I’ve been living in my own house in Oxfordshire for more than twenty years, and my neighbour has lived next door for only slightly less time. He started building his place just as I was finishing up the interiors of mine.
We know each other fairly wellweve kept in touch over the years and have even visited one another from time to time. But our relationship has never been particularly close.
Last winter, due to some health issues, I stayed with my daughter for a while since it was difficult to manage at home on my own. In spring, when the weather turned mild, I began preparing to return back home.
I came back at the end of April, just as the last of the frost had finally melted away. The house itself was in good shape, although I had been a bit anxious about it. I got straight to work tidying up the front garden and the vegetable patch out back, making sure everything looked as it should.
I’ve got two small greenhouses where this year Ive planted cucumbers and peppers, with a third one devoted to tomatoes.
In the flowerbeds, Ive got strawberries, carrots, onions, and dill growing. Along the fence that separates my garden from my neighbours, Ive planted gooseberry and currant bushes. All this effort hasnt gone unnoticed. Once again, I began experiencing pains. My daughter took me into London, and then in the summer sent me off to a health retreat for a month.
When September rolled around, I was finally feeling better. I came back home and headed out to my allotment, only to discover that the wooden fence between my garden and my neighbours had been broken down in such a way that you could walk straight through to my vegetable patch from his side.
It was immediately clear my neighbour had been using my greenhouses and my beds. He hadnt even called to ask for permission, even though hes got my phone number.
As you can imagine, I wasn’t pleased about it. So I asked him directly why the fence was damaged. He admitted it was just more convenient to use my pathhe could get to the greenhouses and beds much more quickly. I made it clear that I was unhappy, and he responded rather casually. I told him plainly that I didnt want anyone coming into my garden without permission.
I also asked him to fix that part of the fence himself, restoring it to how it was. And I added that he ought to share a portion of this years harvest with me. Of course, I didnt actually need the vegetableswhat I really wanted was to teach my neighbour a little lesson, one hed certainly remember.
