Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the Australian soap - does it even exist anymore? I could digress here, and take a little trip down memory lane, and talk about the days when Neighbours the tv show was a brand new phenomenon, showing us that a window into so-called ordinary people's lives didn't have to take place in a pub amidst rows of red-bricked terraced houses with back yards and inclement weather, or even in a pub amidst stone cottages and farms and inclement weather, but instead in the golden Australian sunshine, where people smiled and sung, some even carving out a rather successful career later on - yes Kylie, with the unnaturally firm buttocks, I'm talking about you.
However, instead I will stick to the intended subject here - Neighbours. In the concise Oxford English Dictionary, definition 2b is as follows; a fellow human being, esp. as having claims on friendship. So more than just a person who happens to live next to or near to us. The thing with neighbours, like families, is that you can't choose them. It's a lottery and you generally get what you're given, unless you're very very rich and can choose not to have any at all - like Kylie, or the Queen.
So, since I am neither the Queen, nor Kylie (with the unnaturally firm buttocks), I have neighbours. Or, to be more precise, I did have neighbours. Until they moved out. I will probably get some new ones soon. But quite frankly, I'd rather have the old ones back. I liked them. And against all probability, and quite by chance, we became friends - enjoying chats over the garden fence, sharing cooking apples from our tree, and even sharing recipes. And this is where it all gets tricky. You see, for me, sharing recipes is a commitment to something far greater than passing acquaintances and chats over the fence. It is bonding in the most profound sense. I would not share recipes with just anyone, you know. It would be like sharing my most secret of secrets, baring my soul even. A little over-dramatic? Maybe. But trust me, if you've ever tasted Marlena'sApple Jablcznik you'd know what I'm talking about. And I would hope she'd agree having tasted my apple almond pudding, my Norwegian apple cake or even my apple crumble.
Sadly our days of chatting over the fence, or on the front doorstep are over, but hopefully we'll continue to share apples and recipes for a long time to come. And in the meantime, whoever you are, future neighbour, I hope we will like each other even half as much. In the words of the poetic theme tune, 'Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours'. And on that note, I must go now, it's almost time for my drumming group to arrive, and then I need to cut the grass - I find it always helps me sleep if I'm suffering with a little insomnia. Oh, and those floors need sanding too ... welcome to our street. I hope you'll be just as happy as we are!
However, instead I will stick to the intended subject here - Neighbours. In the concise Oxford English Dictionary, definition 2b is as follows; a fellow human being, esp. as having claims on friendship. So more than just a person who happens to live next to or near to us. The thing with neighbours, like families, is that you can't choose them. It's a lottery and you generally get what you're given, unless you're very very rich and can choose not to have any at all - like Kylie, or the Queen.
So, since I am neither the Queen, nor Kylie (with the unnaturally firm buttocks), I have neighbours. Or, to be more precise, I did have neighbours. Until they moved out. I will probably get some new ones soon. But quite frankly, I'd rather have the old ones back. I liked them. And against all probability, and quite by chance, we became friends - enjoying chats over the garden fence, sharing cooking apples from our tree, and even sharing recipes. And this is where it all gets tricky. You see, for me, sharing recipes is a commitment to something far greater than passing acquaintances and chats over the fence. It is bonding in the most profound sense. I would not share recipes with just anyone, you know. It would be like sharing my most secret of secrets, baring my soul even. A little over-dramatic? Maybe. But trust me, if you've ever tasted Marlena'sApple Jablcznik you'd know what I'm talking about. And I would hope she'd agree having tasted my apple almond pudding, my Norwegian apple cake or even my apple crumble.
Sadly our days of chatting over the fence, or on the front doorstep are over, but hopefully we'll continue to share apples and recipes for a long time to come. And in the meantime, whoever you are, future neighbour, I hope we will like each other even half as much. In the words of the poetic theme tune, 'Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours'. And on that note, I must go now, it's almost time for my drumming group to arrive, and then I need to cut the grass - I find it always helps me sleep if I'm suffering with a little insomnia. Oh, and those floors need sanding too ... welcome to our street. I hope you'll be just as happy as we are!
