Round robin

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

specki no that usually my job

Looks like I buried yet another thread - sorry folks!

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?

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.

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

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!!

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!

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?].

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.

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

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!

That's quite heartwarming, Elegran

Bags That reminds me of a story I heard about a poor woman whose son left to "seek his fortune" Each month a letter arrived for her and was brought to her door. This was before the penny post and she had to pay for the postage herself. She would look at his writing on the outside, say "no thank you" and it would be taken away unpaid for.

One day a kind neighbour paid the postage and gave the letter to her, thinking she would be pleased to read news from her son. She thanked them for their generosity, "But" she added. "He knows that I can't read so there is nothing written in it. I don't need to look inside. When I see that he has written on the outside, I know that he is still alive and thinking of me. That is good news enough"

Pity there isn't some way you could have found out who the letter was from before you went to collect it, glass, and then you needn't have bothered. Life, eh?

I have a great deal of affection for this relative we spent most of our childhood together and have contact through various mediums so why send me this impersonal round robin!

Never mind its in the recycle bin, but I still resent the postage paid to Royal Mail to retrieve the letter

Thank you Nanban Merry Christmas to you and I hope the season brings everything you wish for.

kitty I do wonder if thats the case.

I get the joke. I read all Lynne Wotshername's replies and found them amusing on one level. But deep down, I think they are just as bad. Kinder, I feel, just to give up reading the nauseating letters, and use them as firelighters or something. Then cross the nauseaters off your xmas list. It's not obligatory to send xmas cards to anyone.

DH had downloaded and printed up Lynne Truss's letter and her replies before I saw this. great minds!!

I've just had a lovely card from my ex husband . It's a strange time of year isn't it, this annual communication with people. I do try to write something personal in each card, even if it is very short with lots of smileys and exclamation marks. !! ....[and bah humbugs]....

wisewoman, I agree that it's the time to hear from old friends whom we don't see often but I would still rather have a short note on the Christmas card than a round robin with no personal message on it. I write short notes on cards (used to be handwritten letters, but hey ho). Still you're right, even an impersonal round robin is news. (They could at least write your name on it to prove they remember who you are!)

Loved that, Baubles! I've only had one this year, and it's from a really nice cousin. However, I skimmed through it and screwed it up into a ball straight away and threw it towards the paper recycling bin. She is nice though...but I really don't need or want to read about R being chosen to play in the junior cricket team for Windsor. Although I was a bit concerned to hear that one of their horses may not be able to foal in the next year....but all of the others will probably be ok . As S's other son is at Glasgow Uni, they have bought a flat for him in a Victorian tenement (Baubles will know what they go for!) and are at the moment having it re-roofed. If she has time when they come up north to check on the work, she may pop over to visit me.......I do hope I'm in !

Baubles I laughed out loud. Brilliant!

Brilliant Baubles (BTW the 'legs' and 1 arm have indeed been having a festive fling this week - never mind got all my washing, ironing and wrapping done in peace)

i would rather have a round robin than no letter at all. It is very frustrating to get a card from people you haven't seen for a year with no wee note. I like to know how their kids and grandkids are doing and, as we increasingly age, how their health is. If you don't like them you can just recycle them.

I have received a couple of round robins this year which I could have done without. They are full of their own and their kids marvellous achievements. H ow do they find time to do this at Christmas-takes me all my time to write the blooming cards. I love to receive cards however.