June 3rd, 2012

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I asked my Facebook friends to let me know what noises they liked and disliked. Try and guess the gender of who said the following. Some of them are mine:

“Birds chirping in the garden, babies laughing, water running in the bath tub, bells chiming, a Ferrari engine! Boat masts flapping in the wind, a match being lit, the sound of a kiss, silk fabric being creased, footsteps on dead leaves, the wind in the trees in the forest.”

“Since my children were born, I have become an expert on noise, allergic to noise and surrounded by noise. I am three months away from my first teenager. Noise is kind of a staple food around here. I wear earplugs all weekend!”

“Children screaming is high on most people’s dislike list, but babies don’t scream for long, in the grand scheme of things. You tend to forget the sleepless nights very quickly. Kids are great. Mind you, I’m a big kid myself …”

“Champagne corks, wine being poured out of a bottle, a goal, a try, or a century being scored and the triumphant roar of the crowd, cats purring, rain on the roof of a caravan, audiences laughing.”

“Police sirens, next-door neighbours arguing behind the bedroom wall, barking dogs, people eating popcorn at the cinema, nails on blackboard, the rattling of a fork on a plate, the alarm clock in the morning.”

“The roar of airplane engines, the sounds from a tempestuous day on or by the sea, the clattering of heels on the street in the summer with a concert in the background, the hissing of an espresso machine.”

“Rain falling, water running over stones, the ocean, wind-chimes, wind in the trees … and silence is never overrated.”

“Adverts, shouting, demanding attention, noisy neighbours, dripping taps, things that go bump in the night!”

“That final tick on the alarm clock right before the alarm actually goes off in the morning.”

“The silence of expectation just before one of your performances at the theatre.” (I didn’t write this one, honest!)

“I dislike the screeching of train breaks, shattering glass and the weird sound automatic blinds make when they roll open.”

And finally, short and sweet: “When people are having sex loudly, it should irritate me, but it doesn’t”; “People talking loudly on their cell phones”; “Amateur violinists practicing”; “Seagulls crying as they soar over the sea”; “Do the voices in my head count as noise, as only I can hear them?”; “Music, singing, poetry”;

“Your child’s first laugh is the best sound in the world”; “Children playing immersed in their own imaginary worlds”; and “Fusion jazz kills me. I’d rather have ten hours of trash metal.”

How did you get on? What sounds drive you to distraction and what makes you smile. Send your answers to me via The Copenhagen Post’s website.