To not accommodate Very Important Neighbour's new home office?

[Knitwit101]

We've lived next door to these neighbours for years. Know each other well enough to say hi, put bins out on holiday, but we're not friends. We've been using our garden in the same way for years. No changes on our side, nothing new.

We've come back from holiday to find neighbour has re-organised his home office and he now sits at a massive (open) window right on the boundary between our gardens. That must have been a spare bedroom before maybe, I don't know. We never saw anyone in it.

I sat outside at our patio table this morning to have a coffee and I could hear every word he said through his open window, could hear every word his colleagues said on their online meetings. He might as well have been sitting at the table with me. Not sure there's much I can do about that, he can use his house however he likes.

Ds10 and his pals are sitting outside at the table trading Pokemom cards. There's 4 of them, they are laughing and chatting but they're not shouting or being silly. And it's a sunny afternoon in the school holidays, they can be outside laughing in the garden if they want to be.

Neighbour has just come to the door to ask me if I can take them inside because he has a full afternoon of work meetings and their noise is distracting him.

I said "what, the whole afternoon? You want them to stay indoors all afternoon?"

He said completely straight-faced "I'll be working till 6.30pm"

I laughed and said "well no, that won't be possible".

At this point he said in a very slow, careful, mansplaining voice just in case I couldn't follow him "I don't think you understand. I have a Very Important Job. These are very important meetings. I negotiate multi-million dollar contracts every day, I need to be able to concentrate."

Seriously? I always though he was a bit of a twat but who talks like this? Who actually says "Very Important" like that? Twice? He has no idea what my job is or how important dh or I might be.

I just said "no, we'll carry on using our garden as we always have. Maybe you could close your window when you're needing to concentrate. And just so you're aware, I can hear you and your colleagues when your window is open, I hope you're not saying anything confidential. I must get on, thanks for doing the bins while we were away" then shut the door.

He's gone, I can hear him on his Very Important Meeting. I could join in, I can hear every word on both sides. I suspect he'll be back, probably when dh is back from work so they can talk man to man.

He's unsettled me though, he was so self-confident when he came to the door, so sure that he would get exactly what he wanted. How do you get that kind of confidence? I wish I had it. Or is it arrogance? He made me think I was in the wrong at first.

We love our garden, we use it all the time. I'm not sure how we'll deal with this one, but I wasn't BU by refusing to bring the kids inside, was I? He's the one who has made the change, not us. I don't think wfh is new for him, he was just somewhere else in his house before I guess. Now he's on top of our patio with his big booming voice. I feel quite sad about it, if he's there all day every day it's going to be awful.

[Endlesslypatient82]

@Zone2NorthLondon

Do you understand the principle of anonymity?
create an email address or post a letter. Google Who to send it to. Dob him in
So will he know/suspect that the op reported him?well yes but what’s he going to do about it? He’s already frothing and complaining so give him something to most about

Can she report anonymously? Yes

will it actually be anonymous in RL? No! She is literally the only person it could be!!

[Endlesslypatient82]

He’s unlikely to do anything about it.

but given presumably the PP was suggesting anonymity to avoid the Op knowing who reported him, I would hazard a guess the advantage of anonymity would be to avoid him knowing and therefore tension between the two very close neighbours.

[Endlesslypatient82]

Hence my point that not really anonymous!

[Zone2NorthLondon]

So she fronts it out. Dob him in and then Deny it fake indignation
Worth it I’d say

[Endlesslypatient82]

@Zone2NorthLondon

So she fronts it out. Dob him in and then Deny it fake indignation
Worth it I’d say

Can’t personally understand why you’d deny it. He is being unreasonable so she has nothing to hide or be ashamed of, especially as if he clearly going to know anyway

[Zone2NorthLondon]

I’d dob him in and I’d deny it too. Just to be annoying. Because I can
if he’s such a big shot and his very important business is audible he should be more data savvy

[CrisPbacon]

Learning a musical instrument is very important. I'm sure that along with your sons drum kit, you are developing an interest in the trumpet.
If you get really good, you could join a really important brass band and invite them round to practice

[StressedOutMumBex]

@CrisPbacon

Learning a musical instrument is very important. I'm sure that along with your sons drum kit, you are developing an interest in the trumpet.
If you get really good, you could join a really important brass band and invite them round to practice

had to chuckle at this one, sounds like a plan 😂

[Petlover9]

@CrisPbacon

Learning a musical instrument is very important. I'm sure that along with your sons drum kit, you are developing an interest in the trumpet.
If you get really good, you could join a really important brass band and invite them round to practice

OP, please make sure that the band is Very Important, can't have any old band next door to such A Very Important Man (Jerk)

[SeamsLegit]

What's the situation now?? DYING to hear an update!!

[dottypencilcase]

I can't believe this thread is still going. OP clearly stated she wouldn't be returning with updates, etc. since the rags picked this up for one of their stories. Time to assume the Op and her husband held an all night concert in their back garden midweek and name checked some of the companies VIN is responsible for merging, etc. and that he either learned his lesson or was sacked for indiscretion.

[Abracadabra12345]

@Sonnex

I don't see any impact on my neighbours from WFH? They all are as well. The only impact really is that burglaries and car crime have apparently gone down as there are people around more in the day.

The local delivery people (who I am note friendly with :) ) also like it as people tend to be in more for parcel delivery and they don't have to faff around leaving cards and taking things back to the depot.

Both my car and home insurance have gone down a bit as I can now answe the question about the house and car never being left unattended now as yes.

You’re lucky then that you’re not hearing constant meetings and calls then

[Endlesslypatient82]

@Abracadabra12345

You’re lucky then that you’re not hearing constant meetings and calls then

Me neither actually. Never heard it once. And I know both my neighbours have been WFH

Did not even know it was an issue until this thread and indeed first thread on it that I have ever read on mumsnet!

[Endlesslypatient82]

@Abracadabra12345

You’re lucky then that you’re not hearing constant meetings and calls then

You hear them through closed windows?

[Endlesslypatient82]

Yours that is

[StressedOutMumBex]

@dottypencilcase

I can't believe this thread is still going. OP clearly stated she wouldn't be returning with updates, etc. since the rags picked this up for one of their stories. Time to assume the Op and her husband held an all night concert in their back garden midweek and name checked some of the companies VIN is responsible for merging, etc. and that he either learned his lesson or was sacked for indiscretion.

Oh thanks @dottypencilcase - I must have missed that bit. .

[prettybird]

She did actually come on and provide an update after that ....but did say that it was a bit boring, so the tabloids newspapers wouldn't be interested

Many Scottish schools go back this week anyway (iirc, Wednesday in Glasgow) so VIBM won't be disturbed any more during the working day from then on

[LadyDanburysCane]

@Endlesslypatient82

You hear them through closed windows?

I can barely hear my own DH while in his office when I’m in the same house so the neighbours certainly can’t hear him. His “ringing” phone is just a vibration and a notification on his monitor and he has a noise cancelling headset so absolutely no disturbance whatsoever.

[Endlesslypatient82]

@LadyDanburysCane

I can barely hear my own DH while in his office when I’m in the same house so the neighbours certainly can’t hear him. His “ringing” phone is just a vibration and a notification on his monitor and he has a noise cancelling headset so absolutely no disturbance whatsoever.

Exactly.

i am baffled how @Abracadabra12345 heats endless meetings from neighbours, when on another thread she says that she has all windows and doors closed when high temps.

[Abracadabra12345]

@Endlesslypatient82

Exactly.

i am baffled how @Abracadabra12345 heats endless meetings from neighbours, when on another thread she says that she has all windows and doors closed when high temps.

Because I’m outside in the garden?

Sorry it was baffling. I really wish I didn’t hear the booming voices of my neighbours on their phones or during work calls

[Endlesslypatient82]

Ah ok

Presumably also don’t like children playing football and shrieking and laughing in the paddling pool etc too?

[Endlesslypatient82]

But if I was in the garden working and bothered by noise next door, I’d go inside and work.

[Endlesslypatient82]

Which I am guessing now applies anyway given the 🌧!

[SliceOfCakeCupOfTea]

Zombie