General Chat

When we first went to live in Belgium in 1997, we, of course had to abide by the rules. We were informed of the laws and the culture when we arrived. One law was, that on a Sunday no one was allowed to use a lawn mower or indeed any electricial appliance outside. If they did then they could be arrested for disturbing the peace. The Belgians highly regard Sunday as a family day where they can relax in peace. The shops were all closed and it was indeed an enjoyable day. I loved it and thought it was a great idea. When I returned to the UK four years later I found it extremley hard to get used to all the noise and hustle and bustle of a Sunday. I'd sit in my back garden listening to the birds, reading a good book enjoying the tranquility AND suddenly the man next door would start up his petrol mower and that was the end of that. Don't you think it would be a lovely idea to have a similar law in this country?

joan this sunday opening is one progress we can do without,i'm sure alot of people would rather not work on a sunday, it should be for quality time with your loved ones, as for lawnmowers, my neighbour is a nightmare, no offense to pensioners, they set there alarm for 4.30am everyday, he takes the dog out, and by 6am he's washing his car, and by 7.30 the lawnmowers out not everyday , they have friends that visit daily and chat outside anywhere between 7 and 9am even on a sunday. it drives me nuts, i don't sleep well, and love waking up to the birds, and i am to polite to say anything to them as they are lovely neighbours apart from this. take care sandra

the only problem with not allowing lawn mowers etc to be used on a sunday is that is the only day off that some people get...so when do they cut their lawns etc...?

i think the point joans trying to make is not just about the lawnmowers on a sunday, but the whole issue of sunday being taken away from us as a family day with shops etc open whereas we used to get saturday and sunday off work or sunday and a weekday. i for on appreciate these things have to be done on your days off as i used to.even on a sunday. does that make sense sandra

Thank you all for your replies. I just wanted other peoples opinions. Us slightly more mature people can still remember when we were still working full time and having a reasonably peaceful Sunday when the shops were shut and lawn mowers were not electric, but were just a gentle whirr. Hey Ho, enjoy tomorrow as much as you can. Sandra, our elderly neighbours are exactly the same as yours, Grrrr!

Joan, Did you also miss the milkman delivering milk to your door every day? I used to think "how shall I manage without the daily milkman", but you get used to it. When I lived in Africa we had no shops at all to speak of. Our large shopping was done every 3 months. I had 3 children so had to bake bread every day. It's amazing what you can do without if need be. No packet of biscuits at the corner shop. No papers, etc.etc. I used to make my own peanut butter, cakes, biscuits, crisps (when we could hold of a potato). Live off the land and what is available.

Quotations about Nostalgia We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it. ~George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss, 1860 Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! ~Owens Lee Pomeroy If you're yearning for the good old days, just turn off the air conditioning. ~Griff Niblack It's never safe to be nostalgic about something until you're absolutely certain there's no chance of its coming back. ~Bill Vaughn The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealized past. ~Robertson Davies, A Voice from the Attic [I]t becomes increasingly easy, as you get older, to drown in nostalgia. ~Ted Koppel Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days. ~Doug Larson Things ain't what they used to be and probably never was. ~Will Rogers People seem to get nostalgic about a lot of things they weren't so crazy about the first time around. ~Author Unknown Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory. ~Franklin Pierce Adams Nostalgia for what we have lost is more bearable than nostalgia for what we have never had.... ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Terrific quotes, Bob. There's no nostalgia like the old nostalgia!!! Michael (in Dundas)

Bob from Reddich. What is your point to all these quotations? I'm merely telling of the rules of another European country. Jo.

Hi Joan I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one, but I also see the point made by some others about Sunday being their only free time. We all seem to work so many hours nowadays, it's so difficult to get things done at home. In an ideal world, we could all have a nice, peaceful day off on a Sunday! By the way Joan, I'm sure one of my neighbours mows their lawn with a helicopter, the sound it makes LOL. Mandy :)

When we lived in Germany, there was also a law saying that no washing could be hung outside on a Sunday. As most German houses have good cellars that are used as drying rooms, it was not a problem for them. It certainly made the gardens look better on a Sunday. Janet

This morning at 8:00 am. The gardener in the holiday complex across the road from us, sat on his tractor lawn mover and was cutting the grass. As there are half a dozen gardeners over there at any given time. Why do they have to cut the grass on a Sunday? We have double glazed windows and even then the noise was irritating! I wonder what the tourists must think? Lindy:-(

Hi Lindy If they are English tourists, it probably feels like home from home!!! lol Hugs Norah

Hi Norah, Good to have you back! As a matter of fact they are mostly English. Lindy;-))

Basically I'm saying, we all work hard all week and on a Sunday it would be nice to 'chill out' but that is denied me and others. The OAP's have all week to do their gardening, why pick a Sunday? Do you think it's a wind up? Jo.