Giving a place a good sweep to keep the dust down is a great thing.
Perhaps not at every stage, as each new demolition brings a new covering.
Little did I know how that dust would help me further my enquiries into who stole my key.

The sun was out today – and it came through the filthy old windows, bathing the parquet floor in the old living room with a muted sunshine.
It showed something up with such clarity, I wondered how I had missed it the first time around a few days ago.
Footprints – loads of them.
Each was really well-defined, so I set out to distinguish the alien ones. As no children had been in the house since the last brush up, I knew that any small footprints had to be the trespassers.
It took seconds to find the first set. Then others followed. Hell, there had been a whole gang of brats in my house and they had gone upstairs too! Five sets of trainer prints in total on the parquet, in the hallway and up the stairs.
I felt like a veritable Inspector Clouseau, nose to ground, with my iPhone in hand rather than a magnifying glass.

So here are the culprits footprints for all to see. One of this bunch stole my key, and I feel like ruining someone’s Xmas if it’s not returned.

First is ADIDAS size4/5, second is NIKE size 6/7, the others are unknown brands but belong to youngsters as they are sizes 3/4/5

I spoke with the old lady neighbour across the courtyard Madame Bringuier, but she hadn’t seen or heard anything.

But she told me that there are a group of kids roaming the neighbourhood who had tried to steal one of her cats. Her son noticed something fishy and stopped them.

They’re a new family in the village by all accounts – aged between 8 and 13. They’ve already had problems in the little time they’ve been there, so they are definitely my main suspects.

I spoke to the secretary at the town hall about it today. The mayor wasn’t there but he’s going to let her know.
I’ve basically said that they forced entry to my house, stole nothing, but left with my 250 year old key. I also let him know I had photos of their footprints and would go to the police if the key wasn’t returned. Be interesting to see how quickly the town hall reacts, because I’m only going to give them one week. No more, as the chances are that these brats are going to get new trainers for Xmas, and my material proof will end up in the dustbin.