THE LIVES OF OTHERS

No am I am not going to talk about the excellent film that came out a few years back, but rather the ease with which the unintentional actions of others can have such an effect on you.

This morning I was happily sat drinking a cup of coffee in the conservatory with the doors open.  It was a cool morning but I am someone who likes fresh air and coolness.  So I am sat there going through my emails and logging onto to Twitter enjoying the quiet time after people have drifted off to work and so on.  Being out in suburbia and surrounded by trees I can sometimes get the impression that I am in the country with no one else around.  It's a good feeling to have from time to time and can be relaxing.

So there I am in a good zen like mood when all of a sudden drifting on the airwaves like some sort of noxious lethal gas came the sound of the song Tragedy.  Now it would have been bad enough if this had been the falsetto warble of the Bee Gees, but sadly and tragically (every pun intended) it was by the supremely talentless Steps.  Whoever was playing this 'song' not only has a shit taste in music but also absolutely no shame at all.  I would rather wire my gentleman's parts to a car battery and repeatedly switch the engine on and off than listen to such audio rapists as Steps.  The thought of actually playing 'music' like that so loud so as to advertise the fact is beyond any sort of consideration!

Thankfully I only had to endure the one audio assault before whoever it was came to timely and sticky end at the hands of a more militant objector or they closed whatever escape hatch this evil was escaping from.

OK, in isolation this doesn't really matter, but it served as a reminder of what I really hate about summer the most.  Other peoples noise.

For some strange reason, people seem to like sharing with everyone what they are listening to, talking about or doing in general whilst they are in their back gardens in summer.  Frankly I could not give a toss what taste in music they have as I can be assured that it certainly won't be anything I like and I certainly don't want to know what is going on in their lives as for some reason, people who talk outdoors seem to insist on talking far louder than usual despite the fact that their intended target can be no more than two feet away.  If this was confined to the day that would be OK, but for some reason it has to carry on at night.  It is like there is no escape from having to listen to other peoples bullshit in one for or another.

The icing on the cake is usually the outdoor BBQ that turns into some sort of all night party.  It appears that other people are not entitled to sleep because the party goers have to get drunk and shout/slur/sing/vomit their way through to the point where they pass out, which on average where I live tends to be around 4.00am.  Hey guess what arseholes?  I am not attending your party so I don't want to share in any of it, including your crappy music, your stupid brain dead conversations or actually your life in anyway shape or form.  I really couldn't care less and I would really like it if you all were to vanish from the face of the Earth.

It's at times like this I really wish a had a supply of hand grenades or a sniper rifle or something to shut the irritating bastards up with!

You see, I don't believe that I should inflict my noise on other people if I can help it.  OK there are always occasions when it is unavoidable but that is different than the air headed attitude that most people tend to have these days where they actually seem to go out of the way to annoy other people.  It is symptomatic of today's society that no one really gives a shit about how their actions affect others.  It is not about being boring it is about having the basic semblance of consideration for other people that you have to share the vicinity with.  It should never be the case that someone else's noise should keep you up all night.  Laws passed are a waste of time because the Police never bother turning up unless there is some sort of fight and let's face it, do we really need to have the Police to come and tell us to turn the music down or behave in a civilised fashion?

My philosophy in life is to do what you want and have a good time but never ever at the expense of others.  I just wish these selfish muppets would consider that from time to time.