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?

I’m glad you let her know it was ridiculous!

I'd be sat in a deckchair in my pj's, no bra, hair scraped back, swigging a can of carling - I might even learn to smoke

😂yes to this !
maybe a spliff too.

It rather begs the question.

If her friends are ‘well to do’, why is she not also living in a ‘well to do’ neighbourhood, as opposed to one where she is compelled to ask her neighbours not to have ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their own gardens.

I would reply ‘no’ with a comment that it would create a potential ‘easement’, or similar.

Well that'd be me sitting in my garden smoking endless ciggies whilst in my dressing gown of doom, op. Probably pop a bit of radiohead's most depressing tunes on too.

Tell her if she wants to rent a view of your unoccupied garden it's five hundred quid a day.

You need a teenager with an electric guitar. I have one you can borrow ☺️

This would force me to be in my garden!! What a CF!

Hell yes!

Tell her April Fools Day was the 1st of the month. Cheeky fucker.

This is hilarious. Is your neighbour called Hyacinth by any chance?

When my mum was annoyed with noise from the neighbours, she used to set up my music stand and chair on the back green and tell me to play my accordion.

More than 50 yrs later, I am available to hire. Will work for wine.

Tell her she needs to stop having "garden parties" so she can save her money to buy a country pile, where she can host parties without having to worry about the neighbours going about their daily business.
Your neighbour is batsh*t

I'd be inviting my mates around on the same day for my own garden party....the ones who get a bit loud after a few proseccos.....

Tell her to fuck off and buy an air horn/ vuvuzela

I thought she was going to invite you to one of her parties!
What is she actually going to be able to do if you use your own garden on these dates?!

Utterly bonkers. Tell her you will of course use your garden. If she wants complete privacy she needs to book a private venue.

Chicken waste pellets are nice and fragrant.

I would be cutting the grass one day, another day the joiner ( AK my DH) would be cutting the wood to make the new shed/ garden bar and on day 3 he will putting it up. The same day my (now grown up adult) kids will be coming around the try to new bar.

Exactly! She loves to tell us about her former career which enabled her to retire early and travel the world. I think she pretends she lives in Chelsea but we live up north on the edge of a council estate. I see nothing wrong with it but it’s like she’s actively trying to change who we all are!

Someone’s got ideas above her station. I’d be inviting round all my loudest family and children.

Surely, if her rich, snobby friends are horrified at the very thought of her having neighbours, they would be equally too horrified and ashamed to even attend an event hosted by somebody as 'lowly' as she, who lives in a ghastly, tiny cowshed (i.e. a normal house to most of us plebs), rather than an old family country pile with a few thousand acres (definitely room for a pony or two)?!

I'd get one of those remote control fart machines and sneak it in to her garden behind a dense bush. When the Duchess of Fancypantsia and Earl Dontyouknowwhoiam apparently keep noisily blowing off in such esteemed company, it will be the scandal of their circle for years to come; they'll likely turn on her and blame it on her 'common' Iceland prawn rings (doubtless claimed as being from F&M) and ostracise her in perpetuity.

I would start a death metal band and schedule rehearsals for those days. Important to also carry out a few fake ritual sacrifices to build the creativity

Who is your neighbour?!
Hyacinth Bucket??

Jump up and down by the fence on a pogo stick.