People’s security lights always coming on when you walk past their houses at night

The purpose of security lights is to illuminate the burglar alarm  on the wall there where it would not otherwise not be seen by anyone considering breaking into the house  and who would therefore have no way of knowing that there must be something in it worth nicking. They are not just there for burglars , though, because householders are all too aware than any passing drunk who happens to stumble and injure himself whilst throwing up in their hedge could sue them for ‘keeping a dangerous threshold’.  Any air passenger looking down while flying East to West at night will pass over many a dark continent without seeing a glimmer of light below until they get over the south of England which they’ll suddenly see is lit up like a birthday cake and flashing brightly . This ‘pulsar effect’ is a mystery to some ( though not to the people in those dark continents who have been busy all night making cheap electronic heat-seeking and movement-detecting security equipment by candle light) . But it’s caused by millions of suburban security lights coming on as soon as anybody comes within 200 yards of the house and going off again as they pass by. And  not only people but also any nocturnal  creature that moves or emits heat such as cats , birds, hedgehogs , squirrels , rats,  spiders , slugs and snails, and any scuttling thing which may have designs on your dustbins.

Pre-eminent among these is one creature which is known to have instinctively familiarised itself with both  the routes of the dustcarts and their bin-collection days  and plans his bin-bag prowling accordingly . This is the urban fox , a clever predator, though he should not be confused with the altogether more sophisticated scavenger  the ‘urbane fox’ which will only take toothpaste, medications, cosmetics, and style magazines.  

(Val Showery , Gravesend) - QQQ**