Wash out and smokey

I do love this Skype malarkey. So much better than holding a phone squashed to one’s ear. Only trouble is mum & dad’s camera. This is what I see:

All a bit washed out and fuzzy, isn’t it? Still, at least I’m very clear. Even so, it’s great to sit and chat and see mum and dad at the same time. I love technology.

Something I seriously do not love is when your neighbours decide to burn their rubbish at 9:30 at night.

Today I spent a long time, crawling along the path, removing the weeds that manage to cling onto their tiny piece of sand between the bricks and generally trimming the grass from the edge. The path was in danger of disappearing beneath greenery. But, by the time I finished, it was back to its glorious splendour beneath the blazing sun.

A lot later, I was relaxing in the lounge with dinner and a lovely glass of wine when the house was suddenly full of foul smoke. It was so bad, Carmen actually stirred, waddling over to tell me the room was getting a bit smelly. I thought I’d better investigate.

And there it was. The Crazies, keeping faith with their names, decided the only time they could possibly burn their rubbish was at 9:30pm.

Now, I have no idea what they burn but it bloody stinks. And they don’t bother burning down the back like the more neighbourly among us. No, they do it not far from their back door.

Thick clouds of evil smelling smoke, rather than reach up into the atmosphere, barely manages to rise above the fence before flowing into our garden, looking for open doors and windows.

Given the current weather, I have everything open – doors, windows, you name it. There ensued a rushing around the house, quickly (and pointedly) shutting everything up in order to avoid asphyxiation.

How can they live in complete ignorance of how their actions affect other people? They’ll never cease to amaze me.