Friday, 15 August 2008

Neighbours From Hell



Since I can remember I have always had the misfortune of having bad neighbours. Whether they were nosey, intrusive, noisy, annoying, stupid, the negativity list is endless... So I have always kept myself to myself without getting too involved with them, nothing more than a Hello or Good Afternoon...
And since I have lived in Brasil I can see that people here, in general, love to have a healthy relationship with their neighbours, in fact people's neighbours know almost everything about their lives - I think this is just too weird.
Over the years I have lived in many different apartments and houses in Brasil and my Brazilian friends always ask me "What are your neighbours like?"
Well, the "neighbours from hell" have followed me here too!

I'm a very calm, friendly, no-nonsense kind of guy and I can get along well with virtually anyone, so why is it that I attract such bad neighbours? Is it all just bad luck or is my God testing me?!

My current neighbour for instance pulled me aside 2 days after I moved in and told me her whole life story at the garden gate, which took more than 2 hours.
In that time I was told that she was recently divorced, has a Daughter that the Father refuses to pay any child support for, lives next door to her Brother and Sister-in-law who argue with her constantly and that all the surrounding neighbours think that she is a prostitute because she got a divorce and is dating another man...
I won't bore you with the rest as I was almost sleeping whilst leaning on the gate that day.
After she told me all of her "soap-opera style" revelations I went into my house thinking "she seems like a nice woman who has just had some bad luck with friends and family..." How wrong I was!

She has 3 big dogs which she insists on keeping outside in her garden day and night, even in the bitter cold winter nights, and they bark constantly... every minute of every day for no reason.
For the first 3 weeks that I lived here I couldn't sleep at all as her garden backs onto my bedroom and it sounds as if the dogs are barking right next to my bed, but after 3 years I have just got used to it and have never complained, sleeping through it all.
She also causes lots of problems for her neighbours (her Brother and Sister-in-law) and I hear them arguing endlessly with her about all the confusions she has caused, in fact most of the surrounding neighbours seem to have alienated her completely.

She once said to me "Wow I haven't seen you for weeks! were you travelling?" and I replied "No, I've been here the whole time" to which she replied "You really are the best neighbour that I have ever had! I never hear you!" and my ironic mind thought: "I wish I could say the same about you darling!" but I just smiled and said "I'm just a calm guy who loves to live peacefully" (even my girls, my own dogs, are peace-loving creatures and only bark when it really is necessary)

Maybe when I move I will have better neighbours who have more consideration for other people... but good or bad I will still be keeping myself to myself and living in my own little house of peace, as getting involved with neighbours would surely be hell!

Friday, 1 August 2008

Lyrics and Music To Inspire....

This is the new single from Mariah Carey "Bye Bye"

I decided to post it here as every time I hear this song it reminds me of people I've lost and even though it's a sad song the message is a very positive one as it reminds us that our loved ones that have passed away are still around us and in our lives every single day - something that I believe in and know to be true! Enjoy!!

Sunday, 20 July 2008

Home Sweet Home... Again



Soon I will be moving once again... to a new city here in Brasil. This is a plan that I have had for over a year now and I am finally getting there!

I have seen a few houses and have finally found the perfect one; quite a new and modern house, 4 bedrooms, one en-suite, large 2-level living room, big kitchen, a games room in the basement - which will be an ideal room for Bridget and Lucy, as Minnie always stays with me and lives in my bedroom (these are my dogs for who doesn't know me) There are balconies on every bedroom and one leading out onto the large garden from the kitchen. All rooms are full of light from wonderful big windows and the rooms are full of brazilian wooden beams, staircases leading up to each level and beautiful marble floors. The garden is perfect for the girls to run around in as it is all surrounded by walls and it's very private and secure too... there aren't any neighbours nearby, only way up the road, which is excellent! The view from the windows and bedrooms is fantastic! a complete view of nature: mountains, forests and deep blue skies. The garden is also full of fruit trees: limes, tangerines and papaya.

I won't be moving until a couple of months from now but at least the house-hunting part is over, the next part will be the worst: packing up everything and moving, I hate all of that! But once it is all done with it will be great and so much better than the house I am living in now...

This house that I have lived in for the past 3 years is full of problems, the garden is the best thing about it, however inside the house is a nightmare as in the Winter and cold weather it is full of damp problems, particularly the downstairs living room which thanks to the damp mould that appears on the walls is unliveable, so the room was never set up to be used and I have lived out of boxes for 3 years (and being a Taurus this is hell for me!) My living room furniture has stayed unused and stored away in the basement at the bottom of the house for the past 3 years and, apart from the kitchen, I mostly live in the upstairs of the house especially my bedroom which has become the sleeping area and living room combined, chock full with my television, home theatre, bed, desk, e.t.c...

So as you can imagine I have never been happy here... adding to this the fact that this house doesn't have a "good soul"- something that I have come to recognise in every house that I have ever lived in or visited. Maybe it's a spiritual thing or maybe it's just because I am a very sensitive person but I can always sense these things and can also sense when a spirit is near me too. This house here is a very unhappy house, maybe something bad happened here in the past or maybe it has just never seen any joy of life... needless to say that in the last 3 years that I have lived here this sense of depression has attached itself to me and I can't wait to escape the darkness of this place, I always sense some very bad spirits and bad karma here.

The 3 times that I have been to the new house in the new city I have felt nothing but joy, lightness, happiness and goodness in it's "soul" it felt like home already and when I entered the house for the first time I felt like I was home: happy and safe.... something that I felt when my Mum took me along to our family home in London the first time that we viewed it when I was 11 years old... She always trusted my instinct and would always ask me if I felt o.k. there when we looked at a new house and if I felt it had a good soul, if it felt like a happy place. That house became our family home and my Dad lives there until today and we have had a lot of good memories there. It is the only place that I can honestly call "home" and maybe because of my Mum and my family it always will be... but hopefully in a couple of months I will feel at home once again in the wonderful new happy house with the good soul and the kind heart.

Tuesday, 15 July 2008

The Fantastic Julie Walters as "Rhona"

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"Friends say to me: You're mad, Rhona. Rhona, you're mad! And I say: You're wrong. You're so, SO wrong!" - The hilarious comedic genius of Julie Walters!

This video is from the late 80's from the "Victoria Wood as seen on T.V." television comedy programme - sheer quality!
It's so great to see this really funny sketch again and be reminded what fantastic talent we have in the U.K!
In my opinion Julie Walters and Victoria Wood were always the best, along with French and Saunders! and it's on days like this that I feel so proud to be British!!
Now who hasn't met a woman like Rhona?!! haha

Friday, 11 July 2008

"World Peace Has Got The Blues" - Original Poetry By Me


Spinning, twisting, turning,
The questions in my head,
Where is the world we dreamed of?
It seems world peace is dead.

People helping each other,
Saying hello as we pass on the street,
Love in place of anger,
The world was once so sweet...

Where have you gone white dove of peace?
Did you fly away for good?
Where are the words of John Lennon?
We'd resurrect you if we could...

Let's try to make things better,
It can all start with a smile,
A handshake for your neighbour,
Hugging your friend for just a while.

There's a world of bloody violence,
And I've stopped reading the news,
Headlines full of bloodshed,
Seems world peace has got the blues...

© 07/2008

Thursday, 10 July 2008

"My Ever-Glowing Light" - Original Poetry By Me


I'm dancing in the moonlight,
I'm singing in the sun,
Walking through places in my heart,
And knowing you're the one.

You're my first kiss of the morning,
And my final one at night,
You're my everything all in between,
You're my ever-glowing light.

There's days when we're together,
And days we are apart,
But you give my life it's meaning,
And you simply own my heart.

© 07/2008