My neighbours are scraping ice at 10.30PM

[Tuvala]

light hearted - ish 😆

It’s frozen solid here, road is an ice rink. Neighbours are 60’s and both retired, nice couple but probably retired too soon as both seem frequently bored!
For the past 45 mins they have both been outside in -3 scraping ice off the steps, the car and god knows what else.
I was a bit concerned they had somewhere they needed to get to so popped out to ask if they needed help with anything but no, they aren’t going anywhere!
I’ve since gone to bed and the loud scraping noises are driving me potty.
What on earth are they doing it for?!
Do they want to fall on the ice or get hypothermia? Or are they just trying new ways to drive me round the bend .
Aaaarghhh!!

I have lovely heated door mirrors too! Have to clear the side windows however.

They sound massively bored. Can you send them my way? I live on a road with a sharp bend and on a cycle route. My lounge looks directly onto road, full height glass fronted windows. I sometimes draw the curtains during the day to stop myself watching the slip and slide show ( only cos I then have to help call the relatives, blankets tea or ambulance ). One ambulance called so far this season, only 2 days of ice. Can’t de-ice the road without litigation risk. Local Council won’t help

We use warm water on our windscreen. Sorry not helpful 🤣

Yes, I always found it the most ineffective way to clear a windscreen, add it refreezes, but much harder

I bought a Ford with a heated windscreen and it'll be an essential for my next car.

I turn the car on 5/10 mins before i have to go out. Car toasty warm and ice all melted by the time I get in to go. Perfect. Bosh

Mine was frozen so solid this morning that i had to climb in through the boot. Took forever to clear too, even with deicer.

If they did this round where I live you'd have to scrape them off the pavement 😡

(not really but it sounds good)

One issue of pouring water on a windscreen is your risking a frozen puddle for someone to slip on.

Op say nothing more, they'll have some logic in their madness, I'm sure they'll put salt on it to help it melt.

Well if [they are 60s and might fall...😂

Perhaps they're collecting it, maybe one of them fancied a slushie.

@HermioneKipper

I turn the car on 5/10 mins before i have to go out. Car toasty warm and ice all melted by the time I get in to go. Perfect. Bosh

I understand why why you would do this but it is bad for the environment and probably pretty irritating for your neighbours

It's not been cold enough for long enough for pre-scraping in the evening to work.

I do this too.

I don't understand the scraper brigade either!

🤣 sorry this just reminded me of the ‘it’s too cold to snow’ phrase that gets trotted out

If its really cold and crisp in the UK it generally means there's clear sky and no clouds, no clouds means no snow

The PP may have an electric car given she said she switches it on before she goes out. If it's like ours you can pre programme it to defrost and warm the cabin using a phone app so it's ready by the time you leave and there's no adverse effects or security risk as the car is still locked. I think it's probably my favourite thing about the car at the moment!

Pouring water over the screen just means icy puddles along the street and someone is bound to slip and get hurt though.
Do you think they're cold and thought a bit of hard graft might warm them up?
Gosh I can't face going into the kitchen let alone outside!

😂

Sounds like my parents former neighbours. They also "enjoyed" early retirement (boomers who retired at 55 ish). By the time my parents retired in their late 60;s (Also boomers) the neighbours were very obviously finding jobs to keep them occupied. The brass door furniture was polished to blinding brightness every single day. He would mow the lawn every day if it was possible and she would follow him with a broom to sweep up any bits. The tragedy was that she was out polishing their house number plate as usual, on the coldest day and slipped. Broke her hip and passed during surgery. I spoke to their DIL and she said that the surgeon said that she was old past her years and he had seen a lot of it in people who took early retirement. Her FIL passed very soon after his wife, no serious illness in either of them and both before they were of offical retirement age. This was in the 90's Yes they enjoyed their fifties but then got mentally and physically older than their peers in their 60's. My parents are both now older than their neighbours where when they died but look act and are physically younger.

Being a neighbour, and in my 60's - but I'm not your neighbour OP - I imagine that they are very well aware of prople getting injured on the ice. I also think that it is highly likely that they are aware that if their own postman/Amazon delivery driver/milkman (some people do still have milkmen) etc, slip on their drive/steps/path and hurts themselves, then your neighbour may very well be liable for any damage they have done to themselves on your neighbours property. As they probably don't want to get up at 5.30am to clear it all away then, they are doing it now, and will almost certainly put down a lot of salt or grit to hopefully stop it from refreezing.

I think you said that your neighbours have gone on to the public highway now, if so they are actually putting themselves at more risk of being sued, because if a person or vehicle, were to subsequently slip on that area, the actual fact that they had cleared it, could mean that they are at least partially responsible for the accident. Ie. The late middle-aged (😜) next door neighbours hadn't noticed that the highways agency/local council, had already spread salt on the roads, and unfortunately, a few hours after the neighbours have cleared that area of road with their shovels, there is a bang and a scrunch...

Well, the neighbours could be held at least partially liable as they had "cleared" the road after salt had been laid - in fact, I think there is probably a law against touching a public road with anything other than our own, or rented, feet or wheels!

Oh the amount of times I have had this argument...
Me - it wont snow tonight, its too cold
Idiot - "But it snows in (insert name of place that is colder the the UK here)"
Me- Yes it is colder but it only snows if there are clouds for the snow to come from and generally speaking, if there is cloud cover in the UK, the temperature goes up slightly. So if you say "Fuck me it is absolutely freezing" and then look up to see a completely clear sky, then yes the words "It is too cold to snow" are correct! However if you look up to an almost white sky and think "ooh its a bit milder tonight"......get the snow shovel out.

I think I’m probably alone in this but I find that a bit cute lol. Probably because it’s not my neighbours mind you!

Not any more, because I will loiter nearby and steal it tomorrow. Your insurers will not pay out.

I can start my car while it is locked using the app that comes with the car.
It is a pre-heat function.

"yay I am wealthy enough to defy nature"