Hugs And Kisses On Greeting

[RATTER15]

I've never been a lover of all this hugs and kisses on greeting people, I was not brought up to greet this way and I'm not sure that its the British way. I don't have a problem with it, I would rather just greet with a hand shake. What are your views?

[Canary42]

////It seems to have become the 'thing to do', and therefore it doesn't always represent genuine affection.////

Exactly, which is why I don't go for it. It's shallow, insincere, and even in some cases hypocritical.

[DaisyNonna]

Would be happy to a curtsey if a gentleman bowed
Good feeling when teenage grandchildren say "Love you"
We do not see each other or phone every day

[Prudie]

I really like the continental 2 cheek kiss, it's a gentle expression IMO with not a hint of hugs, grunts or general body vapours.

[naomi24]

Precisely Canary.

I tell my family I love them though - because I do.

[naomi24]

Prudie, the Continental way I can live with. That's not intrusive.

[RATTER15]

I think I still prefer a handshake.

[jourdain2]

Since living in France, I am now used to greeting people with a kiss on the cheek (in fact our neighbour was an enthusiastic 4 kisses-er!) once a relationship has been established. I learned to relax about it. A hug, depends on how well I know the person, it would have to be pretty well!

Certainly a handshake to start with - but again, I rather enjoyed the first meeting with French men where the old-fashioned courtesy is to kiss the hand and say 'Enchante, Madame'.

Haven't read any of the other posts. Now back in UK, I am wary of kissing, but a few people I now know do do it and I am quite relaxed about it.

[woofgang]

I don't like to be hugged and kissed by strangers and in fact I don't allow it. Andy Hughes is right though. Its a great comfort to me that the last words I said to my Mum were "I love you"

[naomi24]

^Me too.

[Samuraisan]

I'd rather a continental air kiss on each cheek than a handshake. You never know when they last washed their hands. But if , as happens occasionally they are really sweaty, I go for a really distant air kiss .

[mrs.chappie]

The two-cheek kiss is fine, as long as you're not bending over the freezer in Tesco's at the time.

[gness]

Hasn't Mrs Chappie had some strange experiences......☺

[Big Jenny]

My No.2 son, who is not a very demonstrative or touchy-feely sort of person, always says that he told his girlfriend (of 11 years now) that he loved her soon after they got together, and he will let her know if anything changes. She seems to have settled for that!

[MargoTester]

Puckered lips always remind me of a cat's bum.

[gness]

Maybe that's why we close our eyes when kissing, Margo.......x

[MargoTester]

Oops that was in response to Naomi on Friday - I completely missed the last page!

[MargoTester]

You're right Gness (every time I type your name predictive thingy changes it to Agnes!)

[jennyjoan]

we don't do any kissing and hugging here where my relatives and I live but when I lived in America for 8 weeks - everytime someone left,entered, ***, fa$ted - they all kissed and hugged - I must say I started to enjoy it - wish we done more here.

[ladyalex]

I'll take hugs and kisses over handshakes any time....from people I know, not complete strangers.

Like Andy Hughes I can take as many 'love you' s at the end of phone calls from the son-and-heir as he will give.