Don't mince your words Stephen! Clare P from East Yorkshire says: "Like us, a lot of people have transferred from the fussy net curtain to the Venetian blind or plantation shutter. After a burglary many years ago, the police told us that our flimsy (but fashionable in the 80's!) bamboo blinds were completely see-through and an invitation to burglars to view our stuff and then come and nick it! Since then, we have always had blinds that we close once the lights go on. I like antique lace panels but would never have old fashioned nets now.
" North Yorkshire cyclist and blogger Rob Ainsley isn't a fan of the trend towards large curtainless windows: "I cringe when I see those showpiece self-build houses on TV whose living rooms have vast uncurtained glass frontages. Once their lights go on in the evening, for passers-by it must be like watching an Alan Ayckbourn play." Lynn C says in Canada where she lives they use the phrase 'the nets were twitching' to refer to someone who is being too inquisitive.
I have to confess to being a curtain-twitcher myself on occasion but I wouldn't call myself a nosey parker, because I only do it when there's something out of the ordinary happening, rather than to spy on my neighbours. Talking of nosey parkers, where did that phrase come from? They word 'nosey'..
. Sarah Walker.