17th April 2011

It’s one of life’s ironies that when the warm weather finally arrives, bringing our gardens and allotments into glorious bloom, it also summons clouds of small, irritating insects determined to ruin our rare British summery moments. This year, however, the pests have been rather larger and far more unpleasant.

On Wednesday, Charlotte and the children returned from a quick shopping trip in the village to find the rear kitchen window jimmied open, the back door ajar, and the TV, computers, and jewellery gone, all in the space of under an hour.

The police advised her over the phone to leave the property immediately. By the time I arrived, she was outside with the boys in deep conversation with the site manager from the nearby building works. Suraj arrived soon after, followed by a plainclothes police officer. Sue also came along to whisk the children back to Harborough.

A quick look around made it obvious how the burglars had got in. Before leaving, Charlotte had arranged for contractors to spray weedkiller in the back garden and had shown them round, leaving the side gate unlocked. When she returned, both the workers and her belongings had vanished.

The neighbour’s early report wasn’t initially much help, but later, another neighbour recalled seeing a suspicious van with a trailer parked by the fence that morning, complete with two shifty-looking men. He’d even stopped to jot down their details before driving away, a rare triumph for British nosiness, and these have since been handed over to the police.

Insurance will cover the contents, but of course, it’s the irreplaceable personal items that hurt most, the heirlooms and keepsakes you can’t simply buy again. A Loss Assessor is due on Monday to begin the tedious but necessary paperwork.

On a lighter note, Monday also brought my barium scan results, all clear, and no signs of anything sinister. The letter did, however, include an invitation to an ultrasound in the next fortnight. My body seems to be on tour.

Thursday saw Sarah finish school early, so I took her and the Rothwells out for lunch in the village. That evening, Sue, Charlotte, and Sarah went to the theatre to see Jesus Christ Superstar, which they declared excellent, and, more importantly, it took Charlotte’s mind off the burglary for a couple of hours. While they were at the show, I played pool at the Catholic Club with friends, leaving Suraj to babysit.

Jamie had appeared earlier with his gerbils, which we were now entrusted to look after while he was away for the weekend. I was left extremely detailed instructions on how to look after them, possibly overkill for animals that mostly sleep and chew cardboard!

Friday brought the Rothwells round for a curry. Jamie popped in briefly to check the gerbils’ welfare before heading off to Brighton to stay with a university friend. On Sunday, he will be back, and on Monday at 4 a.m., I’ll drive him and Harley to East Midlands Airport for their all-inclusive getaway to Gerona.

Meanwhile, Nan is in Wales attending a family wedding, having been collected on Thursday by our Welsh cousin David. She’s vague on her return date, but I suspect she’ll reappear once she’s eaten her fill of wedding cake.