Loss

We've been burgled. The thieves smashed our back door in. It must have happened between 4pm and 5pm today, we think they were disturbed by my neighbour coming home. When I arrived home at 5.30pm I didn't realise straightaway as there was no sign from the front of the house, but once I got upstairs I realised that every wardrobe had been rifled.

Apart from my engagement ring and work laptop, most of what they took had little monetary but huge sentimental value. The most devastating loss is this locket. It's around 120 years old and belonged to my great-grandmother, Mary Anne Cranie. The pictures are of her daughter Ellen, who died in childbirth along with her baby daughter, Rose, and her son Barney, who died in action during World War I on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. I was so relieved to find the photos of the locket, so at least we have something. The policeman told me that I'd be surprised at what does turn up, so here's hoping.