I went last night to my local Bentley Drivers Club Noggin and Natter and was faced with the usual dilemma, how to greet people correctly especially with regard to kissing.
The meeting is usually a chat and a meal in the evening although sometimes it might be at a different time of day and have brunch.
Most of the members are of a certain age, certainly not millennial’s and from the chart below some would be The Silent Generation, although even the older members can make themselves heard more than adequately when they have to turn up the volume.
Many of the older chaps are a font of knowledge were the old cars are concerned and one can always someone to assist with a problem should you consult the correct oracle.
The vast majority are Baby Boomers, including myself with a smattering of Generation X which makes greeting the male half of the members very easy as there is a certain empathy between fellow Bentley drivers.
- The Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945 (73-90 years old)
- Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (54-72 years old)
- Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old)
- Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (22-37 years old)
The usual greeting for any of the chaps is a firm handshake, unlike the youth of today who seem to wish to enter into some sort of arm wrestling contest followed by dragging the poor unsuspecting victim to their chest and patting them firmly on the back, which to us older chaps is a little over the top to say the least.
The problem I find most perplexing is that of kissing the ladies when greeting, especially as we now have the more modern way with the double kiss, I am always lost as to which side to start first, one doesn’t want the temperature to rise too much with this act for heaven fore-fend that these actions might be confused with passion.
Having consulted Debrett’s who have been in the business of etiquette for over 250 years I can see from the guidelines below that I should start kissing the right cheek first, which may go some way to explain my confusion as I have a natural urge to start with the left.
Kissing Guidelines
Social kissing varies according to the age of the people involved. Older people may not want to be kissed at all and even if they do not mind they often only expect one kiss. The double kiss, which is usually the man kissing the woman’s right cheek first, is the norm among younger people.
An air kiss, with no contact at all, may seem rude or impersonal, but at least it is not intrusive – it is simply a social kiss, not a sign of affection to a loved one. A very slight contact is best, and no sound effects are needed.
Having read learned and inwardly digested the above information I look forward with gusto to our next meeting where I shall put the information into practice.
I am delighted to have finished this post, especially as I have completed the Word of the day Challenge, Passion. The Ragtag Daily Promt, Temperature and the FOWC Challenge, Empathy. The writing of the above post took some considerable time most of which was placing the pingbacks in the text and if all goes well and it actually works I have to thank The Ragtag Daily Prompt for being the first person who has actually written a description which seems to make sense of how to do the damn things!
The Diary of a Country Bumpkin 
Good for you!
Lol!
Yay. The pingbacks worked. Welcome to the Ragtag Community.
But now I’m confused. Is that their right cheek, or the cheek to your right? Social etiquette is difficult. Just when you think you’ve got it right, you realise you’ve misinterpreted! 🙂
Shake hands with a fellow gent and kiss that hand of a lady. Never had to think beyond that and always have lots of friends ,manly ladies. Rather sad that you cant find a stage to manage. good blog though.Never never give up is the motto.
There’s also the more modern shove-your-tongue-down-my-throat kissing.
I think the problem is that, for my post, anyway, you didn’t link back to my post’s actual URL (https://fivedotoh.com/2019/03/07/fowc-with-fandango-empath/). Instead, you linked back to the WordPress reader address, and that doesn’t create a link on the actual source post. Does that make sense?
I think I had the pingback right but obviously sent it to the wrong place. Close but no coconut, I will get it right in the end!
My wife has an expression she uses all the time: “close but no banana.” Coconuts and bananas?
Same result.
… no sound effects are needed. 👍
I kinda like the fist bump. 👊
But, no, that’s not what I do. We tend, here, to go with a handshake or a hug (no passion-free kiss(es), for the most part, except amongst some family members).
Lol! Thanks for the laugh 🤣 I’m always wary of someone hugging me on introduction. Like WTF!
Your pingback on the Word of the Day site has worked. Well done!
Hurrah!
Much as I hate being pigeonholed it was interesting to see each generation names and with dates. Apparently, I’m a Generation X’er but I refuse to let that define me.
I rather foolishly still think I’m about 35, totally delusional I know. I suspect everyone has a head and a body age, as long as your head is younger than your body you’re okay, you can get in trouble if you get it the wrong way round.
Haha, Yes, In my head I’m still a teenager (but i was never rebellious). 🙂
Whatever happened to the amiable grunt? It is the only acceptable form of greeting here abouts. If you really, really like someone, you might grunt and nod – but that is kind of getting carried away.
I learnt the ‘right’ way to double kiss some years ago from a French Exchange Student, Move my head to my left and kiss their right! Never needed with my English friends as only ever used with the European friends.
Just so you know, we created a How To Page when Weekly Prompts was first launched this was before most other challenge sites were set up. Having taught computing for many years it seemed the natural thing to do. To date we have responded to a fair number of requests for Help.
How do I find the computer help page? I could be on it for days, shouting at the thing doesn’t seem to solve any problems I get!
Hi Joe, Look on the menu of Weekly Prompts and you will find the How to Page. We are creating Help topics according to need/requests. And Created in PDF so that they can be downloaded. Actually haven’t tried it but assume they can. Our next topic will be How to Schedule a post. If there’s anything we can help with just ask.
Thank you.
Your post made me chuckle: the double kiss greeting fills me with dread and I inevitably get it wrong and end up in an undignified clashing of heads. Does Debrett’s have anything to say about triple kissing, which is fast becoming a “thing” in London?
I agree with you, I can get into enough trouble with clashing heads etc with double kissing, without delving into the horrors of triple kissing. As for the ridiculous arm wrestling handshake followed by a bear hug, whoever thought that one up should be shot at dawn.
My sentiments exactly 🙂
I’m of the generation just before, born in 1927. As a lady, I now hug both male and female friends and kiss twice, once for each cheek. When I was growing up, we shook hands with casual friends, and hugged both male and female close friends and relatives.
The problem always arises when you meet someone for the first time as you can never tell by looking whether they are the sort who are happy with nothing more than a firm handshake or whether one kiss will be sufficient or if they expect the full blown double kiss. It’s this indecision which leads to clashes of heads and glasses. As for the dilemma faced when meeting some of the more traditional French people who expect three kisses, it’s all too much!
Hug, kiss, two kisses… we have it all in South Africa. A bruised cheekbone can often occur 😉
I don’t know what was wrong with the old one kiss version I could see no reason for change, it was a lot safer and as they say, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!”