Round robin

I don't know whether it is a true story or an invented one, but it is true that getting a letter is good, even if it does not say much!

Marelli Loved your description of your relatives. I have some very similar and, whilst I always hope I shall be in when they breeze through this county on the way to somewhere more interesting, unfortunately, I always seem to be out

Quite a few years ago I wrote a spoof round robin based on someone (sort of a real person, if you know what I mean) who was one of those people who always had to go one better than anyone else and was always going on about her perfect husband and children.

I posted it on to the "Round Robins, Love them or Hate them?" thread.

I have an idea [probably been done before but I'm a bit boring like that]. When sending a card to a round robin person, send a series of questions with little boxes to be filled in for the next Christmas ie how many holidays this year 0-1 2-3 4-5 More? How many pay rises 0-1 1-2 More?How many Jimmy Choo shoes 0-1 1-2 [d'y get my drift?].

There have been occasions in Christmases past (not with my nice cousin, though) where I've received boastful round robins and I've been sorely tempted to pen a note back, saying, "So what, I couldn't give a toss!"......but then that wouldn't be nice and would be showing my brought-upness, as my old mum used to say!

My husband's way of out doing his brothers when they were young was to say 'Well, I can pick toffee papers up with my toes, so there' This has become one of our family sayings especially at round-robin time!!

kitty - I can just picture it.....and the wee feet would be all dusty, probably!

Guilty as charged yer 'onour. I usually send a Round Robin . It's a bit of a faff and sometimes I think I would like not to; but I've lived in many different places and had very many house guests, lodgers etc. and so many of them send me cards and want to know what the family have been doing that it would take me days to write to all of them individually. Year on year I try to reduce my list, but as fast as I do new names are added. Just on Friday I said goodbye to two of my students who are leaving the town and they both said that they will keep in touch (I'm sure they actually will!) and are looking forward to hearing about my daughter's new baby etc.
Similarly I have received three already this year, all from people I was once very close to and I am happy to have the opportunity to catch up with what's happening in their lives. Only was of them was full of praise for their three amazing children, but then I happen to know that they really do have exceptional children whose academic and sporting achievements are secondary to their really lovely characters.

When I lived in England, I used to pour scorn on Round Robins. After I'd emigrated to France, I began to see their worth. We get so many cards signed 'love from Liz and Phil' (eg ) and I always think, oh I wish they would let me know what they have been up to! At nearly £1 for a stamp, it seems such a waste of money and it's hardly a meaningful connection, except just to have a card to put/hang up. We too get some absolutely awful self-aggrandising round robins - one this week was four typed pages long, written in the third person (John did so and so/Jill did whatever), all about how wonderful their life is and how so many people admire them and how oh so tedious they are. I just wanted to write back, "could I give a f***' because they are mere acquaintances with whom we share no common ground or activities. All this might excuse me I hope when I admit to sending a brief and succinct round robin at Christmas time either as hard copy or by email. Not to close friends/rellies, who already know all about our life, but just to old chums/cousins/widowed aunts and uncles, with whom we would never have contact otherwise. I always try to make it factual, snappy, amusing and brief. Often it triggers off a reply which is very nice. What are Christmas cards for anyway?

Looks like I buried yet another thread - sorry folks!

specki no that usually my job

Anyone hear Lynne Truss' spoof round robins on Radio Four's Today programme last week?