When do you consider it too late to phone?

I would say after 10, but only if I know the person doesn't have small children or isn't in any other situation where they don't want the phone ringing past a certain time - in which case I would ask when it is a good time to call. (I don't have children.)

I hate when people call us late in the evening.

Because of the time difference, I think that it might be someone from my family in the US, and they normally wouldn't call me if they knew it was late over here in the UK, so I panic and think that it is a family member calling me because something is wrong (I have an elderly mother and elderly relatives with health issues).

Because of the time difference [......] I panic and think that it is a family member calling me because something is wrong [.....]

This is always my worry when the phone rings at a later time.

Gah! It's nearly 10 PM and my SIL has just called! What the heck?? I am telling DH not to pick up next time. 

I would say 10pm for me too. However, when I go to sleep I put my cell on silent so no one can call me anyways. I dread moving to London next month because I just know my parents are going to forget the time change. They will be calling the house phone due to their phone plan so I might just have to figure out a way to turn that on silent too. Ive always said that even if an emergency happened in the middle of the night there wouldnt be alot I could do. Ive always lived a plane ride away since college.

I just graduated college, and my usual rule was I didn't call anyone after 9:00 unless they were really good friends, family, or I needed something from them regarding homework due the next day, in which case the deadline extended to 10.

I had one friend call me at midnight once, and I told him that the next time he called me at midnight, he better be seriously bleeding or know someone who is. The only people I've ever given the "you can call me any time...no, seriously" privilege to are my family, my best friend, and my ex-boyfriend. Well, he wasn't my ex-boyfriend at the time...

I would go with everyone and say 9; however, I am going to add a tiny bit of disagreement. If DH was happy to get a phone call later and his friend called him it would not bother me, unless I had small children it was disturbing or it was disturbing our plans (which is really not a time related thing)
I wouldn't get up and answer the phone but I think if he feels it is okay then this is probably the message he has conveyed to his friend (consciously or unconsciously). I wouldn't let it bother me.

This is always my worry when the phone rings at a later time.

Once DH answered the phone at around 11 PM. The first thing I heard him say was "Is she alright?"

I immediately translated that the American way, to mean that DH had been told that someone was sick or injured, and he was asking if that person was alright.

I later realised that it was just some friend of DH's saying that he had run into a mutual friend, and DH was using "Is she alright?" in the British way, to mean "How has she been?"

 

Once DH answered the phone at around 11 PM. The first thing I heard him say was "Is she alright?"

I immediately translated that the American way, to mean that DH had been told that someone was sick or injured, and he was asking if that person was alright.

I later realised that it was just some friend of DH's saying that he had run into a mutual friend, and DH was using "Is she alright?" in the British way, to mean "How has she been?"

 

That would annoy me.

Nine o'clock it is!  There are answering machines for callers after 9:00 pm.

How do you all feel about phoning someone in the morning?  My mother taught me to wait until 9:00 am before making any calls.

So what do you all think is the latest someone can visit you?

The same girl who phoned at stupid o'clock had made arrangements with me to come over at 6:30 pm to pick something up. 6:30 rolls by and she doesn't show up. Nor does she call to say she's running late.

She finally came over at 9:30pm! No excuse other than 'she's busy' which I find appallingly rude. Jon answered the door, asked her what she thought she was doing, she gave the above excuse as to why she's 3 hours late and then asks where I am. Jon told her I was asleep and to give her a little bit of credit, she made lowered her voice, got the thing she needed and got the hell out of the house.

Friend or not, you freaking phone if you're going to be later than you said you'd be. Especially when you're coming over to borrow something off me.

What upsets me is that I'm currently not sleeping well, with the bump and all. I sleep as and when I can grab an hour or two, which means that I'm sleeping weird hours. She's aware of this and yet doesn't have the decency to ring if she's going to be late.

Sorry, that was a bit of a rant.

But what do you all think is the latest someone can drop by? Unannounced or announced?

That's terrible.  I would be so annoyed by this.  I am annoyed for you!  I'm glad your husband asked what the heck was up with her being so late.  Are you guys really close with her?  She sounds pretty inconsiderate.  

Oh, I wouldn't drop by anyone unannounced, really.  I just wouldn't feel comfortable.  But if I needed to pick something up from someone, I don't think I'd do it much past 8PM.  And I'd make sure they were okay with it, clearly.

I love it when people drop in unannounced! 

And I guess, for that reason, I do it too. But the timing is tricky. It's not just about being careful not to turn up too early or too late, but also about not interrupting people's evening meals. And the thing is that some people sit down to eat as early as 6pm, and others (like us) not until 7:30 or 8pm. So, I try to avoid popping in unannounced at anyone's house after 5pm or so. It's just safer that way.

As for what's too early - I guess I wouldn't do it before 10am. Although there are some people, like my MIL, who doesn't get up until noon, but that's another whole story. 

Are you guys really close with her?  She sounds pretty inconsiderate. 

We are which makes it all that more annoying. She knows better than that but she's just so damned inconsiderate sometimes.

I too wouldn't go somewhere unannounced because I'd be too uncomfortable doing it. What if you popped by and your friends were in the middle of a love session? That'd be embarrassing.

I love it when people drop in unannounced! 

If you ever dropped by unannounced, you'd risk seeing my house in all it's messy glory. I don't mind living like a slob but I don't like people to see it and would have to clean up.

So just be sure you give me at least a 10 minutes heads up, yeah?

My mother taught me to wait until 9:00 am before making any calls.

mine too.
but i guess it depends... my boyfriend phones me every morning at 8, but i like that!