Neighbourhood Peeves

A good neighbour increases the value of your property- Czech Proverb

I have had lots of neighbours- it’s either we move into their neighbourhood, and therefore, into their business or they move into ours.

The nosy neighbour: Aren’t they all? Or aren’t we all? Well, maybe some are superior to others in this department. It’s unfortunate that one can’t discreetly buy new sets of furniture or a fridge without attendant questions like ‘Was it a gift or did you buy it?’, ‘I’ve been thinking of buying one of those too, how much did it cost?’ Anything that is said after compliments, if there must be any at all, is the beginning of nosiness.

The noisy neighbour: The truth is they play music that can make you move your body sometimes but you’re not always in the mood- especially when you are trying to concentrate on responding to an important mail or publishing a new blog post.

If they can hear the music at average volume, they shouldn’t intrude on other people’s ear spaces, right?

The quarrelling spouses: The thing is you have to get involved when they get physical whether you like it or not because you don’t want police invitations or visitations, cordoned off zones and other attendant events of a fatality around you (God forbid).

The nagging neighbour: You may be shocked at the profanity you hear sometimes and it is a reminder that you too shouldn’t be such a nagger.

The party-loving neighbour: If you happen to have a frivolous, extreme-fun loving, daily party-throwing person next door, look on the bright side- you get to participate right in your living room!

They are even sometimes generous enough to knock on your door and offer you rice and chicken!

Besides, you can get very accurate in predicting party and, inevitably, barbecue time!

The ever-renovating neighbour: They paint their walls every week and change their windows every other month.

If they keep up with this pace your house may soon look like a sketch from the eighties when compared to theirs.

The globe-trotting neighbour: Don’t make the mistake of assuming you have a neighbour; with these guys, you can never tell.

In case of emergency, look elsewhere for immediate help because you can be hitting their front door while they are shopping in Paris!