Lexin

Regular readers will recall Mr Smelly-Opposite who has made my life difficult over past years, culminating last May when he set light to his flat.

Well, a few minutes ago I let the freeholder in, and it appears that rather than having disappeared as I thought he had, Mr S-O is living in the flat opposite mine, but (and here's the amazing thing) without furniture. The freeholder knocked at his door, and in the end persuaded him to answer, though Mr S-O wouldn't have if the freeholder hadn't pointed out that he could see him.

I'd thought S-O had gone away because there is no sign of that flat having furniture. Or carpets. Or anything, really. It was decorated following the fire, and the decoration was paid for by the buildings insurer.* I'm not sure why, but that's what the freeholder negotiated with them - and I'm sure there'll be an increase in our premiums as a result. But, of course, that insurance wouldn't cover replacement furniture and fittings, except it did cover a new kitchen and bathroom.

But it appears that Mr S-O came back unnoticed, and is living there somehow on the bare concrete.

He is very odd.

* I was told by the blokes doing the work. Yes, I am that nosy, so sue me.

I'm feeling slightly better since I took a decision to change the dose of my anti-psychotic that I take. I halved it and now take it all at night - and I'm 100% more awake during the day. Go me! I haven't got around to telling either the GP or the psychiatrist yet as I can't seem to get hold of either.

The next door neighbour bloke

Mr Smelly-Opposite is still living in his flat, despite not having locks on the front door, and the smell of unwashed person and wee is getting stronger every day. On hot still days, of which we've had a few lately, it's particularly nasty. When she came over, clare_nce was stunned that he was living there.

I'm stunned myself, but there seems nothing further I can do. I've hassled the social services department substance abuse team, but they seemed more concerned about how I'd discovered him to be a client of the substance abuse team than of doing anything to help the guy. They may be beavering away in the background, but my hopes are not high.

I've hassled the environmental health people, but though I had a phone call from them which I missed, they don't respond to the calls I've made since then. Meanwhile, the smell and mess is still there.

The one ray of sunshine is the freeholder. He's making arrangements with the loss adjuster to clear up the mess, clear out the flat, decorate it and replace the windows. Once that's been done, Mr S-O will have only a bed, the rest of the furniture having been condemned. And they may change their minds about the bed.

Contents, including carpets, will not be replaced, that's Mr S-O's responsibility. I have visions of him living there sleeping on the floor wrapped in a blanket, but as the freeholder sensibly points out, that's his problem and the less furniture he has the less he can set light to. It's very strange to find the freeholder a ray of any kind of sunshine, as he's not the most personable of characters himself.

The minor issue is that Mr S-O needs to give consent to these works, and when the freeholder has been round there, he's found letters he's written sitting unopened on the floor of the flat. Mr S-O just ignores them. The freeholder is hoping that the works will be completed by the end of September, but they'll never be completed if Mr S-O won't give his consent.

It is as I dreaded, Mr Smelly-Opposite is living in the damaged flat. The police came round tonight - I couldn't hear the conversation once he'd been persuaded to come to the door.

I so totally don't need this.

ETA: He has done nothing to the flat. Not even put locks on the door. It's open to the elements and the windows are broken, and he's living in that smell! Isn't there anything I can do?

Events Chez Lexin…not many actual events, but the fallout from the fire continues on.

The flat which burst into flame has not been boarded up and is making the place look like a slum. Not that it would help much with that if it had been boarded up, it would look like a slum which has been boarded up. This morning it was raining quite hard, which made me wonder about water damage on the flat below – I gather there has been some which will have to be put right.

Inside, the damaged flat (it's next door to mine – it would be) is everything a flat shouldn't be, including having cat shit all over the kitchen. Yes, as a nosy person, I trespassed so far as to put my head round the door – the front door has been left unlocked and keeps banging in the draft. A significant number of windows are broken, including ones in rooms where there wasn't a fire and there is rubbish all over the floor. Not just as a result of the fire - the rubbish has obviously been there for some time.

Plus, yesterday I saw some blokes with a white van loading up a fridge (or it could have been a washer, I couldn't see properly) and a microwave. I strongly suspect these to have come from the damaged flat, and have taken a note of the licence plate. Without going further in it than I'm prepared to, I can't be sure.

Mr Smelly-Opposite is still in hospital. I called the hospital this morning to find out how he's doing and he's still under observation having had treatment in a hyperbaric chamber (is that right, oh medical friends?) for smoke inhalation.

Hospital social workers have been called in because he has no friends or relations and clearly has 'issues' that are not connected with the fire. I explained to the bloke I spoke to that as far as I was aware Mr S-O's 'issues' stretch back some time – he has been living in unhygienic conditions for the last six years to my knowledge.

He even has no clothes – he was taken to hospital in a raggedy pair of trousers (I know this because I watched it happen) and has nothing else there. For myself, and this is what I told the bloke at the hospital, I'm not prepared to go into that flat unaccompanied to fetch anything, though I will attempt to do so if a social worker is with me. I'm sorry if that sounds brutal, but Mr S-O is not a friend of mine and never has been – his behaviour has always been worrying and I'm wary about getting too close. What I did not tell the hospital bloke is that I doubt that Mr S-O has any clothes worth wearing.

What will happen next, I have no idea. As I suggested before, I strongly suspect that Mr S-O has no contents insurance and though there is buildings insurance for the block as a whole, I'm not sure how far that will take the freeholder in putting the place to rights. But it can't stay as it is because it's a health hazard as well as an eyesore.

The cat is with the RSPCA and apparently is in good general health despite having had to have its fur mostly cut off. The woman from the RSPCA told me it's a lovely cat – very affectionate and friendly. So other than not grooming it he didn't treat it too badly. I asked if he'd get it back, but she wasn't prepared to guarantee that he wouldn't, which is a pity, as not grooming a long haired cat seems cruel to me – the question is whether it's cruel enough. The best that could happen to it is if he signed it over to the RSPCA to be re-homed. It might get a good home where it would be looked after properly.

ETA: I spoke to the freeholder – it seems that Mr S-O has told him that he's is being released from hospital today (really? With no clothes to wear? This seems a bit odd) and will be speaking to the freeholder about his plans for the property. He's in denial about the smell.

I told the freeholder to tell him that the state of Mr S-O's property has made me ill. I'm not sure that his living conditions are the sole cause of my depressive illness, but they're certainly not helping.