Being woken from a deep sleep by police officers knocking on the front door...

You may have noticed it's been a while since I last posted anything. It's no good, there's no getting away from this post - it certainly fulfills the brief: things I've never done before - although this wasn't something I'd planned. Obviously. My youngest brother-in-law thinks that everything I count towards seventy new things should be something intentional. But you can't control everything, like seeing the aurora borealis/northern lights in May - something the entire United Kingdom seems to have seen while I slept through it all.

But I digress. It had been one of those unexpectedly busy days with a warm sunny afternoon. I made myself a pot of tea and sat down in front of the television to watch a quiz show. Then decided to stay and watch the 6pm News as well. Next thing I know I'm waking up to the sound of someone knocking on the door, and there are two uniformed police officers grinning at me through the front window. Embarrassing or what!?

Was this finally my punishment for breaking all the childhood taboos about going into a betting shop and placing a bet on a horse race? Or buying a National Lottery ticket? (Which I did remember to do recently - didn't win anything though.) The officers were kind enough to try to make me feel better by commenting how comfortable the soft furnishings were and how easy it must be to doze off if you're sitting there... Yes, well.

It was prosaic in the end, the police doing a thorough job in the community, following up on complaints from our estate about a spate of antisocial behaviour by some lads during the recent school holidays. I hadn't liked complaining but still believe in nipping things in the bud if possible. In our case it was having plastic bottles containing liquid thrown at our front window. Nothing broke, fortunately, only next time it could have been something more dangerous. How will youngsters learn what is socially acceptable unless unacceptable behaviour is challenged?

The police had a photograph provided by someone with a clever doorbell attached to a camera, and they were going round the schools trying to identify culprits. It's sad to think about this but it brings me back to the adage: For Evil to flourish requires only that good people do nothing. The silver lining has been that I've had conversations with some of the neighbours I've never had a reason to talk to before all this.

Now, I need a way to distract your attention from all this unpleasantness. After more than 60 years' association one way and another with the Church of England, I have become of member of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) for St Peter's at the Cross in Chester, where I go most Sundays. Maybe I can put something back in for the good I've received. I've fulfilled other roles in the past but never been on a PCC before.

There. What a goody-two-shoes am I? Here's a good but boring picture of the church building (taken by somebody else). It's been there for 700 years, so it's rather special as well.

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