Hello folks, I have been thinking about neighbours lately. When I was a kid growing up at Janet’s Corner, the entire housing estate were your neighbours really. The neighbours seemed to spend as much time in your house then, as they did there own. We borrowed, bread, sugar, and even money from each other. I can’t remember anyone being regarded as a bad neighbour. No loud music ever came from next door, but then we didn’t have stereo players. Somehow Jim Reeves and Cliff Richards being played on a grammar phone didn’t exactly send the ornaments crashing from the shelves. When we lived in Ramsey our neighbours spent the whole day screaming and shouting at each other. They kept it up all day. It wasn’t too bad in the winter as the doors and windows were shut. However, it could be a real pain during the summer months. In our present house, we have Tom and Dee on one side; they are no bother and spend a lot of time away. On the other side we have a gentleman who keeps himself to himself. He has not spoken to us once in the 10 years we have lived here. I have heard the occasional grunt. If he does happen to read this blog, well hello mate, hope everything is OK with you.

When we lived in Port St. Mary, our next door neighbours were Michael and Joanne Keig. They now own the chippie in Port St.Mary. They were brilliant neighbours. Joanne used to bake the most fantastic cakes. Mike was a brilliant handyman and could and usually did do just about any job you wanted doing. One Friday night Barbara and I went to the pub and on our return, our entire kitchen floor had been tiled.

Joanne kept a fairly tight reign on Mike. Both he and I liked a little trip to the pub. Joanne was not always enthusiastic regarding Mikes little jaunts to the Station but thankfully she never spent too much time in the greenhouse. Mike would leave a pair of shoes in the greenhouse but always made sure he left a tenner in one of his shoes. He would slip out to the greenhouse about 8.30 or so and we would both leg it down to the Station. I don’t know how Mike explained the smell of beer on his breath to Joanne when he had supposedly been messing about with his tomatoes and pricking out his seedlings. I shall ask him when I visit the chippie later this week.

Well its now time for me to take a little walk with Skipper. They have issued a flood warning for this afternoon, so if I don’t get washed away, I shall see you tomorrow.

Tom Glassey on the banks of the Silverburn River.