Snarling at the ice cream van through my net curtains.

[ThisWildHedgehog]

I love ice cream… I maybe hate the ice cream man though?

He’s come by our house twice in the last week around 9pm jingle blasting. All the windows are open because it’s been so hot and both times it’s woken my 2 year old and my baby.

Surly 9pm is too late to be amplifying music on a residential street?! Either that or the sleep deprivation has finally got to me AIBU 🤣🫣

Way too late. Tell him to come round at 3pm. Ours has yet to make an appearance this summer.

I’m surprised that would wake up kids 5 and under. They’re normally like dead asleep or awake. Esp baby

The baby is not a great sleeper at all so I’m
not remotely shocked it’s waking him. As for the 2 year old, I think because it’s so hot he’s not sleeping so deeply. I’ve seen him tossing and turning so much on his baby monitor where he would normally be a very good sleeper.

You know that after 9 they're selling drugs, not ice cream, don't you?

Genuinely too late. Would think most children should be in bed, heat or not!

Its not after 11....

I'd love the ice cream man to turn up rn 🤣

Love the thread title. Sounds like the prompt for a short story or a poem.

I HATED the ice cream man when I was going through the baby/toddler years. Hated him. Your post has just reminded me!
He would always, without fail, blast his tune just at that tentative dropping off/not quite asleep yet part of operation bedtime. BASTARD.

According to Google, ice cream vans should not play their music after 7pm, @ThisWildHedgehog. It also says they need street trader licences from the council, so you could complain to the council about this one.

Not all of them lol as long i get my ice-cream i dont care what their side hussle is.

3pm some kids dont end school until 3.30.
Ours comes around 5pm.

The law says they can’t play chimes before 12 noon or after 7pm. Not sure who is meant to enforce this though.
Must be waking a lot of children and making dogs bark.

God, that is far too late!! I’d check with the council whether their license allows that?

Sadly I live in a posh bit of Surrey where we haven’t had an icecream van call into the street in more than 15 years. Am gutted. Sunday afternoons as a kid involved waiting for the out of tune jangle and the frenzied rush to get out for a strawberry mivvi or a 99 if mum was feeling generous.

The local ice-cream van, in my old area, came around very late because they also sold fags and other drugs.

Sorry but the kids can get their own; it’s every woman for herself in this heat!

Ours comes around just before lunch every weekend...er no

Our ice cream van comes around even in Winter. I should imagine he doesn’t sell many ice creams at that time of year 🤔

Well can't they do it quietly?!

Check on your local authority website. There's all kinds of restrictions. How long they can play the sound for, that they can only play It when moving not parked. How often they can come about. operating hours limits. Our came at least hourly and parked in front of our house playing the music till 9pm all summer, drove me insane. When my sisters called me they even asked why there was constant ice cream van music in the background. Was weird as I also never once saw a customer. We live in a cul de sac.
Anyway I printed out the rules then walked out to his van to show him. He scarpered and hasn't been back this year yet.
Now I'm seeing people saying they sell drugs I'm actually wondering if that was his deal.

Is the possibility that they're selling something other than ice cream supposed to make it more acceptable that they're playing music loudly in the street at 9pm? If anything, that would make me more inclined to want to boot them out.

Really? Mine were all very light sleepers, like me. Ice cream vans are very loud, we can hear them from several streets away.

I dont have kids so i agree.

I'd just be glad it's too late for me to feel obliged to buy the kids an ice cream at £6 a pop when we've got lollies in the freezer! The ice cream van comes at 6ish on a Monday and last week it was so hot that I lost my mind and bought them for the kids and me and DH too. 24 quid on sodding ice cream.

I don’t think 9 pm is too late. Many people are eating or finishing their evening meal at that time - it’s probably the only time of day that might tempt me to buy from an ice cream van.

I hate the ice cream van too. The Mr whippy is horrible now..like solid bland tasteless nothing. It doesn't melt? It used to be pumped full of air bit gawd knows what's in it now. Cement?

I saw my local one feeding the pigeons with the toppings and letting them flutter and land on the counter and peck the toppings?!

I asked him once if his slush had sweetners in it as I'm allergic to some and he just said I don't know really angrily and turned away.

9pm is a dodgy time to chime your ice-cream van. Unless he's selling some extras?!