Moaning Neighbours

[FireworksDude86]

Just had some right barmy with the Shnookerdookies! next door.

Basically, as a pyro lover we know i'm legally entitled to launch fireworks up until 11pm all year round with bonfire and nye being an exception.

I started launching some for firework night 2014 and not once has she expressed any concerns or said it's a problem. 99% of the stuff I lit was quiet pyro (fountains etc).

Tonight I lit a fountain for a few bits tonight and after it had fired she stuck her head over our fence.

She was just so rude, told me that she want's me to stop lighting fireworks. When I asked why she said its because she has small animals. I explained that I don't light fireworks all the time and that she could put them indoors.

Her reply was "I don't care, I have asked you to stop lighting fireworks and you will stop!!!". When I reminded her off the laws she dismissed that and told me that its not legal for me to light fireworks at this time of year.

She told me my garden is too small for fireworks (it's not as I explained once again to her the safety distances). But then she started threatening me with calling the the police. I told her she can call the police but I am not breaking the law at all.

Then she went into things saying I am a right know it all, cheeky and she wanted me to come to her face and say that.

It ended with her telling me I should give her notice, however none of the other neighbours mind at all, plus she hasn't even been living there long at all really. Also she has blanked me in the street, made no attempt to make conversation previously and her dog ffs barks so loud all night.

Blehh, really has killed my evening

 

[Rich]

TBH. It would always be courteous to provide notice to your neighbours on non standard and expected fireworks days.

Fireworks can cause major distress to animals etc and I always make the effort to warn my neighbours and never have any issues.

It only takes a minute to knock their door or stick a note through.

 

[Somersetpyro]

Neighbours are a problem, particularly out of season.
Clearly she is completely incompetent when it comes to laws surrounding fireworks, as you say it's 100% legal.
If she does ever call the police, it is nothing to worry about as they'll just explain to her the law. But be warned they may want to check how much pyro you're storing to make sure you aren't over the 5kg limit.

However, i agree with Rich and your neighbour, unless it is extremely low-noise, like silent fountains, you should always let neighbours know out of season, and in season as well actually. They may have animals or young children who are frightened by fireworks. As you said you'll be having pyro throughout they year, i'd send all your neighbours a short note explaining this, and stating that they shouldn't be too loud or too late at night. If you do that, there's nothing anyone can do to stop you

 

[FireworksDude86]

At the moment we have 3 or 4 houses surrounding us. 3 of those neighbours are perfectly fine and even look out of the window at the displays.

This woman and her husband haven't been living there long. If she had a problem with me having "6" displays since November, then surely she could have said to me that it's a problem. Actually it's the opposite... Her husband looked out of the window when I had my last display and was watching them so I assumed they liked the pyro.

Had I known, I would inform them... Yet, I don't appreciate her head being waved over my fence and being told that i'm not allowed fireworks at this time of year and my garden is "too small" to light them when it isnt.

The police could check all they want because all thats here currently is a less than 2kg selection bigger box, rockets totalling no more than 1.5kg overall, a second selection box that is about 1kg and 3 125g nec small selection boxes. Under 5kg.

I think with her i'm going to postpone tonight's display and simply leave notes through her door telling her when my next launch night will be.

 

[Somersetpyro]

there's no excuse for the rudeness, if she had a problem she should have come and knocked on your door and spoken politely that her animals don't like the pyro.
All she's done is made herself look stupid by pretending that she knows the firework laws
Also there's actually no law regarding how far away you should be from fireworks, only guidelins that should really be followed. And even if your garden wasn't big enough, you're the one who'd suffer the consequences if a firework went wrong, so that is nothing to do with her

but is is still courteous to inform neighbours of fireworks displays, even if they haven't said anything in the past

 

[FireworksDude86]

Exactly. I know that but as I say, her bloke has looked out of the window and watched my firework displays (which have been mostly fountains). The rest have told me personally that I can light fireworks whenever they like as they enjoy them and don't mind.

She is a complete idiot and i'm baffled. Just writing up a letter for her with the actual laws and putting it through her letterbox. In future if i'm having fireworks on a certain night I will just post a note through her letterbox. Nothing she can do really, but I wont be spoken to the way she spoke to me

 

[Somersetpyro]

make sure this letter isn't too rude, you want no grounds with which she could accuse you of harassment.
The trouble with idiots is that they can explode things into biblical ridiculousness, and i'm sure the last thing you want is the police knocking saying you;ve been accused of x, y, z

If your other neighbours have said they don't mind then thats fine, you don't need to worry about them. But your future idea for action to send her a note informing of future displays is a good plan

 

[FireworksDude86]

Well it was a combination. 2 pages long that wasn't directly rude but did say I don't appreciate being told what I can and can't do. Mostly it was explaining the laws and adding that as a "goodwill gesture", I will post a note through her door in the daytime if I plan to have a display that evening. A bit of an annoyance but as long as it keeps her off my back and leaves her with no other option but just to accept it.

 

[Somersetpyro]

it's perfectly within our rights to say you don't like being talked to in that manner, as long as you aren't rude about her
have to say though, i like the 'goodwill gesture' bit, takes some of the power off her

 

[FireworksDude86]

Indeed, there was no rudeness from me. I actually took it quite cool. I simply explained the law. Was actually amusing now when she told me that she has asked me to stop, so I will stop. My reply was just something like "ummmm, well the law says I can launch them until 11pm, so i'm fine to carry on". Anyway's, that is done I reckon and in future she will have to just put up with it (with prior notice given)

 

[Somersetpyro]

She will

The cheek of some people though, thinking they can demand others to stop things they are perfectly entitled to do
anyway, glad it's the end of it now

 

[cossi]

Two of my neighbours have dogs ,next door and the one after. Next door, no 9, are fine ,as they have kids who also love fireworks ,and they light them on their birthdays ,gfn and Nye. Next door down, no, 8 have 2 dogs who bark at anything and usually at any time , and are scared of fireworks. No 8 have told no 9 off for lighting fireworks and no 8 have hit back with your fxxxxx dogs keep me up all night love.
Because of no 8' s dogs ,I feel I cant light fireworks other than on gfn and Nye in my own back garden . Even with small selection boxes I feel bad because I can hear the dogs reaction and the neighbour has to come out the back to comfort them . they have never said anything to me ,but I don't want any trouble .
So ,when I bought showstopper and gunpowder barrels from lidl , I went down to the beach to light them and film them. I could see there were a couple of people walking dogs so I waited until they were well clear of where I was .
I lit showstopper ,and before it even finished ,I could here a dog barking ,and the couple walking it started shouting abuse at me . the woman was particularly obscene and then the guy started and was walking towards me . I packed up and left swiftly.

The law might say you can light fireworks any night ,in your own garden , but I find it increasingly difficult to do without upsetting someone . Even mickey mouse fountains have stupid loud crackle effects and in a back yard ,they can sound pretty scary for a neighbours pet. I think with the advent of increasingly loud fireworks , especially the big rockets , eventually there will be a crackdown on where and when you can light pyro or a ban on some.

 

[Somersetpyro]

At this moment in time, people shouldn't abuse you for lighting fireworks out of season, the law says you can, so as long as you reasonably inform neighbours (with a note or speaking to them personally), they can't do anything. However i do agree with you cossi, about using any with excessive noise.We'll be having a small display for a birthday in a month or two, but we deliberately used our shot tubes and cakes at NYE, as you can't tell everyone in the neighbourhood, and you don't want to cause unnecessary trouble.

 

[gaz]

I tend to find people over react like i have just read, I find people are not very educated with the fireworks law and i think this what it bottles down to. I have quite a few elderly people on my street, 2 next door to me and about at least lol 8 - 9 houses in a row and a retirement home complex across the way.

When i first moved in here i got to know a few of them, and it was shocking tbh on how many actually liked them. all though i have a medium garden i cannot set off the big items. but the small stuff and the loud items i do have produce quite a bang.

I have not to date had any complaints, i do get asked if i was the one setting off ect, but nothing to say they was displeased. From reading all these, out of season it would be wise just friendly say hello and tell them you will be setting a few items off.

As for animal lovers, They complain out of season and in season, so in my eyes you will never win. I would suggest if your neighbours have animals, then set pyro off after a given time usually people don't walk dogs after 7, so i would say anytime after that would be best. but observe how busy you local area is it would give you a good indication to letting fireworks off and not couse too much stress.

With the banning situation i think there is enough pyro fans to stop a ban going through even if its over a dog or cat getting scared, there are plenty of free advice how to keep animals calm and safe during seasons and out of season.

To end this, my personal opinion I feel people with animals have gotten over sensitive over the topic, and don't follow the majority of the advice given.

 

[FireworksDude86]

A lot of this is about tolerance and people accepting that everyone does something to pee someone else off at times, weather intentionally or not.

There should be no guilt with that at all. As you say, number 8's dogs bark a fair bit yet that has been mostly accepted by surrounding neighbours right? It's only when they kicked off did someone else kick off.

The people at the beach... What's to say that couple who shouted abuse at you didn't leave dog mess on the beach or in a public area for a child to slip in on a few occasions? Yet there will be no cares of thoughts about that by them at all.

Next door here have been a complete pain. The woman has been outside swearing and screeching at her husband on a few occasions, once because he moved the wrong flower pot. Yet I didn't tell them to shut up. They had decorators and builders in from 7am until late afternoon on numerous occasions with power drills, hammers knocking down walls, which woke me up (especially bad when I was working nights and I would get to sleep at 6am, only to be woken up an hour later). They gave me no notice regarding this yet I was fine and accepted it.

Now I know its her with the cat, that cat actually comes into our garden, messes all over the place, yet I simply clear it up (even though we don't have a cat) and say nothing. Plus that cat has climbed on our porch, messes on top of it, scratches the material to try and bury it as cats do, that has eventually torn the felt which I only noticed when it rained and water had leaked through the torn felt into our property. I didn't go to hers and ask her to pay for repairs, I was tolerant and understood it's what cats do and never said a word.

I agree that it's not ideal to deliberately keep and set off big/larger/louder bits out of season. Again though it should be about tolerance. If someone takes the pee, has 20 displays a year and all of them involve very loud multi shot cakes, I could understand some neighbours being unhappy. Yet most out of season firers know the score with this (None of us are like some asbo kid who lights super loud fireworks deliberately to cause a nuisance).

 

[Somersetpyro]

Dude 86, you've just made a very true point
Your neighbour abuses you for lighting a few fireworks, then screams swears at her guy for moving a flower
and how many times have you walked down the street and (almost) stepped in some dog turds someone couldn't be arsed to pick up?

I like dogs, and don't mind at all if they are scared of fireworks, people are well within their rights to express their concerns surrounding them. But those who abuse fireworks fans over noise, then leave stinking Fudge Berries! on the paths, let their dogs bark at night or just make lots of noise need to learn some manners and tolerance, and stop being hypercritical

 

[cossi]

There seem to be more dogs around than ever ,which makes it more likely that someone will complain . The beach incident really annoyed me ,as it is such a vast space and we should all enjoy it . I have seen on numerous occasions dogs doing their stuff on the beach ,and some owners ,not all , just leave it . Also there is a ban here on dogs being on a section of the beach in the summer ,but you will always see some there.

As a cyclist , I don't know how many times I have had to break hard to avoid hitting a dog that is running loose on the paths on the seafront and in the parks . Even when they are on a lead , you get those extending leads which stretch out for a mile and the owner is totally oblivious ,intentionally or otherwise ,to me coming along on my bike .
when I give a look to the owner ,they brush it off ,blaming the dog , but of course it is the owners fault . Imagine if I hit one some day .
But I accept these people and their dogs and don't shout abuse at them , though I do curse them once I have past them .

Some people ,with or without pets just hate fireworks ,my father being one . Firework lovers need to be above these people and show that we are responsible people enjoying what we love and not breaking the law. if I have fireworks I know will be loud or have big breaks , I try to go somewhere ,like the beach or a friends house ,but still I got some shouts on a couple of occasions .
I have never complained to my neighbours about the dogs barking ,likewise they havnt said anything to me about lighting fireworks . I always say hello and smile when I pass them and they do the same . Perhaps we have some kind of understanding , how long for ,who knows .

 

[Somersetpyro]

your neighbours and yourself are perfect examples of how life should work. You understand that the dogs will bark/the fireworks will bang on occasions and realise that it really isn't a problem. But some people are idiots and can't understand that we're all humans, and at some point we'll do something that someone else won't like. Most (normal) people just tolerate it, or have a quiet/polite word with you about any issue. But the minority think they can do whatever the Fudge nuggets! they want, and then demand others do/do not do things. They think that they are in charge of everything and everyone and that everything must be done in a way they like.

These people are the ones that you see on tv on 'the nightmare neighbour next door'

i think we all need to react like this guy
Contains expletives, lots of them!

 

[AnthonyUKpyro]

Out of season I tend to stick to lower noise fireworks and nobody says a thing to me in fact some of the mums and dads with younger kids come out and watch, and they love them very much! And they ALWAYS say when is your next display;and I tell them and they always ask "can we come and watch them" to which I reply "Yes". That way-it's good neighbour relations, it makes the families think good of me as well as positive appreciation of the fireworks too, you can't lose. If I do have any noisy fireworks then I prewarn local residents-it's the polite thing to do. Some silly ignorants have had a go at me but the police have stuck up for my side by defending it and telling them I am not doing nothing wrong And by the way Somersetpyro you ARE allowed to keep up to 50kg of 1.4g fireworks up to 21days prior to a home firework display, that 5kg ruling applies mainly to 1.3g fireworks which you can only store up to 3 days before a home firework display. You would need an awful lot of 1.4g fireworks to get anywhere 50kg especially if its lightweight BS7114 spec fireworks or small ec cat 2 and cat 3 fireworks, many small ec cat 2 and ec cat 3 fireworks are shockingly underweight for their size but still manage to pack in a performance punch for their size

 

[Somersetpyro]

Out of season I tend to stick to lower noise fireworks and nobody says a thing to me in fact some of the mums and dads with younger kids come out and watch, and they love them very much! And they ALWAYS say when is your next display;and I tell them and they always ask "can we come and watch them" to which I reply "Yes". That way-it's good neighbour relations, it makes the families think good of me as well as positive appreciation of the fireworks too, you can't lose. If I do have any noisy fireworks then I prewarn local residents-it's the polite thing to do. Some silly ignorants have had a go at me but the police have stuck up for my side by defending it and telling them I am not doing nothing wrong

The police wouldn't do anything other than that, if you aren't breaking the law they can't do anything

And by the way Somersetpyro you ARE allowed to keep up to 50kg of 1.4g fireworks up to 21days prior to a home firework display, that 5kg ruling applies mainly to 1.3g fireworks which you can only store up to 3 days before a home firework display. You would need an awful lot of 1.4g fireworks to get anywhere 50kg especially if its lightweight BS7114 spec fireworks or small ec cat 2 and cat 3 fireworks, many small ec cat 2 and ec cat 3 fireworks are shockingly underweight for their size but still manage to pack in a performance punch for their size

Anthony, i never said you couldn't keep fireworks, so i've got no idea where the hell you got that from. And actually, before correcting someone, check that your facts are correct. You can store up to 5kg combined NEC of both 1.4g and 1.3g fireworks for an unlimited time, then up to 50kg of 1.4g fireworks for up to 21 days. Over these amounts is up to 3 days