Complaining about Village life?

[BumpkinChic]

I just don’t really get this.

I live in a rural village and almost every week we have someone complaining on the village online group about one thing or another… mostly over things that pretty much come along with rural village life. The top culprits are usually along the lines of:

”they haven’t told us they are going to spread manure and now I can’t open my windows because of the smell”

“church bells ringing at all hours”

“the internet speed is always so poor”

Why are you living rurally if you didn’t factor these things in? What is complaining on a Facebook groups supposed to do about manure? IMO a lot of these things are minor annoyances. I know not everyone has the choice of where to live but I know this is not the case for some of the regular moaners. And I know village life can sometimes be dreary but I love it and have always lived in small villages so I know I’m biased.

please enlighten me, I’m genuinely baffled.

I also live near an RAF base and locals complain about aircraft flying over. I call that positive noise. Those guys are there to keep us safe.

🤣
I remember the opposite. Some apartments were built in Mathew St in Liverpool, you know birthplace of The Beatles, The Cavern etc. Historicaia very lively place. Residents complained about the noise 🤣🤣

*historically

My favourite Escape to the Country episodes are the couples who want "a quaint traditional cottage with large windows, lots of light, open plan kitchen with room for an island and 12 seated dining table, close to local amenities like a doctor/supermarket/cinema but away a main road near a village but not in a village."

I have a friend who recently bought one of the first houses to be ready on a new development. She's now complaining about the noise the builders are making finishing the rest of the houses!! Bonkers.

If they are on your land they are hunting illegally anyway. Its meant to be all pre-laid trails they are hunting now, not live animals. Point that out to them.

This is a wonderful thread!

The complaints about seagulls happening to be in a neighbour's garden randomly reminded me of the old joke about the person who went into a pet shop assuming that the fly in the window was for sale!

We live in a small town, rather than a village, but what always baffles me is the people who put 30mph stickers on their bins.

I obviously don't have a problem with them reminding drivers of the speed limit - although they're on roads where nobody can ever get up to anything approaching 30 anyway - but what I don't understand is why this crucial safety measure is only relevant on bin day, and apparently doesn't matter the other six days. Why not put a sign up on your fence/wall, so that it's there permanently?

I also sometimes wonder if the people who live at number 30 ever get complaints from randomers, who lack the ability to put two and two together, when the people at number 64 with the 30mph sign on their bin have left it blocking the pavement!

I was about 12 -possibly younger- and at home by myself for the day (because it’s the countryside!) and the hunt dogs completely overran our garden. I went out and hollered at the dogs which obviously had no effect and then had to run about making sure our cats were inside because I knew hunt dogs will kill cats given the opportunity. Riders gave zero fucks. That was the day I went from being more or less apathetic about the hunt to thinking- nah fuck you. Lots of similar local
sentiment.

tbf buses is a very reasonable complaint. There’s no reason why rural settlements should be completely cut off from public transport networks other than lack of profit. It’s not ‘inevitable’. I also think the upthread comment about residents in new estates complaining about there not being a supermarket or petrol station is a bit unreasonable. It’s a failure of planning that happens all over the place; housing estates going up with no conveniences. It just forces individuals into cars which causes traffic and pollution etc. Just build a shop.

Kitcatmouse · Today 11:36

My favourite one was someone complaining on the village facebook page about horse riders not picking up the horse poo during their ride from the road/pavements 🙃

There was an amusing thread about this on here some time ago. Posters suggested horses should wear nappies or they should be followed at all,tikes when on the road by someone who should then rush up and pick up the droppings off the road.
It became quite heated with a poster saying ‘I’ve never liked riders - this thread proves I was right”

Same here !
It was apparently a 12 bore with telescopic sight ! Not sure what range this person who called the police thinks a 12 bore has got

I well remember people charging out to scoop it up and put it on their roses.

When i was a kid I lived near a racing stables. When the horses were walking on the road a stable lad cycled behind with a bucket and shovel to pick up any poo. So I grew up thinking that that’s what everyone did !

Where I live there is a lot of congestion from motorhomes and the village is united in loathing them but we'll turn up to watch particularly slow-moving bulky loads. You get your fun where you can in rural areas. Also hated are speeding holidaymakers who run over pets/hedgehogs/birds.

Never heard the smallest complaint about muckspreading (although we say phoo! to one another sometimes), hay lorries, farm deliveries, mud on the roads (lots of this), congestion caused by tractors or anything else connected with people who make a living farming the land and providing jobs to locals.

I too live in a rural village and dont understand people complaining about that either! in the country you will always hear shooter or bird scarers! farmers need to protect their crops! And smells are ever present! what is countryside without a herd of smelly cows in a field? what the hell attracted them to the countryside if they dont enjoy their surroundings at all???

Because they’ve moved down from London and think the countryside is there solely for their leisure. Bloody grockels! Not sure what you can do other than laugh at people like that. 🤷‍♀️

I've seen a post on MN complaining about riders not picking up their horse poo!

When I was a kid out riding, keen gardeners used to come out with shovels to pick it up for their roses.

edited - should have read the full, thread. not just me then, apologies for duplication

Those bird scarers have helped me tremendously, when my border collie wouldn't come back to me. Her recall soon improves when she hears that bang 😅

THIS!

We have it here.

Our street is next to a street containing one primary school, and street and a half away from another. We are also within 15 minute walking distance of the excellent local comprehensive. They are both very good, popular schools - well over-subscribed, and unsurprisingly when properties in the street become available, 99/100, it is a family with young children who buys them. (For full disclosure we are also opposite a park which includes a field set up with football goalposts where all children, including teenagers, are welcome to play. People also walk their dogs.). Opposite this field there are some farmers fields where both wheat is grown, and cattle are fattened.

However, every now and then a couple/ singleton, usually older, moves in. They then complain about :
a) the number of children playing in the street
b) the number of cars parked in the street at school dropping off/ picking up times
c) the number of people passing their houses with a dog (often because it sets their own dog barking)
d) the number of teenagers gathering on the field (to be fair, they aren't always playing football, but that's teenagers for you, and at least their parents have a rough idea where they are and what they are up to).
e) the stench of fertiliser
f) the bellowing of cattle on stormy nights (they do get pretty bellow-ey 😄)

I was also a Reader at a church where people moving into the houses next to it complained about;
a) bells and parking
b) funeral, baptism and wedding services. (bells and parking plus people hanging about for photographs)

Wankers.

I still do pick it up.

My daughter won't come out with me to dog walk because I carry large plastic bags in case I discover a God-given chunk of this Nature's Bounty.

Because they’ve moved down from London and think the countryside is there solely for their leisure.

There are plenty of large cities and towns across the country apart from just London, though.

The Cornwall threads always seem to assume that all incomers/complainers are from London - nobody ever moves there from the hamlets of Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Reading, Leicester... !

people moaning so much about the dust from the combine (they live on the edge of fields) that the farmer now has to announce when he's doing it

That is a very patient farmer! Who needs an announcement? Just shut your windows when you hear the combine FFS.

Harvesting isn't generally something you can do on prearranged dates and, when it is the right time, it's often all hands to the pumps. I don't think they need to be thinking about facebook messages so Mrs Smith on the new estate doesn't have to dust her sideboard again.

I very much support the military but a bit of advance warning, when possible, for those of us on horse back, would be much appreciated.

Ha, we have a field in the village. Lady bought a house and then complained the cows were standing and watching her, and worst of all they smelt, of cows, who’d of thought! She was told by ‘the village’ to get used to it, as the rest of the street look forward to them being out there!
She said they weren’t there when she viewed the house, well no, they’re in the barns in winter.

I am a creature of the suburbs, but in retirement we have moved to a semi-rural area - edge of small town with countryside all round, 2 miles to next habitation territory.

We are getting used to the agricultural aromas and occasional late night tractors. It’s only for a few days, when they’re silaging - see, we’re learning the lingo! I drive for the community transport scheme, and my “small lanes” driving has come on leaps and bounds. I can cope with the road being temporarily blocked by sheep and cattle. We do have fast broadband, though - best of both worlds.

One thing I’m glad of is that fox hunting is banned, because if that was going on round here I would really struggle. They do shoot, though.

When I lived on the outskirts of a hamlet, some idiotic Londoners (Londoners was how they introduced themselves to everyone, before proceeding to explain how cultured their children were due to the very important London upbringing) threw a complete tantrum when the farmer who owned the fields around their house laughed in their faces at the mothers demand he clean up the sheep droppings in his field as it made it unsanitary for her kids to play in.

She also complained the smell of the animals was ruining her time in the garden & expected he'd clear the fields on all sides.
Their kids got ticks as they kept going in the fields which were not public land & had no right of way & the whole family went mental.

They didn't last long.