We went to a lovely nature reserve today which we hadn’t been to before, Ham Wall which is a RSPB site (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) It was a gorgeous sunny day, crisp and a little cold but in a nice wintery day, and actually quite warm in full sun and out of the slight wind. Like many others, we were with friends, wrapped up warm with cameras so we had all we needed for a lovely afternoon, good company, good weather, and interesting things to look at.
There were a lot of other people about, mostly people like us with family or friends, or with cameras, or with dogs, and as we walked along, passing people coming back along the path, it occurred to me that in general, the English don’t have a customary way to greet passing strangers.
- pretend they aren’t there, avoid eye contact, and if the path is narrow squeeze past as you might a branch sticking out into your way
- flick a look at them, as if to say, I see you but I don’t know you, therefore I cannot speak to you
- try to decide whether to speak, greet, nod, smile, ignore… the result is just whatever option happens to be passing through your mind at the time
- give a tight smile, you don’t want to encourage conversation but you don’t want to be rude or impolite
- wait to see what the other person does and respond accordingly, see above, or see below
- have a pleasant smile and maybe nod your head
- have an open smile and say hello, or respond in a friendly manner when the other speaks
- have a beaming sunny smile, be ready to exchange a few convivial comments on the weather, the place, even wishing a Happy New Year
- call out a jolly hello as you approach, signalling the willingness to stop and mention the interesting bird you have just seen/heard/heard about, have a conversation about the wonderful weather, the booming bitterns, the flocks of starlings etc
- has a dog so is usually jolly, friendly and always prepared to have a conversation via the dog
I’m sure it’s not the same in other countries!!
Lois Elsden 
In Canada to break the ice we always start by mentioning the weather. Always works. People even talk about winters 50 years ago.
LikeLike
I tend to avoid contact when meeting strangers on my daily walk, or if that’s not possible, mutter something about the weather. But then I am of the Wainwright persuasion.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When I was visiting family, we went for a walk at a local state park. We saw some tourists coming our way, and got to talking with “Grandma” trailing after the group. We had just seen an armadillo bumbling around and looking cute. So, a person in our party goes, as we were leaving, tells the woman “Watch out for the attack armadillo up ahead!”–joking, of course. The woman freezes and refuses to move. We tell her we were just kidding, that the little armadillo was harmless. Finally we left the woman still refusing to move, and her family also disappeared into the distance, leaving the poor woman prey to the “attack” armadillo.
LikeLike
That is hilarious! You can just imagine it as a scene in a comedy!
LikeLike