Not a ‘phone call or an actual e-mail, but I got a letter today addressed to X Neighbour (X being the name of my village). The letter itself was headed Hi Y Neighbours (Y being the name of my road) and invited me to download a free app called nextdoor to get useful information and keep in touch with neighbours: there was a code and a warning that it expires in 7 days. The text had a vaguely American feel, although that may just be modern style, and there was no return address, just the a name (unknown to me, but I don’t know most of my neighbours’ names) and the road name.
My first thoughts were: if they are my neighbours, why have they sent it via Royal Mail, and who is paying the 60p postage. A few codes on the envelope suggested it was a bulk mailing, although using a proper stamp, and at the bottom of the back of the envelope was a disclaimer that started ‘Marketing materials inside’.
Needless to say, it is going in the bin. (Anyway, I keep up with what is going on in my ‘neighbourhood’ in the traditional fashion: binoculars, infra-red sights and listening devices.)