On Friday he went to a retirement event at Kidderminster where he met lots of old friends from the railways. He was late home - again, but when he got back he went on and on and on about the end of an era and all the people who were moving on. Finally he fell asleep, but as soon as he woke up he was droning on about it all over again. Distraction techniques worked for a while, but you can never stop Robbie talking for very long and in the end I gave up. He was still going full steam ahead on the demise of Virgin Cross Country and I was contemplating the bedroom ceiling thinking that a coat of paint was long overdue, not to mention a new lampshade and curtains. My silence must have lulled him into a false sense of security because I was dragged back to the subject of railways when he asked if I would drive to Coventry station to pick him up in the middle of the night. He must be mad, I wouldn't drive to Coventry station in broad daylight, it's the pits, and nothing on earth would induce me to drive there in the middle of the night! He wanted to travel on the very last Central train, but he couldn't get home from Coventry.
He got more twitchy as the day went on and in the end I had to let him out because he was driving me mad. I left him and his camera at Northampton Station where he intended to have a good look at two engines on a special charter. After that he headed to Birmingham to watch the last Virgin Cross Country services depart - sad crank! Of course he couldn't resist having one last ride so by the time he arrived home it was Sunday and I was struggling to stay awake! I stayed up because I knew he would be feeling sad when he got home. I listened to all his talk about the evening and I admired his photos, but in the end he made me sad - by announcing that he had to be at the station by 6am on Monday to see a special train. I will leave you to imagine my response, but I think I conveyed my feelings adequately!!
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