Odd People: Cranks, Eccentrics & Nutters
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The Human Shrub strikes again... with his wife the Human Shrubette
By Mail On Sunday Reporter
Last updated at 10:03 PM on 01st August 2009
His costume of straggly weeds is a far cry from the sleek outfits sported by traditional superheroes, yet his mission to transform neglected public gardens is just as admirable.
But now it seems that, like most crusaders, the green-fingered campaigner known only as the Human Shrub does not work alone.
Yesterday the guerrilla gardener turned up at a shabby communal garden with a trusty sidekick – his wife, Mrs Shrub.
She arrived decked out in the trademark foliage suit, teamed with a bright pink apron and a tray of cherry bakewell tarts.
The pair had organised a party of volunteer gardeners to descend on the scruffy patch of land in Hubert Road in Colchester, Essex. The team – rounded up through social networking site Facebook – spent the morning sprucing up the patch, weeding and planting donated shrubs and flowers.
Little is known about the Human Shrub aside from his age, 39, and his burning passion for all things green.
Rumoured to be a Conservative activist intent on making the local council reconsider budget cuts for public gardens, his first act of rebellion was to parade along the local high street during a council meeting
in protest against plans to cut back rose bushes completely to save the cost of maintaining them.
He later shamed the Labour and Lib Dem-run council by replanting ugly weed-strewn plant pots in the town with bright flowers, leaving the message: ‘To Colchester, with love, the Human Shrub.’
Myra Kimsey, 80, who lives near the Hubert Road site, said: ‘I think what he’s doing is fantastic. If only more people followed suit.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... bette.html
By Mail On Sunday Reporter
Last updated at 10:03 PM on 01st August 2009
His costume of straggly weeds is a far cry from the sleek outfits sported by traditional superheroes, yet his mission to transform neglected public gardens is just as admirable.
But now it seems that, like most crusaders, the green-fingered campaigner known only as the Human Shrub does not work alone.
Yesterday the guerrilla gardener turned up at a shabby communal garden with a trusty sidekick – his wife, Mrs Shrub.
She arrived decked out in the trademark foliage suit, teamed with a bright pink apron and a tray of cherry bakewell tarts.
The pair had organised a party of volunteer gardeners to descend on the scruffy patch of land in Hubert Road in Colchester, Essex. The team – rounded up through social networking site Facebook – spent the morning sprucing up the patch, weeding and planting donated shrubs and flowers.
Little is known about the Human Shrub aside from his age, 39, and his burning passion for all things green.
Rumoured to be a Conservative activist intent on making the local council reconsider budget cuts for public gardens, his first act of rebellion was to parade along the local high street during a council meeting
in protest against plans to cut back rose bushes completely to save the cost of maintaining them.
He later shamed the Labour and Lib Dem-run council by replanting ugly weed-strewn plant pots in the town with bright flowers, leaving the message: ‘To Colchester, with love, the Human Shrub.’
Myra Kimsey, 80, who lives near the Hubert Road site, said: ‘I think what he’s doing is fantastic. If only more people followed suit.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... bette.html
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Man hurt himself to 'avoid work'
An Aberdeen hotel cleaner who attacked himself with a boulder and a razor to avoid going to work has been fined £100 for wasting police time.
Steven Reid, 23, claimed he had been assaulted, but later admitted faking the attack because he wanted a day off, the city's sheriff court heard.
Sheriff Graeme Buchanan said it was a "pretty bizarre act".
Reid, who is now unemployed, later said that he should have asked his work for a day off instead.
Fiscal depute Jim Craigen said: "He was making his way to work and didn't really much fancy going.
"He therefore removed a razor from his pocket and repeatedly dragged it down his face.
"He also picked up a boulder and struck it off his head and repeatedly hit himself on the head and body."
Mr Craigen added: "He went to the police station and said he had been assaulted by two male persons who repeatedly punched and kicked him."
Defence solicitor Keidra Morrison said the first offender had been under stress.
After the case, Reid said: "I had a lot of family issues at the time and things just got on top of me.
"It was a stupid thing to do.
"Looking back, I should have just phoned work and asked them for the day off."
Reid said he later lost his job but was hopeful he would get back to work again soon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/nor ... 209858.stm
An Aberdeen hotel cleaner who attacked himself with a boulder and a razor to avoid going to work has been fined £100 for wasting police time.
Steven Reid, 23, claimed he had been assaulted, but later admitted faking the attack because he wanted a day off, the city's sheriff court heard.
Sheriff Graeme Buchanan said it was a "pretty bizarre act".
Reid, who is now unemployed, later said that he should have asked his work for a day off instead.
Fiscal depute Jim Craigen said: "He was making his way to work and didn't really much fancy going.
"He therefore removed a razor from his pocket and repeatedly dragged it down his face.
"He also picked up a boulder and struck it off his head and repeatedly hit himself on the head and body."
Mr Craigen added: "He went to the police station and said he had been assaulted by two male persons who repeatedly punched and kicked him."
Defence solicitor Keidra Morrison said the first offender had been under stress.
After the case, Reid said: "I had a lot of family issues at the time and things just got on top of me.
"It was a stupid thing to do.
"Looking back, I should have just phoned work and asked them for the day off."
Reid said he later lost his job but was hopeful he would get back to work again soon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/nor ... 209858.stm
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- 54,631
UFOs, dreams, reincarnation... what a Fortean First Lady! 8)
Japan's new First Lady 'flew to Venus with UFO'
Japan's new First Lady is enlivening the nation's grey-suited world of politics with colourful claims that she met a UFO in a dream and was whisked away to Venus
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo
Published: 7:18AM BST 03 Sep 2009
Miyuki Hatoyama, 66, the charismatic wife of the leader of the incoming Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has also described how she met Tom Cruise in a former life and enjoys "eating" the sun for energy.
Writing in a book published last year, she said: "While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus. It was a very beautiful place and it was really green."
Her extra-terrestrial experiences ties in neatly with her husband Yukio Hatoyama's nickname "The Alien" which came about due to his large eyes.
Mr Hatoyama is due to be voted in as prime minister on September 16 after his party defeated the iron grip of the Liberal Democratic Party after more than five decades of near-interrupted power.
The party leader met his wife - a former musical actress who was born to Japanese parents in Shanghai - while he studying at Stanford in the United States.
Mrs Hatoyama, who is renowned for her healthy cooking having published several food-related books, described her UFO experience in a book called "Very Strange Things I've Encountered."
After waking up, Mrs Hatoyama wrote that her then husband dismissed the experience, claiming that it must have just been a dream.
However, referring to Japan's next prime minister, she wrote: "My current husband has a different way of thinking. He would surely say 'Oh that's great'." Earlier this year, Mrs Hatoyama also told a TV programme that she had met Tom Cruise in a previous life.
While she cautioned the interviewer not to take her too seriously, she said: "I know he was Japanese in a previous life.
"I was with him then. So he would recognise me when I see him and say 'long time, no see!'"
On the same talk show, she also described her unusual habit of "eating the sun".
Raising her arms into the air, she said: "I also eat the sun. Like this, hum, hum, hum. It gives me enormous energy. My husband has recently started doing that too."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... h-UFO.html
Japan's new First Lady 'flew to Venus with UFO'
Japan's new First Lady is enlivening the nation's grey-suited world of politics with colourful claims that she met a UFO in a dream and was whisked away to Venus
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo
Published: 7:18AM BST 03 Sep 2009
Miyuki Hatoyama, 66, the charismatic wife of the leader of the incoming Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has also described how she met Tom Cruise in a former life and enjoys "eating" the sun for energy.
Writing in a book published last year, she said: "While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus. It was a very beautiful place and it was really green."
Her extra-terrestrial experiences ties in neatly with her husband Yukio Hatoyama's nickname "The Alien" which came about due to his large eyes.
Mr Hatoyama is due to be voted in as prime minister on September 16 after his party defeated the iron grip of the Liberal Democratic Party after more than five decades of near-interrupted power.
The party leader met his wife - a former musical actress who was born to Japanese parents in Shanghai - while he studying at Stanford in the United States.
Mrs Hatoyama, who is renowned for her healthy cooking having published several food-related books, described her UFO experience in a book called "Very Strange Things I've Encountered."
After waking up, Mrs Hatoyama wrote that her then husband dismissed the experience, claiming that it must have just been a dream.
However, referring to Japan's next prime minister, she wrote: "My current husband has a different way of thinking. He would surely say 'Oh that's great'." Earlier this year, Mrs Hatoyama also told a TV programme that she had met Tom Cruise in a previous life.
While she cautioned the interviewer not to take her too seriously, she said: "I know he was Japanese in a previous life.
"I was with him then. So he would recognise me when I see him and say 'long time, no see!'"
On the same talk show, she also described her unusual habit of "eating the sun".
Raising her arms into the air, she said: "I also eat the sun. Like this, hum, hum, hum. It gives me enormous energy. My husband has recently started doing that too."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... h-UFO.html
It seems from the rest of the posts on this thread that Leeds and Wolverhampton have the best collection of recognisable street people, and I've lived in both places. Lucky old me.
More Wolves street people: In the late 90s and first couple of years of this millennium, apart from the Ring Road Tramp (RIP) and Cowboy Dave, who always used to stride up alongside me in the ring-road underpass between the Art College and the Union, there were:
Tin Cup Man, a grey-haired guy about 6'6", used to wear a lumberjack shirt and jeans and always had a tin-cup on some string, either round his neck or held behind his back while he strolled in circles along Dudley Street or round the Man on the Horse. He seemed to know a lot about politics and economics, and would read a broadsheet (I don't think he had a favourite, I saw him with most titles) in the morning, then spend the afternoon holding forth at a conversational level but in a lecturing tone which was not to be interruped, to an invisible audience,
The Manic Street Preacher, a little old black guy in a navy blue overcoat who used to spread the word in a friendly and happy way most sunny afternoons. He'd even do a little happy dance if he saw you were smiling back at him. "Jeeeesos lovs you, yes he dos, child, he lovs you very much! Yes!"
The Woman with her Dogs in a Pushchair, she looked like a well dressed grandmother (except they were always the same clothes) and she had 2 of those little fox-looking teddy bear type dogs, apparently too old to keep going for walks properly, so she had them both in a little pink pushchair. Creeped me out no end. Maybe it was just the clash of orage fur and pink fabrics, sometimes there was even a parasol. She always looked to be in a foul mood too.
and "D is for depression, deception, denial and the DEVIL" man, who looked like a sort of raver/traveller type, and spoke with a Liverpool accent. He was only in his early 30s, and always sidled up to you when you were looking and feeling your worst, when he would laugh and joke with you before dropping the above phrase in and telling you to find Jesus because he was the best friend you could ever have.
And then I came home to Leeds in 2002. I kept a look out for:
Rat - he used to sell the Big Issue outside Marks and Sparks on Briggate, with the incredible technique of going "Big-ish YOU?" when you walked past and wiggling inquisitive and hopeful eyebrows at you. I had loads of almost out of date muffins after a business meeting, so I gave him one the other week on his corner of Park Row and The Headrow.
The Trolley Guy - seems to drag all his worldly good behind him, walks round and round the city centre looking pissed off and in a hurry - all the time. His clothes change occasionally, he had a shiny black woman's mac for ages, but that's gone now, but her always always has a bandana on his bonce.
The Bag Lady used to scare me when she'd be sitting at the top of the market, Haven't seen her for a while. But There's a new woman who I've seen who might've taken her place, and I did wonder when someone said she'd been cleaned up - there's a woman now who wears what looks like it might once have been office clothes, smart skirt, top, shoes, tights, but he hair sometimes looks like it's been plonked on, or just that hairbrushes refuse to go in there out of fear of losing their pointy bits.
There's the 2 lovely friendly scally-looking long haired Big Issue sellers under the passageway on Albion Street, always a smile and a good morning, and although I rarely have anything to give them they recognise me and say hi. I gave them the rest of my muffins from the meeting.
Then there's Smelly, Bad-Tempered Nesting Man who I sometimes have to catch my bus to work near on an early morning before he's moved on from the covered bus stops on Boar Lane. Seems to gather all his empty bags and rags about him til you can't see his legs. He has a walkman of some sort. I have no idea if it's playing anything.
I now realise the guy who sits outside the medical centre (Possibly Waving Man) on Burley Road drinking all day is not a recent fixture. He's ALWAYS there when the 50 buses take me home to Kirkstall.
There's the Smartly Dressed Guy who pretends he just needs a pound to get the bus fare home because his girlfriend's gone off in a huff after an argument. He wears a long grey cloth coat (looked like an expensive cut a few years back, not so snappy now), has his long hair slicked back into a pony tail and is v friendly until you tell him you fell for it yesterday but not today, mate.
And I reckon most people who've sat out at the bars in town, bought a late night belly-filler or tried to catch a late bus must've met the "Oh Yeah" Singing Guy. He carries a guitar on his back and sings the saaaaame songs every night. He sometimes asks what your name is and says he'll write a song for you. It always ends with him repeating "oh yeah... oh yeah...oh yeah" over the same 3chords. I saw him on a tv show about students being susceptible to break-ins. He's famous!
More Wolves street people: In the late 90s and first couple of years of this millennium, apart from the Ring Road Tramp (RIP) and Cowboy Dave, who always used to stride up alongside me in the ring-road underpass between the Art College and the Union, there were:
Tin Cup Man, a grey-haired guy about 6'6", used to wear a lumberjack shirt and jeans and always had a tin-cup on some string, either round his neck or held behind his back while he strolled in circles along Dudley Street or round the Man on the Horse. He seemed to know a lot about politics and economics, and would read a broadsheet (I don't think he had a favourite, I saw him with most titles) in the morning, then spend the afternoon holding forth at a conversational level but in a lecturing tone which was not to be interruped, to an invisible audience,
The Manic Street Preacher, a little old black guy in a navy blue overcoat who used to spread the word in a friendly and happy way most sunny afternoons. He'd even do a little happy dance if he saw you were smiling back at him. "Jeeeesos lovs you, yes he dos, child, he lovs you very much! Yes!"
The Woman with her Dogs in a Pushchair, she looked like a well dressed grandmother (except they were always the same clothes) and she had 2 of those little fox-looking teddy bear type dogs, apparently too old to keep going for walks properly, so she had them both in a little pink pushchair. Creeped me out no end. Maybe it was just the clash of orage fur and pink fabrics, sometimes there was even a parasol. She always looked to be in a foul mood too.
and "D is for depression, deception, denial and the DEVIL" man, who looked like a sort of raver/traveller type, and spoke with a Liverpool accent. He was only in his early 30s, and always sidled up to you when you were looking and feeling your worst, when he would laugh and joke with you before dropping the above phrase in and telling you to find Jesus because he was the best friend you could ever have.
And then I came home to Leeds in 2002. I kept a look out for:
Rat - he used to sell the Big Issue outside Marks and Sparks on Briggate, with the incredible technique of going "Big-ish YOU?" when you walked past and wiggling inquisitive and hopeful eyebrows at you. I had loads of almost out of date muffins after a business meeting, so I gave him one the other week on his corner of Park Row and The Headrow.
The Trolley Guy - seems to drag all his worldly good behind him, walks round and round the city centre looking pissed off and in a hurry - all the time. His clothes change occasionally, he had a shiny black woman's mac for ages, but that's gone now, but her always always has a bandana on his bonce.
The Bag Lady used to scare me when she'd be sitting at the top of the market, Haven't seen her for a while. But There's a new woman who I've seen who might've taken her place, and I did wonder when someone said she'd been cleaned up - there's a woman now who wears what looks like it might once have been office clothes, smart skirt, top, shoes, tights, but he hair sometimes looks like it's been plonked on, or just that hairbrushes refuse to go in there out of fear of losing their pointy bits.
There's the 2 lovely friendly scally-looking long haired Big Issue sellers under the passageway on Albion Street, always a smile and a good morning, and although I rarely have anything to give them they recognise me and say hi. I gave them the rest of my muffins from the meeting.
Then there's Smelly, Bad-Tempered Nesting Man who I sometimes have to catch my bus to work near on an early morning before he's moved on from the covered bus stops on Boar Lane. Seems to gather all his empty bags and rags about him til you can't see his legs. He has a walkman of some sort. I have no idea if it's playing anything.
I now realise the guy who sits outside the medical centre (Possibly Waving Man) on Burley Road drinking all day is not a recent fixture. He's ALWAYS there when the 50 buses take me home to Kirkstall.
There's the Smartly Dressed Guy who pretends he just needs a pound to get the bus fare home because his girlfriend's gone off in a huff after an argument. He wears a long grey cloth coat (looked like an expensive cut a few years back, not so snappy now), has his long hair slicked back into a pony tail and is v friendly until you tell him you fell for it yesterday but not today, mate.
And I reckon most people who've sat out at the bars in town, bought a late night belly-filler or tried to catch a late bus must've met the "Oh Yeah" Singing Guy. He carries a guitar on his back and sings the saaaaame songs every night. He sometimes asks what your name is and says he'll write a song for you. It always ends with him repeating "oh yeah... oh yeah...oh yeah" over the same 3chords. I saw him on a tv show about students being susceptible to break-ins. He's famous!
OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
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Quite bizarrely, he used to hang around Leeds Poly and Uni in the late 80s, though i don't think he ever studied at either, late 90s you'd sometimes see him in the TV room in the Leeds Uni Student union late at night. He has some sort of growths on his head, hence the bandana.
Yeah, same one that's been there since i came to Leeds in 77
Though she does look like someone's looking after her something like these days.I remember that one, he had variations on his story for different times of day, around teatime he'd left his wallet in the office. Not seen him for a few years though.
He sometimes plays 'the song' at The Grove in Holbeck, i tend to avoid him as he creeps me out, that and i was told by a friend that she saw him at a bus stop making some very inappropriate comments to some teenage girls
roflmao i used to hang around with him on the punk scene, going back a good 15 years now. He was a beggar turned big issue vendor then, so no change there!
Have you seen the mad monk yet? I'm quite amazed how long i was in leeds for before i found out about that one, he seems to have been around forever.
escargot
Disciple of Marduk
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- Aug 24, 2001
- Messages
- 43,556
- Location
- HM The Tower of London
There's a Polishing Lady in Rowley Regis, West Midlands.
She carries dusters and a can of spray cleaner and cleans everything she thinks people touch in the streets, including lamp posts, handrails and the entire Post Office counter on pension day.
My daughter and her fiance have seen her.
She carries dusters and a can of spray cleaner and cleans everything she thinks people touch in the streets, including lamp posts, handrails and the entire Post Office counter on pension day.
My daughter and her fiance have seen her.
I completely left out the best one - he's a treat to see because he's so rare, and when you've seen him once, you need to see him again to make sure you weren't imagining him -
Pharoah Guy! - tall thin black guy, usually wearing a slightly old fashioned suit. Quite normal looking, and usually striding along as if he's about to be late for an appointment. The only thing that makes him extraordinary is his Egyptian styled headdress. Flowing pink, green, or nile blue cloth, golden (foil) crown affair, sometimes with serpents and dogs on. I used to see him up around the Merrion Centre and Great George St when I was at the Art College. Astonishing.
BRF - the Grove was my local for a couple of years. All sorts of talented but strange people turn up there. Good beer and good live music attracts all sorts!
Pharoah Guy! - tall thin black guy, usually wearing a slightly old fashioned suit. Quite normal looking, and usually striding along as if he's about to be late for an appointment. The only thing that makes him extraordinary is his Egyptian styled headdress. Flowing pink, green, or nile blue cloth, golden (foil) crown affair, sometimes with serpents and dogs on. I used to see him up around the Merrion Centre and Great George St when I was at the Art College. Astonishing.
BRF - the Grove was my local for a couple of years. All sorts of talented but strange people turn up there. Good beer and good live music attracts all sorts!
OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
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Ah yes, The Grove, i used to go there with Quicksand Kerry, if you remember him.
Think i've seen the guy you mention but only once, Saturday afternoon near the Corn Exchange and he was dressed sort of like a moor, lots of flowy blue gauzy material. May have mixed him up with the big topless black guy that used to play chess.
My ex-lodger claimed 'pharoe guy' was some sort of fundy muslim, but that may or may not be true.
Think i've seen the guy you mention but only once, Saturday afternoon near the Corn Exchange and he was dressed sort of like a moor, lots of flowy blue gauzy material. May have mixed him up with the big topless black guy that used to play chess.
My ex-lodger claimed 'pharoe guy' was some sort of fundy muslim, but that may or may not be true.
BlackRiverFalls said:
He sometimes plays 'the song' at The Grove in Holbeck, i tend to avoid him as he creeps me out, that and i was told by a friend that she saw him at a bus stop making some very inappropriate comments to some teenage girls
roflmao i used to hang around with him on the punk scene, going back a good 15 years now. He was a beggar turned big issue vendor then, so no change there!
Made me laugh - when I read the name Rat, I wondered if he was an old punk. Did every punk community of the 70s & 80s have someone named Rat, it seems like it :lol:
Im sad to say I cant think of too many colourful freaks around Sydney.
Theres an annoying busker who poses as a donkey - it annoys the shit our of me! He has a bell and its highly irritating!
He gets a mention here, and theres a bad photo - which is actually better than seeing the real thing!
http://www.aussiecitylife.com/awesome-s ... rs-part-1/
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- 672
Hmm. I've actually never seen Donkey-man before, but that site did remind me of a few of my fave Sydney characters. The Blind Opera Singer at Central is one. She has the most beautiful voice. I still remember the first time I heard her on my way to work.
Mr Sunshine is my favourite. On that site he's called The Asian Man at Town Hall Who Plays a Sprite Can but I remember him playing an instrument made out of a mallet once. Every time I see him I cry. He makes the most beautiful music, and he seems so sweet.
Free-Hugs guy was a sweetie as well. Someone's probably mentioned him on here already but if not, he's the guy who used to wander around Centrepoint Mall with a big sign saying "FREE HUGS" and if people wanted one they'd just wander up and hug him. And he did give fantastic hugs.
Mr Sunshine is my favourite. On that site he's called The Asian Man at Town Hall Who Plays a Sprite Can but I remember him playing an instrument made out of a mallet once. Every time I see him I cry. He makes the most beautiful music, and he seems so sweet.
Free-Hugs guy was a sweetie as well. Someone's probably mentioned him on here already but if not, he's the guy who used to wander around Centrepoint Mall with a big sign saying "FREE HUGS" and if people wanted one they'd just wander up and hug him. And he did give fantastic hugs.
^I love the guy who plays the Sprite too. - Youre so lucky that you havent seen donkey man lol! Ive never seen the blind opera singer, but would love to!
Free hugs was on tv tonight
I used to like the homeless guy who played the recorder with a sign saying "At least Im having a go!" But I havent seen him for ages now.
Free hugs was on tv tonight
I used to like the homeless guy who played the recorder with a sign saying "At least Im having a go!" But I havent seen him for ages now.
Ulalume
tart of darkness
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- Not Texas
There's an unusual number of mad and/or eccentric people wandering the streets of our small city. We looked it up and found out there's 30% more than average. No idea why. It's pretty common to be woken up by someone singing an incoherent song in the road, or to be given a bouquet of flowers by someone who says they're the seventh avatar of Vishnu.
There's "Pepper" "Cap'n Jack" "glove man" etc.
I sort of developed a knack for talking to them, (except "ranting man" no one dares approach him...since he's always ranting) and have found that there are odd pieces of wisdom mixed up with the madness; perhaps they can see patterns in things that we overlook but they place it in an entirely bizarre context, I dunno, just my theory.
Anyway, it surprises me how often thay think I'm not human. I've been suspected to be a robot, a "human-sized doll", an alien who merely looks human, etc. This doesn't seem to upset them, except one case where a man thought I was an angel, which terrified him.
The one character who's not well liked is the lady who think she's the queen from another planet - which had frozen, that's why she's on Earth - she always wears a tiara and treats everyone like "subjects" -not very nice!
And yeah, I'm pretty sure my willingness to stop and chat with these guys has made me "one of them" in the eyes of the town...ah, well.
There's "Pepper" "Cap'n Jack" "glove man" etc.
I sort of developed a knack for talking to them, (except "ranting man" no one dares approach him...since he's always ranting) and have found that there are odd pieces of wisdom mixed up with the madness; perhaps they can see patterns in things that we overlook but they place it in an entirely bizarre context, I dunno, just my theory.
Anyway, it surprises me how often thay think I'm not human. I've been suspected to be a robot, a "human-sized doll", an alien who merely looks human, etc. This doesn't seem to upset them, except one case where a man thought I was an angel, which terrified him.
The one character who's not well liked is the lady who think she's the queen from another planet - which had frozen, that's why she's on Earth - she always wears a tiara and treats everyone like "subjects" -not very nice!
And yeah, I'm pretty sure my willingness to stop and chat with these guys has made me "one of them" in the eyes of the town...ah, well.
uair01
Antediluvian
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- Apr 12, 2005
- Messages
- 5,515
- Location
- The Netherlands
Compared with the previously described folk these picture are just mildly strange, but I had fun spotting them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uair01/4122169167/
I think these are rastafarian preachers who have a theory that the 12 tribes of Israel now live in the caribbean and are black. I had the feeling that in their theology white people are somewhere between Gog and Magog.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uair01/4122941162/
Three indian tourists enjoying rotterdam chips.
Notice the great headgear! I especially like the "sock" like tail that the well-dressed person has sticking from his head.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uair01/4122169167/
I think these are rastafarian preachers who have a theory that the 12 tribes of Israel now live in the caribbean and are black. I had the feeling that in their theology white people are somewhere between Gog and Magog.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uair01/4122941162/
Three indian tourists enjoying rotterdam chips.
Notice the great headgear! I especially like the "sock" like tail that the well-dressed person has sticking from his head.
RedQueenWildBoy
Junior Acolyte
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- Feb 17, 2009
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- 67
Perhaps this chap qualifies for team Strange-Folk:
I am currently sitting in the university library, in a rather out-of-the-way 'island' of computers - eight PCs in rows of four, facing each other. All of the computers are occupied, but it is still pretty quiet, what with everyone working hard on something or other, and nobody talking, except for the occasional whisper.
Suddenly a guy in at the far ond of the opposite row starts talking quite audibly, and noticeably in a slow, low-pitched, almost movie-villain-esque tone. He has his MP3 player held up to his mouth, and assumedly it was on, as he still had his headphones in. It was pretty clear he was talking to himself, as nobody around was responding, or even seemed to be associating with him.
I can't remember the first sentence, but it sounded pretty sinister, and concerned eating(?)
The next phrase went along the lines of "If my [something]-ness is to be tested, make sure you have a well-stocked larder. The test begins now!"
He then grinned darkly at his screen for a time, but has been perfectly quiet before and after this.
He may well be the same fellow my partner described to me, who, according to him, was sitting at another computer in the library while it was quiet, and was heard to say "It's like f***ing Auschwitz or something!" to nobody in particular.
Either way, he's still there, otherwise looking like he's working normally. He's got a book open in front of him, but I can't see what it is.
---
Update: Seems like he's spouting Comunist phrases. The last thing I've heard him say (In more of a loud whisper this time) was "[mutter]... and I do not eat animals!"
It should be noted that his model of MP3 player does not have a microphone.
I am currently sitting in the university library, in a rather out-of-the-way 'island' of computers - eight PCs in rows of four, facing each other. All of the computers are occupied, but it is still pretty quiet, what with everyone working hard on something or other, and nobody talking, except for the occasional whisper.
Suddenly a guy in at the far ond of the opposite row starts talking quite audibly, and noticeably in a slow, low-pitched, almost movie-villain-esque tone. He has his MP3 player held up to his mouth, and assumedly it was on, as he still had his headphones in. It was pretty clear he was talking to himself, as nobody around was responding, or even seemed to be associating with him.
I can't remember the first sentence, but it sounded pretty sinister, and concerned eating(?)
The next phrase went along the lines of "If my [something]-ness is to be tested, make sure you have a well-stocked larder. The test begins now!"
He then grinned darkly at his screen for a time, but has been perfectly quiet before and after this.
He may well be the same fellow my partner described to me, who, according to him, was sitting at another computer in the library while it was quiet, and was heard to say "It's like f***ing Auschwitz or something!" to nobody in particular.
Either way, he's still there, otherwise looking like he's working normally. He's got a book open in front of him, but I can't see what it is.
---
Update: Seems like he's spouting Comunist phrases. The last thing I've heard him say (In more of a loud whisper this time) was "[mutter]... and I do not eat animals!"
It should be noted that his model of MP3 player does not have a microphone.
cranionaut
Devoted Cultist
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- Mar 24, 2008
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- 169
escargot1 said:
Next time you see whippet man be sure carry few balloons
uair01 said:
Im laughing that you took a photo randomly of these men - did you have a special strange people spotting day? :lol:
Did they mind though? I find it really rude when people take photos of me without asking. Im a bit of a freak so it happens a fair bit.
I spotted Lucky Diamond the worlds most tattooed man in town last week. I was polite enough not to stare but it sounded like he laughed at me when I walked past :shock: :lol:
Where do you live uair01?
I lived and taught in Wolverhampton for over 30 years and got very used to seeing Sikh and Rasta headgear.I wouldn't have dreampt of taking photos!
I've recently retired to Dorset to be near the sea, but I miss the good natured cosmopolitan mix we had in the Midlands.
I lived and taught in Wolverhampton for over 30 years and got very used to seeing Sikh and Rasta headgear.I wouldn't have dreampt of taking photos!
I've recently retired to Dorset to be near the sea, but I miss the good natured cosmopolitan mix we had in the Midlands.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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Does he count as slightly strange? He refuses to do anything about the odour.
ramonmercado
CyberPunk
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Well General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart DSO, VC. fought in the Boer War, WWI and WWII. He wrote a great autobio: Happy Odessy (with a foreword by Winston Churchill). He retired to West Cork where he spent many happy years shooting ducks. The ducks were not happy.
OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
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I thought DSO was Dick Shot Off? :shock: :?
ramonmercado
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BlackRiverFalls said:
Actuall de Wiart was wounded in the groin and hes a bit coy about what happened. He may have been castrated. He was married but there were no progeny. He also lost an eye and a hand in battle.
In between the Boer War and WWI he fought the Fuzzy Wuzzies in Sudan (probably with the help of Corporal Jones). Thats where he lost his eye.
Just before WWI as a captain he "gloriously" failed his promotion exam for major getting 30 out of a possible 200 marks in military law. He never sat an exam or did an intervew for promotion again. All of his promotions were battlefield or wartime appointments.
bosskR
Thunder Lyger
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On my way to the office today, I met a huge, tall man wearing what can only be described as a black burqa, topped off with pitch-black ski goggles, pushing a pram with a baby in it. I was scared of him and didn’t dare peek at the baby.
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Are you sure it was a man? :shock:
locussolus
Devoted Cultist
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- Jul 20, 2009
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I was in the elevator coming back from lunch on a Friday Afternoon. My friend and I had entered together when a man in a large down coat rushed in after us, right as the door closed.
Before my friend and i could continue our pre-elevator ride conversation, the Man in the Down Coat placed himself in front of me eagerly, and in an animated fashion exclaimed, "It's so wonderful to see you again!"
I took a step back and stared at this man, his face, and it was utterly unrecognizable. I asked him, "I think you must have me mixed up with someone else".
He replied after a moment of confusion, "F train (That's a NYC subway line), 2 AM, 1996!!!!!!!!!
the elevator bell rang, door opens to floor six, he runs out and I just stare blankly at my friend, with her returning the look!
I truly wonder what that all was about! He certainly didn't look like he belonged in an office building, he looked out of place. That was my first thought about him when I was trying to recognize him. But he seemed so sure of recognizing me!
Before my friend and i could continue our pre-elevator ride conversation, the Man in the Down Coat placed himself in front of me eagerly, and in an animated fashion exclaimed, "It's so wonderful to see you again!"
I took a step back and stared at this man, his face, and it was utterly unrecognizable. I asked him, "I think you must have me mixed up with someone else".
He replied after a moment of confusion, "F train (That's a NYC subway line), 2 AM, 1996!!!!!!!!!
the elevator bell rang, door opens to floor six, he runs out and I just stare blankly at my friend, with her returning the look!
I truly wonder what that all was about! He certainly didn't look like he belonged in an office building, he looked out of place. That was my first thought about him when I was trying to recognize him. But he seemed so sure of recognizing me!
Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
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He's either (a) bonkers, (b) having a laugh, or (c) he's one of those rare individuals who can remember everybody they've ever met, and when/where they met.
The is a slightly excentric man in Sydney who claims to remember everyone he meets birthday. He will also tell you what day of the week you were born on when you tell him the date. Certainly about 3 years after the first and only time I met him I was walking in the city one day and heard my birthdate yelled out - it was him.
MsQkxyz said:
He's probably somewhere on the autistic spectrum -think "Rainman".
My own grandson, aged 12 and at "Special" school, can quote phenomenal dates and figures gleaned from the internet, and he's been diagnosed with autistic tendencies.