Hello readers... so, after a long and often emotional debate, we have decided that the two robberies have really taken it out of us (in more ways than one) and despite trying to come to terms with the experience we have finally admitted defeat.
For us and despite reassurances from so many people here, the island will never be the same again. Everywhere we go we find ourselves looking to see if someone is carrying one of our missing bags, or wearing one of our watches or V's jewellery. We don't feel confident to leave the house for any length of time for fear of coming back and finding that someone has been through our stuff again, if not the first culprit but some other Ali Baba who has popped out of nowhere to look for something to steal and sell for a few euros.
We have told our landlords and have given notice that we will be leaving by the 1st September.
Flights are booked, taxi from the airport arranged and I am in the midst of packing between bouts of sunbathing. We are also looking for somewhere to rent in the Portsmouth area but V and I can't agree on where exactly. She would like Chichester and I favour Portsmouth. In practical terms the rents are lower in Portsmouth and you get more for your money whereas in Chichester it is slightly higher... we also have travel tokens to spend in Portsmouth!!
It's a sad end to plan that just went wrong on so many unforseen ways, the falling £, the falling Interest rates and the rising costs here on an already over priced island.
We land at Gatwick on the 28th August and will be staying in Cosham so make sure the weather has improved by the beginning of September!!
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Thursday, 26 June 2008
Friday, 20 June 2008
An Update to my "final" Blog
I have had time to reflect on my decision to stop the Blog and have decided it is for the best but only for the time being. However, I do need to communicate to my little "Blog Community" how things are going and what has happened since the two robberies. To be honest its not been good despite the best efforts of our landlords to reassure us and to very kindly give us a book called "The Road to San Vincente" which describes the Ibiza that we do wanted to be part of. It took us almost a week to feel safe and confident enough to leave the house even for a half an hour. We have now got lock bolts on every sliding window, the Shutters are firmly seated and I have fitted some "tricks" to make opening them from the outside just that little bit harder, even for the determined thief. Day by day we have ventured out and now started eating "Proper food" as we did not want to spend any time in a Supermarket while there was the possibility that the house was being trashed again.
I also have to thank those wonderful people who called and mailed us with support and made us feel so much better despite the pain and anger that we have experienced. Well, I have been the angry one but V is too upset and unsettled and has not been able to get angry.
I know how difficult it is for some people who have not had this experience to understand how we feel but they too have been very supportive in other ways.
Today, for the first time since "Black Friday 13th, we ventured to Ibiza had a coffee did a little bit of shopping and then did our supermarket shop. We got back home as ever hearts in mouth not knowing what to expect but as we should have realised, nothing had happened. We MUST NOT drop our guard though and each day when we go out we go through the routine of shutting all window, shutters firmly closed, doors double locked, internal doors locked and our Webcam set for motion detection, a patrol around the house to double check, lock the front gate and off we go. On our return we dash though the gate and "storm" just to make sure.... I enter first and check inside so that V feels safe enough to go in.
We have started sunbathing again but its a bit like being on "recreation" in Pentonville with V as the warder going round locking doors as we progress to the sunbeds!
We will see how we feel in a couple of weeks..........
Once again thanks to all of you who have been so kind and supportive we will not forget your kindness and your ability to somehow make me laugh when we have spoken. And those of you who I promised to call and haven't yet, I will soon, I promise!
I also have to thank those wonderful people who called and mailed us with support and made us feel so much better despite the pain and anger that we have experienced. Well, I have been the angry one but V is too upset and unsettled and has not been able to get angry.
I know how difficult it is for some people who have not had this experience to understand how we feel but they too have been very supportive in other ways.
Today, for the first time since "Black Friday 13th, we ventured to Ibiza had a coffee did a little bit of shopping and then did our supermarket shop. We got back home as ever hearts in mouth not knowing what to expect but as we should have realised, nothing had happened. We MUST NOT drop our guard though and each day when we go out we go through the routine of shutting all window, shutters firmly closed, doors double locked, internal doors locked and our Webcam set for motion detection, a patrol around the house to double check, lock the front gate and off we go. On our return we dash though the gate and "storm" just to make sure.... I enter first and check inside so that V feels safe enough to go in.
We have started sunbathing again but its a bit like being on "recreation" in Pentonville with V as the warder going round locking doors as we progress to the sunbeds!
We will see how we feel in a couple of weeks..........
Once again thanks to all of you who have been so kind and supportive we will not forget your kindness and your ability to somehow make me laugh when we have spoken. And those of you who I promised to call and haven't yet, I will soon, I promise!
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Ending the Blog
I'm afraid that this robbery has made me lose my sense of humour and so I have decided to end the Blog. Its hard to make sense of the robbery given that the thieves were so selective in what they stole. On the face of it the house had been trashed but once we started sorting things out we found that they had left things we would have thought they would have taken. For example, they took a Cross ballpoint pen but left a more expensive fountain pen. They took a pair of trainers but left the leather boots next to them. They took an old "Playboy" cigarette lighter but left the brand new Zippo... They even took a half a bottle of Gucci cologne but left the unopened Aqua de Parma...
It's an unhappy ending for a dream isn't it?
We have started to collect up our remaining "treasures" to pack and lock in a secure room so that we can go out and try to be normal, although I find that unlikely. We have visions that now the thieves know we can't fully protect the house that they will come back and strip us bare.
We had taken every precaution we could to lock the house but they managed to prise open the shutters on the bedroom window and then force the sliding double glazed window open to gain access. The doors were all double locked and the keys we didn't take out with us were hidden (and not found by the thieves) yet still they took a large amount of stuff.
These lost items are lost forever now... they were not even things that could be replaced by insurance.
Thanks to all my readers for reading my Blog.... I know I say it's ended, but who knows, I may feel one day that its worth starting it again.
We somewhat ironically thought we ought to name this Blog from "Retirement to Retreat"
It's an unhappy ending for a dream isn't it?
We have started to collect up our remaining "treasures" to pack and lock in a secure room so that we can go out and try to be normal, although I find that unlikely. We have visions that now the thieves know we can't fully protect the house that they will come back and strip us bare.
We had taken every precaution we could to lock the house but they managed to prise open the shutters on the bedroom window and then force the sliding double glazed window open to gain access. The doors were all double locked and the keys we didn't take out with us were hidden (and not found by the thieves) yet still they took a large amount of stuff.
These lost items are lost forever now... they were not even things that could be replaced by insurance.
Thanks to all my readers for reading my Blog.... I know I say it's ended, but who knows, I may feel one day that its worth starting it again.
We somewhat ironically thought we ought to name this Blog from "Retirement to Retreat"
Friday, 13 June 2008
More bad News
Despite having taken every precaution in securing the house since the robbery on the 6th May I am sad to say that we have been burgled yet again but this time far more seriously. This time they trashed the house taking all V's remaining jewellery, my cameras and SATNAV , V's leather (well worn) handbag, a pair of unworn trainers and several other items that represent our past and cannot be replaced.
We feel sick. We don't feel secure here at all as it seems that what ever we do to make the house secure we can still be robbed in broad daylight. I just don't know if we can stay here under these circumstances. The Guardia Civil were unable or unwilling to believe that we had not left a window open and that the window that was clearly forced had been.
Our plans for this adventure are in ruins.
We feel sick. We don't feel secure here at all as it seems that what ever we do to make the house secure we can still be robbed in broad daylight. I just don't know if we can stay here under these circumstances. The Guardia Civil were unable or unwilling to believe that we had not left a window open and that the window that was clearly forced had been.
Our plans for this adventure are in ruins.
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