Tales from Four in the Morning
At four O'clock yesterday morning I was woken by the cat. It was her 'I've got a mouse and I'm playing with it and if you don't come out here I'm going to deposit its internal organs on your face' meow. I'm getting to know it well.
We went through the usual farce of us both chasing the mouse; her wanting to play with it, me wanting to liberate it. The time dragged on, as this was a particularly cunning mouse which seemed to show real attitude.
Finally it was cornered, I shooed the cat away and, where a garden glove, picked up the mouse and liberated it. The cat was to be locked in the house this evening so I knew I had a good chance of an uninterrupted sleep.
But...
At half three this morning I was woken by loud music coming from next door. I got up, on automatic, and stumbled round to the neighbours. The mother of the house was away and the son was having a party. I asked if they could turn the music off.
"I'll turn it down."
"Can you turn it off please. It's half three and we have to be up at six."
"I'll turn it down. I ain't turning it off."
"Please turn it off. We can't sleep."
"You can say please as much as you like, I'm not turning it off."
And at that point I did a surprising sensible thing. I walked off. He did turn the music down, and off about twenty minutes later. We'll have to wait to see if there is any fallout.
It reminded me of a similar time many years ago when the neighbouring flat played dance music until three or four in the morning. The solution there was much simpler. Their power supply was in a cupboard outside the flat, they were all stoned and effectively brain dead. My solution was to jog around to their fuse-box and switch the power off. I did this for two night and then they gave up.
Who knows what this coming morning will bring.
Current listening: Quiet.
We went through the usual farce of us both chasing the mouse; her wanting to play with it, me wanting to liberate it. The time dragged on, as this was a particularly cunning mouse which seemed to show real attitude.
Finally it was cornered, I shooed the cat away and, where a garden glove, picked up the mouse and liberated it. The cat was to be locked in the house this evening so I knew I had a good chance of an uninterrupted sleep.
But...
At half three this morning I was woken by loud music coming from next door. I got up, on automatic, and stumbled round to the neighbours. The mother of the house was away and the son was having a party. I asked if they could turn the music off.
"I'll turn it down."
"Can you turn it off please. It's half three and we have to be up at six."
"I'll turn it down. I ain't turning it off."
"Please turn it off. We can't sleep."
"You can say please as much as you like, I'm not turning it off."
And at that point I did a surprising sensible thing. I walked off. He did turn the music down, and off about twenty minutes later. We'll have to wait to see if there is any fallout.
It reminded me of a similar time many years ago when the neighbouring flat played dance music until three or four in the morning. The solution there was much simpler. Their power supply was in a cupboard outside the flat, they were all stoned and effectively brain dead. My solution was to jog around to their fuse-box and switch the power off. I did this for two night and then they gave up.
Who knows what this coming morning will bring.
Current listening: Quiet.
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