Not sure if any of these epithets are nice per se, but I think I'd prefer beggars to thieves — especially in the view of recent experiences. Last monday there was a break-in in our home. We were away for only a couple of hours and when we came home the door was slightly open and I tentatively asked T. if he had left it like that by accident. He denied this and when we got closer we saw the mess inside and realised that there had been a burglary.

My computer and my back-up harddrive were both gone, and with them all the work I have done in the last fifteen years as well as most of my photos. Our oldest son's computer was gone as well, together with his new video camera and a bunch of games. What left me completely heart-broken was the loss of my grandmother's jewellery, which was all I had from her. It hurts. I realise the chances are extremely slim to get any of this back, and it makes me both angry and sad to think about the physical as well as emotional mess thieves leave behind.