ABU to put a note on my very rural door telling randoms to eff off.

[KnickersandGnomes]

Possibly outing but I'm a bit freaked out. Nearest neighbours are over a mile away, they really are - I live in the middle of nowhere. Couriers wont deliver because they swear they can't find the place blah blah etc etc.

I have some pretty horrid health issues, mostly Lyme Disease based and they leave me so tired and wrung out.

This afternoon I had some unexpected knocking at my door which I ignored followed up by a woman's voice in my garden and banging on my living room, bedroom and porch windows.

There was nothing put though my letter box and my garden gate was left wide open (mahoosive no no as I have five dogs) and it's left me both angry and scared.

I don't like or want to be angry and scared but I am both now so I'm hoping that the Mumsnet wisdom can help?

I have no recent partner that I have parted with on bad terms and because of my illness I live a very quiet life these days so I am utterly lost?

I think we need to now regard this thread as the online equivalent of the OP's house: we are now the unwelcome woman knocking on the door and banging on the windows while the OP lurks upstairs hoping we'll all go away.

I work for a county council. We have lists of vulnerable people who we must call as a welfare check . If they don't answer the phone or we don't have contact details we must visit their home. It might be 'annoying' for some but we have already found a significant number of people who need our help to access food, medication etc. Welfare checks have found people who are really distressed and were so happy to know someone was looking out for them. Answer your door OP and find out what the person is there for. If you don't and it's a welfare check they'll keep coming back and eventually bring the police

I grew up in the countryside, and you'd be surprised by how many people completely lose any sense of propriety when seeing a lone house.

Plenty of times we had people hammer on our bathroom window (very obviously a bathroom window), for the most innocuous reasons. They said they didn't want to disturb the gate to get to the front door... So they interrupted a ten year old in the bath instead?!?

People we were helping with refilling drinks putting their bikes on our flowerbeds, people we were letting use the loo getting sniffy about removing filthy walking boots, and yes, above all, lots and LOTS of spurious knocking against every window and door they could find.

("there's a sheep in that field by itself"... Woop de fucking do, you've raised the whole house for that?)

If you are on the government list as vulnerable and advised to shield it was probably a food parcel. Since last weekend the government have arranged a parcel of food and essential items for each person on the list regardless if they have signed up for assistance. I’m shielding but have family members dropping off shopping. The other day a delivery driver dropped off a huge box with a weeks worth of food and supplies in and said they are delivering one to everyone on the shielding list.
I don’t get the thing on Mumsnet of not answering the door and then asking random internet strangers who it was.

I've walked over a mile in shit weather to a deserted rural house down a long private drive to bang on their door. And yes I called out and knocked on a second door.

No one answered. Maybe the OP was cowering in a corner somewhere.

I wasn't an axe murderer or a distraction burglar. My car was stuck and I needed help.

I have also knocked on the door of random isolated properties when I have been out hiking or horse riding and have found an escaped/trapped/injured animal. I appreciate that the home owner may not own the animal but often in rural communities they know who does and can contact them or they have the tools/materials to cut a sheep out of a wire fence, or block up a broken fence.

Seriously OP 99.99% of people knocking will be no threat to you. The tiny minority who might be a threat are unlikely to be bothered enough to keep knocking and calling unless they are targeting you for a reason in which case your single glazed brittle windows will not stop them.

Not in this country, but in SA going for a walk, we knew where the road led to but wan,t sure on distance. (walked of our map. We knocked on a door for help. Luckily they took us in, gave us a drink and lift to where we were heading. Glad they din,t pretend to be out.

The OP you seem to have disappeared... but I’m still unsure what the actual issue is here? You live in a bungalow. But presumably it has windows which open? If you’re scared to answer the door then open a window and speak through it. Then you’ll know what the person wanted. Seems a simpler solution than asking a load of random Mumsnetters

@Starduststatic my sentiments exactly!!! As I said in a previous post, the “punishment” of a tag was not even relevant to his “crime” - the whole thing was preposterous (I’m not saying he shouldn’t have been punished, by the way) I did go ballistic as her, although not really her fault but I was quite upset with various things and being alone with the kids and hearing that was pretty frightening, and not only was she at the wrong address but she was intending to remove it despite his “time” being up 🙄

I must admit, as someone else mentioned, despite all the other reasons I’d have had to answe out of sheer curiosity and nosiness! It would have driven me up the wall.

I don't see why answering the door becomes a stressful pantomime just because you live somewhere rural. If the isolation is that stressful then moving might be a sensible idea so you stop viewing other people as potential axe murderers.

I agree. The OP seems very fearful about living rurally, to the extent that she wanting to leave notes on the door telling people to fuck off. If this woman was intent on doing harm then presumably she would have broken into the bungalow, made off with the OPs valuables or possibly beaten up the OP. The fact that she disappeared off suggests she was either checking on the OP or needing something and then went away because she had no response. It’s just weird that the OP was too scared to either answer the door or open a window and communicate

I think the OP would feel the same living in a block of flats, as do I.

MN has been an education. I used to dream of living somewhere isolated and apparently those places don’t really exist any more.

I always tell this story on this not answering the door threads. A while ago I was called to a cat that had been hit by a car and which unfortunately died just before I got there. As it wasn't chipped I did a bit of door knocking and was pointed to the house of the owners. So I rang the bell, nothing. Knocked, nothing. It was 8pm ish, the lights were on and I could see people moving around inside. So I hammered on the windows. Again, nothing. Eventually I had to yell 'YOUR CAT IS DEAD!' through the letterbox and they did open up in the end.

If it was a welfare visit surely the OP would be phoned or written to first?

I've walked over a mile in shit weather to a deserted rural house down a long private drive to bang on their door

I sort of see where the OP is coming from; I live down a long private driveway half a mile from the nearest house in any direction. I work from home a lot, delivery
drivers find it ok but people don't just pop in. If someone came to the door unexpectedly, I would be a bit anxious. It's that slight sense of feeling that no one would hear you scream.

I love living where I do and I don't generally feel vulnerable but it's different from living with next door neighbours.

“ I've walked over a mile in shit weather to a deserted rural house down a long private drive to bang on their door”

I missed that post, why would someone do that? I’ll try and find it tomorrow.

It was Lexiloo at 11.17pm - her car was stuck.

Sorry, 11.17am!

I missed that post, why would someone do that? I’ll try and find it tomorrow.

Odd thing to post? By the time you've typed it, you could have used control + F and found the the post.

@JudyCoolibar not on the app.