Don't let burglars get the better of you

When I lived in London, I was introduced to a whole new vocabulary. ‘Blinding’ was a new one on me (for instance, ‘that was a blinding goal’) as was Chalfont St. Giles (don’t ask). But perhaps the most sinister was ‘London bar’.

Count your lucky stars if you don’t know the meaning of that last one. Put simply, it’s a metal security strip designed to reinforce door frames. As far as I understand it, the London bar is so-named because many burglaries in the London area are ‘kick in’ attacks. Using brute force, the burglar kicks at the door until the frame fails, splits or shatters.

I had personal experience of this when I lived in the capital. I was on holiday at the time and came home to discover my door frame in shreds. The police suggested installing a ‘London bar’ and I wasted no time in following their advice. I felt safer but was also reminded of the break-in every time I left the house.