So, yesterday the car was broken into and a few inconsequential bits were stolen. Today half of a windscreen wiper was pulled off. When I switch them on they just scrape the glass like fingernails being run down a blackboard. Not at all nice.

I sacrificed my Tuesday night in front of Delia Smith on the telly for drinks with Harvard PR at Bar Soho. Very pleasant, but it meant I got home too late to buy new wipers so it suddenly makes the weather a far more important affair. I can’t drive it without windscreen wipers and the flood plain is still under a lot of water, so it could leave me stranded at home if tomorrow morning is as wet as the weekend.

I don’t really mind the theft, or even the vandalism (although I have to admit that does prick me a little deeper than the break-in). What annoys me is the council, which locks up the car park at half ten every night. It means you can’t stay out too late and still drive home, or even work longer than you intended.

The reason? Because the people that watch over the ugly concrete levels and the screens connected to the cameras that swivel around on their ceilings go home. Without them, it would appear, the car park is insecure. Our cars are at risk. I would argue that there is no more risk then than when they are watching.

For this I pay over

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