It was overall a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable holiday, but it was then back to earth with a bump. I got back from the airport to a phone call from my neighbour, saying that my burglar alarm had gone off while I was away. She’d had a good look around, and couldn’t see anything suspicious, so had just reset it – but thought I ought to know. It’s really helpful having her keep an eye on the house in my absence, and the last thing I want is to be annoying her with false alarms.
As far as I could tell from the alarm log, the alert coincided with a power cut, which made me think it might be the same fault as a few years ago when the battery needed replacing. But the new battery really should last more than two years, even with the regular power cuts I get. So I called out the alarm company to give it a service. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good news. The battery was indeed flat, but that was because the main alarm panel had developed a fault and wasn’t supplying enough current to it to keep it trickle-charged. The alarm panel was so old it was obsolete, and I was advised that the whole thing needed to be upgraded – new panel, control box, bell and battery. Only the motion sensors in the rooms and the door sensors could remain unchanged.
I had that done last week, and the new system is much more user-friendly and easier to use. Except that it keeps triggering an alarm on bedroom 2 – I’m uncertain as to whether a mouse or similar has got in, or what is going on there! And the control panel is slightly smaller than the previous one, which means that there’s a small but annoying gap in the wallpaper where the old panel used to be. I have some spare wallpaper left over from when the hall was last redecorated, so I may have a go at bodging it myself. If not, I’ll have to call Rob the decorator in for a Friday afternoon job.
