Thieves in the night

So as you know, I've learned to spin and been waiting for Warhammer Online to start. GOA, the European provider of War, have been useless and the launch was a disaster (as expected from their previous performance with Dark Ages Of Camelot and many other games). Open beta was due to start last Sunday, on Tuesday evening we finally got access.

I played a little on Tuesday evening, foregoing my "homework" from the Spin class and getting a little used to the game environment. I loved it.

Wednesday 10th I went to the Cinema with guild members from Blackadder gaming guild. We went to the iMax to see The Dark Knight. It was awesome and I had a lovely time seeing Sue, Kevin and Robert again. I left the car at the office and laptop in the office and had planned that I would go back to the office in Hammersmith, West London (the iMax is at Waterloo in Central London) and pick up the car to drive home. I've done this countless times over the last year.

It was early enough for me to get home, do a little playing on War and preparing my spindle for Thursday in the office where I'd do spinning at lunchtime.

I was going to get off the tube at Hammersmith and walk up to the office that way - the office is closer to Ravenscourt Park than Hammersmith tube but walking up King Street is a bit safer I think. I had heels on, new boots. Kitten heels but heels that I am not used to wearing all the same so my feet were sore. I decided at the last minute to stay on to Ravenscourt Park.

As soon as I got off the tube I thought "Shit this was a bad idea" I walked through an alley way but it was OK there was another woman in front of me and I felt OK but a bit unsure. I walked around the back of one way system and down towards our office. As I turned into the road my office is on, I started to feel a bit uneasy. I came to a little turning that goes into the back of where our office is, it was pitch black poor lighting and I heard something. Instantly my senses pricked up and looked around, saw no one but walked a bit swifter. However the noise of my heels was crying out "lone woman about."

My heart started to beat a bit faster, and I hastened my step along past the major road works taking place in the street with big fencing all around it (conveniently blocking views) round the corner and quickly into my office. I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd been dying to go to the loo too so I sorted that out then went upstairs to the first floor where my desk is.

I packed up my laptop, picked up my knitting bag which had my spindle, fiber and waterfall lace scarf in it (posh yarn, cashmere and silk mix mmmm). I went downstairs, turning off the lights and air conditioning which my boss had left on again. Mentally chastising him I set the alarm and left the building. Directly opposite the building are car parking spaces. Mine is less than 4 yards from the front door. I put the laptop in the front well of the passenger side of the car and the knitting bag on the seat.

As soon as I did so I realised I'd left my hand bag and phone in the office. I looked back over to the office and back at the laptop. Should I bring it back in with me? Nah there's no one around - I looked again - yep no one around it will be fine. I have a smart car, it only has 2 seats and the top half of the car is almost entirely made of glass. I COULD have put it in the "boot" if you can call it such, but I never do unless I'm going to the gym and leaving it in the car while I do a class.

So I locked the car door walked back the 2 yards, unlocked the door, swiped my alarm swiper over the thing, went up 1 flight of stairs picked up my hand bag (in the dark) walked back down the stairs and as I swiped the alarm fob across the alarm fob point I heard a loud BANG. I knew immediately what was happening. As I opened the door I heard the second bang and a shatter of glass, and as I lifted my head I caught the last glimpse of two hoodies as they ran around a wall and out into King Street with my laptop in tow.

It took no more than 40 seconds for me to go back inside, get my bag and come out again. They had been watching me. Who knows how long they had been watching. Had they followed me from the dark area behind the office when they heard a lone woman? I think they did.

I think they also knew what was around and about my car, because what they used to smash into it had been lying in front of the car for a year or more. It was a broken parking bollard. A solid metal tube filled with concrete to weight it. Two hits is all it took. They weakened the glass (and broke the window seal) with a screwdriver then BAM hit it twice with that.

They knew exactly what they were doing. The nice policeman told me I should be glad that I went back into my office or they would have gone for me. I could have been bashed over the head and left lying there till morning, because the place was deserted except for me and them.

There were two guys in another office looking out the window, I asked if they saw them they said yes and did a mini description to me. Which I gave the police call centre. When the cops actually arrived, of course, they told them they had seen nothing.

I have never seen so much broken glass in my life. It was everywhere.

The following morning I had to take the car to Fulham Police Station between 8 and 9am for the Scenes of Crime car clinic - apparently when you have a car crime in Hammesmith and Fulham now, you take the scene of crime to them the following day they don't come to you. Apparently this is because car crime is so common place in Hammersmith & Fulham that they can't cope with the number of calls.

I drove to Fulham with the window still out, feeling deeply vulnerable and shitting myself the entire way that some other little fucker would lean in the car and rip out the stereo. I didn't sleep all night, shocked, humiliated for my stupidity at leaving the laptop in the car, and scared some little fucker around hwere I live would nick the stereo overnight to just add insult to injury.

The lady at Fulham Police station was lovely. They all have been lovely actually, but she was especially nice. She dusted the car, told me there wasn't much hope but that she was grateful I'd brought it in because all it takes is ONE piece of evidence to catch the little buggers. She had hoped for blood, there was none. Fingerprints? None it was clean as a whistle which was not a surprise. Not even the "weapon" had them because it wasn't the "right sort of material" to leave dabs on. The car surfaces were no good as they are all rippled, apparently you need a smooth surface. Glass is perfect, but they little sods do this all the time, they know not to leave dabs in the right places.

I drove home, still shaking like crazy, feeling vulnerable and every time I looked to my left to check traffic I saw the awful damage they had done. I cried most of the way home. People walking past me in the street kept looking at the damage and staring at me and the car as they walked past. I wanted to yell out "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" A complete mixture of emotions was coursing through me every few seconds; fear, worry, anger, shock, dispair, rinse repeat. Emotions bouncing around all over the place.

While there at Fulham Police Station Kevin called me. I'd told Sue about what happened and that morning managed to make a post on the guild boards from my iPhone. He was lovely to me on the phone and I just ended up weeping buckets down the phone in front of the police. Kev offered to lend me a laptop so that I could at least play War. I could barely speak in response because the tears just ran and ran.

After I got home, I took the metal parking post to the dump. I had no idea where I was meant to put it. There was a guy there, so I stopped the car and asked him. He was Polish and was sorting through piles of scrap things - I vaguely remember him taking an old bed out of a black plastic sack. I stopped and asked him where I should put it. He looked at the car and then at me and said "it's scrap metal" he reached in took it out of the car for me and threw it upwards, into a giant skip. He gave me a smile and said "there, it is gone" and went back to what he was doing. Happy he had a job. Any job.

I then drove to Tesco and took the car to the Valet bit in the garage. I asked the lead guy there if they would be willing to clean it. He, also Polish, said "sure no problem but I can't clean the outside because too much water will get in" I said "No just the inside, there is lots of glass are you sure you will clean it" he said "yes no problem bring it round the back"

So I did. Within a minute he had 4 guys swarming the inside of my little smart car. Hoovering up every last shard of glass they could see. Cleaning the inside of the windows that were left. These guys work for a pittance and every one of them did it with a smile. The boss guy asked me what happened. I told him; he went off with how shitty those kids are and how rude they are etc. I told him they should be getting a job working for someone like him instead of stealing from cars. He replied that they wouldn't work for him. He is right. They want it all handed to them on a plate. "There ain't no work innit" if you ask them, but there IS work. "f'ing Polaks coming in taking our jobs" I hear that too often, they aren't taking "our" jobs they are doing the jobs none of these little shits who are too good for it will do, AND they do it with a smile on their faces.

They are happy to have a job, ANY job. Yet we in this country have raised little rats, who do nothing but leach and steal. I know some people would say "but they come from a poor background" and to that I will tell you; my parents came to this country in 1950 with £1.50 in their pockets. My father came from abject poverty in Ireland, not knowing where his next meal was coming from. They arrived here and they worked. They brought 6 kids up and they taught us to work. We in turn teach our kids to work.

Why does anyone think they have the right to not work and just live by stealing other peoples stuff. Scaring other people?

To top all of this off, the three insurance policies that should cover this theft don't. The car insurance will give £100 towards it, but the excess is £265. The computer insurance won't cover it, because it wasn't taken from inside the building. If I'd taken it back in with me and they hit me over the head and pushed me in as I came out of the building then yeah it would be covered. My home contents won't insure it because it isn't my asset. Robbed blind in the night by two hoodies - at least they had the courtesy to do it at night while hooded. The insurance companies rob us blind in daylight with a smile on their faces too!

I have pictures to post with this blog but they are on my iPhone. Until I'm properly back up and running I can't really get them off it.

All I can say is, take care everyone. Always be on your guard.