Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Bit weird or not?

804 replies

Foxysoxy01 · 20/12/2017 18:10

I'm not sure if I'm being a bit ridiculous so could do with some advice or a good talking too!

Bit of background needed but this may be quite long, sorry Blush

Where I live it is quite rural. I have a dog I walk morning and night around the same time each day but not same time on the dot. I sometimes walk on my own (with dog) sometimes with someone else (more often than not in the evenings)

There are two walks both rural with no street lights and nothing other than the odd tractor, walker, horse rider etc etc. Just to add neither of these walks lead anywhere other than one to a house that then branches off to a longer walk.

So the track I went down today has a house at the top, one a bit further down then nothing till the big house at the end where it branches off.

The middle house (although closer to top of track than middle) goes garden, house, gateway, garden, shed, fence, big tree with the track running along side.

So that's the background now what happened.

I have walked past the middle house, down to big house and am on my way back. I see someone coming and get dog back on lead. The person notices me and moves quickly from right hand side of track to under the big tree (just off left hand side of track) just behind shed of house. Person lights a fag and turns around facing tree.

I find this bit odd but carry on as I get next to him he is still just off track under tree and facing the actual tree. I'm getting a bit on edge as this is clearly a bit strange behaviour.

I say good evening (admittedly I might have sounded a bit nervous) the person turns round while lifting their hood up so I cannot see their face.

I walk past quite briskly! (I'm not sure if IABU but something about the person did frighten me)

As I get nearer the middle house gates I see they are not in as car is not on drive (there is a mid 30's woman on her own living there) I stop and turn to look thinking I wouldn't actually hear if the person ran up behind me. They are still under tree looking straight ahead (not at me, but across the track into side with hedge)

I carry on and as I get to the next house I look again but can't see him and I was not about to walk back and see if he was still there.

Now the whole behaviour of this person was off. They very clearly did not want me to see their face. They were either an incredibly burly woman or a man, fairly thickset about 6ft obviously in black and just quite terrifying.

I am home alone tonight and just a bit worried I suppose that he was either waiting for a person walking (maybe not with good intentions!) or to break into the middle house? Or the thought did cross my mind if was he waiting for my but chicken'd out.

The woman that lived on her own is I suppose fairly vulnerable as her house is a bit away from any others and she is on her own (the house is quite large and obviously worth a fair bit of money so you would presume there could be antiques etc)

This all happened about an hour ago now so it was dark.

I'm not sure if I'm just being silly or should o go and check if he is still there? Phone someone? Or just ignore it all.

Writing it all down makes me think I am over reacting and the bloke maybe just wanted a walk but it really didn't feel like that at the time. His behaviour seemed odd and his body language was quite menacing tbh.

What do the collective of MN think?

Sorry it was so long!

OP posts:
DiseasesOfTheSheep · 23/12/2017 21:08

I’d like to suggest waiting in the garden;hiding then jumping out on the twats as they threw stuff at your windows. They’d shit a brick before you lot

I'd lurk in an upstairs room and tip water over them from the window.

Actually, the hunt sabs / anti-vivisectionists makes most sense to me at the moment. They've done weirder things... Or, of course, fanatics from other fields, if there's another motivation.

DrRanjsRightEyebrow · 23/12/2017 21:08

how's the dog dealing with all this?

threehoursin · 23/12/2017 21:09

Shit the bed

I'd be out of there, OP.

SandyDenny · 23/12/2017 21:22

Were the knocks on the door long enough apart to be one person running round the house or where they at the same time so 3 people.

Do you think the police might have enough now to come to the house and have a proper look round, maybe there are some finger prints on the doors

pepperminttaste · 23/12/2017 21:25

Bloody hell. Hope you're ok op!

Foxysoxy01 · 23/12/2017 21:27

Sorry I haven't updated for a while.

LFDH and DH went to the local pub! Shock

We had their mobile number ready to call incase shit went down Grin

So DH and LFDH went to the bar ordered drinks and got chatting with the 'locals' they all made the right noises and couldn't think who or why it would be happening.

One local had to relay a stupid ghost story to them which DH said was apparently ridiculous.

As they were leaving a local was out having a fag and discretely told them that a couple who used to live in the village wanted to move back and had been to view our place. We didn't accept their offer as it was quite low.
Apparently our names were mud in the pub and our house was over priced anyway.
The fag bloke told DH to 'watch himself' DH asked what he meant and explained it's upsetting us now, this is real life not Eastenders etc. Fag bloke just smirked and walked off.

So it looks like we are being targeted. The problem is we can't really do anything as there is little to no evidence. The fag bloke would just tell the police were lying. So not sure what our next move is.

OP posts:
DinoSn0re · 23/12/2017 21:31

What a horrible situation for you Foxy. I admire how you are dealing with it - you’re braver than I would be!

Cococase · 23/12/2017 21:32

Does your DH know who the fag bloke is?

JeremyCorbynsBeard · 23/12/2017 21:32

Sounds like you live in Royston Vasey Grin

smashyourglasses · 23/12/2017 21:34

I would just ignore anything else they do from now on - no reaction. Unless you walk past one of them again, then you should snigger.

threehoursin · 23/12/2017 21:35

You need to 'watch yourselves' because your house was priced too high/you rejected their offer?! Xmas Hmm

Foxysoxy01 · 23/12/2017 21:36

This is going to make me sound awful but we didn't really go to the pub much as we thought it was a bit 'local pub for local people' and everyone would turn and look at you as you walked in. The food was also awful!

He didn't know fag bloke.

I don't know Royston Vasey but will google now.

OP posts:
DrRanjsRightEyebrow · 23/12/2017 21:37

oh bloody hell. I would say, if that's what they are about then it's a bit of a relief really. I would reckon they are out to annoy and irritate, to scare you, (which is abominable) but I doubt very much they are so aggravated they would resort to violence or breaking in etc. I would be inclined to totally ignore any further attempts by them - not answer the door to bangs etc. And I would let the police know to update their records.

DrRanjsRightEyebrow · 23/12/2017 21:38

haha Roysten Vasey is the fictional town in League of Gentleman. Where they have a 'local shop, for local people (we'll have no trouble here)' Grin

CatAnnoyance · 23/12/2017 21:39

This is so intriguing. Just read the whole thread and I'm Shock

Why would anyone do that just because they had a house offer rejected. It's fucking unhinged.

Traffig · 23/12/2017 21:40

Well, then OP. You will know who put the "too low"offer in? Take it from there .

DiseasesOfTheSheep · 23/12/2017 21:41

Whilst your neighbours seem to be massive dicks, I'd be inclined to find this a relief. Locals who object to your house selling decisions are (surely) less likely to step up from nuisance behaviour to actual violence. Not giving them the satisfaction of any reaction is probably your best bet (while keeping the police informed and being prepared / not alone just in case there is any escalation).

Also loving that they thought they could scare you with a silly ghost story. Blesssss.

Foxysoxy01 · 23/12/2017 21:44

Oh I know the saying 'local shop for local people' and knew it came from the league of gentlemen but I've never actually watched it Shock Grin

Threehorsin, I don't think they meant watch ourselves because the house price was too high but that because we didn't sell to the 'natives' we are in trouble, but maybe that's just my take on it.

OP posts:
threehoursin · 23/12/2017 21:45

Ah, I see. That makes a bit more sense. I used to live in a village like that

Kookietoo · 23/12/2017 21:46

That certainly does seem to solve the mystery...how long til you move, Foxy? I hope you give the police the names of the people that put in the offer. What a bunch of tossers! I hope you are moving far away from the lot of them.

Foxysoxy01 · 23/12/2017 21:47

The funny thing is the neighbour the other side (not middle house lady or the ones between us and middle house lady) who I spoke to about this all was in the pub at the time and seemed to be getting stuck in with the ghost story crap.

OP posts:
froshiechipandbrickie · 23/12/2017 21:48

Ok. That’s awful and annoying but doesn’t sound particularly violent or muderous. (Unlike fanatics. I don’t think you have very active anti abortion groups in the U.K., do you? But these people can be genuinely dangerous.)

You could of course make it known that the house is willed to... ehm, idk. What would annoy these local villagers the most? Where I grew up that would probably be a foundation / assisted living facilit for the rehabilitation of drug addicts or a refugee centre.

I’d still call the police btw. At least they’d know...

But it’s still weird. Why was smoking / face covering dude standing in your neighbour’s yard? Left a bauble in theirs?

DiseasesOfTheSheep · 23/12/2017 21:51

I wonder if you can still get ghostbusters toys. I would get a tremendous satisfaction from jumping out at them with a ghostbusters gun thingy crying "who you gonna call?"...

Foxysoxy01 · 23/12/2017 21:51

Well we are moving a county over but not all that far in miles.

We move in January the actual dates are still all over the place.

We have lived here a fair few years and not had any problems but I suppose we haven't really been an active member of the village. The locals haven't been overly friendly and we just presumed they were all a bit odd and small village mentality. It looks like they had a problem with us buying the house all along.

OP posts:
Turkeyneck · 23/12/2017 21:51

In that case I feel very sorry for the 'outsiders' moving in as presumably they will continue to intimidate them too?