This is the courtyard at the side of our house at Lakeside Villas and we spend a lot of time out here. It is cool, catching any breeze that there is, and there is a large fan in the ceiling. There is also a small table where we often eat all three meals. However, we are driven inside when the nearby theme park (http://www.sunwaylostworldoftambun.com/) starts playing music over its very loud sound system. The bass beat reverberates off the limestone hills straight into our courtyard. We have complained in person and by letter/email and were told that Sunway (the huge property company that developed Lakeside Villas and other housing complexes in the area, and owns the Lost World of Tambun theme park) seeks to provide “wholesome, family entertainment”, which obviously involves loud, repetitive “music”. Noise seems to be part of our lives here. The beautiful grounds around the area, which are also maintained by Sunway, are kept in shape by workers using very noisy tools – the grass is cut by teams of people each wielding a screaming trimmer and there is often the drone of leaf blowers. No “soft sighing of summer lawns” here! Renovating houses, which are barely seven years old, seems to be a favourite pastime of home-owners in Lakeside Villas. Several of our neighbours have moved out and left us to endure the noise of jack hammers and tile cutters. But today all is quiet – the builders have moved out of our street and the Lost World is not playing any music. Today we’ll enjoy our lunch in the courtyard.