I am now a crime statistic

Last week, on the way home from work I was mugged at knife point by two teenagers, on a dark street corner in Easton, Bristol. And yes, they were wearing hoodies and baseball caps. I did the sensible thing and just handed over what they wanted, my mobile and bag, which unfortunately contained my laptop and digital camera. It will all get covered by insurance but I lost quite a lot of work and and about 1500 irreplaceable photos of my baby daughter's last six months which I'm quite upset about.

So, now I'm a crime statistic have I gained some new insight into the subject I spend so much time writing about? Not really. I suppose I can now maybe appreciate how unpleasant being a crime victim makes you feel, how powerless and angry, and I suspect my confidence about walking around at night has taken a knock (20 years living and working in Bristol and this was my first mugging).

My overiding response has been that it was just really depressing. I don't think it was drug motivated, although it could have been. The perpetrators were young, the older perhaps 18, but the younger couldn't have been much over 13 or 14. The idea that they would threaten a stranger with a knife, risking everything for what I can only assume would have netted them a few pounds I just find quite dark.

Oh well, life goes on.

Finally, one thing I realised later was that along with the laptop they also snatched something of real value: several copies of 'After the War on Drugs, Tools for the Debate', although I'm not sure how much they would get for that down at Cash Converters. Who knows, maybe they read it instead.

I am also just recovering from a hideous week long bout of flu/plague/typhus so expect normal Transform blog service to resume after the recent quiet patch.