Heartland

People know me in this neighbourhood. Thanks to the kids and the school many people know me from there. They also know me as one who doesn't take anyones s**t or that of anyones kids and if parents aren't watching their kids get up to no good, well then you have me telling the kids the law....

Most greet me and I them in the polite way but if they don't they can just fuckoff and no need looking in my direction again. Funny enough no-one has ever started grief with me! Lucky them!

So yeah I'm a friendly neighbour that does her own thing!

I nod, sometimes I happily chat to a few folk... The people over the road are tossers and always park their car over my driveway so I can't back out properly - they are deliberately nasty, which I think is pathetic and sad. Even their little 'uns are mean. scary.

when i lived in uppingham (which is a village/small market town) everyone was refreshingly friendly and pleasant; this quickly turned out to be only a small consolation for the two-faced smalltown-england-mindedness of a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. now i'm back in the city total strangers only tend to acknowledge you if the'yre after something (spare change directions or a fight) or if they're mad/both.

my actual neighbours now have started to say hello and smile, though they probably wouldn't have if i hadn't first; but it's always reassuring to know that the music wasn't too loud last night, and you never know when yu might run out os sugar.