To not throw ball back from communal garden

[MardyGarden]

I have a garden. Surrounding it is a large communal garden which is rarely used. On the other side of the communal garden are other people's large private gardens.

I am working from home, I am never usually here in the weekday. Upset about the lockdown but following the rules - I haven't opened my front door since I got back from a medical appointment on Saturday, am eating weird combos of cupboard food until I absolutely must shop again, etc etc.

A family from the other side of the communal garden, who have their own large garden, have decided to make full use of the communal one. I think this is a bit silly because other people will follow suit and stop thinking the rules apply to them, but I try not to get too het up about it. The mum also has an ongoing cough that I can hear through my closed windows.

I try to ignore and get on with working from home - I have no intention of going out until I need to, I am not using the communal garden so it's no skin off my nose, and I don't want to be arguing, it's a tense time for everyone. I sympathise, it's difficult to keep kids indoors in this beautiful weather (though am about why they can't use their own garden, like every time I've seen them outside at weekends etc).

The kids are shouting and playing over the last two days, I block it out. Until... they kick a ball which goes over my 6ft fence and thuds against my window. The kid somehow climbs up and looks over my fence but scarpers when he sees me.

A few hours later my bell rings. I ignore as I'm not expecting anyone. It rings again and I answer (on the phone) - it's the mum asking if I can throw the ball over. I say "no, because of this whole coronavirus thing", and she tells me to just wash my hands after. This annoys me so I say they shouldn't be playing for hours in the communal garden anyway, playgrounds around here are shut on the same principle... She says OK and goes.

I am now thinking she'll send her husband over to shout at me later

Ordinarily I would have just chucked the ball back as soon as I saw it in my garden, but I don't know if I'm extra grouchy having to stay in while people all around me seem to be looking for loopholes. I'm not scared of germs, if I get the virus I get it, but it's the principle. I'm torn between a) just throw it back and stop being sour and b) maybe this is a lesson in community responsibility...

So, aibu to not throw the ball back? They'll probably climb into my garden to get it...

Yes NoProblem, I should probably check out like I have with Twitter! It's hard, I'm a healthy young person and would probably be fine even if I get it but I give a shit about not becoming a spreader and not prolonging this miserable situation for the whole of society, even if short term it sucks balls. I think everyone is just frustrated.

Flick it up with your foot and volley it back as far as you can. 1. Protected from Corona 2. Fun 3. Might go too far, in which case you’ve won

"I am annoyed about a woman with a cough thinking the rules about isolation if you have a symptoms don't apply to her"

I have a cough from November to around now. I've had pneumonia twice and know my lungs. I'm developing a chest infection.

My eldest DD has her usual smokers cough, she's wfh and goes out to shop.

You have to isolate if you have a new cough, that is unusual for you.

Throw the bloody ball back.

Avon I will probably do myself an injury trying that, I've never been good with balls. Serves me right for being a miserable bastard I guess.

"Throw the bloody ball back." if you read the thread you'd see I have.

I think you handled it quite well. If you throw it back straight away, you’ll end up doing it frequently. They’ll be more careful now.

Chuck back when you’re not “at work”
But leave them to wait til then?

Just put some gloves on and throw it back over.

Yes, just leave it for three days then chuck it back.

You’re probably better going out every three days for more food rather than once a week and eating your cupboard bare to the extent you’re eating random combos of food - you shouldn’t let your stock of food get lower than one week’s worth in case you develop the virus and have to self isolate.

and wash my Ganda straight away.

The mind boggles. 😂

@MardyGarden, i did read the thread, you hadn't when i wrote out my post.

Your self description really does fit you well.

My 2 threw a frozen ball over the garden fence today. I went next door, knocked, stood 2 metres back. Next door answered I asked for the ball back, he laughed and threw it straight back over as would happen any day!

and wash my Ganda straight away.

I now have an image of you popping the ball back over the fence in a similar fashion to those women who can pop ping pong balls out of their ‘Ganda’. 😁

I guess you’ve not got kids and don’t really understand how difficult it is to keep kids entertained during all this. The weather is lovely, you are allowed outside to exercise and should. If you don’t want to repeatedly throw it back why not just say I don’t mind throwing it back once but I am working from home and don’t want to spend all day throwing it back. Them being in a communal garden is neither here nor there unless you are desperate to sit in there and they are using it all the time?

You sound like that miserable old man that sticks a knife through your ball if it goes over his fence.

Just throw it back, FFS. The exercise will do you good.

Our little neighbour loves throwing random things over the wall. I picked up the things she threw yesterday with a piece of kitchen paper, threw them back and disposed of the paper into the bin after.

CoVid 19 can live for up to three days on plastic so I would not be throwing it back for 72 hours. Incidentally my kids accidentally kicked a ball over the fence yesterday, we didn’t get it back and I do not expect them to return it.

OP Totally with you on this, The Government shut all playgrounds and parks. They have their own garden so have no need to be in a communal space. The Mother is coughing so shouldnt be out at all. Let them keep their germs to themselves

I would throw it back this once (-I know you already have OP) but explain to the neighbours that if the children were in their own garden the ball would have gone over into the communal garden so they wouldn’t have had to disturb anyone working from home and wouldn’t that have been more convenient for them and the children and those working from home?

CoVid 19 can live for up to three days on plastic so I would not be throwing it back for 72 hours.

But it can't survive 20 seconds' thorough hand washing, so really there is no reason whatsoever why OP can't throw it back now. If she wants to be even safer, she could pick it up with a carrier bag or something and then throw the bag away.

Oh my. It is almost impossible to keep kids entertained at the moment. That ball may well be a lifesaver. Their poor mum is probably on the edge. You are now officially always the nasty old witch that lives next door. How very very mean of you.

Nope. Fuck ‘em. Cheeky little sod climbing over your fence. For that alone I would think this isn’t the first time. They can live and learn.

Which is what I did when they rang my bell

Which is fair enough, OP, but I don’t get the impression you said your full piece.

I didn't get to say my full piece because she said OK and left but then after I was reflecting on whether to chuck it back, which I did. This family has done shit things to me and the block so if they think I'm a witch I don't give a fuck. I've thrown their balls and Frisbees and whatever back before, with a "no problem!" when they've said thank you, and they know it, but we are in temporary different circumstances.

"I guess you’ve not got kids and don’t really understand how difficult it is to keep kids entertained during all this. " wrong. I appreciate it's difficult and said as much. But she can keep them entertained in her own big garden. I feel like she's using the communal space just because she's been told not to.

I think it's selfish. They have a garden, I have a garden. Some people in our block don't have gardens and her taking up the communal garden all day with her children might put people without the luxury of a garden off because they're wanting to abide by the "stay away from other households" rule.