On 05/12/2014 11:10, Ophelia wrote:
"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 04/12/2014 21:00, Ophelia wrote:
"David" wrote in message
...
On 04/12/2014 18:22, Ophelia wrote:
"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 02/12/2014 13:28, Saxman wrote:
On 01/12/2014 18:18, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Janet" wrote
bobhobden says...
Went downstairs this morning at about 07.30 and noticed the front
gate was
open, looked out and there it was gone.
One of our two large Agave americana Marginata, the biggest one
that
was
given to me by a friend over 40+ years ago as a tiny offshoot.
They
have
both been in our front garden for years. Has to have been a
"professional"
job as it probably needed two to carry it in it's tall square
clay
pot, I
use a wheeled truck to move it, and they would need some sort of
protective
gear, certainly needed a van or pickup to move it away.
Unfortunately I haven't got 40 years to grow another that big!
B'stards
You might ask the local paper to run an article on the theft,
with a
pic of the plant if you have one. Makes it harder to sell, or
display.
The photographer for the local rag called to take photos today and
I've
already had a good discussion with a reporter so it looks like it
will
be in the local papers some time soon.
Reporter seems more than interested that the Police said they could
only
follow up the case if I found good CCTV that could ID the offenders
and/or the vehicle. Said he is hearing too many cases like that
these
days.
All these stolen bikes and plants. It's probably bike shops and
nurseries. Think about it. They have the means to shift such
things
and look less suspicious in the operation. I certainly wouldn't
suspect
anything if I saw your Agave being loaded into the back of a nursery
van.
Good heavens! I would certainly be suspicious *and* alert the
neighbour
to what was going on. In our road, we talk to our neighbours and
if I
knew a neighbour like Bob with a treasured plant of 40yrs tending,
there's
no way I would ignore its being loaded into a van.
But then I am an award-winning neighbourhood watch coordinator with a
very
suspicious streak. I often challenge dodgy behaviour.
I would never doubt you, but please be careful!
Ah! The nosy old biddy down the road.
Someone who is willing to steal stuff from under the owner's nose, might
not take too kindly to being challenged and may just hit out.
In a genuinely tricky situation, I call on the police and extra
witnesses. We run a good watch scheme here. Anyway, triggering a
panic button and our alarm system (if need be) would soon frighten any
intruder or thief.
Does every house have them? How would you cope outside if you
challenged some men moving stuff? I hope you would never think to do
that alone???
Many of our houses have alarms, but if I saw something deeply suspicious
with active villains, the chances are our CCTV would pick them up. If I
could raise extra witnesses, that would help (but I refuse to accept any
vigilanteism in our road), otherwise I would trigger my own house alarm
by using the panic button - if I was that worried (I've never had to do
that yet). However, with such an incident, I would simply dial 999 and
let the police come and catch them red-handed. I probably wouldn't need
to challenge the villains.
Often we see suspicious behaviour and take a look outside. If I
challenge someone, I usually just ask if they're looking for someone or
something, or will say "Is that your car?" if they're hanging around.
There's no need to get very close. I can call from my front steps if I
wish. Sometimes I just challenge over-grown kids because they've
trespassed on private property. They're often a bit 'lippy'. One asked
me if I was accusing them of stealing (there were 4 of them). I simply
said "No, I'm not, but if you enter someone's property and take
something without asking their permission, then it's likely you are
comitting theft". This is not accusatory (they all know their rights!),
but lets them know you're watching them and are prepared to act. That
is usually quite sufficient.
Just reverting back to gardening, when we had plant thieves in our
road, our CCTV camera footage helped the police catch the villains
involved, which was most satisfying. I doubt they'll be back!
Excellent
We think so. The main thing is to drive crime away from our road, which
can be done sensibly and safely. Just twitching a curtain or opening
the front door and letting 'them' know they've been seen is quite enough
to let them know we have an active Watch scheme. We do rather more than
just put up stickers! ;~).
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay