erastes

You'd think villages were friendly places - they aren't - or at least mine isn't. Possibly it's because I didn't take much effort taking time to join in the villagey things and I was working five days a week and then out and about at the weekend, rather than being at home all the time. I don't know. Anyway - apart from my immediate neighbours who are pleasant and say "hello" I'm ignored by everyone else. I'm not bothered, as generally, as far as I can tell, everyone is ignored by everyone else but I have one particular neighbour who really drives me mad. I have a big privet hedge encompassing two sides of my garden and the other side of the hedge edges the public footpath along the back of the houses.

I don't have shears, or the physical capability to cut this, and I'm reliant on a gardener who comes about every 2 weeks.

The ONLY time in the entire year that this neighbour speaks to me is when the hedge needs cutting, which is about once a year. Last year they didn't even do that, just shoved an unsigned note through the letter box saying "cut your hedge" but this year is a new low. This morning I had a very nice man call around with his rather damp black Lab from the Parish Council saying they'd had a complaint about the hedge.

I pointed out that 1. It's been pissing with rain for a week, gardeners don't come in the rain. 2. My car is dead and I've been a) unable to get to the bank to get the cash to pay the gardener and b) call into the gardener's house to let him know I need the thing trimming.

I refrained from saying that I knew where the complaint had come from. He was a nice man. with a nice dog.

Sheesh, neighbour, if it's pissing you off so much - trim it yourself!