At work last night I got a complaint about chanting from a neighbouring house. Sure enough there was loud rhythmic chanting coming through the wall, but nowhere near as loud as music from an outdoor wedding celebration a couple of doors away. The caller had no concerns about the wedding but wanted something done about the chanting. She was Sikh, the wedding was Hindu, and the chanting was a Muslim prayer meeting. Traditionally Sikhs and Muslims are not the closest of buddies because of the politics of the partition of India in 1947, and we occasionally encounter this in older generations. Of course the complaint may have had a historic context of the type we come across much more frequently across all communities and ages. “It all started in 1985, when he broke my fence/blocked my drive/bought his Council house, and we haven’t spoken since..”
The cultivation of good neighbour relations is definitely a worthwhile investment.
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
