Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To play cf neighbours at their own game

210 replies

Raspberryberetthekindyoufind · 27/08/2018 12:10

Nest door moved in about a year ago, an older couple and asked DH very nicely if he would mind mowing their lawn when he does ours as they really struggle. DH agreed and said no problem at all
Anyway fast forward to now DH has a bad back and has done for three weeks so our grass and their grass has got really long. I have physical disability so can’t do it myself.
I told neighbours when he did his back in and said hopefully he would be able to do it in a few weeks. The women seemed really put out but but I put it down to catching her at a bad moment.
Three weeks on DH is getting better but wants to leave the mowing for another week until he is properly better
Knock on the door last night and it was the man next door demanding to know when he lawn would be cut, I explained it would hopefully be in a week or so and he stormed off.
This morning I was in the garden and so were next door and she said loudly to her husband that we should pay for someone to do both lawns as they look awful and it’s down to us to sort them. Just then their son who is in his thirty’s arrives with his wife and son and comes in the back garden.
I pop my head over and say “Hi, can I ask you a favour since both lawns are looking awful and DH is laid up with his back could you give both of them a run over for us. Especially as DH has done your parents lawn for over a year, Thankyou soooooo much. I then went back inside with them stareing at me open mouthed.
The son is now mowing our lawn Grin

OP posts:
CSIblonde · 27/08/2018 16:47

Famous Hollywood movie producer Samuel Goldwyn: "A verbal contract is not worth the paper it's written on. " In other words, un enforceable unless in writing.

Idontmeanto · 27/08/2018 16:50

Sounds like the son is sensible, I was going to suggest speaking to him about the possibility of dementia before I got to the end of the thread. My mum became something of a naughty child with it, very good at lying about where she was going, usually to buy high sugar treats that sent her uncontrolled-diabetes-batshit. Don’t assume that because he can lie he can’t be unwell too.

DGRossetti · 27/08/2018 16:52

He said he thinks they are suffering from the early states of dementia.

Hmm

At the risk of sounding unsympathetic (and my DM died of a nasty aggressive form of dementia [sad) it seem an awful of of CFery gets excused by this. It might be illuminating to know what the neighbours they moved away from thought of them ?

onetimeposter · 27/08/2018 16:54

Fucking brilliant!

Mummyoflittledragon · 27/08/2018 17:24

Hilarious. Oh well, at least your dh won’t be mowing the lawn again.

ciderhouserules · 27/08/2018 19:20

@Womaningreen - the council said nothing. NNDNfromHell is a council tenant, dp isn't.

NNDNfromHell is classed as a 'Vulnerable Adult' - ie he has fried his brain with alcohol and god knows what else, which gives him immunity from social norms. This means he can go about threatening people and being foul-mouthed and noisy at all times, and no-one can do anything. Even the Police (I called them once after particularly disgusting and threatening verbal abuse was directed at me) have to tread very very carefully. He was issued with a warning which will never be enforced.

And he wonders why dp will not cut his lawn.

AnneProtheroe · 27/08/2018 19:48

He said he thinks they are suffering from the early states of dementia

Ah the magical phrase with which all untrue stories on MN are touched. If you genuinely knew someone suffering dementia and how they really struggle with life then the phrase wouldn't be bandied about half as much. Sad

Original poster
Raspberryberetthekindyoufind · 27/08/2018 20:49

It was the son who said it not me and I do know people with dentures including my grandma. Also if you think this is untrue then please report me. I have been on here for ages

OP posts:
Original poster
Raspberryberetthekindyoufind · 27/08/2018 20:52

Oh and they do own a lawn mower but DH always used ours as it was easier

OP posts:
Mehaveit · 27/08/2018 20:59

We used to do our elderly neighbour's front lawn as he let us park on his drive (no car wanted house to look occupied). When we paved over our grass bit we let him know we wouldn't be doing it anymore. He said fair enough and a few months later paved his over. We're all still happy neighbours. Amazing what can happen when people are reasonable! Demanding lawns to be cut when an explanation for the delay has been given is ludicrous.

raviolidreaming · 27/08/2018 23:09

It was the son who said it not me and I do know people with dentures including my grandma

Dentures is probably enough for an official mumsnet dementia diagnosis anyway.

stillnotTheDoctor · 27/08/2018 23:13

@raviolidreaming 😂😂😂

FabulouslyFab · 27/08/2018 23:19

Oh my days, crying with laughter - and I’m home alone!! @raviolidreaming

JoanFrenulum · 27/08/2018 23:25

In the train and snorting in a most unseemly fashion at this. Dentures!

bastardkitty · 27/08/2018 23:30

You need to send them a note OP. Tell them you have thoroughly enjoyed all the delicious baking they have so generously provided, but you are going on a diet now so could they please stop with all the baking and cut their own grass.

raviolidreaming · 27/08/2018 23:30

Ha!

ScoobyGangMember · 27/08/2018 23:58

Dentures Grin. Nearly as good as Menopausal women can get a bit sweary.

SummerIsEasy · 28/08/2018 00:15

We had an elderly neighbour a few years back who asked us to do her lawn. She was a nice lady, so we did it for quite a while, a couple of years at least.

Then she had eye drops which needed to be applied four times a day after an operation and the daughter asked us if I would do it as I am a nurse. I agreed and did this initially for two weeks, but was then going on night duty, so mentioned politely that they would need to find someone else as I would at work at night and would be sleeping during the day.

I asked another neighbour with a young child if she would take over, but she was horrified as she has never given eye drops to anyone (fair enough).

The family took massive offence, didn't speak to us again. Then the grandson turned up to cut the lawn every week and they got a private carer to do the eye drops. It turned out they are a farming family, with more land than you could shake a stick at. Talk about being had.

MissConductUS · 28/08/2018 00:33

I'm surprised they didn't make the grandson do the eye drops as well as the lawn.

SummerIsEasy · 28/08/2018 00:53

MissConductUS

The lawn was once a week at most, so not hugely time consuming. I was quite happy to do the eye drops when on day shift and did so for a couple of weeks, it only took a few minutes and she was actually a really nice lady.

I just couldn't do it when on a night rota and the family took massive offence at this. That is why they were CF's.

Gersemi · 28/08/2018 00:59

Famous Hollywood movie producer Samuel Goldwyn: "A verbal contract is not worth the paper it's written on. " In other words, un enforceable unless in writing]

But not actually a correct statement of the law. A properly evidenced verbal contract is perfectly enforceable.

However, in this particular case I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the solicitor is told that it's a contract whereby lawn mowing is paid for in cake.

MissConductUS · 28/08/2018 01:47

SummerIsEasy - I was joking about the grandson. If they could bully him into doing the lawn why not go for broke and make him a full time care giver.

I'm a nurse too, and it was really sweet of you to volunteer to do as much as you did. Were the drops just post op or were they long term therapy?

In any case, your reason for stopping was beyond reasonable and they had no cause to think that you'd do it forever. I've been on night rotations too and you need your uninterrupted sleep just like anyone else. I had one neighbor who I was doing her Humira injections for and she had a bit of a strop when I told her we were going on holiday and that they really were quite easy to do herself.

My apologies if my attempt at humor fell flat.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 28/08/2018 10:14

Menopausal women can get a bit sweary.

I'll tell my DH that it'a medical. Grin

user1485851222 · 28/08/2018 17:29

Both our sets of neighbours are considerably younger than us, but whenever the garden panels go due to bad weather, we pay to replace, both sides and we fit them in downpours. One side has a shared hedge, we always use to cut both sides evenly. If we haven't got round to it, our neighbour cuts half of it, his side, and leaves ours uneven, but wirh cuttings all over our side. Yep it annoys me....

AcrossthePond55 · 28/08/2018 17:38

Menopausal women can get a bit sweaty.

No we don't, you damned MF'ing sons of bitches!