Barbecue once a week

[Covert19]

During the nice weather we’ve had a barbecue once a week for either lunch or dinner on Saturday or Sunday. The husband has just fired up the barbecue and next door neighbour has popped her head over the fence to ask us not to do it any more as the smoke blows across their patio. So is it unreasonable of me to want one meal a week in this way? Or is it unreasonable of her to expect to enjoy her garden sunbathing every moment of every day? It really is just one meal a week, so smoke being produced for maybe two hours.

Well this is a completely different thread from the one last weekend about how appalling people are for having BBQs when there is a virus going round that causes respiratory problems, and when people with respiratory problems are stuck at home.

I'm pretty sure that thread was about daily bonfires and the constant unnecessary burning of rubbish in small gardens.

I have a low tolerance from annoyance from neighbours but a weekly bbq wouldn't bother me.

I’m surprised people are happy about bbqs too, after thread last week about it. But I can’t see a problem. We had one last night, coals so waited til evening to avoid people’s washing as much as possible. You can’t please everyone op.

If you want a compromise, look for a good quality lumpwood charcoal as they produce a lot less smoke and a lot less BBQ smell.

It is more expensive though.

Hmmm next door are shit at bbq and produce lots of unnecessary smoke we don’t complain to them though, but it means I get how it can be a pain can you wheel it to somewhere else in the garden

We bbq all year round (Dh is South African), our neighbours are used to it and have never complained. Honestly crack on its your garden!

How much of an olfactory nuisance are your barbecues?

If you do it randomly, you blight every day for her as she effectively can't sunbath any day in case you start up the BBQ. Why not just agree a day each week in advance when you'll BBQ? That way, she'll know the other days are clear. That seems fair.

YANBU but I couldn't enjoy a BBQ after she'd said that.

@Covert19 our neighbours on either side have bbqs most nights in the summer, I love the smell! I’m always very jealous of them as well.....

Today's the last day of good weather, enjoy it while you can!

YA massively U for having a bbq that smokes the neighbours out for 2 hours. What on earth do you put on there?

Agree with this. Our neighbors have bbqs all the time and it's no problem at all. But if their bbq was blowing smoke across our patio area for two hours every time, I wouldn't be thrilled. As others have said, could you relocate the bbq? Or reduce the smoke (put a lid on it part of the time etc)?

My neighbours have bbqs fairly regularly. We are in Victorian terraces so we can’t avoid the smell.
But the only really smelly bit is when they first get going and it dissipates really quickly.

I can’t see anyone getting bothered by a weekly bbq

I find this astonishing that some people have the cheek to ask such things, my neighbours bbq all the time and use loud power tools a lot but I wouldn't dream of asking them not to do something they are perfectly entitled to do in their own homes!

It’s your choice of course but I did read that we should be protecting our lungs and bonfires and BBQs are not great for them. I read that one council has banned BBQs and fires for that reason. Anyone at risk of respiratory issues in your neighbourhood will be put at even greater risk.

Covid attacks the tiny vessels in the lungs so anything we can do to strengthen them the better. Exercise and no smoking too. I guess we all need to be extra mindful of our neighbours at the moment too as we are all in our gardens and homes more and we are all a bit more stressed.

I'm veggi but I love the smell of a bbq. I'm desperate to have one but we haven't seen any coals in Sainsbury's and thats the only place we shop at the moment.

Our neighbours kindly text my dh yesterday to say they were having one at 3pm so if we wanted to bring washing in etc. We went out just to smell it and it was lovely!

BBQ as often as you want to in your garden

People in the UK are WEIRD about BBQ's

Don't let their whinging spoil your summer! Daft cow

No HedgehogHotel, that must have been a different thread. I would have remembered :)

How petty, she clearly has become very bored if she's complaining about a BBQ. It's not like they're alight for very long! YANBU.

The wind has changed direction this week so hopefully the neighbours on your other side are more reasonable.

Cabbage on the BBQ is delicious couchlover. Actually, BBQ'd veggies are amazing.

YY, people are very weird about BBQs in the UK.

Best to just ignore this neighbour and carry on as if you pander to such petty people they just get worse and worse.

superram we used to use our bbq kid to direct smoke
Hahaha!! I have images of using our bored kids to wave the smoke in a more suitable direction!

it is your garden enjoy it if she dosnt like it she could just go indoors So OP is allowed to use her garden even if her way of doing it prevents her neighbours from using theirs?

So many people are so immensely selfish at a really unusual time.

Normal etiquette isn’t really applicable, and I find the “it’s my garden, I’ll do what I want and fuck everyone else” rather puerile.

Well, sometimes other people want to use their house or backyard in a way for a short time that others would prefer they didn't. However, often, those that prefer they wouldn't, have other ways of using their house or backyard that their neighbours would rather they didn't also.

So we have our barbies, our neighbour plays piano, across the way plays the trumpet, down a couple of doors likes to doof doof with the music while he cleans his van for a couple of hours again, then there is someone using a circular saw, another one with a kid on the tramp screeching their head off, and we are the buggers with a barbie obsession. . .

I actually have come to love so much, how everyone in our little street seems to manage to sigh, and quietly mitigate whatever is pissing them off about the other, and just wait for them to cease and desist. And no-one takes the piss too much, which is great.