this is an incomplete list of noises that are some way comforting
cars parking in the street at night when i'm stretched out searching for sleep the soft machine clunk of the drivers door and a jimmy-rattle of house keys whir of washing machine in the kitchen slowing down and speeding up at the end of cycle music in another room different and distant - muted-clear a tv in another room unidentified clipped chatter of an old pictureless movie (maybe just the sound of stuff in other rooms . . .) milk floats at dawn their electric whine and chime of bottles hear it coming from far away down other streets the shift change siren yelling over the miles and fog horns out on the thames at any time of day and of course gentle rain on the evening window or the trickle-drip of rain out the gutter after a storm the hum and chew of summer mowers just after i got up on some empty weekend morning