Intruder !
Was woken at 4.23am this morning by the alarm monitoring service telling me that the alarm had gone off at work.
It’s amazing how many thoughts (mostly negative) can go through your brain when you’re fast asleep and your mobile goes off when it shouldn’t, it can only take 2 seconds at most to answer it (by my bed) but in that time you can go through no end of mainly worrying thoughts about family & friends.
Anyway, clothes on and grab my phone, wallet (not sure why, it’s a bit early for shopping) and keys and jump in the car. Three minutes later turn up at work to find all is deadly quiet !
Unlock, go in, and with bleary eyes read the alarm system, which is saying “All OK” !
Have a quick look around the downstairs and, back to the master system to double check it.
I’m staring grouchily at “All OK” when all of a sudden the alarm activates - this is bad :-/
There are two sirens on it, one outside with lights and one built into the master terminal I‘m looking at, both are ear splittingly loud. If feels as my ears are going to spontaneously explode and I bang my password into the system and all is quiet again.
Except, the system is now blinking “Intruder Upstairs Office” - this is bad :-/
Now I know that the system can be set off by big spiders climbing on the monitors and by Christmas decorations falling down (had both) but this is really rare and I only get about one false alarm every year or so, so seeing “Intruder Upstairs Office” is a little worrying.
I Say to myself, “OK, it’s just a false alarm, and go round every door outside (downstairs) to double check that none are unlocked or forced, all good there.
Next, I turn every light on and the radio (for back-up ! although I can’t think how a radio one DJ may help if a big burglar with a cosh jumps out on me) and slowly go upstairs.
I was cursing my choice of footwear as I’d slipped on my softest trainers and what I should have worn were huge Doc Martins with segs so I sounded like a 6’ 5” 20 stone hulk going upstairs rather than a ballet dancer
I get to my office door which I always leave open - it’s shut (yes - this is very bad) :-/
So next I check the other office, store & toilet, no Liverpudlian badies there (I watch “Lock Stock… to much) next I make a macho, hulk like, cough and slam my door open - nothing, all quiet, so I’m almost OK apart from that I’ve a small cupboard in my office big enough for a Liverpudlian knifeman to hide in, so heart pounding I wrench the door open - nothing , just some harmless stock checks and pile of old invoices (breaths again) :)
So… it’s now just after 5.00 am, I’ve phoned my monitoring service and let them know it was a false alarm and whilst I wait for the police to turn up (it should be in a few minutes after the alarm activation) I though I’d calm myself down by bashing this out (although from the downstairs office) ;)
I can’t decide if I should rush home for a couple of hours kip or crack on at work now I’m here and impress customers with very early emails
Have a good day all …
G
