I always think it's a sign of good parenting when such a note arrives, but alas, in today's busy world where writing takes an age and stamps can usually only be bought in soddin packs of twelve, little sweetnesses such as the thank you note are as rare as hens' teeth.
However!
We do now have Twitter!
I have gotten into the habit of using my fairly barren twitter account as a thank you launch pad, especially when it comes down to visiting the theatre.
Actors are fickle characters and most will have a professional Twitter account where the handle of performer or actor makes it into the pithy self description bar underneath their name.
So, when I have particularly loved a production and/or a performance , I can immediately stroke someone's ego with a supportive one liner and a cheerful emoji!
I love this ability to give positive feedback.
Having said this, twitter can be used as a force of evil too, as complaints can be tweeted just as quickly as pat on the back.
I was stood in the queue in Sainsbury's cafe the other day ( they do a nice low calorie Thai curry) when I realised that the lady cashier had not got a scooby do! Twenty five minutes later I was still there waiting for her to master the till buttons when I got a tweet reply from central office apologising for the service!
" If You Can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" so said my mother , a woman who could bad mouth even mother Theresa in private !
And so I'm sat here in the kitchen with my bucket of coffee, looking at a pile of paperwork that needs sorting. ( above)
Have I done anything?
Have I bollocks!
I've just noticed that one of the puppeteer actors from Life Of PI has liked one of my praise tweets for one of his fellow actors. Now I feel obliged to send him one in return.
Thus is the etiquette of Twitter-dom
I've sat here for 35 minutes looking at tweets
And not a child in the house is washed!
I got a lot more lenient about thank you notes when I noticed it seems to be a generational thing here. As in the older generation both expects from them but never writes them to younger folks. It is still good form and I do try.
ReplyDeleteGood morning to Albert. It is 6 am here and one of our black and white cats has caught 2 mice in the kitchen so far this morning. It's hard to sleep through that. I have caught them from her and tossed them outside. I suppose they would write a thank you if they could.
I was six when I had my tonsils out. A lady at church gave me a gift of hand crocheted face cloth. I wrote my thank you note with my most glamorous pink texta. I think my mother is still appalled
ReplyDeletealbert will help you sort the paper pile.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, the day after Boxing Day was always spent labouring over a notepad, moaning "I don't know what to say"! But it was good training. I'm happy to accept an email or a Facebook message these days, but if I give a gift to an extended family member and it isn't acknowledged, they won't get another one! As I get older I am quicker to complain if things are wrong, but also much more generous with praise when they go right.
ReplyDeleteBetter watch it mister as you could be accused of neglect!! lol
ReplyDeleteI signed up for Twitter a few years back encouraged by a blogging friend. I lasted a day. I’ve got enough to keep up with.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen Twitter IS a very effective way to communicate with companies. They keep track of Twitter comments -- and I guess celebs do too. I erased my Twitter account years ago, though, and I haven't been back.
ReplyDelete"Not a child in the house is washed!"
ReplyDeleteI love that!
Me too! It's 9 am and a good time to start the day with a smile!
DeleteI don't do Twitter, I do write thank you notes. We were brought up to write thank you notes as my own children were not that they write anymore as adults, they phone Grandparents at my nagging.
ReplyDeleteIt gives me a good reason to buy nice notecards which funnily enough I just have, a lovely tin of fifteen notecards for £9.50
Afternoon John, I just about choked on that last sentence - LOL! I don't have a Twitter account, but I do do Facebook and the younger generation do all their thanking via Messenger. Given that I can't possibly beat them - they are far too big for that - I've joined them. Good luck dealing with that pile of paperwork.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to give Twitter a go but they have kind of blocked me in error. Some kind of mix up with email addresses. Ah well - having no mobile phone I would have only been accessing it on this laptop.
ReplyDeleteAnd Winnie is waiting for her bath to be drawn
ReplyDeleteI don't have Twitter or Facebook. Joined briefly before realising how time consuming and inane it all was.
ReplyDeleteI'd much rather be out wandering the countryside with my dogs, gardening or even lying in the grass looking at the clouds.
I spend just enough time on this laptop, definitely not going to spend more.
I hope you soon get your start date for your job John, and that all goes well.
Hooray, Heidi! I don't do Facebook or Twitter either and this is the only Blog I follow regularly. I second all that you say...particularly about John's job!
DeleteI will chase things up tomorrow xx
DeleteDoing other things is always more tempting than doing what you must do!
ReplyDeleteI don't do Twitter or FB but I always write thank you notes or emails. As a child, my Christmas thank you notes had to be mailed before New Year's Day.
Albert looks ready for action!
Hugs!
The last five checks we wrote for wedding/graduation gifts to grown children of friends have never been responded to by the recipients, and we know for a fact they each received them. One goes back over 5 years, the others a year or more. No thank you note. . . . . . . .and not even a Twitter (I don't have a Twitter or Facebook a/c)! I blame the parents in most cases, 'thank you notes' are a courtesy taught from early childhood.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I have a friend who always gets her 13 year old to,write a thank u note
DeleteYour last line could also be,
ReplyDeleteNot a whore washed, and the Japanese Navy waiting in the yard! X
I could but I wouldn't xx
DeleteAlbert's giving you tut-tut looks.
ReplyDeleteHe spends his life with that expression
DeleteMy 21 year old used to write thank you letters. He sends a text now which is fine as an alternative. It means he is appreciative.
ReplyDeleteArilx
Things evolve
DeleteLol, that made me laugh. Where I'm from we say "well this is not getting the baby bathed". A similar sentiment but the number of people who have looked puzzled and uncomprehending when I've said it over the years.
ReplyDeleteWe used to have an Irish DJ on radio 2 who used to say it in the 1980s
DeleteWell it's something my parents said and we are Mancunian. It's interesting isn't it to think where sayings may have come from? How rude to mention your weight. Would a person like that be a suitably empathetic samaritan? That person doesn't know what's coming in their direction John when you feel less tired, lol.
DeleteI'm 73 and soon to be 74 years old and I like to send thank you acknowledgements virtually. So my son sees me (he's 43 yrs old) and says 'Ever notice we are reverting back to cave man method of communication?' I say, 'What do you mean?' He says, 'We use drawing or art (emoji) to communicate.' I notice I had happy faces, hearts, thumbs up emoji in many of my thank you notes.
ReplyDeleteEmoji use is just laziness
DeleteNo twitter and no FB here. And insufficient thank you notes. I try, but sometimes fail.
ReplyDeleteEspecially good to encourage the up and coming and even approval for those who will never make it.
ReplyDeleteAmen
DeleteYou have a Twitter account? Tell me how to find it.
ReplyDeletejohngra93073210
DeleteI don't do twitter or facebook or carry a cell phone I like the peace and quiet when I'm out and about nothing can be that important to constantly be in touch.
ReplyDeleteI still send Christmas cards but thank you's can be done over the phone or by email.
I still love Christmas card sending
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI send thank you notes, and I have taught my child and grandchildren to acknowledge a gift or kindness. Baby showers, wedding showers, graduation gifts, and today's generation are fast to get the invites in the post, but the thank you's not so much. Either you are taught etiquette or not, sadly.
ReplyDeleteI'm old school, and sad to see the lax of manners.
Jo
Maybe the etiquette just changes x
DeleteMaybe ;)
DeleteI still send thank-you notes and am always impressed when I get them from anyone - as you say they are rare these days. The children will have to have a lick and a promise today as my dear old mother used to say when short of time.
ReplyDeleteA thank you text is the etiquette now
DeleteI still send Christmas cards, birthday cards and whatever else cards,written in ink and. Real stamp on the envelope.
ReplyDeleteComputerized good wishes are just cold and lazy to me.and I am lazy enough...it sort of takes the pleasure out of things for me when it's computerized...
Besides , I can't keep up with addresses etc..
Sending handwritten thank you notes remains the highest sign of class and civilization; do not give this up.
ReplyDeleteWe got two lovely thank-you letters from my niece when we gave her some money a few years back. Immaculate writing, effusive thanks and polite enquiries about our own health etc. But yes, in general thank-you emails have made letters just about obsolete.
ReplyDelete