.. to wonder what happened to manners?

You would have thought a "sorry" would have come naturally to her. This generation are different to how we were/are.

My Family are known to giggle when someone walks into me because it is an automatic response to say "sorry" when it is not even my fault !

Sounds like a very ignorant teacher. Not surprised it's niggling at you. It would me as well.

My comment is always "do you practice being rude or does it come naturally?".
By the time they figure out the question I have usually moved on.

Doesn't sound like a teacher to me. Does sound like a very rude woman and children who weren't properly supervised , whoever she was

It was possibly one of the Mum's 'helping' out.

I'd have given her " one of my withering looks " instead. It's worked in the past when schoolchildren have hustled me to get on the bus, then a " sorry " comes forthwith.

Aggie, that made me laugh, you are obviously very British.

I’m another who thinks the woman wasn’t a teacher, whoever she was, she was as rude as the children.

Why assume it’s a teacher? Surely they’re on holiday from school!

Er.. I didn't say she was a teacher! Only that she was teaching her children rotten manners. I wish her joy of them when they're teenagers and still as utterly graceless as she was.

EllanVannin Oh she got a withering look all right - unfortunately she hadn't spoken till she'd swished past me so the look was wasted!

Gosh, Paperbackwriter! Of course she wasn't a teacher. How interesting that many of us assumed she was.

Or I should correct myself and say that it was ME that thought she was a teacher. Apologies!

So she's just a rude woman who is looking after rude children

aggie. I am the same - always apologise when someone bumps into me! If I could bring one thing back from extinction it would be good manners.

Withering look I agree with as an expression EllaVannin

Or apologise yourself which is very British..

What an unpleasant encounter. Unfortunately rude people come in all ages.

Aggie

I’m the same, somebody crashes into me, and I say, oh, I’m so sorry

I do something similar when someone barges by or if I stand aside and they don't thank me. I act as though they had said thank you, and sing out cheerily "oh you're welcome".

As I was about to enter the toilets at Morrisons once, someone was about to exit, so I stood back to let her through first, only to be rewarded with a scowl and a muttered "oh for *&$@'s sake".

I challenged her, and it turned out that I'd stood in the wrong place - apparently I should have stood to the other side so she didn't have to go to the trouble of walking round me to leave the store . She got a very loud and scathing dressing down from me, which left several nearby customers laughing at her - very satisfying

I saw a woman picking her feet in M & S café and decided then that was it all manners gone.

Sadly, this sort of behaviour has become the norm these days. These children are the future of our country. Doesn't bode well, does it?

Sorry for your experience Paperback. I remember, again in Marks and Spencers, holding the door open for a woman (very young) with a pushchair, she breezed past without any acknowledgement, I said "thank you is the word you are searching for" her riposte "I don't have to thank you" me "I don't have to hold the door open for you!" Took my breath away, when I was loaded up with pushchairs/prams etc. I really appreciated anyone who offered such a gesture. However, I would add she isn't the norm., everyone else I've done that has been very gracious, which is good because the world is a better place with manners imo.

correction I've done that for.

If someone fails to say "Thank you" or "Sorry", I say loudly
"Don't mention it... oh you didn't!" Makes me feel better anyway.