We fear the new neighbours

Q We have been living in our house for 30 years and, sadly, our neighbours – who were here before us – are about to move out. They have been wonderful and supportive friends and we will keep in touch, but now our fear is: who will replace them? The house is within yards of ours, and there are only another couple of houses nearby. My wife wakes in the night with anxiety about what the new owners might be like and I have to say I’m worried, too. What do you think is the best way to approach them when they arrive? Bernard B, Oxfordshire

A Love-bomb them. Leave a bottle of champagne on the doorstep with a welcoming card, enclosing an invitation for drinks the following week, adding your contact details. Hail them over the fence when you first spot them and offer them a firm handshake and a thrilled smile, as if you’ve been longing to meet them all your life. Shout, ‘Hurrah! We’ve been so looking forward to meeting you!’ Tell them to pop in any time if they need anything – food, tools etc – as they move in.

After the initial meeting, in which you give them all the local gossip, ask if they would look after your spare keys. And offer to feed their cats/water their plants if they go away. Make yourselves indispensable. And, early on, make clear that ‘if ever we’re too noisy or you have any problem at all with us, however trivial it is, promise you’ll let us know, won’t you?’ Hopefully, they will be obliged to reply, ‘And vice versa.’ But if they don’t, you can say, ‘And we’ll do the same to you, so there are no misunderstandings.’