This clap gets louder and more elaborate every week!

[HibiscusPot]

From the first week (just clapping) we now have multiple fireworks, one neighbour has plans, another bells, there are horns, yelling and car horns being sounded. Ironically the neighbours with friends round for a BBQ are a particularly loud lot.
I am miserable in not really getting it?

We have cruise ships and container ships sounding their horns here which is actually rather special. I don't mind the clapping although what does annoy me is the people on FB afterwards saying how well their road has done, and then the stupid comments about how some 'don't bother' which I think is bang out of order, you don't have to clap if you don't want to, or can't etc.

I didn’t even realise it was 8 o’clock. I was washing up when a police van with blue lights drove by...followed by five police cars with blue and red light flashing. I thought something huge must have happened at the end of our road when my husband pointed out it was ‘clap for carers’. Seriously, is there no crime in our home county? Our road is a dead end as well so what was the point?

...a police van with blue lights drove by...followed by five police cars with blue and red light flashing.*

That does sound more crime related than Clapping For Carers related.

Oh I'd have to be getting rid of him. Somehow.

Sniper rifle?

I thought it must be some huge crime and got very excited, since nothing like that happens around here. But it's a dead end road so they just turned around and drove back waving. Shows how quiet crime must be now if they can send all resources on a jolly.

Why is it 8pm?! Genuine question, why did someone decide 8pm was the ideal time to be making loads of noise outside?

I have two young children (baby and toddler) and they are usually both asleep by 8pm. Last night I just had managed to get them both to sleep and 8pm rolls around and the noise was ridiculous. Some of the neighbours were banging pots and pans and someone had a vuvuzela?!?

Toddler wakes up as she is scared of the sudden noise and the baby also wakes up screaming......

Even with the windows closed, it's loud enough to wake them up.

We clapped the first week and haven't done it since and it was the same for pretty much all the neighbours until last week when it seems everyone decided to do it again and all out in force this week too!!

I don't have an issue with the clapping but it's 8pm, people have young children in bed - the rest of the noise (banging, music, whooping, fireworks, etc) isn't really on!

We go out and clap. Neighbours along the road who don't give us us the time of day go out and clap. A few doors along have never done it. Nobody videos it, nobody names and shames.
I have friends who are key workers who live locally. They appreciate hearing it and have said so.

But it's a competition to see who is the most bestest at supporting the doctors and nurses, you have win!

I couldn't hear any actual clapping last night. It was all pan bashing and fireworks. We have a go and it was genuinely moving the first week, but generally can't wait to get back in these days.

Completely agree with @PinkSpring , I absolutely support the NHS, but find this quite stressful every week as I'm on edge waiting for toddler to wake up crying.

I agree - why did it have to be at 8? And why a Thursday?? Why not a weekend day? I think it started out very ad hoc, let's do what the Spanish and Italians have been doing, so moving, etc, and nobody expected that it would become set in stone.

I have to say, if I lived on a street where someone had set themselves up as a DJ for the 'event' and was doing music for an hour or so, plus karaoke ... well fuck that. I'd be ringing the police. Luckily where I live, it's semi-rural, we're not even in the village proper but outside it, and while there are several houses clustered together here, there were a few clappers the first week and since then, nothing. I'm very happy about that, as I don't have to open a mental spreadsheet for 'Neighbours who will be the first against the wall for possessing a vuvuzela'.

( CMOTDibbler, really sorry to hear about your mother, and I do hope she's not disturbed by the fireworks. You probably won't remember, but you once very kindly dropped off an Ikea highchair tray for DS2 and I think were my first MN-in-RL contact. Hope things go as well with your mother as they can.)

My 4 month old just loves car and air horns at 8pm at night 🙄.... clapping is lovely but the fireworks and horns, get a grip so inconsiderate for babies, elderly and people with sensory disorders, just clap your hands and say thank you.

Yup, we have one neighbour who now gets her dd to go out into the middle of the street and dance while she blasts the music and everyone has to clap. Apparently the street was too quite before. Then she posts it on Facebook and talk about the effort made this week 🙄. I don't even have facebook. A friend sent me a screenshot with "WTF".

My street has 20 or so house and most come out and cheer/clap/sing/make music. They’re mostly hypocrites because they ignore almost all the social distancing advice and think the rules don’t apply to them. I’m sure the NHS appreciate it but would rather we followed the advice and eased their burden

I set off an air horn. Whole street love it.

Don’t know if anyone on our estate does it. I don’t hear anything. I don’t clap.

It’s become a virtue signalling competitive event of the very worst order. Followed by the posts on local FB page of “come on Acacia Avenue lets do better next week”. It’s all nonsense and has nothing *to do with anyone’s appreciation (or otherwise) of the NHS / key workers.

It just seems daft...support keyworkers by possibly waking them up,their children or scaring the pets. Never mind them though!
Just clap!

Meaningless & pointless show off for hypocrites (around here anyway).

Is it going to continue till Christmas I wonder - or who and how will call a stop..

I don't do it to virtue signal. I do it because it's fun and promotes neighborhood solidarity.

bagpipes? ugh. windy little sacks of hate.

we had 3 pathetic fireworks near me last night, and everyone else seems to have given up.

What does it matter? Life is bleak enough at the moment, if people want to make a noise for 3 mins a week is it really harming anyone?
@user764329056 the fireworks are doing harm. They are distressing animals and pose a risk when used by amateurs.

Where are people buying fireworks from? I thought they were restricted to November?

This week the church bells have also been used!

Damp squib here.