15 September 2008

Neighbours

| Bluebell
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How do I diplomatically tell my neighbour that the rubbish piled up beside their house and the old car in the yard ( that some one has egged and covered with toilet paper) looks like crap?

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Bluebell, for $200 I’ll pay them a visit. Money back if the yard isn’t clean within a week. Seriously – let me know if you’re interested.

Guerrilla gardener, or standover man?

Bluebell, for $200 I’ll pay them a visit. Money back if the yard isn’t clean within a week. Seriously – let me know if you’re interested.

Aurelius said :

Thumper, if they’re outted on a prominent local website, they’ll end up coming here and threatening to report us all to the AFP.

Hope springs eternal!

Thumper, if they’re outted on a prominent local website, they’ll end up coming here and threatening to report us all to the AFP.

tylersmayhem11:45 am 16 Sep 08

I’d try getting some Guiana from an government body to see if anything “official” can be done.

It’s a tough one though. Do you have a good relationship with your neighbor?

I see Stanhope found that the various National institutions were poorly aligned to show his “happy” side, so he had them reversed in the background.

WAT R U SAIING aNT?

Bit o petrol and a match.

Or take a picture, and put it on a well-known Canberra website with a vicious, witty story.

Then all their friends and relatives will come here and abuse us in text-speak and mis-spelled swear words.

Perhaps it’s art. Is your neighbour an artist? If so, contact Jon Stanhope. He pays good money for “art”.

That “letterhead” is brilliant! But you need a cresty-thing too. Or maybe bracket it with the Commonwealth one and the ACT one. Maybe chuck the UK one and the NSW one on the bottom for good measure.

Deadmandrinking9:08 pm 15 Sep 08

^ Ohhh dude, am I gonna have some fun!

Write a letter that looks like an official letter about dirt mounds attracting pests, and give them 14 days to clear it up or they will receive a fine. Put an ambiguous letterhead on it.

I have walked past a palce for 10 years that looks like that. so you think you have problems?

canberra towie8:04 pm 15 Sep 08

p1 said :

I’m told if you put a “for sale” sign on the car, some one will immediately steal it…

Or call the scrap metal people and tell them you have a car they can have for free…

Put a for sale sign on it and the scrap metal people will steal it !!

I’d leave an anonymous letter in their letterbox.

You may have to live next to these folks for a long time, so diplomacy is the key. I would pop over and mention that you are having a front-yard blitz on the weekend and would they like you to help them to clean up their area as well? They can’t possibly be offended by that and most decent folks will say ‘no no, we’ll do it’. If they aren’t decent, well then at least they might give you permission to get rid of the rubbish – at least it will be gone. Or then again – they might tell you to f-off.

Swaggie said :

Knock on their door, just say you were walking past one evening and you saw two ruddy huge Rats running from the street to under the pile of garbage and you thought they might like to know (especially if they have kids). Something about Rats tends to galvanise people into action….

Nah, say you saw rats, then offer to let a few snakes loose to control them. Big ones.

Loquaciousness5:22 pm 15 Sep 08

iCanberran said :

I would never fear telling next door off if their rubbish is p*ssing me off and becoming an eyesaw.

Gee, that sounds painful – have you seen someone about that? 😛

L

Be prepared to defend the state of your own house if you ‘attack’ the state of their yard.

If you really want to be diplomatic, next time you are having a friendly conversation with them say “My front yard is a real mess.” (but make sure you do have a shrubbery that needs pruning) “I really must work on that soon”

They may come back with “ha ha, my place is worse than yours”

And if you really want to be a diplomat, offer to help them clean it up.
As Aurelius quoted, that’s how you make good friends.

grunge_hippy5:10 pm 15 Sep 08

call the media and a pollie looking for a reason to whinge about the stanhope govt. its like shooting fish in a barrel at the moment.

Knock on their door, just say you were walking past one evening and you saw two ruddy huge Rats running from the street to under the pile of garbage and you thought they might like to know (especially if they have kids). Something about Rats tends to galvanise people into action….

Deadmandrinking4:55 pm 15 Sep 08

Maybe just state your feelings in a nice and civil manner, be open to what they have to say and don’t be a complete pussy, ICanberran. People have been attacked and even murdered on public transport in our big cities (and even here). Do you carry weapons on public transport?

If it’s only an eye-sore, as well…it might not be as massive a problem. If it’s a smell issue (which I assume would come from the eggs), then you should definitely say something, as that is definitely neighborhood pollution. But…I mean, you don’t have to look at their houses.

I would never fear telling next door off if their rubbish is p*ssing me off and becoming an eyesaw. I would advise caution though as these people often act irrationally and don’t like being told off. People have being attacked and even shot dead for complaining about dog noise, rubbish and car parking in Sydney and Melbourne. Be civil but also be prepared. I would advise a friendly hello and suggestion that they clean up at first with a crowbar down readily available.

Neighbours
Everybody needs good neighbours
With a little understanding
You can find the perfect blend
Neighbours should be there for one another
That’s when good neighbours become good friends

Bluebell, I am assuming you are a woman – is your neighbour male or female, family, group house?

I gotta feeling if it’s that far gone they ain’t gonna care…

I do something about it and make it look like an ‘accident’…

I’m told if you put a “for sale” sign on the car, some one will immediately steal it…

Or call the scrap metal people and tell them you have a car they can have for free…

Go over there, be as nice as possible, don’t demand they do anything, just kindly explain your feelings on the matter and appeal to their neighbourly spirit.

If that doesn’t work…………then you are stuffed.

Woody Mann-Caruso4:27 pm 15 Sep 08

“Speak softly, and carry a big stick: you will go far.” What’s your big stick?

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