Neighbourhood interactions

I am temporarilly in a rented duplex while building. The neighbour in the other unit is quite a decent bloke but will remain nameless for now. The guvermint recently intoduced a law that all rented properties must have smoke alarms installed and our landlord - bless his heart - had two installed in each unit a few weeks ago.

The neighbour likes to cook on his gas barbeque on his front verandah about once a month. Well I suppose you would call it cooking, we usually refer to it (quietly) as cremation. The objects that are taken off the hot plate look a lot like those hunks of rubber you see on the side of the road when a tyre has lost its re-tread or come apart. Black and curled up and ragged round the edges.

A few days ago I heard this persistent beep-beep-beep and had to look around to see what it was, of course it was the smoke alarm next door. I poked my head out the front door to check that the place wasn't on fire and (you didn't guess did you?) there was a cremation in progress.

The neighbour from two doors down the street was riding by on his horse (people do that sort of thing around here) and being a friendly sort of bloke pbutted the time of day with next door.

"Gday" "How are you mate" "Good, good, ah is that your smoke alarm going?" "Hmm yes" "You know they say that it's a sign of a bad cook when you set off the smoke alarm" "Do they?" "Yes, well see you later" "Bye for now"

And he rode on.

David