To feel miffed with my neighbours request?

[Aliceglass]

I don’t know if I’m being sensitive or unreasonable here. My next door neighbour approached me at the weekend to give me dates of their summer garden parties.

For context, We live in a terrace of modern houses and we all have similar sized gardens, enclosed by neighbouring gardens, back and side.

So my neighbour told me about her planned garden parties over the next few months and there were 3 dates confirmed, 2 tbc.

But, she has specifically asked us that we don’t use our garden during the days of these parties.

I was a little take aback and said that we don’t have any scheduled bbqs or parties on those dates so they will be fine. But she said they didn’t want us to use our garden, AT ALL!
Apparently it will spoil the atmosphere if I was to “pop to the bins and empty my recycling” or if they could hear the washing machine on a spin if I left the back door open!

I did laugh at this stage and say well I can’t promise to not access my garden for the whole day.

She went on to say how her friends are “well to do” and they would expect privacy and not to be interrupted by unnecessary noise.

I got a little frustrated at this point and I asked if she was just letting me know or if the neighbours the other side were also being asked this. She assured me that, yes they were and they confirmed they won’t be using their garden or the gate to their garden at the back so as to not disturb her.

Am I being unreasonable to think that this request is unusually controlling?

Absolutely and probably have me mates round to ‘ave a larf in the garden - food on the barbi etc

Oh gosh. Poor mad woman. Be firm tho this madness needs reigned in. Say absolutely no way can you dictate when i use my garden. And yes you can have noisy annoying parties 5 times over the summer. Little polite pop of fizz for me after every one would be a lovely gesture!

If she wanted privacy for her snooty well to do mates she should have bought a detached house in the countryside. She sounds mad as a box of frogs! Go about your day in those party days as normal, what you do is none of her god damn business!! I’d invite friends round for a BBQ!

@workingcocker I can only hear "I. Am. Smoking. A. Fag" in my head now.

Stick a washing machine on your lawn.

That’s hilarious. She needs to find a different house.

That's hilarious! I'd be lighting a bonfire and playing gangsta rap on those days! 😂

And then inviting a load of little kids round and give them all whistles.

We had a dead rat in our garden last summer. It died half in and half out of one of it's tunnels and it took ages to find and pull it out. The smell was quite something. Such inconvenient timing for your neighbours.
Failing that. When I got married the first time my brothers girlfriend thought it would be hilarious to put a kipper on the engine mount of our car. When we drove off on our honeymoon the engine got hot and the smell began. We stayed at a farm overnight. Five million cats came and sat on the car. Imagine if a kipper accidentally fell behind her shed / under her patio furniture.

Amazon sell a bag of 50 kazoos I believe.

Pay the neighbourhood kids to draw lots of chalk pictures on the pavement outside her house shortly before the party begins. Pavement artistry really annoys these Hyacinth types.

What's your address, we'll have a mumsnet party!

Time to get the petrol grass strimmer out

absolute CF

She went on to say how her friends are “well to do” and they would expect privacy

I think I would have chuckled and told her that maybe her well to do friends should host the private parties in that case!

I would get my knickers on the whirly gig ready for their arrival!

It will probably rain on at least 3 of those dates (hopefully)

WTF, is the King coming?

Do you have a DH? Get him out BBQ'ing in his speedo thong with some AC/DC blasting....

Your neighbours are totally bonkers. If they don't want you in the garden they should be inviting you to their posh do!

All jokes aside and you said you don’t like confrontation, you’ll have to say , I can’t guarantee I won’t be in my garden any of those days.
Don’t say sorry though.

Oh, I’d enjoy this. I’d be out in the garden in a deckchair and being quite loud.

”Del! ‘Ere, DEL! Bring us some more Lambrini would you mate, this has gone all warm. What? Yeah, a pint. And can you pop daaahn the shops an’ get me 20 ciggies? Cheers love. Now, put Cheesy Dance Choons of the 90s back on before you go!”

Pj party. Karaoke. Hang some washing on the line. Lots of holey undies or similar pegged out badly. All talking proper loud chav like innit

And mouth organs.

I'd say, thanks and yes we'd love to come over to your garden parties on those dates if we are free 😉

Tell her she needs to organise a private venue if she wants privacy, otherwise to expect you to be in your garden as and when you feel like it.

You can change your vote. Just press the right option.

She's absolutely bonkers

Me too. She needs to move to the countryside if she doesn’t want to be bothered by ‘unnecessary’ noise… made by people her house is literally attached to