Do you get called eccentric?

[citizentwiglet]

LOL, MrsF, I know that feeling. Suddenly we are terribly trendy, aren't we?

However, the 'gals' (you know, Chelsea Tractor driving, Mulberry handbag toting, 4 foreign holidays a year when they can fit them in between all the ballet lessons, gymkanas and Feng Shui appointments) at my son's nursery think that it is 'sad' that I 'didn't have the money to buy him a Halloween costume' (I made him a rather good bat outfit, and he was the only one in a class of more than 30 in a homemade costume). They wonder if I only have one coat (answer - yes. I don't need more than one). They think my younger son will have bandy legs and will never walk because - shock! - I use reusable nappies AND carry him in a Mei Tai.......and fancy me not having a car, either! How do I survive?

I don't know if they think I'm eccentric, they just think I'm poor. Which is about right. But yes, I might be poor. But I am not yet bloody deaf, so stop talking loudly about me when I'm right behind you, you silly bints.

[Rosendula]

I don't know if they think I'm eccentric, they just think I'm poor. Which is about right. But yes, I might be poor. But I am not yet bloody deaf, so stop talking loudly about me when I'm right behind you, you silly bints.

I think that would really annoy me (if I heard them. I AM deaf, lol) because the way I see it, there are people who have a lot of money, and people who like to pretend they have a lot of money (they're what I refer to as "snobs"). Of the people I know, those who really DO have plenty of money are fantastic people who couldn't give a stuff if you have less than them other than feeling embarrassed because they have more. Whereas the Snobs, they are the ones who may be earning more than us, but because they are so concerned with appearances and keeping up with the Jones', they always have to talk about what they have recently paid for or are planning to pay for, and like to compare it to people who have, or have chosen to have, less. The thing is, most of these snobs have it all on credit, are mortgaged to death because they have to have the biggest house with not one but two guest bedrooms, a stream running through their garden, and a triple garage to house their own two cars (bought brand new on tick) and that of any guest. So my belief is, if they're comparing what they have with what you have, they're in debt. As I'm not in debt, in my opinion I am better off, because if I was made redundant, was off sick, or whatever, I wouldn't be worried about money, whereas they would be because they NEED so much of the evil stuff in order to pay for what they were flaunting last year. As Gene Hunt once said on Life on Mars, "There are three types of people in this life: them that 'ave, them that 'aven't, and them that 'aven't paid for what they bloody 'ave". (Something like that. Hard to remember and all the quotes I've found are different). I'm type no. 2

[John Headstrong]

I don't know if they think I'm eccentric, they just think I'm poor. Which is about right. But yes, I might be poor. But I am not yet bloody deaf, so stop talking loudly about me when I'm right behind you, you silly bints.

I know, they do this to me, and I can't/won't hold it down and I will laugh at them.

I get called alsorts, I mean, I am nearly six foot tall, have long hair, look after my kids,have awesome hearing, don't do 9-5 instead "does something" with computers, have a London accent (I live in Scotland) and work on "some community project" in town. (and then theres the chickens and the growing stuff...)

BUT do not under estimate how little I care what they think. really,people that are nasty I just don't care about, there are some really nice people about in town and they make it worthwhile. This town is a ex-mining village and they have been fed the same crap from the council since the mines closed, so they need someone like me to kick things up.

[citizentwiglet]

Rose, I totally agree with what you've just said - you are completely right. These women ARE saddled to the eyeballs in repayments, no doubts about it. It's all show, all flaunting. Why make such a deal about it, otherwise? The 'rich' people in our village are nowhere near as showy - we do have several multi-millionaires living here, but they aren't the ones with the huge cars with private numberplates; they are the ones that look like they've been through a hedge backwards; couldn't give a toss about looking the 'part'. They certainly don't send their offspring to the local state nursery!

God, when I owed money (the princely sum of £800.00 to the bank on an overdraft they suddenly 'cancelled'), I couldn't sleep. I don't know how people do, when they get everything on the never never.

John - your village and mine sound remarkably similar. In fact, I had to check your location because it sounds exactly like where I live - even down to the community project. (Ours is the community garden of 62 raised beds, polytunnels, orchard and soft-fruit bushes, it'll be in the press soon as we got a £200,000 award from the Climate Challenge Fund). Our village is also an ex-mining village; and I am an 'incomer', but my accent is Welsh, rather than London. But apparently you need to be at least 3rd generation to not be considered an 'incomer'!

[John Headstrong]

John - your village and mine sound remarkably similar. In fact, I had to check your location because it sounds exactly like where I live - even down to the community project. (Ours is the community garden of 62 raised beds, polytunnels, orchard and soft-fruit bushes, it'll be in the press soon as we got a £200,000 award from the Climate Challenge Fund). Our village is also an ex-mining village; and I am an 'incomer', but my accent is Welsh, rather than London. But apparently you need to be at least 3rd generation to not be considered an 'incomer'!

yep, there alot of villages around like ours, "community garden" is one of our sub projects, along with woodworking / wood recycling / forest work and a community games area (MUGA) but the main project is a building in the middle of town to base many of these projects from (we just need to council to get out first!). We have just got some money from the Climate Challenge Fund (50k) and have lottery money for the building and refurb has well as bits from other funders. We are lucky, we got money from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and got ourselves a project worker, and she is awesome.

hopefully I can run a computer recyling project from the building and maybe even get money for redoing the website, the first one was free http://www.fauldhouse.org.uk/

[fruitcake]

Eccentric, Odd, Tree Huggers, Tree Hugging Hippies, Hippies... all of which I absolutely love because who'd want to be 'normal'?

me too
Not called that so much here tho cos like others I now live in a great community in fact its locally known as the Hippy Kingdom and it's great - loads of others doing exactly what I want to do that I can share experiences with and learn from.

Loads of my friends are all getting more and more ish as they get older / settle down too - caught up with an old flatmate (from '87) last summer and she was laughing at us cos we were sharing stories of what we were growing in our garden instead of gossiping about who was 'snogging' who etc

[Green Aura]

Of course you get called eccentric - you're called fruitcake!!!!!

[crowsashes]

yup all the time but usually by people who know me and i get put down alot too as i have a little one (age 2) who goes through clothes amazingly fast so i shop at charity shops as i dont see the point in buying brand new stuff that will be worn once or twice!

i made jam a few months back ( live opposite a patch of woodland) and had the most amazing haul of blackberries ( 10kg over the end of summer and that didnt even scratch the surface of what was avaliable so i made a lot of jam and gave the surplus away to family with the 'ewww did you check for bugs' comments!

i dont get it half the time, i can understand the fact i dress a bit mad and im usually in wellies ! but some of the comment ive had are just plain rude especially being told ebay is sooo not the same as a charity shop still i have the last laugh as i havent got 15,000 worth of debt and im er well....happy

oh and my little one thrives on the regular foraging trips! you should have seen his haul of sweet chestnuts! and his face being able to eat fresh blackberries and home grown tomatoes! that really does make this lifestyle worthwhile ( well apart from all the other benefits)!