Standing in the Street

[Teamedup]

Does this happen chez vous.

I go to a club my friends run most Wednesdays and there is always, and I mean always, young people out on the edge of the car park stood chatting, sort of sheltered from the weather by the bulding we meet in. Tonight was so cold that my car lock was frozen when I got back to it. And yet, like in warmer times, tonight too, there was a little group when I got there and still there an hour and a half later when I left.

I said young people, but they aren't youths, they often turn up in their cars, or some in cars and some on motorbikes/scooters. The average age must be around 20. Truth is there is no where else to go. Even the bar is shut by 8pm.

 And my son does this when he is here, he says that there will be someone about, and there is. So there must be people out on that car park every night.

 

What a lousy social life for 20 year olds.

EDIT: called this Standing in the Street, because that was what my mother would have said it was, and she would have said that anyone standing in the street (or parking) was up to no good.

[Tresco]

Yes, i've seen similar near here, at the Salle des Fetes, there is just a small wall to perch on, but there is a cover. Also in a larger town hear us, a much bigger group hang out in the solitary bus shelter near the 'huit a huit' (that's a laugh). It's quite a wide age group. The worst they seem to be doing is smoking.

It is awful, for them, aprart from the fact that they are together, and seem ok. It is the age that causes the concern, as you say. All teenagers like to 'hang around' outside, but 20 year olds? Your post now has me wondering what age people are on average here when they can leave the family home. I would imagine it's the same in rural or even semi rural areas in the UK - it certainly is the case in Manchester, Sheffield and Birkenhead all of which I know well.

An aside: there is one group of friends, all late teens, possibly early twenties, very 'goth' in appearance. One of the girls has a baby, and they do this walking around thing, looking surly, in the daytime, not night. One day we saw them approaching, we were walking not in the car, and we had a bit of a snigger amongst ourselves about how all their lips seemed almost professionally curled. Anyway, at the last minute, I looked at the baby, smiled and said 'bonjour', all the sneers vanished, and every last one said 'bonjour monsieur/dame', in that very friendly way people do.

tresco

[zeb]

..........but youngsters have always hung around on street corners (or in bus shelters) haven't they? Just a bit more obvious in small villages. I did it (together with all my mates) in the small village where I lived in Essex, but admittedly I was a bit younger. Maybe they are not let out of the house until they are twenty nowadays

regards.......helen

[Dick Smith]

And there's the traditional whizzing off on scooters to go round the block, and then taking the scooters apart in front of your mate's house and putting them back together again so you can whizz off some more. I remember it well...

[Miki]

Dick the Mod eh ?

Did you have "The Who" on the back of the parka as well ?

 

[Tresco]

Yes young people do like to hang around chatting in the street, but the age of these people - I was not referring to 14 year olds, (although I did mention cities in England and there it was that age group I was talking about).

I'ts the over 20's, and when it's so cold??? I've never lived in a rural area in England, so it had literally never occurred to me that people of that age would have nowhere to go. Live and Learn.

tresco

[Dick Smith]

Never had a parka, Miki, but I had a Lambretta and a reefer jacket (in blue corduroy...)

[Miki]

Upmarket Mod eh Dick, paisley shirt with them there high collars sticking out the jacket then ?  

Had both, first a couple of Vespas, clumsy bloody things, bit lop sided,  then a Lambretta GT, now that was better I must say. Sorry Parka here, no reefer (well not the jacket anyway !) but no Who sign, can't do the arrow on here !!  I suppose the Orchid, Purley was one of your nearest early places or was it the Suite in Croydon (might have that bit wrong, it's the grey matter !) I know it was in or around Croydon though !!

Got to agree somewhat with TU, we had youth clubs then other places to hang around in the UK, then as described one become a mod or rocker or whatever, normally neither for many but the cultures are so, so much different, we went to pubs at an early age, something not actually rare here but absolutely nothing like how it was and is in the UK. The rural areas we have lived in here, sees very much the same scenario that TU describes, as pretty much the overall scene wherever one lives rurally in France. It is something traditional really but seems sad somehow but........

 

[JohnM]

I was just about to take higher ground and claim that I never did anything like that, but then had to climb off my pedestal when I remembered that I was in the Venture Scouts and we spent many of our evenings round a camp fire, baking potatoes in empty beer cans (we only emptied them so that we could bake the spuds - honest). Same thing just that our gathering place was not a public area and we had a fire to keep some of the cold away.

 

[Tresco]

Johns response just reminded me of something else here (Charente Maritime). When we go for walks, we nearly always see evidence of fires, sometimes still smoking, and usually with a neatly stacked pile of cans and bottles nearby.

This is along the Charente or its various tributaries, in Jarnac, Richemont, around Cognac and near Saintes, also in woods we walk in. Sounds like more fun to me than hanging around at a bus stop. I suppose it's those with the scooters who can do this.

tresco

[Russethouse]

I was saved from having to hang round on street corners by the local coffee bar (unusual in that I came from a village)but I'm afraid it was not so much 'Expresso Bongo' more 'Roys Rolls'

[Teamedup]

I agree the fourteen year olds hang around too, usually around our Mairie. These are adults I'm talking about, not kids.

We used to have a skate park in the village. My kids, with others helped raise money for it and helped set it up with people from the Mairie and MJC. And our lovely little Maire had it taken away. Even when kids try and do something for themselves here, that is what happens.

[Piprob]

I must say I prefer the word 'loitering' - because it properly describes what we liked doing. You don't need a reason because when you are in mid-loiture you know that a reason can come along at any time. Everyone should try it. Just select a promising spot. In fact, wondering what might be round a corner, if you could be bothered to go and look, is a constant source of excitement in itself.

Even today, I can still enjoy a good loiture.  Anyone seen my 'mac'?

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Piprob - what a wonderful idea. I haven't had a good loiter for years. I think I shall wait until things warm up a bit though. A pizza van (Roberto's - he's about as Italian as Charles de Gaulle, so I can only assume that he took the name for professional purposes) calls in the square in our village every couple of weeks, and I think that loitering around there with no intention of buying anything could prove diverting. Our crop of malodorous youth (though very polite they are, I might add in their defense. Spotty, yes, but polite also) tend to favour the public loos for reasons that I hesitate to speculate upon, and I wouldn't want to queer their patch.

[Val_2]

I have to say that in this village all the over 18's that I know are away at Uni or Lycée and then when home too busy studying to hang round in groups. We get collège age kids hanging round more and usually inthe church doorway which caused problems last year when they left many empty bottles and rubbish in there. My son goes to his friends house or they come here for something to do, they hate hanging round outside especially this cold windy and wet weather. We did discuss somewhere for the kids to meet at council and every night there are activities in the sports and village hall with the foyer rurale but the old chestnut of insurance implications came up. It isn't as though there is nothing available either as the local ULAMIR have social events weekly and all the local sporting clubs too.