This Book Proves Londoners Still Talk To Their Neighbours

Thought Londoners no longer speak to their neighbours? A book released in 2025 shows that couldn't be further from the truth. Compiled by Stephen Games, Wembley Speaks: A Year in the Life of a London Suburb — reproduces a year of messages/comments shared by Wembley residents on the Nextdoor app, back in 2022.

In this collection of extracts, you may well recognise talk of dog mess, missing waste bins and noise complaints from your own part of London. But there is also a sense of community here — albeit in a very 21st century way.

Stealing waste bins (Saturday 19 February)

There are some nauseating people who have taken the opportunity of storm Eunice to steal waste bins, one of them being mine which does have my door number on it. No, it could not have been blown over my hedge or my brick walls. Thank you neighbours!

Comments

• That kind of behaviour is worse than trash …
• Remember the old adage ‘one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure.’
• In London now if it ain’t bolted or chained some idiot will think it’s fair game to nick it.
• It may of flown away like in the Wizard of Oz!🤣 😂 🤣
• I thought that had happened to my green wheelie bin but found it yesterday on the other side of the road, having blown over my garden wall! There is a short utube vid of a wheelie bin flying—could yours have done that? 😀
• Umm really, get a grip people, this neighbourhood website is for sharing useful information, looking for tradespeople to repair or build, it is NOT for petty trivia such as missing bins!

Looking for a house for my Ukrainian family (Thursday 17 March)

Good afternoon. I am from Ukraine, the city of Sumy, I have been renting a room at Brentmead gardens for more than 3.5 years. We have a war in our country, at the moment I have the opportunity to take my relatives with children. I would like to rent a whole house of 3–4 bedrooms before picking up my relatives. Perhaps someone can help me with this issue. Gumtree, marketplace I also browse. Thank you very much

Comment

• The very best of luck to you. I hope you manage to find something suitable.
• Good luck. Our hearts are with you and your country.
• Rightmove and zoopla sites show available rentals and you can specify your search criteria. Best of luck.
• I saw whole flats on spare room plus you could try air bnb if a property is vacant you could rent long term . • Have you tried letting agents?
• yes thanks
• What is your budget? And renting a house you need a large enough salary (salary of 3.5 times the rent)
• I know, have money
• Brent Council have agents that they deal with their properties, I suggest you contact them to find you a suitable house.
• thanks

A toxic smell (Friday 18 March)

Since our neighbors have moved into the house next door, there has been this toxic smell in my parents home. It’s almost as if something is dead! The smell comes and goes. We have had the water company look at our drainage and another company came to see if our drains needed ‘flushing’. We have even contacted the local council. We have spoken to the person who owns the house (quite a few people rent rooms on there) but they said they can not smell anything. Any suggestions about what should I do? Today the smell is terrible (this has been going on for two years ).

Comments

• Is it a fishy smell thar comes and goes? if so it could be electrical wires burning.
• Something has died under the floorboards, rat?
• Call police. Could be a dead body. It has been known !!
• Could be a buried body. Call in Colombo.

Church Drive dog fouling 💩 💩 💩 (Saturday 21 May)

Let’s give this well educated gentleman a round of applause 👏 👏 👏 Resident in Church Drive should pay extra attention to a man with a German shepherd.

Comments

• For a second I thought that was me and my dog! But my boy is extremely fussy where he poos and most certainly never on the pavement. But this is the type of behaviour that really ticks me off because we have to watch out where we go and it’s really annoying!
• do I gather from your comment that you don't pick up either???
• From the way I portrayed my message it seems like I don’t pick up my dogs poo! This is incorrect it’s just that I have the same dog type and similar build frame to me with similar clothing which just took me by surprise there because I ALWAYS pick up my dogs poo I absolutely hate people that don’t pick up their dogs poop! So rest assured my message wasn’t meant to imply I don’t!
• Oh that’s a shame. From the opening post, I thought it was someone who had the decency to clear up after their dog. And in the middle of the driveway as well … ewwww. I’d laminate an A3 print of him and the dog and put it on a stand in my front garden! See if he owns up and apologises!!
• • I wish you had taken a photo of the dog doing a poo I think if you want to post a picture you’d need to have proof that it was him/ her that did the poo
• You can clearly see that’s the dog who does the pooing!!! Tell me how you can see it, unless the poo came out of his mouth.
• I can see the dog smelling something and they don’t smell their own poo. I always pick up after my dog. Maybe I’m wrong but I see a dog smelling something not pooing 🌷
• Wake up. The dog does not have to form a hunched back, to smell something.
• That hunched back is a defo poo from the dog.
• Send this footage to the council and let’s see if they fine him. What a disgrace he is.

Noise from Wembley Stadium (Sunday 29 May)

It’s so noisy today in my town due to football match going on at Wembley stadium 🏟

Comments

• Yeah it is must weekends something in the arena or stadium Yeah I can hear loud noises from the stadium 🏟 lol people are screaming out loud
• I lived an 8 minute walk to the Stadium for 25 years. Had to plan our driving time around any events. Fun place to live, tho

Coffee sprayed from passing car (Thursday 23 June)

Just got sprayed with Coffee through the window near Belmont Circle, Young guy in a old Silver Range Rover driving the opposite direction to me, had a kid in the car, can’t believe the audacity people have these days, just shows you can’t drive with the window open in this area, lucky it was not Acid. Unable to get his details as he speeded off the other way.

Comments

• He did this on purpose!!!????
• yes coffee in a water gun 🔫 kids these day
• What kind of people do this? Some parents have done a great job raising these hooligans!!
• Report this to the police with the time it happened. They can check local CCTV Cameras and have a good chance of tracing that car.
• who knows the police might wake up n see this as a potentially serious incident where he could have lost control of his car n had an accident !!! Here’s hoping though 🙄
• The police wouldn’t bother with anything like this. It just happened to me just now as well! On Byron Road when I was dropping off a friend and our window was open. The water went all the way to the dashboard!
• Plse report this as i was told teens r stealing cars n throwing acid at ppl. so glad it was only coffee but next time may not be.

Low-flying jet (Tuesday 19 July)

Did anybody see a large jet flying very low over Kenton about 1/2 hour ago

Comments

• Yes I did shall I call the police
• Private jet landing in Northolt airport.
• It’s Farnborough Airshow, must be something returning to Northolt.
• Dropping water bombs as London burns (again???)
• Fire in Kenton opposite the station

Insects in fruit loaves (Wednesday 17 August)

Dear friends and neighbours … Please be careful when buying these fruit loaves from any retailer as I found some living insects in the one I bought from Sainsburys at Kentons. I think maybe the extreme hot weather could be the cause?

Comments

• Gross
• I too have found insects in iceberg lettuce and onions. Please check carefully and store all food items in a sealed container. Once these insects multiply 1 egg can produce over 800 little ones. They are so small you can only see them when they move. Wash all fruit and veg thoroughly and store in air tight containers .

Lost woolly hat (Monday 25 July)

Jai Shree aram I fall asleep on train Northwich Park station I leave to run out te door but leve my wolly hat on train it’s writing V.J.S inside if find plees message it’s new am very sad.

Comments

• very sad news brother hope you are reunited soon with your customised wooly hat🙏
• • I have lost things in the tube before ans always got it back through tfl lost and found
• Thank yu I try many time but they don’t have maybe somebody find and sell for lots of money is special hat tomorow I by new one now weather coming very cold 😌
• Haha he’s taking a mick. A woolly hat in this weather? Come on. I might be wrong but it made me giggle
• I lost my favourite sunhat at Hampstead Ponds about 3 weeks ago. I’d love to get it back but really a sunhat is no big deal. It wasn’t mega expensive. There are more serious things going on tne world as I write u know. So give yourself a reality check. If u get it back fine if not … it’s not a big deal!!!?

Party noise in the middle of the night (Sunday 21 August)

It’s 4.46am, theres some party, loud music and some guy with a microphone going on. I can’t sleep!!! Is there no restriction??? This has been on since 1am. No respect for other people who live on the road. I don’t get it.

Comments

• Brent Council out of hours noise department are there until 2 a.m, I think, so you can phone them and they will come and stop it. Please do not approach them if they are so inconsiderate, to play music at 4 a.m. I doubt you would get a good welcome. Let the Council deal with it, it is their job. Report it to the council instead of complaining here. No one can help you here if it’s bothering you.
• It’s now 6.50am and they are still at it!!! 😵💫
• keep a log if it isn’t a 1 off

No skips whilst mourning (Friday 9 September)

Hi everyone. Due to the death of the Queen yesterday, and the resulting 10 days of mourning, updating you on what this means for the community skips. The scheduled community skips for the next 10 days have had to be postponed. As soon as we have a rescheduled date, we will be letting you all know. We will share across social media channels, as well as a letter physically delivered to absolutely everyone in the area.

Comments

• What have skips got to do with the Queen dying?
• Apologies but can we not associate skips with the Queen. I am not much of a Royalist however she was a wonderful person serving this country for over 70 years. Surely if things are postponed for 10 days it I not such of a big deal. We all went through covid lock downs.
• Part of the reason this country is going to the dogs, in my view. Hard work is a dirty word it seems We need to get this country working again. when you pay people for being at home ( furlough Scheme) you set a dangerous precedent that we are yet to recover from or pay for. I worked through the pandemic which is why I’m so bitter about the Skips be cancelled ! Perhaps with news of the Queen, the drivers are too devastated to drive!

Grasmere Avenue like Silverstone (Tuesday 11 October)

There are a few police cars racing down Grasmere Avenue anyone know what’s happening?

Comments

• Don’t know. But there was an incident on the weekend with a number of police cars parked in and around the house on Grasmere and opposite the house on Coniston Gardens.
• A WORD OF ADVICE, EVERYONE. I know our curiosity gets the better of us, but could we refrain from passing on or asking for information about emergency incidents, however intriguing? There is the possibility, albeit remote, of you, or someone you’ve told, being called as a juror in any Court proceedings. The defendent would not get a fair trial if the jurors already had a preconceived opinion as to his guilt.
• I live in Grassmere Avenue and I haven’t seen anything.

Wonderful life (Friday 11 November)

Not wishing to take anybody’s distress lightly but I do feel that we live in a wonderful place. Of course it is not perfect but I just want to put some perspective on life in this area. There are issues and well done to everyone who highlights them.

Comments

• Great shout. We tend to focus on the negatives but so much to appreciate. Maybe we could start a thread with all the things we appreciate about where we live. I’ll start.. I live next to a lovely park (Preston Park) which is beautifully maintained by the local council. .. and am within walking distance of Northwick Park Fields. Fantastic walking space to enjoy nature. I also appreciate the brilliant transport links nearby that link me to all parts of London. Plus I have amazing neighbours ☺️
• I totally agree with you, I’ve lived in Wembley for most of my life and I have wonderful neighbours and we have the most amazing open spaces.
• So appreciative of the beautiful parks in my immediate surroundings - forever grateful

Wembley Speaks: A Year in the Life of a London Suburb by Stephen Games, published by EnvelopeBooks.