A painful lesson...

Got back from holiday at 21:00 yesterday and was greeted with the side door having been lifted off its hinges.

Yup, the worst had happened. We had been turned over.

They took many valuables. The obvious had disappeared. Jewellery, Nintendo Wii... even my beloved Nikon D70 and accessories.

But the worst of it was they took a simple 60GB hard drive that contained 99% of the photos I had taken over the last three to four years. The low-lives will be lucky to get a fiver for it; and yet to get it back I would pay a hundred times over that.

I even took the precaution of regularly backing up to DVD. All kept in a neat wallet. But you guessed it- they took that also.

Digital technology for all its advantages is fantastic. But in this situation, that is simply no consolation. You just have to admit that thieves will not steal printed media.

But the way I look at it is that we both have our health and family and friends around us... and our memories.

Lesson learned? Back up your photos and leave your back-ups away from home.

And get a burgular alarm! (Or a big dog!!)