Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

Generali

I'm not Jewish despite being a banker and a Spurs fan. There is a bit of Jewish blood in the family but not much. I would imagine there is in most families if you go back far enough.

I know a few Gaolers and they all reckon the child molesters are the nicest ones. Apparently it's creepy. They'll have met you once, years earlier and remember every detail about you.

vivatifosi

Generali wrote: »

I'm not Jewish despite being a banker and a Spurs fan.

What you mean you're not a Rothschild in RL? The lizard people will be disappointed.

LydiaJ

zagubov wrote: »

Whoah - slow down there! Murderers, muggers, assaulters! What open prison is this!
:eek::eek:

One where people nearing the end of long sentences begin a process of being prepared to deal with the outside world after their release, probably.

zagubov

lostinrates wrote: »

Oh, are we fewer in vegetarians?

When I lived in Scotland any vegetarians I knew always came from south of the border. The "no salads north of Perth" stereotype has a grain of truth in it.

GDB2222 wrote: »

I have quite a hankering to be a Quaker, actually.

I worked for a Quaker and some of our meetings were in a Friends meeting house. I always came away deeply impressed by the open honest attitude to politics and life in general. They seemed to have a very benign and non-dogmatic attitude to the world. :A

If I wanted to return to formal God-bothering it would be a serious contender. Laying off booze would be a downer though.

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

What you mean you're not a Rothschild in RL? The lizard people will be disappointed.

Nope. I've known a few. I've met Natty a few times (the next Lord R) and I used to work for a very close relative.

The Rothschilds I've met have been nice guys. Very driven but take their responsibilities to charity very seriously.

GDB2222

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I'm not entirely sure that is true. A lot of very poor Jews left Russia and Eastern Europe from the 1880s onwards, and a lot of wealthy and clever Jews were so integrated in Germany (in particular) that they didn't leave at all.

OH's grandmother grew up in a very, very wealthy Jewish home, her father was a Chief Rabbi, her family had huge industrial holdings, and were strongly anti-Zionist. Most of them died.

It partially depended what skills you had. My father was 30 when he received a letter saying that he was dismissed from his post as a dermatologist in 1933, purely on account of his racial background. He was not particularly wealthy but he had his in-demand skill set, so the decision to emigrate was a no-brainer for him, as he had no job prospects in Germany. It would have been harder for a factory owner simply to abandon all that.

He was intending to emigrate to the USA, but he was terribly prone to seasickness and he became so ill crossing the channel that he couldn't face the Atlantic, and he settled here instead. He became a naturalised citizen and served in the army during the war.

His sister, my aunt who lived to 100, came here too and settled in Sheffield. In those days you had to be sponsored in order to be allowed to enter the country, ie people guaranteed that they would support you if necessary, and she was sponsored by Quakers, so there's another family connection there.

zagubov

Generali wrote: »

There is a bit of Jewish blood in the family but not much. I would imagine there is in most families if you go back far enough.

My uncle lost touch with his son in Oz (long story) but the son tracked him down after about forty years and made contact so my uncle could meet his son again and his new grandkids. before he passed away from cancer.

On one side of my family I've thirty-six cousins and I'm ashamed to say I don't know all their names, nor have I met them all. On the other side I've exactly two, including this long-lost one. I never met this cousin of mine but he visited his relatives here a few times and I always just missed meeting him. Everyone rather pointedly said we absolutely had to meet up but no-one would say why. Finally met him just over a year ago.

Weirdest thing ever; we were both totally taken aback when we met - it was like meeting your own reflection - someone with the same face, build, mannerisms speech patterns, interests ( I was worried we d have the same fingerprints or something) but on the complete other side of the world. We might as well have been twins, but he was a couple of years older and his hair was grayer. He's my only Jewish relative (apart from his kids).

If we'd not finally met up, the expense of intercontinental travel would have meant we might never have connected. I've learned I need to put more effort into keeping up with family; time's passing so fast!

vivatifosi

Thanks Lydia.

Regarding the "if you changed religion what would you change to?" question, I think I'd become a Hindu.

Realistically I think there is too big a difference between the three main Judeo-Christian religions and the oriental ones for most westerners to jump ship, but I love the attitude to life that my Hindu friends have. It is a very family centric culture and I love all the different festivals that they celebrate and the fact they are inclusive of others: for example Diwali is wonderful, my favourite is Brothers and Sisters day where you celebrate your siblings and give each other presents and tie a little woven bracelet on each other, and then Christmas has got tagged on as well, though I'm told Indians eat chicken for Christmas and not turkey. If I have a problem with anything in the Hindu religion it is the caste system, but then tbf, I have problems with one or two elements of all religions.

vivatifosi

Generali wrote: »

The Rothschilds I've met have been nice guys. Very driven but take their responsibilities to charity very seriously.

That's my thought too. Have only ever met one, once, but linked to charity and I agree that they take their responsibilities very seriously. Seemed very personable too. I did have to take a potted history course first though, as to the differences between the de Rs and the just Rs and their past problems. It's quite an interesting study of power in families I think.

lostinrates

I don't know what upset viva....but viva I'm sorry about it too!