It’s raining and I ruddy love it.

Yes, I know this is a weird title but it’s true, let me explain why.

My house was a new build, and when I moved in with my two children the estate was still being built. Now our house was aimed at ‘professionals’ and ‘commuters’. In fact, my children were the only children on the whole of the private housing, apart from one family a few doors away who have a boy the same age as J. I liked the seclusion with our 6 foot tall fencing around my garden, my personal circumstances meant that I wanted to be secluded and keep myself to myself.

Still to this day I do not know the names of any of my neighbours, after 4 years of living here people find it odd that I don’t know my neighbours at all. But our group of houses are not a community. For instance my neighbours spend half of their time abroad and I couldn’t pronounce their names which I have seen on parcels I kindly take inside for them. Now that’s not to say I am not polite, I always say hello to my neighbours but I do not feel the need to engage in a full blown conversation with them. I think this stems back to growing up in a close knit community where everyone knew everyones business. The amount of times as a child I would have to ‘save my mum’ from our neighbours hour long chats over the garden fence. I was taught to go outside and tell my mum that someone was on the phone for her, anything to escape the friendly talkative neighbour who knew our every move.

So what has this got to do with the rain I hear you ask, well as our estate continued to be built, affordable local housing association properties were built down the bottom of the road. I didn’t actually realise this for a good year of them being there, that’s how blinkered I am. The affordable housing have done what they were intended, they have bought families in and given them somewhere to live. There was a very large grass park which has had thousands spent on play equipment for all ages which was very needed considering the amount of children now in the near area. But for some reason the children of the estate don’t like to play on the field and park, the trees outside my house are much more fun it appears. The trees in question were originally left in to provide a shield to mine and my neighbours house. These are council owned and are not on my land, so I cannot touch them. They are however just a few feet away from my front door. However years of playing in the trees mean there is now a ditch which makes a great ramp for bikes it would appear. It has also become a dumping ground for fly tipping. In fact I have had to ring the local council three time this summer because we have had various items of furniture dumped in there, this includes chest of drawers and even a dining chairs. This puzzles me as the parents have to drive/walk past the trees to exit the estate, so surely they must see the furniture and know that it’s theirs?! So why not dispose of it like normal people and take it to the tip? It puzzles me.

*note out flattered bush where some lovely little terror decided to jump in it after jumping off his bmx*

I have just taken a couple of photos to explain the situation here, and right outside my living room window is a childs pink trike which is broken. Now as a parent I would know if that was my childrens, and I would pick it up. Instead it is left as an eye-sore and dumped outside my house. The wall you can see on the right hand of the picture is by my front door.

So imagine its a nice sunny day and the parents have sent their kids out to play, which considering I can hear the kids word for word despite our double glazing and insulated walls, they say that ‘mum told us to come down here out of her way’. Hell I have even heard two siblings, one of which was 3 and crying as he wanted to go home, the older child who was 6 (in my daughters class at school) was saying ‘You know we aren’t allowed home until at least 5’, while the time was just 2pm! Most of the time the kids outside are just being kids, screaming, shouting, playing games, only the problem is that it is 10 feet from my living room and the noise sends me potty. The last few summers I got to the stage where I couldn’t bare to be inside my own house and would go rounds others to escape the noise for a while, that’s how bad it gets!!! So it’s no surprise we are moving house this August, to somewhere where there is no trees outside my house.

Our new house will be the country and I know we will become part of a close knit community, but you know what? I’m looking forward to having a chat to my neighbours and I love the way everyone says ‘morning’ to each other in the country.  But for now I am happy it’s chucking it with rain and the children have had to go home. (or to the hut in the park, away from my house) Either is good for me.