I would just like to say

Well that’s 1bridge closed for the high winds... 1 left

Hippo said:

Coppa teld me ter make shor my cassul was betterer protectid than me naybors so robbers wud walk past mine an rob theres. Yer need an alarm ont every door/winda that opens and movemint sensors int side. Hide the alarm control box. Alarm garagis anorl.

Coppa sed robbers look fer known ways int. If they know how ter get int via yor type ov dor/winda then yer a target. If not they move along. They luk fer access int but more so a way out if theres a problem. Being aybul ter see frew windas elps them no wots int side. Mine as eggstra winda loks which is visibul. And alarm switch ont windas. Frog doors avva patlock ont anduls ter stop em being forced. Bi fold doors are too easy and a big target. Robbers hate trellis ont fences as its int way and makes er noise if broken.

My gates block oft drive ut side ov me cassul. If they wurnt there peeps cud walk darn the side ov me cassul ter see bak ov it. There beer fence and trellis int way but just being aybul ter double check the bak ov me cassul tells them more erbowt me cassul. Occupied or not. Exit meffuds.

Security lites everywher anorl. Wons wiv proppa sensors that flood everywher wiv sensin. Not the cheap thin line monitorin type.

Eye ingrav everyfink wiv cassul numba and postcode. Mowa's and shed tool easy ter get so mark em sevrul times. If they want me telly its marked ont front anorl. A lot ov sheds un garagis int tected. Surprysin ermownt int locked.

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As you've prolly gathered, with both our places being unoccupied 6 months at a time, we take all this very seriously. so have done more or less all you say plus having a CCTV camera on which we can check and move via wifey's phone.
We did get burgled in France twice and each time we strengthened the point of access they used. but once in they had no other way out. But we do live down a dead end country road and no other place can see us from their place if you see what I mean. Although there are places beyond ours. My garage in the uk has special security devices on and one of the simplest is that I have drilled through the door frame of the little door into the brick and secured it with bolts so that even if they try to cut around the door frame they'll do the saw no good at all.
Our alarm box is locked into a very secure cupboard under the stairs, with the door and door frame strengthend with steel. if they manage to find the electrical connection to it on the main board and switch it off the battery takes over. If they rip it off the wall it sounds.
The windows over here were interesting cos they didn't have locks on as fitted. I asked the company that built the house to give us ones with lockable handles on but amazingly they do not fit in with building norms! So we bought a box of lockable handles and fitted them ourselves. So all windows either have bars on or shutters with extra bars and locks on.
However we know there is a burglar who either lives in the village or has an informant here. He burgled a house with a dog that barks at anyone he doesn't know and even then... but he didn't bark, so must know the victim! So he has done our place twice, first time he took nothing much second time he took bedding and clothes, all still wrapped and excellent quality although the bedding wouldn't fit a French bed! The clothes were brand new still with labels on. So we think he has given up now as we are harder to get into and he knows we leave no vlauables here.
But it does sound like you have got everything as secure as it can be.
Quite agree about "if it is well tected they'll move on". Didn't know that about trellis though. where we havan't got it in the UK we will fit it now. cos our back fence backs onto a public footpath.
We also have neighbours who park their cars on our front drive all the time we are away. Different position every day so it looks at least a bit like the house is in use.
You can't stop it completely but you can do your bit to protect it.
I think you do more than most!

Went to bed early last night after a hard days graft up the scaffolding. Up again at midnight and back in bed 2am. Got up this morning thinking it was saturday, so planned saturday things like whiskey beer n football. Oh well, the chimbley is now down to capping off level so will leave it like that for a couple of days while the weather passes through. A lazy afternoon planned (or not planned as I can't be bovvered)

Hippo said:

This beer consern that as worrid me. Afta doing sum finkin eye an adda chat wiv the tree the haycorns felled oft. E be worrid is haycorns be garn ter wayst as they be ont floor. Wonts me ter berry em. Eye sed eye be not shor ow burreye cud tayk em ome ter me cassul un purrem oat fer me sqwiggul as e nos ow ter berry em. Thar beer risk e may eatid em. But at least they assa chance ter growd inter tree.

The eu beer problem. Eye int too shor worreye aster do ter stay int rule. The oak tree sed it be norra problem as they eu be rotted afta new yeer. If thar be any trubbul e will fudge paperwuk un claym haycorns dropped next yeer int sted.

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Wifey sez sum squiggles dig up er belbs to plant ther haycorns and furcones! She don't lek it!

Hippo said:

Sum yeers ago we had an ole bugger who always planned is siknus int advance. Yer knew when he wur avvin next wik oft as e paid is lottery int advance fer the wik e wur about to be sik.

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Think my colleagues might have sussed this too, I only sent in lesson plans when I was takin a sickie, normally I said to myself "Let the bloody Hod do it, it's her job" (She was ex-wife!)
Only took three sickies in my life.
Two of which were to go to court, dealing with tenants who were short on paying up skills!

Turktowner said:

Reminds me of the SD KFZ10?
Jus sayin..View attachment 220318

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They were SOOOO popular with both sides durin twar.

jamesmartin said:

security marks wont stop you losing stuff,just help the police if they accidentally catch someone with lots of gear in their flat or campsite, if they want stuff which you probably havent got ,it will go if its known about

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we don't bother but we do photograph it and keep receipts as the insurance especially in frogland won't pay out without it.
But yes scrotes will flog stuff on to other scrotes with security marking on.
Maybe the invisible stuff that glows under UV light? Not so obvious?

Hippo said:

Me mowa for eggsample has letters one inch tall, marked on it 5 times. Etched into plastic so permanent. Each on different sides or different plastic bits. As you say it may not stop them takin it but after is different. More difficult to sell on. A bit too hot to keep yerself.

Coppa sed a lot ov burglary is done ter make money. So they want stuff that sells. Laptops, hoovers, bikes, electronics. That sort ov thing. Sheds and garages are a concern to them as often a house is broken into using tools from yer own shed/garage.

After seeing the affect on someone being broken into it got me thinking. Coppa's and pcso offer free advice on security so eye got them to have a look at mine. It totally changed the way eye fort robbers would think.

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We ensure no tools that a burglar could use are easily accessible. In France they are locked into that special cupboard so they would have to be already in the house anyway. Same in the UK.
But peeps think all sorts of daft things about hiding places.
It was interesting to see where the burglars had looked to try and find stuff, inside jars of sugar, packets of flour, etc etc, all three loft hatches had been opened up yet a friend of ours thought her loft was safe till we told her!
What was fascinating to us was that there was a ton of booze in the house unopened and they didn't even take a single bottle of wine.
And if you have a safe, even set into the wall, they will still take it out and away to open up later, so we don't bother. Maybe a floor safe set into reinforced concrete?
No easy answers. Wifey wants me to put up electric fencing, don't know about the legalities of that!

kevstar said:

Does no one own dogs ?? Peeps dont like getting munched on so they will go else where.

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eggggzactly.
Best deterrent!
In our French village, (have i told this one before?) there is a house with a dog. Was at the vets and she told me a dog had been brought in by the police to be checked out to see if it was OK, i.e. in its right mind, not mad nor nuffin.
Turned out the owners woke up, the dog was sleeping outside the bedroom door as usual, they went downstairs to find a dead burglar, throat torn out!
Doggy just did its job then went back to sleep! Owners slept through it all!

But it would be a bit unfair to leave a dog 6 months on its own in our place!

Anyway, misty day today and wifey telling me to get on wiv stuff
so have a good one folks!

Stanleysteamer said:

We ensure no tools that a burglar could use are easily accessible. In France they are locked into that special cupboard so they would have to be already in the house anyway. Same in the UK.
But peeps think all sorts of daft things about hiding places.
It was interesting to see where the burglars had looked to try and find stuff, inside jars of sugar, packets of flour, etc etc, all three loft hatches had been opened up yet a friend of ours thought her loft was safe till we told her!
What was fascinating to us was that there was a ton of booze in the house unopened and they didn't even take a single bottle of wine.
And if you have a safe, even set into the wall, they will still take it out and away to open up later, so we don't bother. Maybe a floor safe set into reinforced concrete?
No easy answers. Wifey wants me to put up electric fencing, don't know about the legalities of that!

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My brother has a simple philosophy on burglary. "If they want in, they will get in, no matter what". Generally all that is between them and your "stuff" is panes of glass.
Visual deterrents (cameras & bell/siren boxes) are pointers to "pick somewhere easier and with less risk" is all IMHO.

@Stanleysteamer
Trellis is said to be good ont top ov fences. Sod to get over and makes ere noise. Spiky fences can be easy to get over by chucking carpet over them. Especially if they're solid and dun't move. But yer talkin ov er plannd bugerlary fer that wiv planned access un meffuds. Eye know of sum won who had their fence taken apart. Screws ont outside wur undon so they av nailed it fronpt both sides ter make it more difficult now. Tis er suprise about winda's and anduls noravvin loks int france.

Police sed it's not uncommon fer safes ter not be boltid down. They just take the safe if it will move. Stuff taken is mostly wot they can convert ter cash. Eye know ov sum won who had their ouse searched. They went int loft and unda the stairs. Found the lose flowa buds unda starirs an lukked unda there. Made me laff but crims no where peeps hide keys.

Eye plan ter put camera's ont my cassul wiv access by fone. Police sed yer need to hide the recorder and eye'deally save the vid ont web int reel time as it's been known fer crims ter take the recorder if they gerrin.

Eye int won on premuim bonds this mumf.

Hippo said:

The wulrus be ont trains. Be careful ov trains. Trains be dangerus wiv da wulrus ont bord.

Yer can catch da wulrus by brevin int ovva peeps bref. Bref contains attumeyesd airosol wiv wulrus int side attums. They also joy ride ont attums. Thar be uvva ways ov catchin it. Yer can gerrit by touchin someone or somefing wiv da wulrus onnit, un put yer paws int yer eyes nose or mowf un gerrit.

Noows this mornin ses yer can also catch da wulrus from er trump. This be the fust time this yeer they av confimd wulrus transmits int trumps. If yer can smell it, breve oat un run fer da ills.

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The Lunnun Choob dunt have the walrus, tas been provved ...

Hippo said:

Tis er suprise about winda's and anduls noravvin loks int france.

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Must be the "norm" otherwise French insurance companies wouldn't like it, but then in frogland all windows open inwards and they all have shutters or bars on them, so I think they rely on the shutters being the defence/deterrent.

Am I getting paranoid?
I have a bit of a cold today and I am not sure I can taste the tea I am drinking!
Will have to take my temperature later, feel a bit hot and it isn't hot!

Stanleysteamer said:

Am I getting paranoid?
I have a bit of a cold today and I am not sure I can taste the tea I am drinking!
Will have to take my temperature later, feel a bit hot and it isn't hot!

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I can't like that, take care and here's hoping it's not the bug!

Stanleysteamer said:

Am I getting paranoid?
I have a bit of a cold today and I am not sure I can taste the tea I am drinking!
Will have to take my temperature later, feel a bit hot and it isn't hot!

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What your alcohol taste like?
If unsure have a few to numb the taste buds.
Also you could isolate away from the Mrs for a few weeks

Made it across the bridge so back into England...nearly home just 1 more job.

My Old Landy said:

I can't like that, take care and here's hoping it's not the bug!

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Took my temp: normal.
Opened up the cupboard and sniffed each and every herb, could smell them all.
Not worrying for the time being.
but thanks for the thought!