7 July 2003 10:53 [link]
domestic
Late to bed last night, because we stayed up listening to our neighbours fighting. We didn't really have a choice about listening, since their argument was carried out fortissimo with the windows open.
The woman was shrill, incoherent. The man sounded rather more in control of himself, although he rather lost it towards the end. I think they were both drunk.
It was the sort of argument where we occasionally wondered if we should be calling the police. The debate was occasionally punctuated by the sound of thumps and smashing things. Objects, I think, rather than people.
Particular highlights:
- The woman occasionally bringing out a load of broken things and dumping them in the bin, before returning inside to continue the argument.
- The man trying to find a suitcase in the attic without a light.
- The woman telling him he was useless and to come down and let her do it.
- The man having difficulty with the front gate, and then pulling it off its hinges.
- The argument continuing, sotto voce, in the street.
- The man falling over the gate as it lay in the street.
In the end, I think the man slept in his car. The woman's daughter (who we felt very sorry for) tried to make sure that the man didn't have any car keys since apparently he wasn't fit to drive.
It's not the first time I've heard them having blazing rows, but it's certainly the loudest and longest.
Sara and I switched off the lights and opened the curtains a bit so we had ringside seats. Hiding behind net curtains is such a British pastime. Looking across the street I saw various other windows with curtains mysteriously askew. Still, if they're going to keep you awake, you might as well get some entertainment out of it.
* * *