Think it's weird that my neighbours EAT their dinner in the street?

[Esoresila]

I live in a usually quiet cul-de-sac (now I say usually, we do have 2 persistent drug users who are middle-aged women and an old couple who seem to think it's 'normal' to have their ds, dil and GS round to their bungalow 7 days a week from 7.30am till about 9pm).
Now the aformentioned old couple have a tendency to think they 'own' the cul-de-sac they sit out side in all weather's watching their GS (who isn't a nice little boy- he swears and punches other kids) ride around on various powered cars from about 10am till about 8pm weekends and school holidays and then from school finishing time till 8pm during the week.

This isn't just the odd hour here and there it's ALL the stated times!
Now the better weather is here the whole family sit in the road on deck chairs with a parasol up and a kiddie bench for the GS. They have now started encouraging other children (some of their own family's children some that are strategically dumped on them by the lazy mother who would rather be out on her own than watching her 2 kuds and others on the estate) to congregate in our 'quiet' cul-de-sac, (please bear in mind that there are about 12 houses in this area with about 2 cars for each house).
So today it's been a lovely sunny day I went outside to put washing out only to be met with the familiar smell of cannabis from drug addict no1 them to top it off we went out to take our 3 kids to the park only to be met with the old couple their DS, DIL And GS EATING their full Sunday roast on their laps on deck chairs strewn all over the road!
I am definitely no snob but come on surely this is a no-no? Or am I just as my husband puts it 'getting myself worked up over nothing'?

They do sound terrible and I couldn't live there...I am quite impressed that they actually cooked a roast dinner though!!

Do something to P them
Off (hopefully drive them
Indoors??)

• acquire friends who drive monster trucks and invite all round to park in your road?
• have party on your front lawn blaring out classical music
• request more police presence from local community policing team (clearly not at same time as first two points!)
• start rumours there is a perv watching their kids outside (!)

Sitting in the road on chairs is just wrong though isn't it? Unless it's a street party.

We have little to no sun in our back garden in the evening but I can't imagine any scenario where we'd sit on the front doorstep or in the road on a deck chair.

Time to move OP!

Our next door neighbours had a wedding several years ago and had a big van in the street and were queueing up in the road to have food served from a big tub in the van! It's a busy through road!

Weird isn't it when people here say they'd be perfectly happy with neighbours doing this but maybe couldn't stand a child walking along their brick wall. Oh now I see, they may be different people!

this

I personally would be incredibly upset about the hitting and threats of physical violence...

But eating in the street seems fine to me. I don't think I'd do it (we have a yard for that..) but I wouldn't have an issue with other people enjoying the sun and having a good time. It's perfectly fine imo.

But I don't eat when walking anyway. It seems just as weird as eating in the streets to me personally.

I don't know what I find more unbelievable. That people would actually consider moving house because some of their neighbours don't follow rigid social norms about where they sit and eat, or that people would never sit in their front gardens even if that is where the sun is.

Barbara they're not in their front gardens though, they're not even on the pavement. They're on THE ROAD

I know that Trinity but several other people have said that they would never consider sitting in their front garden or on their front step and it always comes up on threads like these that sitting in front gardens is looked down upon by a lot of people.

I'm with OP on this.
Next door are loud, up all night with music and people dropping by to buy and sell drugs, beer cans thrown into my garden, bbq at any opportunity, constant smell of weed. This is in their back garden. It must fill you with dread to invite people over to visit incase they are out doing what they seem to enjoy doing.
Eating Al fresco in your own garden is fine, but why would you sit as a family eating a roast in the road?
You have my sympathy. Awful bullying cretins.
X

Are you my neighbours?

I think it's nice to eat outside and nice for neighbours to socialise! Maybe you should chat to them and try to see the humanity in them? Humans have lived in close knit communities for thousands of years, it's actually more 'weird' to insist on keeping to yourself and avoiding contact with the people who live around you.

You might find them likeable in their own funny way. When you say druggies do you just mean weed smokers or actual drug addicts?

You sound quite uptight and snobbish.

As long as they're not being antisocial, getting rowdy drunk etc, they should feel free to smoke a spliff and eat dinner wherever they want. Maybe you should try joining them.

Rtft - they clearly are being antisocial. Poor OP

I'm all for chatting outside with neighbours, and children playing in the street etc, but a couple of households forcing their low lifestyles on the whole street isn't being sociable, it's selfish and inappropriate. They sound like trash to me

Haha, YADNBU!

Only in the alternative reality that's Mumsnet would you have people saying that it's perfectly fine to be sitting in the road eating a full roast dinner, have antisocial bullying kids tearing around on powered vehicles and openly smoking cannabis lol.

I thought the same as another poster, as soon as you mentioned class the knives were drawn

What would worry me most would be the knowledge that cannabis is being smoked. Definitely should inform the Housing Association if relevant and the police. As to their eating habits, can you start to wash your car or something and "accidentally" spray the water in their direction. Soggy roast potatoes are horrible!!