Michael Kelly
does without . . . neglecting the neighbours
In September, when I gave up my mobile phone, I realised how ironic it is that technology purports to help us communicate while actually isolating us - you send 20 texts in a day but talk to nobody.
Another example of life's move towards the impersonal is the fact that we don't know our neighbours the way our parents knew theirs. That we require reschooling in the art of neighbourliness was confirmed earlier this year, when Macra na Feírme held a Know Your Neighbour weekend.
The event's website, www.knowyourneighbour.ie, has a test, to see how well you know the people who live around you. I score 78, which means I know them reasonably well but should have more contact.
An opportunity comes up when I decide that I need help to move our henhouse to a drier part of the garden. It's homemade, and suffers badly from poor design and even worse construction. We have tried moving it ourselves, but it must weigh 200kg, so we have resorted to swivelling it around in the mud every few weeks.
Our immediate neighbours are a family from Dunmore's Amish community. They have always been excellent neighbours - looking after our house when we have been away, for example. But will asking for help cross a line from community spirit to neighbourly nuisance? I needn't worry. I call, and he arrives within the hour - with three other guys to help. It takes 30 seconds to move the henhouse to the other side of the garden. Our work done, we chat for a while. Then they are gone.
Another neighbour owns the farm around our house. Until now I have only ever waved as he drove past on his tractor. I don't know his name, but, as they say around these parts, I know his people. I head up to his house to introduce myself. Before I ring the bell I wonder if I'm calling at a bad time. What if they're not in? Is it the right house? Stupid worries.
He is at home, and he introduces me to his family. We chat for half an hour. We have a lot in common - we're neighbours, after all. Afterwards I'm in great form, smiling from ear to ear. Being part of a community does that to you. You might not like all of your neighbours, but you might feel a lot better if you start getting to know the ones you do like.