50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, (but 100 ways -at least - to annoy your neighbours – here we tell you the first 10!)

1. Play your music loud at unreasonable hours. This is guaranteed to get on your neighbours' nerves. Doing so just shows you don’t consider the feelings of others. Keep it up (the volume, I mean) and you won’t be making any friends.
2. Who let the dogs out? Was it you? Did you let them out AND let them bark endlessly? Please, keep pets under control. Noise pollution from animals is a common cause of neighbourly discord. If your dog is barking all the time, you need to establish why. Maybe dog discipline classes will help.
3. Rubbish! People don’t like their own rubbish, so they’re hardly likely to feel affectionate about yours. Keep it binned. Don’t let your refuse litter the area. Find out from your local council about refuse collection days and what the recycling guidelines are.
4. The postman doesn’t always ring twice. In fact, sometimes he doesn’t ring at all and bulky post might get left outside. If you’ve been left a package that’s addressed to a neighbour don’t forget to give it to them.
5. DIY. Noise again. It probably goes without saying (or at least it should) but if you’re planning on drilling through concrete or hammering nails into the walls, try to do so at a reasonable time.
6. It’s your party, and your neighbours will cry if they want to. Hey, everyone’s entitled to have fun every now and then, but if your house is as busy as Piccadilly Circus all the time and people are coming and going endlessly, you’re not going to be flavour of the month in your neighbourhood. Why not invite the neighbours when you do have a party? Or at least send over a note to forewarn them that you’ll be celebrating [insert reason for celebration here] and follow up after the party with a small gift – and I don’t mean the bottle of Blue Nun that no-one drank.
7. They haven’t paved paradise and put up a parking lot, but you seem to think they have, and you keep blocking your neighbour’s drive. If parking is an issue where you live find out if you can purchase a space from someone who doesn’t need theirs.
8. Can you have your ball back? Sure, most neighbours will be happy to throw your kid’s ball back over the fence on the odd occasion it lands in their garden. But don’t let it happen too much. Your garden may be ball friendly if you have children, but the lady who’s lived in the house next door for 40 years might not feel the same way if her marigolds keep getting crushed by footballs.
9. Don’t borrow things and not give them back. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a cup of sugar or a lawnmower. Remember to give it back. Far too many ‘over the fence’ feuds start over these little things.
10. Respect your neighbour’s privacy. If you keep popping your head over the fence when your neighbour has company don’t be surprised if your face becomes one they tire of. Just because you live next door doesn’t mean you’ve the right to intrude.

If you've been affected by any of the issues mentioned above , then we feel sorry for you. Leave a comment in the box below or pop over to www.neighbourblog.com for a cup of tea and a chat.