by Christopher Browne

If you crave passion, drama and excitement you could go to the latest James Bond movie or book a Caribbean scuba-diving holiday? A cheaper option would be to join a local residents' association.

As anyone who has ever been to a local meeting will tell you they are not the innocent-sounding groups they appear to be. Associations have been at the centre of some of the UK's longest civil court cases, neighbourhood disputes and local vendettas.

Why? Because the Englishman's (or woman's) home is his castle. Anything that affects or gets in the way of his hard-won domain must be repulsed like a marauding army.

I know some of you either belong to or help to run residents' associations. If you do, you'll know how heated and personal some of the local issues can get. Landlords often get drawn into these disputes too.