Robbed!

You're a bit confused when you get woken up in the middle of the night. I could hear muffled bangs and crashes and at first I thought it was Mr Grumpy stumbling to the loo in the middle of the night. Then I heard a deafening crash and shot up, terrified, thinking perhaps he'd had another stroke and was flailing around. I was terrified, heart pounding as I climbed out of bed. Then I noticed the outside security light had come on and was gleaming through the curtains so I looked out of the window - it was 1.15 by now - and saw the garage door swinging wide open.The locks had been broken.

Not thinking for a moment that anyone might still be lurking, I dashed out in my pyjamas and socks, but there was nobody to be seen. Next, I went upstairs and woke Mr Grumpy. He came down and found all his most expensive equipment like his chainsaw and electric hedge-trimmers were missing.

"Get in the car and drive round the streets, they can't have got far," I said. I also suggested ringing the police, but he thought it wasn't worth it... that they wouldn't be bothered with such a small crime, which amounted to about £1000-worth of stuff (not small in my book!). He also said it wasn't insured. He then proceeded, in minus 5 degrees C, to get out his drill, which hadn't been taken, and nail the wooden garage doors shut.

I am furious. Anyone who's been burgled knows that it feels like a violation. And we have a good idea who was responsible, too. A very dodgy pair of Irish tinker types, who were doing hedge-cutting in the area and did a job for our next-door neighbour, came round and asked Mr G if he had some hedge-trimmers they could borrow as theirs had just broken. Mr G kindly unlocked the garage, which gave them a jolly good view of the contents. They gave him a business card 'in case he needed any jobs doing', ha ha, and when our neighbour tried to ring them a day or so later, the numbers didn't work.

It's now 1.53 am, I have had a mug of tea with a shot of whisky in it - for shock, of course - and I am going to back to bed, though actually I shall probably read my book for the rest of the night. It's one of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries, in case you're wondering, which feature lots of nocturnal goings-on, murderers clambering across balconies, shadowy figures wielding knives, the odd tomb robber and a whole host of evil villains in disguise. Somehow, I don't think I shall get any more sleep tonight.