To hate bbq season?

[HeirOfNothingInParticular]

Our neighbours bbq pretty much ever spring/summer/autumn day that isn't raining... Despite so much practice, they are pretty poor at it and seem to burn most of it. This is always accompanied by crappy Europop music, and I can't leave my washing out. They are setting up for a birthday celebration today, and have been at it since 9.00, doors wide open and music blaring. I am feeling fed up that they hijack every nice day and inflict their tastes on the whole street. I would like to sit in the garden for once, but instead I have to go for a walk with DH as he doesn't want to listen to it all afternoon either. It's too warm to walk!

The music does sound annoying , can't you get in first and blast some of your own out there ?!

Not sure there's much you can do about this one, sorry. I don't think it counts as antisocial in the day.

Good job you don't live here in Oz Then YWBU. Last time I was back in England on holiday, I came to the conclusion that we are known as "whinging Poms" for a reason: when I arrived in June - according to the bus stop mutterers - it was too cold, so much for summer. By end of July they were moaning it was too hot!

I sympathise with you OP. I hate how my neighbours spend so much time in the garden, they're out there from 730 on warm/hot days and don't go inside until probably the same time at night or thereabouts. I know ibu but they do look over our fence all the time and their constant presence and the feeling of being watched is so annoying. They can never just leave us to do our thing in our garden.
I feel like I can't allow my kids to play outside unsupervised either because they talk to them through the fence all the time and then moan when our kids shout them.

Good job you don't live here in Oz

If I've understood this thread and the ones like that surface each summer, the Brits mostly barbecue old school, with coals/charcoal, etc. and the resulting smell and smoke, whereas every Aussie I've met in ten years here has a gas barbie.

Yet to encounter an Aussie who does the music though, or barbecues every sunny day. But then you know what, we have so many. :o

You must live next door to my in laws.

I know IABU, just wanted a little moan. On the other they ABU too, as never give a thought for anyone else.

Echt - they bbq with charcoal. We have just replaced the dividing fence, and he offered to take to put on the grill! I have painstakingly broken it down and taken to the tip. So far this year we have been lucky and had quite a few nice days.

GastonsPomPomWrath - feel for you too. As soon as we go out they are there. We have a little bit of garden around the side and I am thinking of developing that into a little sitting area.

Do it heir, for your sanity!

We've just sold our house and I'm ecstatic to say that our new garden isn't overlooked by anyone. Even the next door neighbours won't be able to see in because the garden is between garages!

He offered to take your old fence and use it, but you would rather spend ages breaking it down and making an unnecessary trip to the tip just to spite him? That's so petty.

CommunistLegoBloc - no it's not, he offered to burn my fence in his back garden. Given that our back gardens are very small anyway, I don't think it's petty. The bbq smoke is bad enough. I took it for recylcing at the tip. It was an old fence so came down in lots of pieces anyway and wasn't a big job.

Our neighbours had a BBQ yesterday (kids party).

The BBQ is right next to their kitchen door, next to the fence and about 3 ft from our door. He seems unable to start it without using copious amounts of lighter fluid so it reeks of chemicals and I have to shut our door as it all blows into our house.

They are unable to communicate without yelling and swearing and so the conversation (surrounded by kids) goes something like this:

Have you got that fucking thing started yet?
I know what I'm fucking doing.
Don't set fire to the fucking fence.
I'm not setting fire to the fucking fence, shut the fuck up and let me fucking do it.
You're burning the fucking burgers. they were fucking expensive.
Well, you should've bought the fucking cheap shit ones then.
You're doing it wrong? Fucking let me do it.
Fucking women, don't know what they're fucking talking about.
Fuck off!
No you fuck off.

I tend to enjoy my garden first thing in the morning, before they get up.

We had neighbours like that for the 26 years we lived in our previous town (3 different houses). Loud music on all day/night, constant visitors staring into our garden and into our house and the stench from the bbq.

NDN here cook outside but don't make wafts of smoke, don't play music and it's just their little family, so don't have a problem with that however often they do it.

Makes you want to go and live in the middle of no where.

Sorry Gas BBQ's is just grilling outdoors!

I get the frustration with the poor ability - we do like to BBQ but don't do it that often - but don't use lighter fluid and do it late enough that washing is in!

Not unreasonable. When gardens are smallish, or narrow and long, you feel you can't escape the visual, sound and smell intrusion. When my neighbour had lodgers, almost every day we had bbqs or the smoke chimney thing, sometimes twice in one day. The vacuous conversation, often involving swearing and sexual references made me feel that going in the garden, or youngest doing so, was out of the question.
The occasional one, especially if they warn you re washing, is fine, but it seems some go at it with an industrial-if not Australian-intensity.

The previous neighbours had a massive trampoline overlooking our garden, so I thought I might get a break from crowds of children looking over, or the resident boys using a football on it which came over and hit our animals and crushed our plants. Complaints to their mother (no father around) just got a Gallic/Parisian stare.