A Question of Time 21.06.07

Oh yes, he misses a train occasionally - or to be more accurate he misses a train regularly, as often as once a week. There was even one notable week when he scored a hat trick! I am not overjoyed if he is late home because it messes up our meal time, but what really winds me up are the excuses! If the train is late, one simple sentence is sufficient, I don't need to have a detailed analysis of every problem the railway has encountered in the last week! If he has missed the train a simple "I missed the train, I'm sorry" would help, but I am treated to a detailed breakdown of everything he has done at work that day with little diversions to explain what other people in the office did and said. He goes on and on and on and on ....... until I beg him to go away! In fact he goes on for so long that he risks missing the next train. I must admit that after being late home three times in a week he almost had to take up a new career - as a soprano!!
I realise that train planners struggle with normal time, what I would call about half past six he would call 18.27, but why does he have to leave only 30 seconds to spare before getting on a train? No wonder he get's it wrong occasionally! How can I make him understand that it is OK to be early, it would do wonders for his blood pressure - and mine! He was never a boy scout, but in all other respects he likes to 'be prepared' - you should see all the 'essential' junk he drags around with him, so why can't he allow himself sufficient time to catch the train?
When he is out with me I make sure he gets to the station on time, but we still have problems because he vanishes only to pop up again as the train doors are about to close. At Plymouth I lost him in the stores, he was chatting to old friends and the train almost went without him. At Euston he wanted to just pop into the stores and he left me waiting for so long that I thought I was going to get moved on. The children get really upset, because he darts off the train to get a coffee or to look at another train and they are terrified that it will go without him.
How does he manage to get all those train timings sorted when he can't organise himself to be on time for his own train? I know part of the answer, is that sometimes the later train more interesting and he will go to considerable lengths to travel on his preferred service, but of course he will not admit to that!!