We know my position regarding an intruder in a home from my previous Blog entries. It’s not the protection of the property that matters; but the fear that unwelcome intrusion brings. The majority of people can only imagine how they would feel when faced with an unwelcome intrusion that has breached security. When someone is somewhere where they shouldn’t be, then it’s a case of vulnerability and the fear that goes with being vulnerable.
We also know that I have a position regarding the possibility of the existence of what we term ‘ghosts’. Long term readers of the Blog will recall my experience in Africa when I stayed for a short while near Accra. I mentioned in a Blog entry at that time that I am a realist, and can accept that I may have inadvertently eaten something that was hallucinogenic, or maybe I had been unwell and was delirious. That doesn’t mean that I believe that Ghosts don’t exist, but rather that I am wise enough to understand that for every occurrence there may be one or several valid reasons, and that these reasons are not the validation that we tend to cling too when something occurs that is a bit different than the norm.
We also know that I have a position regarding superstition. So when we arrived at the nice cosy and warm hotel and the nice man said “Room 13 is ok, isn’t it?” we agreed to being assigned that room without hesitation. Things as you know tend to go in three’s so it came as no surprise half an hour later when we were sat in seat 13 on the train for a short hop between Newport and Cardiff. The room was intact when we left, and thankfully the train did not derail. I was even more grateful that the seat numbered 13 did not spontaneously combust or otherwise bring out our doom.
All in all it was a great night out and a lovely opportunity to dine with our eldest. I didn’t clock the seat number of the return journey, and nor did I count the number of steps from the Railway Station back to the hotel. I mean, yes, things do go in three, but why chance your luck by adding to the systems and knowledge? I am a nervous sleeper, and given my position on intrusion, that should come as no surprise to the reader. I always drop the dead bolt, and where available also close the door chain. The other thing that you may not know about me is that I used to be a firefighter and I used to work nights. Now seconds before the alarm sounds the lights go on, and I would be awake before the alarm sounded. This as well as my mental health is probably why I am such a light sleeper. I also know that sh*t tends to happen around 4 a.m. when people are asleep. It’s sort of a witching hour of doom and despair. Rubbish if you wake up, but far worse if you are slowly suffocating because you haven’t checked your smoke detector recently. I suppose that it's also a great time to do some breaking and entering.
So why do I tell you the time and the combinations of the number 13? Well, because at 0404 precisely an intruder opened the deadbolt on our hotel room and entered. Bad luck for them because I’m no Mr Sleepyhead and within an instant I was bolt upright and knew that someone had entered the room. Wifey asked me if there was a ghost. Not a surprising observation given that she was half asleep and had also felt a presence, and knew like I, that I had secured the deadbolt before retiring to bed. I was dressed before you could say ‘Crackerjack’, checked the bathroom, my wallet and wifey’s purse and the off to reception.
The conversation went thus “Do you have CCTV?” to which came the reply, “Yes”. My next move was to define the location, “do you have CCTV in the corridors?” to which I was told no, there was only CCTV outside. To which I explained that we needed to call the Police as someone had entered our room even though I had closed the deadlock. “It was me”, came the reply. Now folks get your head around this, its just gone 4 a.m. and how many people would be at reception at 4 a.m. in the morning asking about CCTV. So why did the conversation go around the houses? Did she think that I was an unhappy customer, who was board with the range of television channels and in this gloomiest of hours, needed some CCTV footage to satisfy my small screen yearning?
It appears from my dialogue with the manager many, many hours later when I was in a state of exhaustion prior to my drive back across Wales; that this crazy company check on all empty rooms from 0100 hours to ensure that they are ready for the next customer. And that the Intruder was going about her company directed business. Well here’s a message from me, you can stick your company up your backside, as I have never ever been as terrified as I was the night that the intruder opened my deadlock and entered my room.
If I lived in the United States of America I would sue your Arse for several Million.
You need to change your procedures, and you need to ensure that people booked into room 13 are checked in correctly. You could also do with fitting a door chain in every room because I ain’t coming back in a hurry, even though the intruder scurried off as I woke up.
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