to have ruined her peace?

[wimblehorse]

As it's still warm & sunny here, I decided to eat my lunch outside. Too far to walk to a nice park & back (work lunch half hour), so I sat on a nearby bench.
As I got up to leave, a woman sitting at the other end of the bench muttered to me "Thanks for ruining my peace".

I laughed and went on my way.

Was this a peaceful, idyllic setting?
No, it was the pavement outside a parade of shops on an A road in north London with buses, cars & vans driving past and a LOT of people walking past.

I was not eating smelly food, did not have a conversation on my phone (or try to engage her in conversation) and do not smell. I sat at the opposite end of the bench to her. There were no other free benches.

Am still trying to wonder if I breached some unspoken rule of only one person being able to sit on a bench at any time, or what could have happened that she was having such a bad day that me sitting a metre away from her could have made worse.

Suggestions please?

YANBU, but that said I am so intolerant of other peoples noise that I would probably want to throttle someone eating an apple next to me!

Bench people are weird, I was once sat on a bench eating a burger. A unwashed hippy alternative looking bloke came and sat next to me then seconds later gave me a filthy look, muttered "fucking meat eaters" and left.

I was

Were you masturbating? An old workmate came in from her lunch break saying a lady had come and sat on the bench with her looked her dead in the eyes and started to rub herself. Workmate muttered Jesus Christ and got up. The woman shouted after her ' its a public bench I can do what I want!'

'It was the nice bench outside John Lewis, Who does that on a posh bench?' Was all my stunned mate could say.

Maybe she didn't hear the L?

Make sure you have egg sarnies tomorrow. And maybe take your shoes off and ask if she'd mind giving you a little foot massage, whilst you listen to some music on your phone.

Next time you see her sit right next to her not at the other end of the bench!

There was an old girl on whose bench
A Wimblehorse tried to entrench
said the grump, 'kindly cease,
thanks for ruining my peace'
'That's OK' said Wimble, 'Don't mench'

Where do you live?

Are there any available MNers who couuld join OP at the bench tomorrow?

Passive aggressive muttering really winds me up. You need to shout 'FUCK OFF' loudly at her.

Miserable sod. Her, not you.

Please seek her out again and piss her off some more.

Oh, and I concur with Ferret, the hilarious polite response if she does it again is a cheery 'You're welcome!'

How about a cheery 'Do fuck off, there's a dear' ?

Maybe it was sarcasm?

Perhaps she saw you aproaching, thought you looked lovely and was hoping for a friendly chat?

The lack on conversation may have upset her.

Otherwise it's just mental, isn't it?

She sounds like a weirdo.

Silly cow.. Although obviously challenged so shame really.

The sound of someone eating an apple would make me stabby. I'd be too polite to mention it though. (though I'd probably glare and make retching noises)

Did you use deodorant this morning?

I find salami and coleslaw sandwiches are good for giving people near you the dry boak

Was she from the Dundee area, perchance?
I remember Oor Wullie (cartoon character from Dundee) used to call sandwiches pieces. So maybe, without you noticing, you sat on her sandwich, and, in effect, ruined her piece.

Salami and coleslaw sandwiches sound delicious.

Or maybe she was keeping a bag of frozen peas on the seat, and you ruined her peas. Did your bum feel numb at all?

NoOnesGoingToEatYourEyes they are

yeah, lets all go and sit on and around the bench and at her feet and just do nothing.....

@ dogeared

I'm hoping the op would have noticed if she had sat on a sandwich or a bag of frozen peas lol

they call 'em pieces here too, confused the hell out of me when I first moved here