Drunken Yobs

I couldn't bring myself to post the photo of my Mini Cooper without the black bin liners taped to it's rear! I'd driven to East Sussex to spend five days with my Mum as she's alone while her husband is in hospital having major back surgery. I arrived Friday afternoon and got together with her sorting a few things out with plans to drive to the coast, have pub lunches in sunny gardens, go shopping and generally relax.

I was asleep in the front bedroom on Friday night around midnight when I heard loud male voices and one female voice say,

'Don't wind him up!' and then a dull thud - then silence.

Very soon after a knock at the front door. My Mum rushed out of bed to open the door. I said not to answer it but it was her neighbours just returning from an evening out to tell her that somebody had thrown a brick through the rear windscreen of my car! Still in my pyjamas I helped him tape it up at one in the morning which was very kind of him wasn't it?

I hope that person feels good about themselves. I spent all Saturday morning on the telephone to the police Then 'phoning my broker for insurance details as I had no documentation with me. Then arranging with AutoGlass for repairs. Of course they didn't have the rear windscreen in stock. They could get a replacement by Sunday but only if I drove to Tunbridge Wells as no fitters could do roadside on a Sunday. I wimped out of driving there with the car like that. I had to wait until Monday afternoon. The new windscreen cost around £600........

Mum and I got out in taxis but couldn't do the things I had planned. Strange though - When I had my soft-top it got slashed twice by drunken yobs and I said no more soft-tops for me and then they go and do this.

A car can be repaired but Mum and I can't recapture those five days, already in an already stressful situation worrying about my step-dad, spoiled by this incident.

When I heard the dull thud I had no idea it was glass shattering. If it had sounded like glass I would have been up like a shot along with my camera and taken a photo of the villains as evidence.

Morty and my daughter phoned me up on the Sunday afternoon, and after Morty had asked after everyone he said, 'And how's the car?'

I gulped as I replied gazing at the ruin on the street and told him it was just fine!