Code of conduct

It has been proposed that bloggers should establish and regulate their own code of conduct. This is something I hadn't thought about since my blog is very low-key and (as far as I am aware) has only been visited by people I know and trust. Recent events, however, have disturbed my naive complacency and I have felt obliged to remove previous posts containing photographs and personal information that might be used by mischievous or malicious people to harm those I love.

Think of England suggests that the blog is like a pub with the blogger acting as landlord. I think I've been acting more as the hostess in my dining room, with trivial after-dinner chatter about family, friends and daily events, forgetting that uninvited guests could intrude.

So why yesterday's post complete with photograph? Some years ago, when we lived in Hampshire, we returned from holday to find the house had been burgled. My husband and I reacted very differently, I was sickened by the intrusion into our personal lives, while he was outraged by the breach of security. The burglars had emptied wardrobes and drawers and left our clothes strewn around, they had even pulled the linings out of all my shoes and bags, looking for hidden money. I couldn't rest until I had thrown away everything they had touched. My husband spent the remaining days of his leave installing alarm systems and fitting new locks to doors and windows.

The interesting result was that I recovered from the burglary as soon as the evidence was removed. I even managed to be amused when the perpetrators were caught trying to cash cheques which clearly bore my female name, while they were burly men! On the other hand, my husband became obsessed with security: he worried when he was away at sea and phoned home to check that I had set the alarm every night and that we were safe every morning. Eventually, I felt like a prisoner in my own home and had to go back to sleeping with the windows open or go mad.

Yesterday's post was an act of defiance!