The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on November 06, 2011, 07:44:36 pm
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one of our very close neighbours who's garden joins onto our land has just decided to launch several hundreds of pounds worth of loud fireworks...into our paddocks. No knock on the door to warn us so no chance to move stock into another field etc. 7 petrified lambs running around screaming, 2 goats going mad in their shed and no idea where my cat is. For some daft reason I thought 5th november was yesterday ::)
Rounded the sheep up with a torch, hubby has shouted over to him to keep his fireworks on his own land and I shouted over that he didn't have any lanterns, DID HE?! to which he said no. he's stopped now but my friend who grazes her ponies in the field next to ours has driven over to stand with them.
Surely its common courtesy a)to prewarn neighbours who you know own livestock of your intentions to let off loud fireworks on a different day to the 5th and b)not to aim them straight onto grazed land?! tomorrow will be spent picking up burnt out firework stubs (which I shall tip into his garden grrr)
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What an arse! Some people are so thoughtless.
You should insist he comes round in the morning and collects his own litter.
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Thanks Ambriel, I was worried I was over reacting. Tony's going round to knock on his door tomorrow to ask what he was playing at (I might suggest he change that wording!!) perhaps he could come over and collect the stubbs then. I'm going to have to do it early though before the goats chomp them (unlikely the sheep will I'm assuming?)
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we've had a similar problem here too Plumbs >:(
just picked up 3 rockets from near my polytunnel...... they will have a big bill should i find any holes
Mx
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Where do we stand should say, an animal have panicked and become lame or damage to a shed, polytunnel etc? I suppose its a case of proving who caused the damage?
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that is a dilema........ although if they did damage to stock/my polytunnel and not compensate...... my OH would ensure repayment, hes not very tollerant, that was before we caught them stealing!!!!
mx
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We too were fuming yesterday when our idiot neighbour was letting off fireworks at the top of his drive - his is at 90 degrees to ours. And the goats & hens are on that side.
He's not going to let them go over his garden is he? - he's got his chickens down there!!
Luckily, our animals seem to cope with it - Cesar the billy goat kicks off abit.
We're not exactly neighbourly at the moment - he has told me if I don't kill the cockerels, he will.
He reckons they wake him up but in one sentance told me 3 different times ... when I said that we could hear his, he said they were too young - Liar! his crow in the day and ours answer! And I'll neck them when they're worth eating, not when some moaning minnie tells me!
And they are shut in every night & now covered - he had the cheek to go up and inspect them when we had visitors, and noticed the pop-hole door is transparent (well it was when it was new!) so I make a point of covering them up too.
I was too polite to mention his escaping dogs, children, noisy wife, bleating lambs that they left alone all day & people would talk to from the footpath cos they were desperate for attention. And the number of chickens that wander off his property onto ours, or the road, or the footpath... and the one he "gave" us that had coccidiosis which killed our chicks & taught the others to egg-eat. Or the number of early mornigs he wakes us up when he goes shooting.
Sorry - that was quite a rant!!
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I Sympathise with you all. I got my first horse in the summer of 1999 and had the worst night of my life the nigth of the millenium. My husband and I were both very unwell in bed with Flue when we were awoken to the terrible bang noises. I went outside to find a neighbour sending fireworks off over the field my mare was in. I immediately went out to go to my horse who was bolting round the 4 acre field in pure terror. The fireworks in my little village that night went on till 4 am and my poor horse was terrorised. The sweat was pouring from her ears down her face and dripping under her belly as if I had poured a hose of water over her. After this I did and have done everything in my power to make sure my animals are protected. I have made earmuffs for my horses and played a radio very loudly in their stables.
Where I live now is much better but I still make sure they are inside and the radio is playing loudly. Last night a neighbour down the road must have decided he had money to burn and had a large disply (approx 10 minutes of continued fireworks). My horses could hear them but they didn't see them so they weren't too distressed. My doggies too don't like bangs and I have the radio playing loudly in the house too. I used to work in Trading Standards (who licence the shops to sell fireworks) and I know that you can get fireworks that don't make a noise. I wish these were the ones the general public were only permitted to buy. I know it wouldn't stop all the problems but I think it would help.
The Fireworks Regulations state: It is illegal to set of fireworks after 11pm on most nights of the year. It is illegal to set of fireworks after midnight on Bonfirenight. However, on Hogmany the curfew extends to 1am.
The Guidelines are:
• Give neighbours a few days notice of your display – particularly important if they are elderly, have children or pets.
• Use appropriate fireworks – when buying fireworks, try to avoid really noisy ones. Your supplier should be able to tell you what they are selling.
• Make sure pets and other animals are safely away from fireworks.
• Consider timing. If you are using fireworks for a celebration, a Friday or a Saturday is preferable; remember it is illegal to use fireworks after 11.00 pm.
• Avoid letting off fireworks in unsuitable weather – if it is still and misty or air quality is poor, pollution could be a problem. Check air quality on 0800 556677 or www.airquality.co.uk/ (http://www.airquality.co.uk/)
• Let off your fireworks in open garden areas – noise bounces off buildings and smoke and pollution build up in enclosed spaces.
• If a neighbour complains that you are disturbing them, their pets or livestock, be considerate.
• After your display, clear up firework fall out and dispose of it safely.
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We are fortunate where we are, in that there isn't much in the way of fireworks set off round here. But our old house was a nightmare. I don't mind so much fireworks on bonfire night- but in Kinross, you used to get people setting off fireworks from mid October until mid November! You can plan for Bonfire night, but you can't plan for these unexpected extra displays!
Completely agree with you on this plums.
Beth
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My stupid neighbour decided to have a huge bonfire and set off fireworks on friday, when I got in from work it was well under way and the horse and sheep were petrified. It is quite hard to get a 17hh ex racehorse when petrified. I managed to get him into the stables and calmed to manageable with hay and carrots but still had to sponge him down and dry him as he was all sweated up he was still frightened the next morning when I went to let him out.
My husband had been in all day and only left at 4 so there was no excuse not to tell us of there plans so we could make arrangements. We have an old dog that gets in a right state with thunder and fireworks so he had made a mess as well.
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It never ceases to amaze me how little thought people give to animals - or worse people who wouldn't care even if they did think.
I'm lucky in that my neighbours are not a problem, but I do wish there was a tighter restriction on the size of fireworks that can be bought for personal use.
I've never understood the attraction of loud noises myself - they just irritate me - even when I was younger I couldn't understand why friends would want to spend their friday nights having their eardrums pounded in a nightclub. Or maybe I'm just weird ::)
And I've nothing but contempt for those blokes that put cherry-bomb exhausts on their underpowered motorbikes - especially the middle-aged blokes - you'd think they'd've grown out of it.
mab
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It's reading this thread I realise how lucky I am where we are. we do hear and see fireworks but at a good distance, some time ago nearby people put an email warning message out to everyone a couple of days before, of course many of us sent a 'thanks for the warning' reply.
where I used to live was bad and the dog used to hide, memory dims untill you read these experiences. It would be tempting to want to throw a bucket of water or hosepipe on the proceedings, but of course the animals safety must come first.
Hope everyones animals are OK.
lets hope it's over for another year.
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Well, just spent an hour picking up rubbish from the land. All the lambs are ok, both goats fine so thats the main thing. Neighbour stood watching me pick it up from his kitchen! there are some round lumps that look like concrete almost which must have been part of the launching of the larger fireworks? they could have acted like bullets in the wrong situation, they are heavy.
I've read a few legal sites via google, the fact his 'litter' landed on our land can be classed as trespass but we won't take it this far obvioulsy but good to know we can tell him that if it happens again. Apparantly the law won't class the fireworks near livestock as a legal issue unless you can prove someone is intending to harm them? so that's not helpful ;)
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the m 5 crash could be fire work related whot a wast off life and yes they had itt Friday night not on Saturday
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that's true :( and the amount of smoke generated by a bonfire combined with fog is just lethal.
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The bonfire wasn't lit and the wind was blowing the opposite direction to the motorway. What did happen about 8ish is the fog fell and was really really thick.
I think the police are looking to blame someone as it is more plausible than dubious driving and bad weather conditions, the M5 around Taunton is lethal in bad weather without fog and people drive so fast on that bit of road there are always accidents
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There will no doubt be plenty of witnesses to the bonfire not being lit till after 8pm so the Police will not pursue that line if it is true.
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There will no doubt be plenty of witnesses to the bonfire not being lit till after 8pm so the Police will not pursue that line if it is true.
Apparently the bonfire was not lit at all (as stated in a statement from the rugby club), as the accident happened at 8.25pm and the firework display finished at 8.15pm and the wind was blowing away from the motorway and towards the rugby club it looks like they are just trying to find blame.
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It wasn't lit at all? Wonder why not?
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Most probably because the awful fog fell and it had rained cats and dogs all day. I drove down there an hour earlier and there was a good inch of water just lying on the road. The only bonfires that were lit in the area were the ones that had been covered as it has rained all week (except saturday and sunday)
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my idea of what has happened from the pics there is a clear bend in the road just before the accident spot with the standing water and poor visibility someone has has either lost control or panicked and everyone tailgating has no where to go or room to maneuver the standard of driving is very poor all over the country joining or exiting motorways calls for more policing (where does it state that the driver on the motorway has to give way to those coming on to the motorway) middle lane hoggers the arsehole of drivers cant undertake and cant overtake (with trailer on) you overtake some slower vehicles and they speed up pass you and slow down and sit there like the dick they are overtaking if you leave space enough betwean the car you are following some twat will cut out in front of you there is not enough space to parallel park and come out lorries pacing another lorry trying to overtake that may be acceptable on a 3 lane road but not on a 2 lane road i have seen these Russian lorry drivers pacing for up to 5 miles (dickoffs) >:( :farmer: >:(
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Robert you would love the M5 then, I get sick of being cut up and stupid people flashing lights at me because I'm only doing 68 in the slow lane. On friday because of the horris weather I was only going between 55-60 because of the weather (windscreen wipers couldn't go fast enough) and the spray from the wagons the road was like a swimming pool and you still got the idiot doing a ton in the fast lane goodness knows how they were supposed to stop in a hurry
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i have been on part of it the worst case of Russian drivers ever and it was heavy rain as well :farmer:
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I think the worst thing was the carnival was on in Bridgewater and a lot of families were on the road and ultimately got caught up in the mayhem, I spent an hour or so texting friends I knew were venturing out to make sure they were ok.
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i left morton hampstead at 630 to go to bristol that evening up the m5 and the driving conditions were awful. lots of traffic and poor visibility because of the rain, no fog at that time luckily. what annoyed me most were the amount of drivers with defective lights i must have ranted at a dozen for not having working headlights or proper brake lights. i missed that crash by about an hour, thank god.
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Robert, you hit the nail on the head. All those things DRIVE ME MAD. I just cannot believe how little space people leave between cars in the outside lane, I am so surprised there are not more terrible accidents. >:(
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I've never understood the attraction of loud noises myself - they just irritate me - even when I was younger I couldn't understand why friends would want to spend their friday nights having their eardrums pounded in a nightclub. Or maybe I'm just weird ::)
mab
Nope ... I'm exactly the same!
My o/h turns the telly volume up to about 30... and I turn it down to 8
And I hate the rammel they play at most clubs & pubs.
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i see fireworks as a waste of money and for what purpose to celebrate that the houses of parliament did not get blown up :farmer:
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I agree with robert :)
Fireworks should not be sold to the public, they should have huge restrictions on purchase and be treated as explosives and only to be let off in licensed areas.
I dont agree with a ban, they are fun to watch, I love them (not allowed to have any though :(!!)
If it caused the crash or not - if I was driving and saw a light out the corner of my eye - I know where my brain would involuntarily place my eyes. Just saying.
Baz
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I didnt see any fireworks till I left the house and went out to a rally - I would not be happy with a neighbour letting off fireworks near my animals.
Some of them seem to cope, some dont, some have never seen them - and there are too many to watch to see if they anrt effected.
I can totally see why anything would be frightened by them, these days some of these fireworks are all about the noise - they kick your kidneys like a base bin in a hardcore club.
Baz
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Na the loudest firework is a gas cylinder
i found one a half full 7 lb one kept it for bonfire night got the fire going all the other fireworks were going fiss pop and the occasional bang through the gas cylinder on the fire(out in the middle of the field) ran like hell back to a safe distance and waited boom and blew the bloody bonfire out :farmer:
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Na the loudest firework is a gas cylinder
i found one a half full 7 lb one kept it for bonfire night got the fire going all the other fireworks were going fiss pop and the occasional bang through the gas cylinder on the fire(out in the middle of the field) ran like hell back to a safe distance and waited boom and blew the bloody bonfire out :farmer:
And THAT was a b----y stupid thing to do, ::)wasn't it?
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Hmm, well, much as I dislike fireworks I have to agree with Roberts earlier comments about the cause - even if there is a thick smoke bank crossing the road, the drivers are still responsible for deciding how fast they go through it - if it was that thick they must have seen it coming.
I must admit I've caught myself doing the same thing before now - driving into thick fog and not slowing down immediately in the hope that it's just a small patch and I'll come out the other side without having to slow down - stupid thing to do and I made a mental note to not do it again - 'til I forget.
mab
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not really Annie if you were to see the area where the bonfire was and we were a safe distance from it
and it was a practical demonstration of how red Adair extinguishes oil well fires ;) :farmer:
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We had a party on our field at Halloween, 40+ people many of whom camped I made it very clear on all the invites NO fireworks & NO Chinese lanterns, not 1 person objected as I explained about the animals on ours & the surrounding fields
Why can't people be more considerate, I don't like fireworks at the best of times but they definitely have no place around animals
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perhaps those who don't have or appreciate animals need something to light up their lives? ???
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perhaps those who don't have or appreciate animals need something to light up their lives? ???
That's a really nice thought phb :D
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not really Annie if you were to see the area where the bonfire was and we were a safe distance from it
and it was a practical demonstration of how red Adair extinguishes oil well fires ;) :farmer:
Safe distance???
I have seen gas bottles land 200 + yards away :oafter they went off in the back of a lorry on fire!!!
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A few years ago, I lived in a maisonette, one of 8 above a row of shops, my front door opened on to a flat roof at the rear of them
All our heating and cooking was propane, as most of us who lived there worked the local dealer would leave bottles while we were out and collect the empties.
This all had to stop as the local yobs used to think it great fun to turn on the valve and light the bottles sending them flying across the roof at what seamed to be 100 miles per hour, mine was at one end of the roof with a small wall at the side which was the raised roof of the newsagents downstairs. Eventually they put a hole through the wall with a bottle sending it crashing into the shop below
Dangerous things and very unpredictable
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This year bonfire party in next field to where our Herdwick and Dartmoor flock live. They did warn us so we moved the sheep as far away as we could. As we were told that one of their friends like to buy 'big' fireworks....... we went up there just after dark.
At first all sheep all happily watching bonfire................ until fireworks started, then mayhem............
poor sheep ....total panic, all gathering around me and hubby and then scattering all over field and coming back again. this went on for hours.
next morning 6 lame sheep and little Teddy (little runt- totally cute) stuck fast in brambles.. for how long i don't know :(
why don't people think? or don't they give a damn aslong as they are having fun?
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Herdygirl I think your right - people just don't think and even if they consider dogs I don't think they consider sheep - we're lucky enough to be far enough away from civilisation that we see them in the distance but all stock were fine - even the german shepherd pottered around the 'garden' while we watched - saying that I would be all for only propar displays as a couple a few days early gave me a fright!!
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I have to agree with most of the sentiments expressed here. One thing though: we had a huge rabbit problem two years ago and I found shooting to be most effective. Initially the livestock was hugely disturbed, so a couple of bunnies was the limit. Very quickly though they got the hang of it and then just ignored it.
It's the same with the helicopters. We're in the Luton control zone so they cross at 500ft, sometimes less. The animals just keep on eating. Same goes for the rather larger number of emergency vehicles heading towards the M1that pass our pasture.
Part of the problem round here is that the old Standard Fireworks product isn't good enough apparently. Just up the road you can buy display fireworks that would rival an RPG-7
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Just found this on defra's website while i was smoozing other stuff, thought might be of interest
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/11/03/sky-lanterns-nuisance/ (http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/11/03/sky-lanterns-nuisance/)
mandy :pig:
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almost a week on, still finding fragments of fireworks in the sheep field. Lucky it wasn't the goats I guess because they'd make a beeline to have a chew on anything, the sheep we have tend to only it 'it' if its green...
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why don't people think? or don't they give a damn as long as they are having fun?
I'm afraid this pretty much hits the nail on the head nowadays.
Far to many people simply don't give a damn about anyone else and so feel to do and act just as they please.