so we were robbed yesterday.....

Nick-H

UK. Arrived yesterday.

Told Mrs N... don't meet me at the airport when I get back, but set your alarm for 2.00am, and meet me at the front door with a cup of chai . I'm looking forward to it already

Trul sorry about the burglary. Probably makes us all worry. We don't have any indoors staff at the moment, but I think it is a good thing that enough local people have seen the inside of our house and can spread the word that we do not any any gold, silver, expensive TVs, etc. In fact they probably wonder why, for a foreigner and his wife, we don't have more! I hope so, anyway.

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brownboy66

thanks nick. It can happen anywhere, anytime. As it turns out they mostly got away with dead gadgets (and the whiskey....grrrrrr). People are fine, computer is working, the beer in the fridge is cold Life is good!

Happy travels - hope the UK treats you well.

that's been mentioned to us now as an option. Not use to that. Makes me feel like I should put a swing in the courtyard, sit on it and go churp churp!

Nick-H

I've thought of doing like that for our house!

Two sides are sealed already, I've thought of building a grate around the back side.

No intention of doing so for the front, though

Aishah

Big cities - it's the same the world over with the need for security. Friends in Sydney (several places) have all been robbed at one point or another and strengthened up their security arrangements. Jodhpur is starting to become more vulnerable and i guess this trend will eventually come here as population increases and it is no longer a place of 'local' residents. Keep up your spirits,bb, you are sounding very philosophical about it all and seem to have it under control! Hope things go smoothly for you now...

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brownboy66

thanks Aishah. All is well. As said before - in the scale of things it was pretty minor, and there are others far worse off than us.

One of the things I've learned in the past is that you can't let these things take control otherwise you end up shutting yourself away from the world. You have to make decision based on what you want to do, not what you want to avoid. Otherwise once you do that - external events start to make decisions for you.

We've got a couple of people putting some ideas together about how to improve our security. I'm curious to see what they come up with. There are a few obvious improvements I can see - but we aren't about to turn this place into a zoo enclosure.

brownboy66

Hmmmmm.....not sure how I feel about the whole idea. Although, could have other practical applications such as a time out area for naughty children! Saw an army truck the other day taking some mums and children on a trip somewhere. The back of the trunk was all enclosed in mesh. Almost had the kids convinced its was a kiddie jail. Unfortunately they know me too well......

Prashant.M

Do it only if the backyard is small. I have seen houses completely barred from all the sides and boy do they look ugly. I bet living in them is no fun either. These houses have also been broken into when the owners were away on vacation.

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Nick-H

At first I thought it would make our house feel like a prison --- but it doesn't. The iron grill along one side is a nice design, with intermittent ducks and waves, and the birds like to sit on it --- and it will be very helpful to anyone wanting to get onto the roof!

We even have some barbed wire, which I hate -- but, agin, the birds like it, and eventually we hope to cover it with bougainvillea, which is pretty spikey; natural barbed wire!

Given that it is common and usual for Indian windows to be barred, (bared? No... barred) one gets used to living behind a steel grill.

Aishah

Bougainvillea is great! Can make a good canopy roof for you over the wire mesh - I'm trying to cover a wire boundary fence with it - it's getting there but the cows keep snipping off the top shoots!

brownboy66

yeah...we will probably go with the roof cage or whatever you call it. It'll be fine. Its just really different to what we're use to. Funnily enough we have no problems with the bars on the window - it just seems like putting a big cage over your courtyard is so extreme...

oh well....churp churp....

Khandoma

Hi again Brownboy,

So what was that answer you wanted to post about rugby ?

I feel for you mate. First you get robbed. Then your team loses, against all reasonable odds. Now, no whisky in the house to alleviate your sufferings...

Btw, and completely OT, it was strange here in Paris yesternight. It was "Nuit Blanche", white night, the yearly event where modern art is displayed for free throughout the city, with film screening on skyscrapers, phone booths transformed into teleportation cabins (nah, they don't really work), video installations all over the place. The crowd was part art lovers / passers-by, part very happy rugby supporters. Quite an unusual mix...

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brownboy66

I was wondering when this would turn up - but what a game! The skill level was incredible by both teams! We had some English friend here to watch the game and they were celebrating England's win (and so was I - as much as the Aussies are neighbours it was good to see the English regain some confidence). As I said to them after the NZ - French game, NZ dominated the line outs, wheeled the scrums, had most of the possession and territory, broke the line time and again, and still lost. Must be a rugby match against France.

Seems that the media and general public expected NZ to win this easily - but I don't think NZers or the NZ team expected that. Of all the teams they fear them most, it would be the French team because once they start throwing it around you have no idea what's going to happen. French flair and passion - what a mix So how is everyone feeling in Paris today (dare I ask)??

Khandoma

Interesting ! Other than it's always a bad idea to underestimate your opponent, I had no idea that was the take on the French team. Precisely what happened, though.

Very well described. I watched the game, discussed it with friends, and still don't understand how we won it. Honestly, you guys played fantastic rugby.

Hmm, nothing special to report really
Obviously, it's the frontpage of every self-respecting newspaper. Which points to the political importance of the thing. Did you guys get those repeated shots of the French President ? Only this past week, we had a scandal about a State Court buying stock options of a President-friendly company before it crashed, a big thing about a law wanting DNA tests for immigrants (this one is so not happening - for now), several strikes and demos and our economy basically looking like a zombie in a student movie. Winning against NZ is perhaps not as good as winning the finals, but it's a good comfidence booster. Pretty sure it'll get exploited politically in the next hours.
Why am I serious ? This is Sunday, I should be gloating.
As you said, France vs.England is gonna be good to watch. Talk to you then...

Aishah

O.K> looks like we're all getting over it...now the thread is turning into another b@#%*+ Sports Thread!!

Khandoma

True, and my fault, Aishah, I apologize. Guess burglary memories were not something I felt like bringing back.