THE other half is definitely going to come off worse in this week’s column, given that I am presently fuming with him.

I am trying to defuse my volcanic rage but it’s proving difficult as I am really annoyed by his carelessness.

The issue is that he left our iPad, which was given to me by my father, in his car overnight. It was clearly on display and we are just lucky that it wasn’t stolen.

You might think that the driveway of a home is safe but the reason I am so annoyed is because he has previous as far as this issue is concerned. Our car window was once smashed during the night, when our car was parked on our driveway, in a supposedly nice area of Basingstoke.

The other half was mystified as to this crime when we discovered it in the morning until I asked him where his wallet was. Again, he had left it clearly on view and it was a straightforward case of smash and grab.

This carelessness on his part extends to quite a few areas of our lives. He is always losing his wallet or his keys or his work pass, and we have many moments of chaos when he looks panicked and utters the usual ‘Have you seen my…’ and I have to set off in search of whatever’s missing.

Of course, I usually locate it, despite having no previous knowledge of where the item has been. I just use my brain and actually vigorously look, removing sofa cushions and so on, whereas he’ll merely walk around the room glancing everywhere, expecting the lost item to jump out at him exclaiming ‘here I am!’.

It’s not acceptable to be so careless when you’re an adult with valuable possessions to care for, including a child. I know that I am a little scatty and prone to disaster, so I take time to constantly check that I have my own purse, phone, house keys and so on when I am out and about.

I am the family member who carries our money and passports when we’re on holiday. On a day trip, he once insisted on carrying his own train ticket and, yup, he lost it.

I don’t think he realises that when he loses his belongings, he is also compromising the security of my things, my house and the bank account which we share.

Most crimes are, as we all know, opportunistic, and you just have to do your darnedest to prevent thieves getting that opportunity to part you from your hard-won car, or iPad, or possessions in your home.

How am I going to hammer this home to my husband?