I arrived home on Monday evening to a letter from a neighbour: “On Tuesday 8th June I will be hosting a party to celebrate the last performance of a play I was involved in producing. This party will be held from 12pm to 4am at 41 Lytton Road and could be quite loud. Please excuse any inconvenience this party may cause to your household. Thank you for understanding.”
I was immediately alarmed, but pacified myself with the thought that the parents would keep it under control, and that a handful-or-so of kids would attend. Imagine my surprise when, at about 11h45, a disco starting blaring out club-like music, and swarms of kids arrived (there were probably (50-75 of them there). The music was deafening, and the kids were shouting above it – it was far worse than any nightclub, and in the middle of a residential area, in the early hours of the morning. I tried to sleep with ear-plugs, a hat and much padding, but that barely helped. There was nowhere to escape in my own house: I tried the spare bedroom, which is at the far end of the house, with the interleading doors closed, but it made absolutely no difference. As far as I’m concerned, a party of this magnitude is unacceptable at any hour of the day, any day of the week, but on a week day, starting at midnight is just utterly beyond belief and is a blatant disregard for consideration. Sending out a letter asking for patience and understanding in advance does not condone the action. And saying that “it could get loud” when you have invited so many people and plan on using disco equipment is a blatant lie. Why could this party not have been held at a suitable venue – such as wherever the play was held? Where were the parents – I can assure you that they were not at home at the time? When I left for work this morning, there were no lights on at 41 Lytton – the rest of us didn't have the luxury of sleeping in. It’s break-up day for schools today, so I guess the kids in question are happily sleeping it off – while the rest of us have to put in a solid days’ work and try to survive the day on next to no sleep. Thank you, Naude family! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To post to this group, send email to obsnw@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to obsnw-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en
