Would you feel obliged to attend the compulsory dinner?

Hi Gerty, especially when it's the company which suggests them so that we all spend time working together and then socialising together. Good for you for skipping it. It's nothing more than team building jargon imposed on ones free time.

Hi bunnybon, it's a long story! She didn't used to be unpleasant or she hid it well, and is the sort of dominant woman of the fishing village. Anyway she chose my son and he was happy to go along as she bought him so many presenst - then.

Now is that the same ex girlfriend who went round making an exhibition of herself in restaurants by being allergic to everything that didn't make her fat.

you are right. i have a lot of fun on here posting about her. i guess shes been one of the most difficult people i've ever known but like the god mother, cant ever seem to shake her as an aquantence

Then I shall look forward to hearing more of her little foibles.

Hi Holly, yes it was quite an balancing act for him to manage to look so tired and then demand to stay up late as it was Friday night so no school the next day. Luckily she is the only 'obligation' as she has been very good in the past.
Obligatory business ones are now a thing of the past thank goodness, for both of us, and when I do work with a Greek and there's a dinner at the end they've always been tons of fun.
At least your mother in law, the one with the gummed up ears, set a good example of how not to do things and your family come round because they want to.

And I'm guessing you let your son stay up late, as not only was it Friday night, but he helped get you away from a sticky situation. lol

I was hoping for your sake that at least you received a decent meal for your efforts, but after reading down further, I can see that wasn't the case.:-( I'm with you, boiled chicken skin is vile! I can see leaving it on while it's cooking, as it adds to the flavor, but remove it before serving for goodness sake! The thought of your hostess just eating that on its own nearly made me puke! lol

And yes, I don't play my mother-in-law's games, as I don't want anyone thinking of doing to me what I said I did to her! lol

Holly, I have to laugh, by reading further on you have now used one of our less acceptable words.

Ha! If you mean "puke", I did it on purpose, as you told me that was used by your son not long ago. Just checking to see if you were paying attention!:-)

Hi Hatley, no indeed the soup was not good, it consisted of boiled chicken still encased in its skin and boiled chicken skin is just vile. Luckily she held her tongue whilst I removed it all to a suitable plate so I didn't have to pick round it. She of course devoured the skin with gusto, whilst also picking the skin from hubbys bowl, he didn't get told off for leaving it either.

I hope your husband didn't drag you to too many of those things, I've never had a single problem in saying no to family but never been expected to attend another halfs family. I didn't know that about carbohydrate heavy food Hatley.

Hi jelly, well that's how I usually deal with it as well, but I was taken unawares completely as she doesn't tend to telephone often as still maintains the belief that I can't understand a word of Greek, whereas what she actually does is speak twice as fast to me than she does to any Greek person. She'd already barked her commands before I could think of a suitable excuse in Greek she would understand.

Hi cloudwatcher, sleep is far too much overrated with all that wasted time, and I find it much better to have a lot all at once than short nights interupted with the alarm clock. I'd say that as aren't unhappy to go, and enjoy them when you get there, and you don't even complain about them, they aren't really obligations at all but fun times.

Hi NoirAngelique, you really don't like them do you, even going so far as to take vacation days to avoid them. Work things can be a totally bore as we already spend more time with work colleagues than with anyone else. I used to have friends at work who I would happily socialise with, but not on an organised company basis, that just always feels so false. I'm glad you're off the hook now.

Hi Shames, soup for dinner over here is quite common, altough it's described as soup it is more of a thick stew, so last nights offering contained whole parts of chicken, potatoes, vegetables and the obligatory lemon. And there was saganaki and beetroot to start with.
I think her problem is she got sick of working all the hours there were in her taverna, so started scaring all the customers off with her bad temper, then when it had barely any customers left, she let it out, now the taverna is doing really well and that puts her nose out of joint, and she wishes she had the taverna back, as now she doesn't know everyone elses business as quickly as she used to do.

Hi iamsolucky, do you tell everyone to smile, how do you know I'm not smiling anyway? Do people say that to each other where you live or is it just something you put on the internet. I saw someone else doing it once or maybe it was you, just curious.

If you go to family dinners and you want to and you enjoy them then they aren't obligatory at all but as you say just a nice family gathering. Now remember no frowining.

Hi Aunty, you certainly don't appear to be the type to be bossed, and I'm not either, she just has that effect on me. It's so wearing when I get there as well as she spends half her time telling me not to mix with so and so as 'no good people' when I consider myself more than capable of deceiding who I will and won't mix with. I must engage in a good political argument with her, on the other side of course, as she hasn't spoken to one of the fishermen for the last 4 years since he refused to vote the way she told him to. After a whole lifetime of living close by as well. So of course he used to be ok to mix with but by now he is not fit to mix with as he disagreed with her once. I just agree politely and then go my own sweet way. But I do accept that the godmother is for life and not just for the nice party she threw after the baptism.

Customs are customs, i guess but would not like to put up w/her. I don't know how she selected but here if u ask someone to be your child's godparent they have no say like she does. I think the main reason u select one here is in case something happens to u the godparent would step in & raise your child. I never had a godparent nor did my children so this is just different to me.

Which is another timely reminder that I must sort out a legal paper in case anything happens to me so that the Nona cannot step in and take control.

Glad i reminded u. We never know when something will happen. how old is hugo? u have told me but memory is terrible on things like that.

He's ten and I do know the people to ask to take him, but I must get round to doing it even though it is morbid.
My koubara phoned this afternoon and Hugo saw her name on the phone and knew she was probably calling to demand he went down to help clean out the chickens or something like that, but we were having a nice time at home so he just didn't answer the call. One way of dealing with bossy people.

It is really not morbid at all, Thea. U are insuring higo is well taken care of if something happened to u, heaven forbid. I don't blame him i wouldn't have took the call either. I would think her a very tring woman.