Doc Martens - Still in Fashion at 50!

Doc Marten boots which are said to be among the worlds thirty most recognised brands have been worn by a surprisingly diverse group of people. Dr Martens Air Wair is celebrating its fiftieth year, this iconic brand has a remarkable history.

Read the full article Doc Martens - Still in Fashion at 50

Too Much Excitement!

It was Saturday morning but Robbie was up bright and early. He gave me a quick cuddle and he bribed me with the promise of a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich before disappearing down the stairs. The cup of tea took two hours to materialise and the bacon sandwich the bacon sandwich did not appear until well after lunchtime. Robbie was waiting for a very important delivery and he behaved just like a young child waiting for Santa Claus, he couldn't focus on anything, he kept glancing at the clock and pacing up and down just in case our doorbell failed. The delivery finally arrived just before midday, two precious pairs of Dr Martens (we are trying to make his feet more comfortable. He opened them with extreme care because he wanted to keep the tissue paper as uncreased as possible - only Robbie would save tissue paper with a Dr Marten logo! He spent the rest of the day admiring his new shoes and sniffing the leather and once in a while he would wave the boots under my nose and instruct me to smell them, Sometimes I wish he could be a little more normal.

Undivided Attention

Robbie had promised to give me his undivided attention this weekend to make up for abandoning me last weekend (as well as other sundry failings). I understand that he is struggling with pain in his legs and back so he is not on top form, but you will never guess how he entertained me on Friday evening - he sat at his computer and read out the forum conversations on wnxx!! It was not exactly the kind of attention I had in mind, but it made me realise that some people really need to get out more, in fact they make Robbie seem relatively normal! However Robbie let himself down when he too a break from the toe curlingly boring drivel on the wnxx forum he treated me to a detailed analysis of the cost and specification of pack-a-macs! What in the world made him think I needed to know that. He has been warned that if he ever buys a pack-a-mac I will take steps to get him sectioned!!

Can't Make it Better

I am so worried about Robbie. His legs and back have been causing him so much pain recently and I don't know what to do to make it better. Last night he didn't know what to do with himself, he couldn't sit down, but he couldn't stand up or walk around comfortably either. He described it as a constant unbearable throbbing and it made him really bad tempered. The most frustrating thing is that all the doctors can do is offer stronger combinations of pain killers but it doesn't work. I want him to go back yet again to see a consultant, there must be a better way to manage the pain, but Robbie seems to have given up hope of getting it sorted out. He says that they do tests and more tests but they never make it any better. Last night he didn't come to bed at all because he was too uncomfortable and he just couldn't settle. He can't go on like that!

The Unforgivable Sin

I have upset Robbie so much that I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel. He was speechless, he looked horrified and he had such a menacing look on his face that I thought he was ready to commit murder. My sin was to mend the kitchen drawer. You may think that was not such a serious crime, but I needed to apply weight to the draw to hold the front in place while the repair material hardened. Unfortunately Robbie's Track Atlas was just the right shape and size for the job and the repair worked perfectly. The book was unharmed in the mending of the drawer, but Robbie went mad, I am sure he would have been less upset if I had weighted it with a Bible!

The next evening I decided to get my own back and I told him that I was very sorry but I had accidentally spilled tea on his book. His face was terrifying, he looked as if he had just walked out of a horror film. He came over and checked the book page by page and when he found that it was still in perfect condition he gave me a menacing look and told me that some things should never be joked about. He then retreated to his corner, clamped on his headphones and gave his computer his undivided attention.

To make things even worse I let him down big style when I washed his high visibility jacket. I made the foolish assumption that a grown man of almost 40 would not put his coat in the washing pile without checking his pockets. I gave the pocket a cursory check and I couldn't feel anything in them, but apparently I washed a whole load of junk, the most valuable item was a (free) ballpoint pen, but apparently Robbie was saving the wooden coffee stirrer, used tissues and McDonalds wrappers for posterity, so he gave me a lecture about checking pockets. Apparently Robbie never makes those sort of mistakes, the evidence doesn't back up his statement, but Robbie is not big of evidence! He completely overlooked the fact that the coat is a pain to wash and I had followed the washing instructions to the letter including the need to allow it to drip dry. Oh well, maybe next time he wears it he will appreciate having a nice clean coat with empty pockets!

Second Best

Robbie has been off on another rail tour this weekend. I wasn't keen on him going because his feet have been causing him a lot of pain lately, and of course I would prefer to have him at home at the weekend. He trotted off bright and early on Friday morning clutching his overnight bag and wearing his high visability jacket, he could hardly wait to get away. I got a couple of phone calls and a text or two, but once he gets on a train I come a very poor second. I was expecting him home early on Sunday, but to add insult to injury he stayed behind to clean a train. It is bad enough to be ignored in favour of a train, but when he even prefers a dirty old train to his wife I think it is time to give up!!

Still Not Smiling

When Sam was mugged in December he was in the middle of some dental work, but he was kicked and punched so badly around the head and face that all his teeth were unsettled and he couldn't tolerate anyone touching his face. We rescheduled his appointment for April to give everything a chance to settle down, but last week he started to get bad tooth ache and we had to make an emergency trip to the dentist. Sam hates to be touched at the best of times, but after all that he has been through he found the dentist a terrible ordeal. He was very brave, the dentist managed to deal with the aching tooth in the end but she had to keep stopping because Sam was uncomfortable. Why does everything have to be so complicated.

Late Again!

Robbie was late home last night, I couldn't believe that he would be late even on his birthday, but he said he had to sort out some diagrams. His train didn't even get in until about quarter to nine, so by the time he was home and settled the evening was gone. He was delighted with his presents especially the railway book about British Rail Mk2 coaches that my mum bought for him. I bought him a number of bits and bobs as well as his real presents, he loved the little Lego man keyring with lights in his feet and he even got excited about the big b,ox of Smarties!

Birthday Boy

It is Robbie's birthday today, he is 38. We celebrated his birthday yesterday because we will hardly see each other today. We had a lovely family day at my mums, she cooked his favourite meal for him, he is still not fully back to normal in terms of eating but he enjoyed the day. This morning he opened some of his presents and cards including the (rather loud) cuff links that he had been lusting after, but he still has a couple of presents to open this evening. Mum made him a rather wonderful birthday cake, but he wouldn't blow out the candles yesterday because he sad it was bad luck to do it early. It was certainly bad luck for everyone else because we all wanted some cake and now we have to wait until this evening!

Cold Feet

Robbie went back to work on Friday, but he was still not back to normal (not that he could ever be described as normal) he was still feeling cold and still off his food. In fact he is still finding it hard to eat, it is almost unheard of for Robbie to leave food on his plate, but this weekend his eyes have been bigger than his belly! It seems to be taking a long time for him to get his energy and appitite back. The oddest thing is that he has gone off coffee, he just can't face it. He has also been suffering from very cold extremities, so we have had to come up with some unusual solutions to keep his feet warm, it is harder than you think because one of his feet is four sizes bigger than the other. I have been forbidden to discuss the solutions we tried, but it involved pink polka dots!

Shiver and Shake

By the time I got home from work yesterday Robbie had managed to get up and have a bath but he was curled up under a a blanket on the sofa shivering. The room was far too hot, but he was cold and very pale, he hadn't eaten anything all day and the word coffee made him turn green. He insisted that he would be well by the morning because he had an important meeting, but I had my doubts. He got up at 5am but he felt dizzy and sick and he still had a temperature. It would have been madness for him to go and eventually he gave up and went back to bed (after arranging for someone else to attend the meeting).

Not Feeling Good

Robbie is so poorly today, the Marley's ghost stage has passed, now it is more like a death bed scene in a Victorian melodrama. He is burning hot one minute and shivering the next, his moans of agony have given way to exhausted whimpers. Poor old Robbie, I can tell he is ill, he has refused coffee and the mere mention of food made him curl up in agony. As soon as I got up I was dispatched on an emergency errand for Lucozade to satisfy his inner child. He can't actually drink it, but seeing it standing on the dressing table seems to reassure him. He managed to ring work to tell them he was ill, but other than that he hasn't even mentioned work, he has just dozed and shivered. It is unheard of for Robbie to be ill enough not to think about work.

Oh Dear

Robbie is ill, he came home feeling a bit off colour and complaining of tummy ache and within a couple of hours it had developed into a full blown vomiting bug, in fact both ends were causing concern. I have never seen him look so pale and he he is very cold, I really hope he will feel better soon. He is wandering around clutching his stomach moaning like Marley's ghost.

The Friday Night Fiasco

Robbie is making himself feel at home in the dog house, after the Friday night fiasco he is likely to be there for the foreseeable future. On Friday morning he set off for an appointment somewhere far away. I can't remember where he said he was going, but I distinctly remember that he didn't say a word about the possibility of being late home. He didn't contact me all day, so at about 5pm I sent him a text. When he had not responded by 6.30pm I phoned him, but he ignored the call. Hours passed, his dinner was put in the dog and I got on with my evening. Eventually he sent a text with the exact time of his arrival at Northampton. I took this as a request for a lift, I sat there waiting for him and he went straight past heading for the bus station. I can't tell you exactly what I said to him, but it caused him to turn back and get a lift. He even insisted on stopping to buy chips at 11pm! To say I was unimpressed doesn't even come close. Out of the last 5 days he has been seriously late home 3 times, even Network Rail can do better than that in terms of punctuality!

Late Yet Again!

Robbie was in the dog house again last night for being late home. We are fast reaching a point where him arriving home at a normal time is less common than all the late nights. It is not as if his ordinary day isn't long enough. He gets up at 5am to catch a train just after 6am and he usually gets home is about 7.30pm, that is a long enough day for anyone and him stumbling in at 10.30pm in so much pain that he can hardly walk is absolutely stupid. We all have a responsibility to take care of our own health (not to mention our family responsibilities!) but I just don't know how to make him understand that. I think I will have to make him stand in front of the mirror and practice saying no and meaning it!! How do I get him to stop thinking that he is Superman when the reality is much closer to Homer Simpson!!

Choosing Cards

Why is it so difficult to find a card with suitable words? Today I went to buy a birthday card for Robbie's step mother and mothers day cards for my mother in law and my mum. You can find cards with stepmother on but the words are totally over the top, it is easier to buy a nice card without trying to find one with step mother on it. It is still hard to find nice meaningful words without being insincere, they either seem to have really sloppy words or just best wishes, it is hard to find something in the middle. The mothers day cards are no easier, my mother in law is not my Mother and her son is dead so I need to find one that doesn't say mum and doesn't wish her the happiest day of her life. Once I have met that tall order I need to find cards that say Grandma, not Gran, Granny, Nan or Nanny, only Grandma will do and it is so hard to find one with a nice picture and nice words.