It's six weeks since the burglary, and thus, six since I had the car nicked.  It took my insurers one day to write the old car off as a total loss after the theft.  They had all my documents within two days.  It took them, perhaps predictably, five weeks to issue a settlement cheque - which they did just in time for the throng of bank holidays, so that it's taken another week to clear.

However, today I've finally replaced my little silver Yaris with... another little silver Yaris.  Not only the same make, but the same model and year.  Feel free to point and laugh and level accusations of unoriginality.  It wasn't strictly deliberate - I had, it's true, been seriously considering getting another Yaris, purely because I'd been so pleased with the original, that it seemed sensible to stick with something I trust, and whose mechanical foibles I know well.  Of necessity, after all, I was going to be buying a fairly old, cheap car.  I didn't plan to be getting quite such a doppleganger...  However, when I saw the one I eventually bought, I was very struck by the fact that it was clearly in a much better condition mechanically than my old one - mainly because it had only just over half the mileage.  The bodywork's a bit more scuffed, but they generally don't rust much.

Driving it home was an odd sensation.   Like getting to know the identical twin of a much-loved friend.  The features are almost indistinguishable, but their face is marked by different lines and furrows.  They're also quite a bit fitter.