THE MAN NEXT DOOR

‘THERE he goes again!’ Amos glared at the boundary fence, shook his fist at the unseen neighbour beyond.

‘All day long we get it!’ he snarled. ‘The hammering, the sawing, the clash and the clatter – and those boys of his singing out of tune as they work!’ ‘I suppose you’ve tried talking to him?’ said his wife. ‘Talking? Sheer waste of breath! Once he gets one of his crackpot notions you might as well talk to one of his damned animals. Still, I’ll try one more time.’

He opened the window. ‘Must you keep on, Noah? Even now it’s raining?’ Dennis Thorp