curmudgeon
kəːˈmʌdʒ(ə)n/
noun
a bad-tempered or surly person.
After my galactic revelations yesterday I am back to my lovely self. Well actually I have gone the other way. I shall explain. Phil Towers is located in an area of (To use the delightful euphemism.) Affordable social housing, Someone who grew up when and where I did will know it better as a Caaaaaannnnncil estate. Younger readers my know it better as a housing association property. Basically it is rented accommodation for those who cannot afford to buy. There are good estates and there are the ones which were used in the 1970's. to re house people displaced in the slum clearances of the time. Other groups were also placed in them. Now they tend to be Family homes but also single parent dwellings. Single men or women and older couples live in flats in these areas. There are a high proportion of people who are on benefits.
Now I am not one to automatically assume that all who are in receipt of benefits are automatically anti-social. There are a lot of people who have genuine problems, or in this Austere climate cannot find a job. Many are victims of the Labour policy of rewarding people who produce children, thus causing an epidemic of babies with parents who cannot afford to keep them. There are hundreds of genuine people for every benefit cheat.
I like to judge everyone on their merits. However it is not of benefits I wish to speak. There is no doubt that the type of people who are on benefits tend to exhibit the kind of behaviour I am about to discuss but it is by no means restricted to them.
There is no doubt in my mind that many bought up in the 90's and Noughties has been given to understand that selfish behaviour and rudeness are quite acceptable in themselves but not in others. They are not effectively disciplined by doting parents. This may seem harsh but I have plenty of evidence and cases to study on this estate.
Example 1. There are many enclosed 'Courts' which are paved and have large green areas for children to play in. Yet many of the teenage boys who claim to be poor can afford motorcycles with no tax or M.O.T. (Yes I do know this for a fact, they openly boast of it.), and they wear no helmets or protective gear. They use these courts, which are blocked off with bollards, as shortcuts despite the danger of hitting children and pollute the air with these elderly machines. The noise is incredible and all summer you smell the oily stench of two stroke engines.
Example 2 There is a young man nearby who seems to think I like his choice of music so much that I want to hear it every day in the summer. Recently he had the music, which had heavy bass content, blasting through a boom box in the back of his car for 3 hours. It was drowning out my T.V. to such an extent that (To my shame!) I shouted from my window to turn the F*****g music down. Next I had an irate young man threatening me, waving a finger in my face, swearing and screaming that he could do what he liked. He did, among all this, say that I could have just have asked him calmly. To my way of thinking it was his behaviour which was the catalyst and he must have known that it was. However if I want to be known as a tolerant person he was right, I could have asked. I still feel that the mental torture of non stop loud music was a good excuse for my outburst but I went out and discussed it calmly. He accepted that and turned it down. Since then things have been better with him but there are many who play such loud music, day and night.
Example 3 and the reason for this rant. All our houses are, by their nature, tightly crowded together. It is possible to see that, on a day such as today, washing is out in nearly every garden. And yet one of our neighbours has decided to have a bonfire, putting out thick dark smoke. Of course this means all our washing will now smell of smoke. If we wished to have a fire where I grew up you always made attempts to let people know.
I know that the code we observed with our neighbours regarding potential nuisances when I was young are impossible now but there are things you can do. A fire can be lit at a time when washing is unlikely to be out. If you are doing something noisy such as DIY, a word to the neighbours helps. Sunday being a day of rest is long gone. I have heard people hammering on Christmas day before. A little consideration goes a long way.
This rant will achieve nothing. I have to accept that the code of behaviour I grew up with no longer applies. People do exactly what they want, when they want. Even if you remonstrate peaceably the discussion often turns ugly. Until parents once again discipline their children as I was disciplined things will not improve. Still we can always drug them till they are old enough to begin the whole cycle again.
I like to judge everyone on their merits. However it is not of benefits I wish to speak. There is no doubt that the type of people who are on benefits tend to exhibit the kind of behaviour I am about to discuss but it is by no means restricted to them.
There is no doubt in my mind that many bought up in the 90's and Noughties has been given to understand that selfish behaviour and rudeness are quite acceptable in themselves but not in others. They are not effectively disciplined by doting parents. This may seem harsh but I have plenty of evidence and cases to study on this estate.
Example 1. There are many enclosed 'Courts' which are paved and have large green areas for children to play in. Yet many of the teenage boys who claim to be poor can afford motorcycles with no tax or M.O.T. (Yes I do know this for a fact, they openly boast of it.), and they wear no helmets or protective gear. They use these courts, which are blocked off with bollards, as shortcuts despite the danger of hitting children and pollute the air with these elderly machines. The noise is incredible and all summer you smell the oily stench of two stroke engines.
Example 2 There is a young man nearby who seems to think I like his choice of music so much that I want to hear it every day in the summer. Recently he had the music, which had heavy bass content, blasting through a boom box in the back of his car for 3 hours. It was drowning out my T.V. to such an extent that (To my shame!) I shouted from my window to turn the F*****g music down. Next I had an irate young man threatening me, waving a finger in my face, swearing and screaming that he could do what he liked. He did, among all this, say that I could have just have asked him calmly. To my way of thinking it was his behaviour which was the catalyst and he must have known that it was. However if I want to be known as a tolerant person he was right, I could have asked. I still feel that the mental torture of non stop loud music was a good excuse for my outburst but I went out and discussed it calmly. He accepted that and turned it down. Since then things have been better with him but there are many who play such loud music, day and night.
Example 3 and the reason for this rant. All our houses are, by their nature, tightly crowded together. It is possible to see that, on a day such as today, washing is out in nearly every garden. And yet one of our neighbours has decided to have a bonfire, putting out thick dark smoke. Of course this means all our washing will now smell of smoke. If we wished to have a fire where I grew up you always made attempts to let people know.
I know that the code we observed with our neighbours regarding potential nuisances when I was young are impossible now but there are things you can do. A fire can be lit at a time when washing is unlikely to be out. If you are doing something noisy such as DIY, a word to the neighbours helps. Sunday being a day of rest is long gone. I have heard people hammering on Christmas day before. A little consideration goes a long way.
This rant will achieve nothing. I have to accept that the code of behaviour I grew up with no longer applies. People do exactly what they want, when they want. Even if you remonstrate peaceably the discussion often turns ugly. Until parents once again discipline their children as I was disciplined things will not improve. Still we can always drug them till they are old enough to begin the whole cycle again.
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