your desk, or just eat while working?

Posted by Extreme-Banana-9@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 626 comments

gorroval@reddit

I'm a teacher, and I get less than half an hour to eat, go to the loo and set up my next lesson. If I leave my desk, that's valuable time wasted. In fact, I'm eating lunch right now, wondering whether Site have got the water on this floor working again, or if I'm going to have to go to the toilets on the first floor 🤣

Where can we see native animals?

Posted by New-Builder5245@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 64 comments

Where can we see native animals?

Posted by New-Builder5245@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 64 comments

gorroval@reddit

Just making sure you're aware that Oxford is a city university, right? It doesn't have a campus, the colleges and faculties are spread out across the whole city. If you ask for directions to "the campus", some wag will probably send you to Oxford Brookes. (Apologies if this is obvious, but the number of times I was asked "Which way to the university?" on my way to lectures and I could only gesture vaguely around like "You're in it, mate!")

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Ah yes I love Pentagle too! That's a good song too, very old and [with a long and storied history.](https://mainlynorfolk.info/joseph.taylor/songs/thesprigofthyme.html) I love that the oldest recording of it we have is on wax cylinder!

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

I would love to! Unfortunately I am chronically awkward!! (I'm also a teacher and therefore constantly tired during the week and never seem to have time at weekends. But I do love to watch Morris! And I have a couple of Cecil Sharpe's books about it.)

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Omg that's such a hard choice. I suppose it depends where you draw the line between folk, rock and folk-rock. Like, Steeleye Span are definitely my favourite folk band, I've listened to every album. But each album has a handful of absolute bangers and the rest are just good. So if we're allowing Jethro Tull on the rock end then *Songs from the Wood* beats out every individual Span album, though collectively I probably like Span more. And at the modern folk end of the spectrum I think Nancy Kerr's *Sweet Visitor* changed me on a fundamental level. So... I don't know! Sorry! Super unhelpful. I think my favourite Span song is probably The Bonny Black Hare, though. Deliciously filthy.

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Amazing! I'm still a bit sad that I didn't go to meetings after first year, but I was very young, very autistic and very anxious and everyone else seemed way cooler than me* so it was all too much. *Yes, I am aware of the irony 🤣

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Man, I should finish Black Flag one day. The ship bits were great, there was just too much pissing about on land for me. I just wanted ~60 hours of Man o' War Simulator 1770. ~~I like big boats and I cannot lie.~~

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Nice! I'd love to play in a folk orchestra but my ability to play musical instruments is very much quantity over quality, i.e. I can play like 8 different ones including some very folky things like accordion and English concertina, but only for a given value of "play". A very small value. Some would argue, infinitesimally so.

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Based on some of the nastier comments on this post, it looks like all my music tastes are back to being uncool again. Phew, I was worried for a minute there!

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

How lovely! I went through Cropredy on the canal once, beautiful little place. I'd love to do the festival one day but circumstances haven't aligned yet.

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

I'd love to see them! I've seen Span a few times, Fairport once, I saw The Full English somewhere but goodness knows where... I'm also a member of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (they're rebranding to Folk England soon which is much less of a mouthful) and actually read their academic journal so if we're comparing uncoolness levels I feel like I must be winning (or losing, depending on one's perspective...)

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

Does anyone remember that weird period after COVID when everyone got into sea shanties for a month?

Posted by Moist_Scheme8194@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 288 comments

gorroval@reddit

Joke's on you, I was into sea shanties before they were cool. (Please talk to me about folk music, I'm so lonely 🥲 *Steeleye Span playing in the distance*)

Have the old English nursery rhymes been forgotten by millennials/Gen Z? How many would you know by heart?

Posted by perishingtardis@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 66 comments

gorroval@reddit

34F, I know most of these by heart but I have a particular interest in English folk tradition, listen to a lot of folk music and own multiple books about nursery rhymes, folk ballads etc so I don't think my experience is all that average.

Why are your schools so strict?

Posted by Aquatic_Merc@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 47 comments

Maypole Dancing in primary schools - does it still happen?

Posted by Prestigious-Gold6759@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 60 comments

gorroval@reddit

It's so sad that these traditions are dying out! I remember doing country dances in year 2 (would have been... '98? Thereabouts). I would love to do it now. Sadly I'm chronically afraid of other people or I would have joined a Morris side by now.

What's your favourite British made video game?

Posted by YetAnotherMia@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 695 comments

What's your favourite British made video game?

Posted by YetAnotherMia@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 695 comments

gorroval@reddit

Dungeon Keeper 2 for me! Can't fully explain how formative it was. Changed me on a fundamental level. I was a very strange 9 year old girl.

UK Society: How are you all doing?

Posted by queefchi3f@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 61 comments

gorroval@reddit

Personally, as a queer woman in a long-term relationship, my biggest worry outside the usual cost of living thing is the continued escalation of anti-trans rhetoric. I'm not trans myself but my partner is non-binary and I have trans friends, and I want them to be safe. I'm also very aware that if the far right get a foothold, I will be next on the chopping block. Also Mini Eggs are extortionate now, and as someone who likes to consume her weight in shelled chocolate every Easter this is a major concern. Sort it out, Kier!

What are the UK’s most loved custard-based or custard-adjacent desserts?

Posted by JennyW93@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 255 comments

gorroval@reddit

I'm still deeply dubious of custard qua custard, but I have made inroads to acceptance through The Spicery's mango, saffron and green cardamom trifle. It's the only reason why I actually have a pot of green cardamom in my spice cupboard.