Curious how people in the UK are spending their weekends these days, especially with the cost of living and everything else going on. Do you still regularly meet up with friends, go out for drinks or dinner, or has life become more about staying home, scrolling endlessly, watching Netflix and preparing for another working week? Do you have a weekend routine? Gym, hobbies, socialising, family time, or simply recovering from work? I have noticed that Friday evenings seem much quieter these days. Apart from teenagers hanging around, where is everyone else?
I’m wondering whether we have become less social as a society or whether people are just finding different ways to enjoy their free time.

Howdy, Texas-born, UK-living. On mobile so apologies for formatting. On multiple occasions now, on the way home from uni, I’ve encountered bands of children heckling me on the way home. That much feels standard, they’re kids, whatever. What confuses me is the content. The last several times have included or fully consisted of them calling “Harry Potter!” and/or “Cast a spell on you!” at me. This last time they followed me home doing it while asking for selfies and recording me just repeating “Harry Potter! Harry Potter can I have a selfie!? Cast a spell on you!” the whole time. I’m baffled what this could mean. I’m a woman, wear simple thin glasses, a redhead, and dress fairly normal beyond wearing long skirts. Surely just glasses wouldn’t warrant the insane and consistently repetitive response. It was seriously like they’d seen someone TikTok famous how they were going at it until I got home and my partner sent them off.
Is this a larger scale thing online or something or just some inside joke they’re going really hard on? I miss when they just casually called me emo and let me be.

I've been feeling the temperature drop this week and honestly, I hate these months. I know it’s still autumn but I genuinely only like summer and late spring. I've hated winter all my life - it's cold, grey, dark and gloomy. I will be praying for at least one sunny day so that I can go for a run and get a bit of joy. Gone is the summer, when the pub gardens are open and people are out at concerts and festivals. I honestly don't understand people who believe that winter is the best season of the year and I think they are mad (my boyfriend is one of these insane people).

I don't even care about Christmas much anymore - I work in the NHS and will be working Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which I pretty much accept. I don’t even mind working long hours now - it’s not like I’m missing out on much life outside of work in the winter. Luckily getting New Year's Eve off thanks to a colleague who agreed to swap a shifts. I am a Scrooge. The only good thing about winter is New Year's Eve, when I think "Christ, 2 more months until the weather starts improving again".

No, I don't want hot chocolate, I don't want to be wrapped in a blanket, I don't care about the bloody mulled wine. I just want the sunshine back...

The seasonal depression happens due to the seasonal OPRESSION.

How do people keep seasonal depression at bay?

I had a really strange encounter in London recently, and I'm trying to understand what the guy's possible motive was.
I'm a guy in my late 20s. Around 2 AM, I was heading home after getting some food following a few drinks. I asked another guy (also in his late 20s) where the nearest Underground station was.
He said he was heading to the same station but wanted to get some water from a nearby off-licence first. He seemed genuine, so we walked there together.
Afterwards, he suggested sitting for a while before heading to the station, saying he knew the area. We ended up talking about random things for quite some time. Nothing seemed particularly suspicious.
At around 4 AM, he asked me to check the time. When I realised how late it was, I said I needed to head home.
He then suddenly said he'd remembered something urgent involving his uncle and an ongoing family dispute. Apparently, he needed to contact his uncle about something important.
He claimed his phone battery was dead and asked to borrow my iPhone to make a call. Since we'd been talking for a couple of hours and nothing seemed wrong until then, I agreed.
He dialled a number and asked whether he could speak privately. I stood about five metres away but kept an eye on him.
He appeared to be talking to someone, although I'm not certain whether the calls actually connected.
He repeatedly complained that my phone was locking itself and disconnecting the calls. This immediately seemed strange because locking an iPhone doesn't normally disconnect an ongoing call.
He kept asking me to unlock it. At one point, he even hesitantly asked for my passcode.
He also went into my iPhone settings and asked me to turn off Show My Caller ID, which I didn't understand at the time.
Eventually, I told him I needed to leave. I offered to help him charge his supposedly dead phone, but I wasn't willing to stay any longer.
I walked away and made my way to the Underground station.
This is where things got particularly weird.
He followed me all the way onto the platform.
He insisted that I delete his uncle's number from my phone and took my phone to remove it from the call history.
He also accused me of taking a screenshot of the number, which I hadn't done. I showed him my screenshots to prove it.
Then he said we needed to go outside the station to talk.
At that point, I'd had enough. I took my phone back and shouted at him.
He immediately became defensive, apologised, and said something along the lines of his brain going in circles.
I boarded the train. He remained on the platform watching me and, bizarrely, said, "It was nice to meet you."
I shouted back because I was extremely annoyed by everything that had happened.
After getting home:
I checked my iPhone thoroughly. I haven't found any suspicious account activity, financial transactions, unfamiliar apps or changes suggesting that the device was compromised.
I also discovered that you can retrieve the most recently dialled number through the iPhone keypad, even after it's been removed from Recents.
The number I recovered appeared to have only nine digits excluding the country code, which seems incomplete for a standard UK mobile number.
I remember some of the calls failing when I helped him dial, although I can't be certain whether every call failed or whether he actually spoke to someone.
That makes me wonder whether at least some of the calls were staged.
What I'm struggling to understand is his objective.
He had opportunities to run away with my phone but didn't. He seemed unusually concerned about hiding caller ID and ensuring I didn't retain the dialled number. And even after deleting it, he wanted me to leave the station with him.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
I'm safe now, and there doesn't appear to have been any financial loss or phone compromise. I'm mainly trying to understand what he might have been attempting.

PS: I realise I was super dumb!

I was sorting through a pile of post that had been building up for weeks and realised I have basically stopped opening anything that looks like a bill or an official letter until it is absolutely necessary. I used to be quite on top of it all, but somewhere along the way I just let it slide. It got me wondering whether other people have similar small things they have quietly abandoned. Maybe it is ironing, or keeping on top of the garden, or pretending to understand what is happening with your pension. Curious to know what yours is and whether it bothers you or if you have made peace with it.

Sat here at a kids' birthday party, and it's... fine. But everyone else knows each other from current school, and my kid is what you'd call a "legacy" friend, so I'm feeling a bit isolated (not to mention under the weather). He feels none of my awkwardness, thankfully, but I have to get through the next three hours, so please entertain me with kids' birthday party scenarios much worse than this one. Edit: Got through it! Actually quite fun in the end. Did some crafting, got a tattoo. Thanks for all the (useful) replies and stories!

Was just on a walk along the coast and saw a £20 note on the path. Asked a nearby woman if it was hers and she laughed and said no you keep it.

If you saw a £20 note in public do you pocket it immediately, or try and ask if someone has lost it?

Fuck the haters, I love Blackpool and I have nostalgia of going on a first date that went really well there!!! Besides the date, highlights include a shirtless Middle aged man sitting next to me and burping in my face, someone kneeling before beginning to piss on the ground in front of a stag do and a teenager flying off his bike after trying to rob some old woman.

Other disliked places I love include:

• Middlesbrough

I lived there for a while as a teenager and yes it’s not great, but I have great memories and there are some amazing buildings and extremely down to earth people.

• Luton

Controversial maybe, but my friend lives there and every time I go over something’s always kicking off on her road, it makes for excellent entertainment options on a night in.

• Bradford

Ok, maybe LOVE is a stretch but I lived here for a bit in some of the worst areas… it was not ideal but I could never say it’s lacking in character - it is big and loud, and a bit shit but there’s some nice spots too.

• Peterborough

My ex lives here and honestly, memories. Even though he cheated on me I am extremely positive and remember those times well 🤭

• Jaywick

It’s pretty much a ghetto, but kind of interesting to visit. There’s not many people around, it’s kind of like something out of an apocalypse movie. I would say let’s show more love to Jaywick, but I think I’ll stand alone on this one..

• Rotherham

I used to work in Rotherham, and honestly it’s not as bad as you think. The people are mostly super friendly and I love getting my nails done there.

• Stoke

After learning about the history of pottery in Stoke, I’ve grown to love and appreciate the place!! I also love the skyline.

• Doncaster

I love Doncaster and used to go clubbing there when I was 15, to some shitty dance bar with my mates. It is so unpretentious and lively on a night out sometimes. I love the look of the streets and constant grey clouds. As I’ve grown older, I appreciate the hard working mining families of the past and remarkable railway heritage.

• Grimsby

The amazing fishing history, bleak coastal atmosphere and local identity are honestly something I adore

• Great Yarmouth

Last one because my writing is probably boring and silly, but I love a tacky seaside town like GY (I also love Rhyl, but everyone will come for me if I defend it) and I love the historical buildings and narrow streets although it’s rough and intimidating in parts.

What are your choices??

I keep seeing stories of people falling out over plane seats. People requesting others to move and them refusing.

I have never seen this in person and I would never think to ask to switch seats on a plane. Is this a thing people do in the UK?

I have a vivid memory of a TV show growing up where the show ended with the hosts holding their hand up and saying "how" in unison. My Mrs thinks I'm crazy and I can't find anything online but it's so vivid.

Does anyone else remember this? I think it was a science programme...

I was just thinking i could do with a hot chocolate right about now but ive got none in lol last year I went through tubs of the cadburys one..what is your go too ? & how many do you usually have ?

I volunteer for our Mosque's charity. They do a lot of things and sometimes it's washing and ironing clothes but most of the time we pack food parcels for people and I really enjoy it a lot! I'd like to volunteer for a charity shop because I love shopping in them.

Basically, what it says in the title.

Recently picked up that horrible American Covid strain, did the whole staying home for 10 days shebang (couldn't particularly leave even I'd I wanted to, that strain really floored my immunocompromised arse), had my antibiotics from the accompanying chest infection, etc etc etc.

After those 10 days (or two weeks, I don't even remember anymore!), I did feel better but still not 100%, so dug out my masks from the pandemic for nipping to the shop/running errands. Oh my goodness, the amount of dirty looks I got?!! I live in quite a friendly city, so genuinely never experienced this before, but every single location had at least one person giving a nasty glare.

Now that I think about it, I haven't seen many masks whatsoever since the pandemic, but if I did, I would just assume whoever is wearing it to either be ill or not wanting to get ill.

So yeah! Just curious to hear what the UK's opinion on masks is, if anyone else has experienced something similar, and perhaps why people wearing masks get what feels like heavy judgement 😅!!

I was watching a Don Letts documentary called Punk Attitude the other day and I was wondering if anyone had any memories they’d care to share, please. I was four years old in 1976, I don’t remember it at all, but I remember the Jam, Blondie, Ian Dury, Boomtown Rats and Elvis Costello beginning to register as the sort of thing I liked. The first time I heard Anarchy In the UK as a teenager it gave me a jolt of excitement from the very opening. I had the same reaction the first time I heard My Generation and Gimme Shelter. If you were there, what was it like? Were you a punk/skin/ted/mod/rudie/sharpie? Before punk were you into Glam? Anybody see Bowie, T-Rex, Roxy Music, Slade or the like in the early 70s?

EDIT to ask question re: Glam which I completely forgot.

I was thinking about how much our expectations have changed over the last 20 years.

Growing up, having a TV in your bedroom was a big deal. Going abroad was something you looked forward to all year, and getting a takeaway was an actual treat.

Now we’ve got £1,000 phones, subscriptions to half a dozen streaming services, and people ordering Deliveroo because they can’t be bothered to walk ten minutes.
Not saying things were necessarily better back then, but it’s interesting how quickly luxuries become things we feel we can’t live without.

What else belongs on the list?

I dislike matte coloured paint jobs, as I cant see reflections as well in them.

What do you consider to be the worst city in the UK for taking public transport, like a train, tram, and buses? Things like your experiences with delays, anti social behaviour, lack of availability, or anything else? After taking transport in many UK cities I found Leeds, and Belfast to have came out the worst in my personal experience. Buses constantly late, heavily car centric, and lack of rail connection to places, and also no rail connection to the airport. So what are your thoughts?

Interesting conversation with a work colleague today. I start at 8am but wake up at 4:30am every day except Sunday when I treat myself to a 6am lie in. I like to be up early and to relax before my travels to work. Also enjoy sitting by the garden and listening to birds. It might seem extreme to some but I love an early morning.

Hello, I’ve had someone want to buy a collectible I own. It’s for around £2800. I’ve never, for example, bought or sold something this valuable before, like a private sale/purchase of a second-hand car. So I don’t know what to do.

Originally, I thought the best and safest way would be to go with this person to their bank, have them withdraw the cash (so I know no fake notes) and then go deposit that in my bank. However, isn’t there a cap on cash deposits at banks? I would draw up a receipt, warn my bank before and show them the evidence of this sale - so they know it’s not money laundering or anything shady.

Or is a bank transfer the usual way to sell privately? If so, how do I protect myself, if that’s the case? For example, how do I stop the guy maybe paying and then later telling his bank it was fraud and then his bank taking back the money?

Thanks!

Should parents be making their children's lighter meals as a way to show care and because it's their responsibility their children are fed or should children start doing it themselves as soon as possible because it's an important skill they need to learn? Or something in between?

I have had the What Three Words app installed on my iPhone for a long time. It used to be suggested on first aid courses as a way to help emergency services find outdoor locations quickly.

I hadn't opened it for ages until recently but now it apparently works like some kind of parody website. There were several different popup messages getting in the way when it first started, it seemed to need some kind of account to sign in (to what?!), it didn't seem to be using location services to find where I was and give me the three words if I tried to cancel past everything, and it even had some kind of ad banner across a significant part of the screen.

Something like this is obviously worse than useless if you're trying to get help as quickly as possible in an emergency so that app has immediately been deleted from my phone. Does anyone know if there is now a similar recommendation (official or just informal but commonly suggested by people who actually work in emergency response) for something else that can help to give an accurate location quickly when there's no obvious address to use?

It's a great neutral flavour to have with a dessert - I feel like getting something special with sticky toffee pud tomorrow.

I recently made an emotional decision to purchase festival tickets and realised too late that I lost the money. Luckily it was only £70 and I didn't share any bank details with the person. I reported it to the bank and followed through with reporting it on the Fraud website the bank recommended. I know my loss is nothing compared to what others have been victim to but I still feel unsettled and unsafe in regards to my security.

I was on the phone to my sister in law and my nephews boyfriend recently when I sneezed three times in a row. My sister in law waited for me to finish before saying bless you, whereas my nephews boyfriend said bless you every time. It led to a discussion about how my family never sneeze once, it is always a minimum of three times. I knew I did, but hadn't noticed it in my siblings. Anyone else sneeze more than once or just once?

*Edit to say nephews boyfriend, not brother.

Particularly i feel like Instagram and other social media platforms really contribute to people insecurities.

All it is- is a Boasting platform to show off and rub peoples noses in fake success.

How do you feel about this issue?