But what do people do all day?

I’m always interested in how people spend their free time. I’m not talking about the people with young children or those with caring responsibilities – I think they probably just collapse in an exhausted heap whenever they get the chance – I’m wondering about everyone else. Even people who say they haven’t got a minute to spare must have some leisure time. There can’t be many people who do nothing but work from the second they get up in the morning until the moment they go to bed at night. It’s what they do when they’re not working that fascinates me.

I started thinking about this because of a Freakonomics podcast asking the same question, but they were asking what people actually did at work. In this episode we learned about some New York friends who give monthly parties called ‘Our Friends are Smart’. Who gives parties a name? That was a red flag straight away. These are supposedly social occasions, where people are invited to explain exactly what they do at work. I can see that people’s work stories might  be interesting, but the first one described her job as a data scientist and, to be honest, I was asleep in no time. Unless someone is brokering world peace, travelling the seven seas or performing brain surgery, is anyone’s job really likely to be that interesting? What I actually wanted to know was what this data scientist did with her leisure time, but I certainly wouldn’t be spending mine listening to someone talk about how they develop new parking apps or fill in grant applications.

People’s pastimes are so interesting. Did you know there were hobby horse championships? People run around competitively “riding” wooden hobby horses. Often scaling hurdles. Mostly girls and women, but not exclusively. Girls are one thing, but I do think that the women are letting us down here. I don’t mean to be judgmental (although I am), but is this really a way for adult women to be spending their time? It reminds me of the craze for adult colouring books a few years ago, I guess people find it calming, but I think it sounds quite dull and the frustration of accidentally colouring over the lines would cancel out any pleasure. I don’t understand trainspotting either, but at least that gets you out into the fresh air.

Hobby horse championships would appear to have a lot in common with Quidditch tournaments. In both cases, people are fantasising about riding or flying, but are actually running around with sticks between their legs. I guess it’s harmless and we just have to accept the infinite variety of human beings and their chosen leisure activities. Says the woman who yesterday afternoon performed in a flash mob in the town centre, dressed as a vampire. What can I say?