The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

zagubov

I'm quite convinced that open-plan housing is about as sensible as a fishnet parachute/lead-filled lifebelt/insert suitable analogy here.

I once taught in a college where two lecture rooms were separated by a row of free-standing cupboards which "would break up" the noise between the two lessons, despite reaching only about two-thirds of the way to the roof. :eek:

I have to assume the only reason it caught on was so that builders and estate agents could sell undersized houses whose undersized rooms looked bigger because the lack of expensive walls made them look roomier.

The fact that everybody's noisy and needs protection from anyone else's noise and that you need walls to hang items and shelves against, and position furniture against seems to account for naught.

It's one step away from building houses out of anti-matter to deter dust settling/ vermin/uninvited guests/hawkers.

SingleSue

Pyxis wrote: »

Why on earth would they object to him playing in a chamber concert?

Because he was a drummer and in their mind, that meant he wouldn't be able to be a good enough singer.

Don't think they have heard of Dave Grohl

GDB2222

I have not heard of Dave Grohl, either.

Pyxis

LydiaJ wrote: »

Several years ago, on a long journey in the car, I listened to a fascinating programme on radio 4 by a woman who was a psychologist or sociologist or something, who'd done research into the way people carve out niches for themselves in shared spaces and personalise them. She'd done a lot about what people do with their desks at work (the things in the desks and on top of them and on the walls around them, if any) to make them their own space, and some other work on the way that theoretically "shared spaces" usually end up with "everybody knowing" that this bit belongs to those people, while these other people always sit over there etc.

I think open plan is also very far from ideal on the inside of the house once the children get beyond the "need to have an eye on them every minute they're awake" stage, but I know other people feel differently.

Having done lots and lots of adult ed classes over the years, it's also interesting how people tend to sit in the same place in the class, week after week. I'm a past master at this!

Of course it wouldn't matter if I sat somewhere else, but you sort of get used to 'the view' from one chair, and gravitate to it.

The ultimate, I suppose, is the old comedy sketch joke about Carruthers who commutes to Town on the 08:10 and always sits in the same train carriage in the same compartment in the same seat, and woe betide a stranger who decides to sit there one day.

Hahahahahaha! These days he'd be lucky to get any seat at all! :rotfl:
(Assuming the train even ran, of course! )

SingleSue wrote: »

Because he was a drummer and in their mind, that meant he wouldn't be able to be a good enough singer.

Don't think they have heard of Dave Grohl

How utterly weird! "He's a drummer so he won't be able to sing". Very odd.
Whatever happened to, "Let's see what he sounds like"?

And Joe can play the piano, too! :T

PasturesNew

chris_m wrote: »

Only problem with fencing it off is that you have to watch out for restrictive covenants that the developers [STRIKE]sneak[/STRIKE] put in to ensure that it stays open plan

Of course, they only really require it to remain open plan until they've sold all the properties. After that it's really no skin off their nose, but they usually don't bother to put a time limit on the covenants.

From memory there is something about stuff staying as it is, but I think there was also a time limit on it of 5 years.... but my attitude is two-fold:

1] I am not "choosing" to do this, this is my attempt to prevent ferals trespassing and in my book trespass is a larger crime than a tiny bit of wood being in a piece of land I own.

2] In the big scheme of things, if anybody "cared" enough to ever make a thing of it, then they can be pulled up in 30 seconds flat without a trace.... unlike the changes made by others.

I'm sure that anybody that much onto things might point out a couple of huge garden summer rooms that've appeared, or the whole conservatory (no PP sought), or the camper van parked in one bay ... my bit of wood's minimal change by comparison and instantly rectifiable.

If I were made to pull them up (which wouldn't happen), I'd put in PP application for a gun turret to dissuade trespassers.... just from annoyance really; as permitted rights etc were removed from the house I get PP free, so I could put in all manner of ridiculous requests without paying PP application fees

Of course I wouldn't, but I can dream that I would.

Open Plan:

The mistake many make is that open plan = shared. It doesn't always. Here open plan = each piece privately owned by a specific house. The trouble is when people make the assumption that anything not fenced in is in some way communal/free for all.

There's always ONE who spoils it for everybody .... open plan isn't the problem, the problem is the people who are arrogant about being told that they can't take short cuts across people's gardens, or let their dog !!!!!! on open plan lawns down a road, etc.

One thing I am increasingly seeing, especially on Neighbours From Hell programmes and in the DM/stolen from social media, is that "the people who are in the wrong are the ones shouting out loudest/first".... which is strange.

One that stood out to me was a woman on Neighbours from Hell complaining about her neighbour.... but HE was entirely in the right, not her.
His house was past hers; her house owned the land but he had a right to pass/repass with his vehicle. He'd turn off the road, up that right of way past her house to get to his house/parking area. She filled the space with clutter of plants, pots and kiddies toys as she wanted her child to play out there.... and she even had a full sized, proper grassy garden, fenced off, just a few feet along the road that was shown on the programme.

SingleSue

Pyxis wrote: »

How utterly weird! "He's a drummer so he won't be able to sing". Very odd.
Whatever happened to, "Let's see what he sounds like"?

And Joe can play the piano, too! :T

It was and still is weird as they have not been the only ones with that kind if assumption.

The Joe comment confused me for a few seconds until I realised...it's not Joe in the video, it's a friend of Josh's. Despite Joe having the same ability as Josh but not quite to the same level to pick up an instrument and be able to play, he has absolutely no interest in being a musician and doesn't pursue it whereas James is desperate to be able to play something but alas is completely hopeless.

Josh plays drums, guitar (bass and normal), piano, keyboard, ukulele, cello, violin, sings and produces his own music (electro trance like plus intro outro music for shows).

All bar cello is self taught and he gave up cello lessons as it was restricting his freedom to be able to learn in the only way he knows - by feeling it.

zagubov

Phil Collins made a living from drumming then singing!

PasturesNew

This is the programme/woman that sticks in my mind. She went to the programme about her neighbour, playing "the victim" with the big sad eyes ...

Latest result is she has a £200k court bill and the Judge summed it up by saying that the neighbour DID have a right of way over the yard, as well she knew - and her intention was to deny it so that her cottage would be worth more (she thought)

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4896991/couple-200k-bill-neighbour-parking-dispute-somerset/ - has good photos explaining the layout.

Mad mare!

In court, Mr and Mrs Hill claimed they were morally right, but a judge slammed their sense of "entitlement" and ordered them to shift their flowers.

Branding the Hills "childish", Judge Paul Matthews said they had played a "game" with Mr Shortland in a bid to boost the value of their Somerset cottage home.

Mr Shortland, a 55-year-old bricklayer, had a right of way over their yard to get his car onto the public highway, said the judge.

Pyxis

SingleSue wrote: »

It was and still is weird as they have not been the only ones with that kind if assumption.

The Joe comment confused me for a few seconds until I realised...it's not Joe in the video, it's a friend of Josh's. Despite Joe having the same ability as Josh but not quite to the same level to pick up an instrument and be able to play, he has absolutely no interest in being a musician and doesn't pursue it whereas James is desperate to be able to play something but alas is completely hopeless.

Josh plays drums, guitar (bass and normal), piano, keyboard, ukulele, cello, violin, sings and produces his own music (electro trance like plus intro outro music for shows).

All bar cello is self taught and he gave up cello lessons as it was restricting his freedom to be able to learn in the only way he knows - by feeling it.

Sorry! I thought the teacher said that it was Josh's brother doing the accompaniment! Obviously not!

SingleSue

zagubov wrote: »

Phil Collins made a living from drumming then singing!

I actually remember pointing that example out to the school...alongside the Dave Grohl one (lead singer with Foo Fighters, drummer for Nirvana for those who didn't know)