meeting people on the road
 

I am undertaking a small social experiment as one of the things that bothers me is how do you end up meeting with people on the road do you approach them or let them approach you. How do they view you the way you look. Do you consider yourself to be approachable?

After a trip to halfords [in my uniform clearly displaying prison officer in white writing on it] I was followed by both the uniformed security guards and their plain clothes as well as the security cameras. When i asked them as they stood over me at the till why they did this as it is incredible overkill on their part and against everything I was told to do when I worked security they said I looked dodgy and so did the guy that came in with me[ an off duty police officer]. They then informed me i must have a guilty conscience if I didnt like having a security guard at each end of the shopping lane staring at everything I did and a plain clothes one standing 3 foot from me at all times.The little gimp of a manager stood behind them sniggering.
I did get the last laugh on them though as an ex con I knew came up to me in teh car park and offered me 2 socket sets he had just nicked while all the guards were following me. I declined of course and his invite to go into the pcworld next door.
This led me to thinking about how I was going to be judged by people I met on the trip. Im 6ft had a skinhead and a goaty people generally dont talk to me in bars[ except squaddies for some reason]. I will hold a door open for someone at the shopping mall and they will go to another one and people looked shocked if I show some manners. I am not the sort of person that people start random conversations with or speak to in the street.
So I decided I will grow my hair and see what happens as I used to have very long hair the only down side of this was the odd occasional ass grab from men at the bar[ they often got a shock when I turned round but on occasion some of them looked quite pleased.] and the fact my hair is very thick and curly so I look like a giant fluffy teddybear.

Im at stage one- hair and full beard 2 inches in length.

The look - think the old black and white wolfman crossed with albus dumbledore from harry potter.[ I am currently fighting the urge to start licking my own balls or anyone elses]

Upside- warm and cosey outside and no shaving required. No longer have the velcro effect on animal hair and fluff.

Downside- hairgel on the helmet liner, need to carry a brush, drying time after shower increased, prisoners and collegues taking the piss.

the effect-

on the street-
1 oap i have never met before in my life starting a random conversation in the street about dogs crapping everywhere and kids making his life hell with underage drinking . Not sure what it had to do with me as didnt I have a dog with me and I dont even live in the same town. Another speaking to me on the bus [had head phones on wasnt sure what she was saying]. One woman handed me her baby instead of the pushchair I offered to carry up the bus steps[ her reply was that men are useless at folding them]

the bar- approached by several people for random pub talk until a fight broke out and I split it up making me the random psycho at the bar again. That is until my friends turned up and in the typical female tradition of taking teh piss out their male friends started shouting about how soft and fluffy I was and trying to get random strangers to stroke my head as it was soft like a bunny. A great way to meet new people but perhaps not the best way to meet a new woman as having hair like a fluffy bunny is not high on their list of things they want in a man.

Animals- My dogs and cats have now started to groom me while im in bed this is annoying but a slight improvement on using me as a scratching post or something to clean their tongue on.

the ex- well she caught me coming out the shower and said I was starting to look like captain caveman. This I believe is one step up from asshole but I quickly blew it by telling her with all the spare razors she may wish to sort out the 2 squirrels nesting in her armpits. As she has a shoulder injury and due to me being an insensitive male pig she made me wax her legs and pits with those disposible strips, a very strange experiance, and a female ritual I had not witnessed before[ my ass is hairy and staying that way]
It is one I would not recommend trying on a current partner[ or one u wish to keep] and dont believe them when they say thats my best tweezers they work for me. I do not recommend trying to watch TV while doing this, asking for a beer break halfway through or leaving the strips anywhere near a cat. It may have been traumatic for her but it put a smile on my face and I doubt she will ever try to run that guilt trip on me again:innocent:

So From this I can conclude that being a little hairy is a good thing unless your a woman whos into waxing.

What?
 

Dude,

What have you been smoking?

Have you thought about getting a red canoe?

As the lady in Katz Deli said of Meg Ryan "I'll have the same as what she's having!"

Cheered up my day considerably.

Pictish; I don't know what you're worried about, nobody would be able to get a word in anyway...

Rod

So...was the socket set metric?

Well Pictish, I was told by a security dope that in B&Q I was watched because I had a crash helmet in one hand and was wearing a small rucksac. This was suspicious to them. Now these fools wanted to put me into an establishment like the one you work in, where the cold mist rolls in from the North Sea, and where drunk fisherman collapse in the streets in Peterhead.

I'm sorry to say that screws, as you describe yourself, are sometimes seen as only one step up on the evolutionary scale from shop security. No, I have never been inside, BTW. But we know that many of you are ex forces, and thats not a good sign. However I will forgive you as you like cats which is a redeeming feature.

It occurs to me that you wrote your long post in your nick on the night shift while I, as a taxpayer, paid your wages. This is illegal. I want you to post in your own time, not mine. You naughty boy.

id prefer imperial tbh, its only my old bike that falls apart:mchappy:

Sounds more like any city or town centre in the UK on a Friday or Saturday night, and there's not a fisherman in sight.

A tad stereotypical methinks.

erm
 

erm fishermen? what fishermen most have had to sell their boats as their not allowed to catch anything. You are more likley to find someone on the ground thats oversdosed up here than anything else. And the reason they may have collapsed in the street is all the rig pigs have taken the taxis. Being an ex offshore worker you really shouldnt comment on the fishermen and drinking theres a reason the brave north sea tigers are now known as rig pigs although From knowing alot offshore guys at least they do it in slightly more upmarket bars.

ex military maybe 30 years ago, would say around 5-10% [if that] of guys and gals I work with were in forces. Most the people I work with are on their second career and range from tradesmen to bankmanagers as well as ex offshore workers who want to see their families every night. Why is ex forces a bad thing?

And as someone who worked both shop security and the doors for extra while I was a chef and my student years thats one hell of a step up. The level of qualifacation you have to gain in your probation is the same as any apprentice level job or 2yrs at college and thats on top of 2 months at a college before you start and your yearly training you have to do to legally do your job. On top of that you have all the specialist training for other areas national response teams[ electronics side, negotiators the police also use our guys or riot teams], programs[ AA, drugs, cognitive skills and sex offender rehab schemes], specialist searching units, drug testing ect ect ect.
The days of porridge style standing around barking orders and 23 hour lockdowns have long gone like the police we have huge amounts of paperwork to do and cutting staff is a huge favourite when it comes to saving money meaning theres even less time to deal with the prisoners. Guys and gals who are on a powertrip or treat people like crap wont last very long as there is on average a ratio of 20-1 or more in some areas and it doesnt matter what a big hard guy u are you will end up in a mess or worse. As most assaults dont go to court and the new EU laws mean that prisoners cant be given extra days by the prison internal justice system prisoners can get away with violence more and more. My last assault broke 2 of my ribs the guy got his TV taken away from him for 7 days or would have if he hadnt been sharing a cell[ cant punish the other prisoner].
Thats why they all have TVs and playstations as it been proven they dont riot as much and god forbid if u try to stop drugs getting in to the establishment that might actually involve touching one of them.

Oh and have no fear regarding your tax money at work we do get out at the end of our shift I think that was posted pre nightshift and we do get breaks you know and yes they are unpaid.

if the B&Q mafia try to put you in a place like mine again , unchain the small child , put some clothes on or remove the body parts from your rucksack as if u get sent here you have certainly done something a bit more than be suspected of shoplifting.

My original post was how about people deal with you on your appearance how just changing a little thing such as your hair or your clothes can change the way people treat you but as caminando [hopefully with some jest ] pointed out even your job can affect how your treated. Is it just the UK or is the rest of the planet as bad.

It wasnt so long ago that bikers were all treated as trouble causing scum and travellers were all stoner hippies do you still think that now?

Ahem!! If you don't mind we are all "Adventure Motorcyclists" on this site!!! :rofl: Calling us names like "Bikers" and "Travellers" won't get you invited to too many Xmas parties!! :mchappy: Just 'cause we cause trouble and get stoned doesn't make us unloved!! I mean, take a look at Ewan and Charlie

soz was referring to anyone on a bike and anyone who travelled not just the combo of the 2. And anyway it could just be me but even a short journey at the mo turns into an adventure the way people in bigger vehicles treat you is just downright bloody nasty.

If you have a bike with a white fairing and you happen to have a white helmet , the cagers respond in an entirely different way .

smoking
 

i was once stopped going into a well known supermarket chain by security!
security- you cant take that helmet in the shop sir.
me-why not?
security-because we sell motorcyle helmets sir.
me- and do they come with flies stuck to the visor? :rofl:
ps pictish. keep up the smoking :eek3: it help's you dream whilst your waiting for your next adventure and if you have any left over i'll pm you my address!!!:cool4: smoke that is not your dreams!

First impressions are often not the best impressions....so
 

Instead of going to great length to change your appearance so that impressions of you formed by others would be more positive, or more accurate....why not go the cheap route?

And put on a smile?

Fact is, rough looking folks can be wonderful. And beautiful folks can be jerks. But the smile, or the lack of the smile, generally reveals the truth of the matter.

Sahagan

I think it is much more likely they were bored and looking to have a laugh at your expense. My brother is an ex-saleman for Curry's and now a policeman and he would have probably done exactly the same in that situation.

In all honesty though, wearing the uniform in public is asking for trouble and you must have looked like a proper knobhead. Try doing the same in any town centre across the UK on a busy weekend night.

Haha, thanks for an amusing post.

I understand your plight though. I am 6 foot, and was practically a skinhead. Despite being a perfectly law abiding granny and pet lover, I always got trailed by security. When you ask for directions, and people look at you like they are wondering how fast they can reach their mace it's hurtful!

Now I've gone with growing the hair and the beard. It's nice not to have a velcro chin - you're right! I've got a nice and fluffy half inch, don't think I would want any more though, will continue pruning to keep it this length. Also for the first time since I was seventeen I've gone with the shaggy hair, and am enjoying the change of pace!

'But we know that many of you are ex forces, and thats not a good sign. However I will forgive you as you like cats which is a redeeming feature.'

Wohwohwoh Josephine, what is 'not a good sign!?'

I wasn't allowed in 'Ottakers' book shop a while ago because I had a helmet and a bag. Now Ottakers definitely don't sell helmets so I didn't understand their beef. I suppose bikers and ex-soldiers shouldn't read anyway, we should be out terrorising old people and smashing up civvies, pissing on each other and drinking cat blood. Gotta keep up stereotypes for the benefit of the Great British Public.

Happy Riding.

Joel

not sure why wearing black trousers and a black jacket/fleece combo with writing on the breast pocket[ like 100s of other companies] makes you a knobhead but oh well. I was hardly running around in full dress gear waving my batton about.
Never had any issues walking home in my uniform through some of the roughest areas up here as I know all the trouble makers but well aware things are different down south and even in central belt scotland. English cons are certainly a bit more hardcore when it comes to the us/them divide.
On the plus side quit job, moved out of home and now have an affro/J>travolta greece thing going on with my hair. The grannies luv it.

Sorry, that may have been a bit harsh.

I know a few lads who do or have worked as security staff at Curry's, Dixon's, Halford's, etc. They see the shop as "their shop" and anyone who crosses with them on their turf, if they can get away with it, will dealt with harshly. The public's perception of prison officer's is that they're "Rent-a-cop's" supplied by Group 4. If you go into a shop who also use rent-a-cops for security, and you're in uniform, they're going to see you as thinking you're one up from them and they will mess with you.

You have to remember that you're not working for a factory or small company, you're a representative of a statutory agency. If you check your policies on uniform, it will state quite clearly that you should not wear your uniform in public when off duty or not on company business, or it should at least be covered up.

BTW, Halford's staff are useless. Last time I went in there for spark plugs for an Alfa 156 V6 and was given a set of 4. The lad behind the counter just didn't get it at all when asked,

"...and that's for the V6 is it?".
Yeah.
"A set of 4?"
Yeah
"For the 6 cylinder engines?"
Yeah

:confused1:

Ride an Enfield diesel and the flies are on the back of your helmet!! :thumbup1:

shopping
 

i will often go to the supermarket on my bike as i dont have a car! i then proceed to walk around the shop filling my rucksack with food and goodies gaining dodgy looks from the public and staff on my way! i get to the till and empty my rucksack and pay like normal people. i have been warned that this is not the shops policy as they have baskets and trolleys,i have explained that i can only carry a rucksack full but to no avail! so i carry on regardless and wait to get banned! sad but true.

Maybe Pictish has an evil grin.:unsure::sneaky2: