Help! present needed for Muslims moving in next door!

Rachel_Mac

ringo_24601 wrote:

Link to a rather good inter-faith calendar : http://www.beliefnet.com/calendar/december_2006.html

Thanks Ringo, what an interesting site!

ailuro2

A flask of hot water,tea bags,carton of milk, biscuits and a few cups.Maybe a tin or two of something cold and non-caffiene too like Lilt/Sprite

IT means they can have a cuppa without finding the kettle, and when they return the flask it's another chance to make friends when they have more time to spare:D

Good Luck,nice to hear about friendly,welcoming, neighbours

RibenaBerry_2

I agree with most other posters. I think that, if you know someone is of a certain religion, it makes sense to steer away from things which might easily offend (e.g. alcohol for someone whose religion forbids it), but otherwise I think people are generally just pleased to be welcomed.

I have a friend with a nut allergy. If you bought her a walnut cake as a moving in present, she couldn't eat it, but she'd still be pleased to receive it. I think it's pretty much the same for most people with strong religious beliefs. Most people can distinguish between a thoughtful gesture and something designed to upset.

moneyman4u

Well!!! today was the big day!, they started moving in today, I didnt get a chance to go over in day light because they were very busy and they seemed to have about 20 helpers so i thought it was best to leave it till it was a bit calmer.

When they started moving in Mrs MoneyMan kept an eye out of the upstairs window with our sons telescope, and they are definatly Muslims, beards, all in one gowns,little hats, full veils, the full monty. We never thought the van loads would stop, Mrs M counted 22 van trips before they stopped when it got dark. A few times all the men dissapeared in the house at once, I expect it was prayer time.

Around 6pm the helpers all left so I thought I'd take my opportunity, we had prepared a chocolate cake to take over and in white iceing on the top it said "Welcome to your new home friends". It was odd I was a bit nervous going over, but I summed up my as much courage as I could and left to say hello to our new neighbours.

When I got there I pushed the button on the door bell but I could not hear a bell go, which was funny because when Chris & Emma lived there I could always hear the bell when I pushed it, anyway, I waited but nobody came to the door, I waited for a few mins and still nothing happened. After a while I knocked on the door 3 times, I saw a face look out of the window at me, but still nobdoy came to the door!, I waited a while again and then knocked once more, eventually a man came to the door and just opened it a bit on the chain.

"Hello" I said "I'm Roger from next door and I have brought you a cake as a welcome gift"

The man looked at me for a while, then shook his hand at me saying "No, no, no , no "

I tried to explain that I was trying to bring a gift, but he just kept shaking his hand and saying "no,no,no,no" to me???? then he just shut the door and bolted it

I stood there for a while flumoxed , I really think my cake offended him in some way, not sure what to do now? I hope I did not interupt their praying time or something.

HappyIdiotTalk

Well, that went well then. :rotfl:

Seriously though it sounds like the person that came to the door didn't speak english. I'm guessing, but I bet you get a visit from them in the next few days when they've discussed what happened and realised what was happening.

I'm sure it wasn't the cake in any case, you probably just caught him by surprise!

moneyman4u

I hope so, the worst thing is I had to put the cake in the garage because Mrs M has a nervous disposition and has been worrying about this since September, I couldnt face telling her what happened so I said they were a really nice family and they said many thanks for the cake. Oh dear, what a mess.

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil

That family must be a bit stupid. Id be touched if you took so long to pick out something for me (even takingcare ofof what I can eat n'all). Dont b offended - hes a plonka.

Or maybe he didnt know any English. I would give the cake to someone else and keep shtum. No need to upset your wife.

Honestly some people are so ungrateful.

painfulcost

i agree your neighbour is a bit sad. i hope in next few weeks you and your neighbour start learning about each other. When first came to UK there are lots of barriers that i have to go through. You might be the one that became that special friend to your new neighbour that make live more easier to swallow.

packardbill

Steady on,if they didn't understand english it doesn#t make them sad,just misunderstanding

Prehaps they haven't had friendly faces at the door bearing cakes before


one other thought,it would of been better to of explained what happened to your wife ,as she may feel a lot worse if they ignore her in the street or she asks them if they enjoyed the cake:eek:

Edinburghlass_2

Perhaps the new neighbours knew they were being watched by someone using a telescope all day :rolleyes: