This is a superb Story from Alan Bennett. As I read this, I was able to imagine listening to an audiobook of this story narrated by the author and loving the inflections of his voice.

The story is about Rosemary and Maurice Ransome who come home from the opera to find their flat has been stripped bare, everything is taken including the casserole in the oven as well as the oven. The couple have to decide how to react to this sudden act and work out who they are without their possessions as well as making decisions about what to buy to replace their losses. What does the order of their purchases say about them?

Half way through the story they receive a letter indicating they owe money to a storage facility in Aylesbury about 40 miles away. Upon investigation, they find all their possessions have been laid out in the facility exactly as they were in the couple’s flat.

Who has done this and why?