Bonfire Bastards

[TamzinGrey]

Such a beautiful day today. One of the few that we've had in a disappointing summer. Everyone round here had all of their doors and windows flung wide open, and many of us were sitting outside. Suddenly at about 7pm a huge fug of vile smelling smoke poured over the whole neighbourhood. I had to run inside and shut all of the windows, as the house was filling with smoke. Couldn't stay sitting outside as the smell was so disgusting.

Why do people do this ? I'm a keen gardener and always have loads of stuff to get rid of, but I never ever have bonfires. What doesn't fit in the recycling bin in one go gets stored, and gradually got rid of, bit by bit over several weeks, or we take a trip to the council dump. I wouldn't dream of smoking out my neighbours.

Cheered to know someone else uses the term Bonfire Bastards.
Sympathies to you -we have the same problem- always on a nice evening.

YANBU, although I am weird and enjoy the smell, it is a very invasive smell that lingers for hours.

Very much enjoying the term bonfire bastards.

I'm sorry you've had a disappointing summer - it's been lovely here (Wiltshire).

I think you must live on the same estate as me as the exact same thing happened here too. My washing was out. I'm not happy.

SmallBee, you wouldn't have enjoyed the smell when my neighbour burned his painted shed...

SmallBee how on earth can you like the smell of a stinky bonfire? I don't mind a bit of smoke from someone's wood burning stove in the winter, when I haven't got my windows open, but this is rancid.

I'm fully aware it's weird. But usually the only bonfires we have around here are burning piles of leaves or wood so it's not as bad as it could be I suppose.

YANBU 7pm would normally be an okay time to bonfire but on these nice long summer evenings I think 8 or 9pm would be more suitable so you know that most people will have gone in for the night. You can still get everything ready then the actual burning doesn't take long.

YABU to expect people to take all their garden waste to the dump though.
Cutting it up and putting it in the recycling takes AGES because you've got to cut it so small so it fits in. Taking it to the tip gets your car full of leaves, twigs , spiders etc which you've then got to hoover out. It's also usually more than 1 trip as a decent sized hedge or bush can generate a frightening amount of cutting. Sounds like a lot of trouble to go to because a neighbour gets all grumpy.

Just needs a bit of courtesy and thought. Wait until 8 or 9, pop your head over the fence make sure no one has washing on the line and has gone inform the evening.... Enjoy your fire!

maninawomansworld01 I know that chopping garden waste up so that it's small enough to go into the bin takes ages. I also know that the inside of your car gets in a mess when you take garden rubbish down the tip (I once found a live lizard in my boot - she travelled to the tip and back, and ended up being released beside a lovely pond).

I chop and dump rather than burn, even though it's very onerous, because I don't want to damage the environment, or annoy my neighbours.

Fair enough, you sound like a good neighbour and obviously have bags of time on your hands.
As a keen gardener I am assuming that these tasks are just another part of gardening to you and you do not find them a total pain in the bum. Not everyone feels that way though.

As I said, I don't think YABU about the time - at this time of year 7pm really is too early for a fire in a residential area but 8 or 9 pm once every few weeks is not u reasonable at all.

I'd also suggest that the noxious gasses released by your car as it burns a cocktail of refined oils and chemicals on your way to and from the tip do significantly more damage to the environment than a bit of relatively safe smoke form a few leaves.

This reminds me once of my very placid DM shouting screaming 'bastard' over the fence at one of our neighbours when I was about 5. First and only time I've heard her swear.

YANBU but what can you do? Some people are just inconsiderate pricks, or bonfire bastards as so well said!

Why on earth do people need to bonfire their crap?
Most of our stuff should be recycled. Or in food waste bins / compost bins
Garden waste geta recycled by the recycling centres.
What on earth needs to be bonfires. I'm genuinely perplexed by this

YANBU! Stink alert over here. Today, Sunday, I just put my washing out when the sun finally made an appearance, when my neighbour produces foul plumes of smoke. So I went to the front of the house, opened a window, then more stinky yuk as someone else starts a fire towards the front!

My near neighbour is lovely but if only she would pile up the garden bits and compost them.

Wildlife loves compost piles! Compost and wood lying around gives nice harmless insects for the birds.

YANBU. We have a garden incinerator and have been steadily gathering a pile of garden waste for disposal. Our brown bins cost an arm and a leg and we can't take it to the tip because DH has a gardeners signwritten van and they won't let us dispose of our own garden waste so we use the incinerator.

but DH spent the day in the pissing rain this week burning it all because we didn't want to piss off any neighbours (though either side were both away) enjoying their garden/drying washing/had gone out with their windows open etc.

Consideration, that's all that is needed. Unfortunately it seems to be in short supply at the moment i'm talking about your loud shouty neighbours and builders

I feel your pain OP. We get this where we live too and it is No.1 on my rage list. Having to shut windows on a hot day is horrible. Preventing people from being able to sit out in their own gardens because of smoke stink is selfish and inconsiderate. Bonfire bastards indeed!!!

Someone a few doors down lit a bonfire at 10am a couple of weekends ago, 10am!
I'd pegged out two loads of washing and had all the windows open, boiling hot day, planned on sitting out for a bit...next thing I'm coughing on the smoke and running inside to shut all the windows. The dirty, dirty bastards.