There are times when I despair of humanity and cannot see that it has much of a future. One of its most appalling attributes is greed for goods and craze for money with which to indulge its selfish desires, irrespective of their repercussion on the rest of society, or indeed the planet's resources.
Today, any object which can be moved and has the potential of market value somewhere in the economy is at high risk of being stolen by unscrupulous dealers. For years, garden ornaments and furniture in rural and suburban areas, where they cannot be locked up and hidden, have been looked upon as fair game by looters. Some people spend their time prospecting for such treasures and organising their collection under the darkness of night.
The latest in desirables is slate, which can be highly ornamental in garden architecture, and is said to be popular for this purpose because of its featuring in television programmes. In some places in my neighbourhood large vertical slabs of slate have for generations been used to mark pasture boundaries, and are now viewed with cupidity by collectors without conscience. They also collect roofing slates from tumbledown barns in fields.
A more alarming development of late is that slate structures from remote village churches are disappearing overnight from graveyards, porches and even lychgates and mounting stones. Even from church interiors slate slabs are being levered from their position and stolen. And sundial stones are being lifted from porches to feed the greedy market.
It has been recognised for some time that we need to lock our churches when there is no one in attendance, to prevent their being despoiled not by fanatics, but by thieves, who have an eye for the fitments and the alms-box. It becomes serious when we have to lock up the slate and other fabrics - and to guard the exterior features is virtually impracticable.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of such thefts is the realisation that behind every petty thief who looks for a little hard cash there is an organisation designed to collect, transport and arrange their sale to unscrupulous customers. Indeed, there is reason to believe that in many instances a would-be buyer sets in motion the whole process of illegal acquisition. Without potential buyers in the background there would be no encouragement to the thieves.
We used to joke, I remember, about doubtful bargains which "fell off the back of a lorry" and were going cheap in the local market stalls. The situation is now ten times worse, and bears some parallel with the hidden operations of the dealers in a drug smuggling ring.