The Sound of .............

These gentlemen have all got the horn
...ahem...

This week the sunshine has put in a proper appearance and brought happiness in many forms; children leaping into paddling pools or with hands held high like little chimps as mummy and daddy help them take their first steps into the sea, and everyone consuming more ice cream than seems sensible.  The evening light becomes magical to run and cycle in, and convertible owners have 'got their tops off' to treat themselves to the sun on their shoulders, and pedestrians to the benefit of their musical tastes.   Note to the gentleman in the Volvo C70 driving through the village:  'Lady in Red' does not count as a summer song.

The weather has also meant Al Fresco dining, cheeky early evening drinks at the pub and noise....lots of noise.

Some of the noise is welcome, like the sound of children playing, cockerels crowing, lawn mowers and the like, but some of it is less so.  The conversation between the builders at the bottom of our road is very funny for me, but I don't necessarily want the children to hear that by the time 'Dave' has 'finished the xxxxing chimney' someone 'will have already moved in and lit a fire at the bottom of it'.

On particularly fine evenings we have quad bikes steaming past our house and up towards the Ridgeway.  After the initial trip down memory lane to holidays spent zipping around the Greek islands on a scooter, it becomes very annoying and keeps us awake.  Then it stops and just as you are about to fall asleep a mosquito sets up a one-man-band next to your ear - how can something so miniscule be so loud?!

This however was put into perspective by a friend who posted on Facebook that he was being included in his neighbour's bedroom antics by virtue of them flinging open the windows to let some air in whilst forgetting that it also let her yodelling all the way out of their window, down the road, and into other people's houses.  She was evidently enjoying herself or was perhaps, we speculated, under the tuition of a vocal coach seeking to eke out her inner Mariah Carey.   Much online hilarity ensued with suggestions that they should be given some competition or a hearty round of applause when it ended or perhaps everyone on the thread should feel inspired to shut down their computer and find their loved one.  It's good to know your neighbours are still getting their rocks off but you don't neccessarily want the aural proof slipping through your window and into the lounge (or, as it sounded in this instance, slamming your front door open, charging down the hall, and rattling the glassware).

Funny as it was to read about my friend's noisy interlude, I realised two things.

1: I was glad the only noise I had to contend with that evening was my neighbour's children shouting with delight as you do when you're 9 and allowed to stay up late.

2: I can live with the quad bikes.