Interesting !

If you read the thread Jaxie you'll see we did find out.
BTW everyone, our neighbours had no idea all this was going on and were surprised when we hot chance to ask.

Your interest is normal. You'll find out eventually. Focus on doing something kind for someone.

It's awful when that happens Harrigran. We live in a nice area but as parents die or go into care children are renting the property rather than selling. You can usually tell when a property is rented by the appearance ie gardens neglected. I think the area is gradually going to change over time. (And I am not saying all renters are like that but short term rentals dont encourage people to invest in a property. ...and yes I know I'm off topic. Sorry)

Yikes! Interesting times down your way. There are a fair number of elderly residents in our block so ambulances,unfortunately, are common enough occurrences. However, I was horrified to arrive home one day to find a police dog van in our car park one day. What could it be? a drugs bust? (Plenty of drugs round here only we have to call them medication.) No. The answer was that the caretaker's son is a policeman in the police dog section and he and the 'boys' had come to visit his Dad. Lovely dogs!

Sorry, blatant oneupmanship but only because it happened while this thread was running.

On Saturday I read that the main road off which our cul de sac comes was blocked due to an incident. I told DS & DiL because they were coming to dinner. Our dining room is at the front of the house so we watched some of what was going on. Apparently 6 vehicles with armed officers, 20 police cars and an ambulance. No fire engine. 3 houses with police tape around them. We could see the police minutely examining the road around a white van.

I admit we sat watching after we had finished dinner!

It transpires that two men had been shot in the leg but not 'life changing'. Can you just imagine all our theories? Of course now DS says we live in a very dodgy area! It didn't make the local BBC news though. Perhaps it will be in the longer version tonight.

Onestepbeyond, I actually live in a very nice middle class area which, unfortunately, has seen properties being rented out. People can now afford to live here because housing benefit covers the rent or as we have found lately they pay deposit and first month's rent and then do not pay another penny. The process of eviction is slow and when they eventually leave it is usually with police present.

DD doesn't bat an eyelid when the police, yet again, turn up at her next door neighbour's door. It is a LA house and she moved in about 7 years ago closely accompanied by Social Services - and the police and Social Services have been there regularly ever since. Social Services for her and her children and the police for the succession of criminal lowlifes she shares her life with.

My neighbours are terminally ‘nosey’ which is occasionally irritating. However, they are unfailingly kind, concerned and helpful, and I hope I’m the same.
I know which sort of community I would prefer to live in - privacy isn't a great blessing when you’re lying on a cold floor and no one is around to help!

Well I would be curious /nosy but I don't like to intrude. Some people don't appreciate it.
However I personally would appreciate someone enquiring if they thought I was ill.

Humans and whales are the only 2 species to have the menopause. This is so we can with our vast experience look after and out for everyone else, having no young of our own. So it's a biological urge to be into everyone else's business.

How awful Bradfordlass - I am very lucky that way - lovely, caring neighbours...well, most of them.

OK, let's clear the air.

'Nosey' is what the nasty minded call us when we are genuinely concerned about something happening outside our own personal sphere.
When it's a neighbour known to us, it isn't 'faking sympathy' - it is sincere, as it clearly was in this case.

'Nosey' may also be what we call ourselves when we joke about our curiosity but I'd like to bet that not one of us thinks of ourselves as 'vile' when an ambulance and/or police turn up at a neighbours house.

ninathenana admitted concern but allowed the lady her privacy in case her asking questions made things worse.

Wonderful, she cared enough not to intrude but was worried enough to post her anxieties here.

I was taken off by ambulance, twice, in February and not one single neighbour in my street asked me if I were ill, or could they do anything to help - at the time or afterwards.

The one man who might have showed genuine sympathy was away - but several others could see my house....and didn't care enough to even ask.

So what's better?

Being a vile, nosy neighbour?

Or uncaring, unsympathetic neighbours who apparently do not care if others live or die?

Just to clarify, we do keep an eye on both our neighbours houses and would not hesitate to knock if we thought there was a problem. They both trust us to keep an eye on their properties when they are away and we have their mobile numbers. If we know they are there and curtains were still drawn or post protruding from the letterbox we would investigate.
Obviously this situation was ready being dealt with.

*@harrigran @ where do you live I'll remind myself not to move there

The last time a police car arrived, he parked right across our drive. So we went out and asked what was wrong. "Nothing" he said.

Turned out some woman had jumped in the river and had decided to settle herself in a neighbour's house, so neighbour called the police.

We wouldn't have asked except he parked right across our drive when there was ample parking. Hey ho.

Easy enough to ask ‘Is everything ok, can I/we do anything to help?’

I would far rather have ‘nosy’ neighbours rather than ones who hadn’t noticed (or didn’t care!) I was stuck in my flat, needing help, locked in the loo for two days or more or whatever! ?

I was present when an ambulance arrived at DS and DiL’s house while they were still living in the UK. However DGD had already arrived after an unplanned home birth. I’d gone round to babysit DGS so parents could drive to hospital but baby had other ideas.

Like Margs I wouldn't ask. And I'm as nosey as the next person. If I thought something was wrong I would check on my neighbour. But you have to respect privacy, even though you would like to know.

I have had to call police and ambulance twice. The first time a visitor of my neighbours was found dead on his floor , he second time it was my neighbour who I hadn't seen for 3 days and was concerned hat he didn't answer his door when I went to collect him for a hospital appointment. He was dead when the police got into his home. Not nice experiences at all. Don't hesitate to call he police if you think something is wrong.

We have neighbours all around our age and have an agreed nosiness policy. We check that curtains and lights operate as normal and we have keys for each others houses. We do curtains and lights when people go away.

As an elderly person with a heart condition living on my own, I wholeheartedly welcome nosey neighbours. I know they are curious but I also know they would give willing help if needed. I do so hope they never take the advice to “butt out”.

Daddima

Love it!

A similar thing happened in my road, and the ambulance and police cars were blocking my exit to go to work. I asked one of the policemen if it was possible to move so that I could get out and I was told they were on duty and I would just have to wait. I never did find out why they were there.

I'm ok with my neighbours being interested/nosey. The alternative might be me lying 'in (a) state' when I could really use some help.

When an ambulance and a police car went to a neighbours house I assumed there had been a sudden death. Sadly I was right.