Oh yes! When I run I count! I get to one hundred and start again and works well when I need a distraction. Thank you for sharing those lovely pictures.
Really interesting that you count to a hundred. I favour smaller chunks, but I do add them up as I go - so I'll do eight sequences of eight, say, and then start again.
I count turns of the pepper grinder when I'm cooking - but that's always in chunks of ten. Strange!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed seeing some of this south-east corner of England. We're quite some distance from Dover but can claim some white cliffs of our own. :D
Totally get the crowd issue: Me too: Big Time! xo on keeping the sea to you left. great tip--depending. sure, on where you're going? In LA, north or south? Right? hope so :)!
LOL, Mary - of course! My husband’s advice to keep the sea on the left was in reference to this walk specifically, where I was heading west on the south coast!
Crowds are a nightmare - I felt proud of myself for not actually diving into the sea to escape!!!
Yay! And that's funny about the counting. I always assumed I did it because of riding horses. When jumping courses, you count in a line between jumps to get the proper striding. I count my strides between segments in pavement the same way and just assumed it was a weird habit. But I guess it's a real thing! :-)
Oh wow, that’s so interesting about the need for horse riders to count - that makes perfect sense! Some people I’ve asked about counting steps have said that they do it too - others seem to think I’m bonkers! Some count, some don’t. I think I do it for reassurance - I find it a comfort.
As part of my degree course I did a project on male vs female graffiti, and in fact I used loo graffiti for my data corpus, as it was a good way of being able to know who (in terms of gender, I mean) had written it. It cost me a LOT of pints in the student bar to get male friends to source data for me. It was quite interesting: most graffiti in female cubicles was very supportive and conversational - there would be whole advice 'threads' going on, although there was some out-and-out obscene stuff, too. Male-loo graffiti was mostly obscene, I'm afraid to say, and most conversational stuff was between people arranging hook-ups. Although there was one I'll always remember: 'I feel sad today.' I hope that guy was okay.
Conversational?! I think I prefer commenting on Substack and Twitter. Hopefully the "sad" person found a way of dealing with it more effectively. Your methodology sounds quite good, although I suppose that it wouldn't be a certain thing these days, in which some men think they're entitled to enter women's spaces. (I'm not a TERF, but I think some misogynistic men have spotted an opportunity.) It's very unfortunate that a lot of men have the sense of humour of ten year old schoolboys. The most erudite loo reading I came across was an official notice in the Gents at Golders Green Station: "Gentlemen, please adjust your dress before leaving". Not sure if it's still there though!
Well, this was 1996 when the internet itself was still in short trousers! We're lucky to have a much wider and diverse range of media to converse in, or to vent, rant or write obscenities on nowadays.
Back then - the graffiti project - we explored the idea of anonymity playing a part. Some graffiti would start with: 'What do you think of..... ?' and then there would be an answer, or one or two, or lots, beneath it. I even came across tick boxes - like a secret ballot! I like to think that people benefited from it in some way, even if it was an antisocial mess at the same time.
Tick boxes?! I've obviously been going to the wrong loos! Yes, the Golders Green notice provided endless mirth to myself and fellow teenagers. Partly because of the language (so polite: "Gentlemen"), partly the implications, and partly the obvious response "I am not wearing a dress!".
My data was from loos on my university campus - so the demographic was mostly the student population. Away from home, stressed, still getting to know themselves and the world... you know the kind of thing. Lots of people looking for support. And we only found tick boxes in the Ladies!
Oh yes! When I run I count! I get to one hundred and start again and works well when I need a distraction. Thank you for sharing those lovely pictures.
Thanks, Julie! I'm glad I'm not the only one!
Really interesting that you count to a hundred. I favour smaller chunks, but I do add them up as I go - so I'll do eight sequences of eight, say, and then start again.
I count turns of the pepper grinder when I'm cooking - but that's always in chunks of ten. Strange!
Another great story!
Thanks, Mark! :D
Wonderful story! Great photos. Nice to see how the rest of the world lives. I'm happy you didn't get lost.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed seeing some of this south-east corner of England. We're quite some distance from Dover but can claim some white cliffs of our own. :D
I loved the description. That, along with the great pictures, made me feel like I was there. Such great scenery, too. Great post!
Thanks so much, Mark! :D
I love your stories! And the photos in this one 😍
Thanks so much, Amy - that's really kind! :D
Totally get the crowd issue: Me too: Big Time! xo on keeping the sea to you left. great tip--depending. sure, on where you're going? In LA, north or south? Right? hope so :)!
LOL, Mary - of course! My husband’s advice to keep the sea on the left was in reference to this walk specifically, where I was heading west on the south coast!
Crowds are a nightmare - I felt proud of myself for not actually diving into the sea to escape!!!
Yay! And that's funny about the counting. I always assumed I did it because of riding horses. When jumping courses, you count in a line between jumps to get the proper striding. I count my strides between segments in pavement the same way and just assumed it was a weird habit. But I guess it's a real thing! :-)
Oh wow, that’s so interesting about the need for horse riders to count - that makes perfect sense! Some people I’ve asked about counting steps have said that they do it too - others seem to think I’m bonkers! Some count, some don’t. I think I do it for reassurance - I find it a comfort.
The message in the loo was uplifting. The graffiti in men's loos tend to be less so.
I think you're right, Terry.
As part of my degree course I did a project on male vs female graffiti, and in fact I used loo graffiti for my data corpus, as it was a good way of being able to know who (in terms of gender, I mean) had written it. It cost me a LOT of pints in the student bar to get male friends to source data for me. It was quite interesting: most graffiti in female cubicles was very supportive and conversational - there would be whole advice 'threads' going on, although there was some out-and-out obscene stuff, too. Male-loo graffiti was mostly obscene, I'm afraid to say, and most conversational stuff was between people arranging hook-ups. Although there was one I'll always remember: 'I feel sad today.' I hope that guy was okay.
Conversational?! I think I prefer commenting on Substack and Twitter. Hopefully the "sad" person found a way of dealing with it more effectively. Your methodology sounds quite good, although I suppose that it wouldn't be a certain thing these days, in which some men think they're entitled to enter women's spaces. (I'm not a TERF, but I think some misogynistic men have spotted an opportunity.) It's very unfortunate that a lot of men have the sense of humour of ten year old schoolboys. The most erudite loo reading I came across was an official notice in the Gents at Golders Green Station: "Gentlemen, please adjust your dress before leaving". Not sure if it's still there though!
Well, this was 1996 when the internet itself was still in short trousers! We're lucky to have a much wider and diverse range of media to converse in, or to vent, rant or write obscenities on nowadays.
Back then - the graffiti project - we explored the idea of anonymity playing a part. Some graffiti would start with: 'What do you think of..... ?' and then there would be an answer, or one or two, or lots, beneath it. I even came across tick boxes - like a secret ballot! I like to think that people benefited from it in some way, even if it was an antisocial mess at the same time.
I love that Golders Green piece you mentioned!
Tick boxes?! I've obviously been going to the wrong loos! Yes, the Golders Green notice provided endless mirth to myself and fellow teenagers. Partly because of the language (so polite: "Gentlemen"), partly the implications, and partly the obvious response "I am not wearing a dress!".
LOL!
My data was from loos on my university campus - so the demographic was mostly the student population. Away from home, stressed, still getting to know themselves and the world... you know the kind of thing. Lots of people looking for support. And we only found tick boxes in the Ladies!