As regular readers of this blog will know, I spend an inordinate amount of time looking back on my early years, and one of the things that recently struck me was just how differently some of my friends' parents treated me when I was a teenager, as compared to how my parents treated most of my pals.
For example, whenever any known member of my motley crew came to the door for me, they were invariably invited in, and quite a few times my mother would feed the fortunate individual if they called when she was just about to make something to eat. If I was having fish and chips then whatever pal had been fortunate enough to drop in was also treated to the same culinary delight as myself.
However, it seems to me that, whenever I called in to visit certain pals, I was kept waiting at the door if it was answered by a parent - and one time, calling in on one particular pal at a prearranged time in order to go somewhere, I was told "He's still in his bed!" and had the door closed on my face. Sorely tempted as I was to say "Well, get him out of bed then!", my somewhat lame "He's expecting me!" as the gap in the door narrowed had no effect. On the other hand, if ever I was in my bed when a friend called, they were still invited in and I would be told to rouse myself as quickly as possible.
I can't recall, with one possible exception, any of my friends' parents ever feeding me if I should mistime my visit and chap their door when they were fixing on getting around to eating. Usually I'd be told "He's just about to have his tea!" and find myself staring at a door. And I'd imagine it was the same for any other friends that called, not just me - though I can't prove it, so maybe I just gave off the wrong vibes. Can't see how though - I was never a ned and certainly didn't dress (or behave) like one.
Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone I know, as some pals never called at food-times - or vice-versa - but it happened in the case of a few long-term regulars. I guess I'll just have to put it down to my parents being better-mannered and more welcoming than those of some of my pals. Names are withheld, of course, to spare the blushes of the guilty parties.
