One of the pleasures of living where I do now is walking along the paths that run beside the Waikato River. It is peaceful away from the roads and one is aware of the sounds of the water and the birds among the trees that proliferate along the river. But this morning as I turned onto the river path, I heard the roar and screech of powerboats racing up the river. I have never understood the attraction of going as fast as you can in a straight line – what does it signify? To quote Shakespeare, it is “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. It is not nothing though to disturb the peace of a Sunday morning, to say nothing of the effect on the fish and birds in and around the river. My neck tensed and my shoulders rose – the complete opposite of the relaxation a peaceful walk usually engenders. Finally, the last boat and jet ski went on their clamorous way up the river and peace descended. Birdsong could be heard, though the screech of a kingfisher now sounded like a rebuke. Coincidentally some distant neighbours had a noisy party last night that went on into the early hours. Fortunately, we are a little distance away but I felt sorry for their immediate neighbours. Why it is that certain people feel free to disturb the peace of everyone around them? I guess I’ll never know the answer but feel grateful that our neighbourhood is usually peaceful and relatively quiet.