Beyond Endurance

Robbie and I are spending new year apart, I am upstairs listening to Radio 4 and Robbie is downstairs as he prefers to see in the new year with Jools Holland. He is a man by the way way, from his name I had assumed he was a woman. Robbie said he was in a band or something but I had never heard of him or his band. I did my best to endure this thing on television, one woman sang and it sounded like a cat being slowly strangled, I don't know who she was, apparently she was just called Adelle - with a voice like that I am not surprised that she wouldn't give her last name. Then there was a group of geriatrics who sang Jimmy Mac, they looked and sounded as if they had just been dug up, so I thought things could only get better. I was wrong Duffy came on next and that was truly more than flesh and blood could stand, so I voted with my feet and came up to listen to the radio. I am much happier up here on my own.

Chaos on the Coventry Corridor

This morning I decided to have a nice relaxing bath. The bathroom is about the only place in the house that I can have a few minutes peace, and even then it is not guaranteed. The bath water was lovely and warm and I lay back in the bath with my eyes closed listening to the radio and enjoying the luxury of the moment. Suddenly I became aware of a presence looming over me, he stood there hands on hips with indignation etched on his face. His lips were moving but I was getting no sound (bliss!) there was water in my ears but as I moved my head my hearing returned in time to hear the 'headline' Chaos on the Coventry Corridor. Robbie was pleased that he hadn't been at work today because there had been delays and confusion on the line. He told me in detail about each delay and the reasons for it, but I will spare you the detail. I have (mostly) enjoyed having Robbie at home and I will miss him when he goes back, but it will be nice to have a bit of peace!

Pillow Talk

When I woke this morning my mouth felt like sandpaper after yet another night of coughing. I lay there trying to send telepathic messages to Robbie that I needed a cup of tea, but he just carried on snoring. I tried more direct methods and pinched his bum, that was more effective and after several attempts he roused for just long enough to steal the whole duvet. Eventually he woke up but I still had an eternity to wait for my tea. He put his arm around me, cuddled up and embarked on a detailed monologue of the exact journey times for all the replacement buses between Northampton and Euston yesterday – scintillating! Just when I thought my ordeal was coming to an end he decided to name every station between Euston and Birmingham New Street and then he speculated on the meaning of each name! Finally nature succeeded where I had failed, he needed the loo and he plodded off to the bathroom. He returned at last with a cup of tea and when he got back in bed I made sure he kept well away from the subject of trains. He is so exhausting, I may have to send him back to work before New Year in order to get a few hours respite!

Something Close to Normal

Robbie is back in 'normal' mode – well, not normal exactly, Robbie doesn't do normal but he manages a fairly close approximation. He has been trying to make up for being a pain in the rear on Christmas morning, I have forgiven him, but he is still cross with himself. He invited me to have an early night last night, but I realised that it was just his one track mind getting the better of him when he said “just you and me and the new train DVD”. I like watching the DVD's with him, but sometimes I think trains are taking over the bedroom. The top of the wardrobes are packed with his model trains, he has piles of railway magazines on his side of the bed and his collection train DVD's is growing like a triffid. Most of his books have taken up residence in the lounge, but there are still plenty upstairs and some of them even find their way into the bed! I have to ask him not to read his books out loud when I am trying to sleep!! People told me that having a 'toy boy' would be exhausting, but I don't think this is quite what they had in mind, sometimes it would be nice to be just a bit more normal.
On the subject of 'normal' Robbie was in a fragile mood on Christmas Eve, not yet in a full blown strop, but working on it. All the family were at my mum's, just enjoying a nice family day together, but Robbie sat there reading The Grocer! What am I going to do with him?

This evening he is watching a scary film on his laptop, it is called The Strangers. It is comical to watch him, he's there with his headphones on looking terrified and making occasional terrified gasps and whimpers. At least it has given me a bit of peace for a little while.

Christmas Day - by Robbie

Well it was Xmas Day, and yet again I was being the usual mardy-arse (nothing new there I here you all say..........), so Christine got up and went down to see the children open all there presents. In hindsight I should have been there for this and felt EXTREMELY guilty afterwards, as I do not see my own children much these days, let alone be part of such an important essential Xmas activity!

As I had been such a bar humbug I had to wait until the evening to see if I had even got any presents, and to my total surprise, a stocking appeared...

Gosh Santa has been good to me yet again.........I have been commenting (more like moaning.....lol..) to Christine for a while now that I would really love a digital camera, something that is small enough to take anywhere, even to work, so what a surprise to get a rather nice Fuji 8.2 mega pixel camera....its GREAT!! Small, fast, brilliant pictures, just perfect............but this was just the start of my presents!!

As you may know from previous postings, I have collecting the 'British Transport Film Collections' since they have been released, and for Xmas I had Volume Eight 'Points and Aspects' & Volume Nine 'Just the Ticket'. They are a great collection of various films all produced by the in-house production unit of the British Transport Commission that was originally set-up in 1949. Even if you are not that mad on trains, some of them can be really enjoyable to quite a wide audience.....

The rest of my Xmas stocking contained a number of GREAT DVD's, Spooks Series 1 box set, Shameless Series 3, Branchlines of Britain (a box set of three DVD's covering all branchlines of the UK, although I have not had chance to watch this yet, this does look GREAT!!), and also a very interesting BBC DVD called 'A Picture of Britain' presented by David Dimbleby, based on the TV series. Oh and I could NOT forget the 2009 edition of Who's Who in The Archers, as I have been dropping Christine hints for a couple of years now, and finally I have a copy, although I bet I know who will be reading it more than I will............lol...........:)

The Incredible Sulk!

I have been feeling really rough, I just don't seem able to get better despite antibiotics, steroids, inhalers and various other pills and potions, I am so frustrated with it. I would have liked to postpone Christmas, but it wasn't to be. I wasn't as organised as usual and we had a number of last minute preparations in order to be ready for the big day. Robbie had a strop because he wanted to set the kitchen out slightly differently and I wouldn't let him because it just wasn't practical. Robbie is so closely in touch with his inner child that he is capable of a 'terrible two's' style strop whenever the need arises, and since I have no need of an extra child I usually just leave him to it until he manages to recapture his inner child and behave like a human being again.

Unfortunately when Christmas Day dawned Robbie was still in a strop, he had most of the bed, and the whole duvet with covers pulled over his head and his rear end sticking out. My attempts to communicate were rebuffed so I left him in bed while I went down to watch the family open their presents. I knew it was going to be one of those days when I found the treat left for me downstairs – a pile of dog sick! Meg had stolen some chocolates the day before and obviously it didn't agree with her. Not only had she chosen to target the only piece of carpet on the ground floor, but everyone else seemed to be wearing blinkers, they managed to avoid stepping in it without even seeing it. After that glorious start to the day I stank of disinfectant as I settled down to watch them open their presents, but it was still very special. I had put hours of effort into wrapping everything up, but in a matter of minutes everything was unwrapped and the lounge was a covered in wrapping paper – more cleaning up! When sanity was restored to the lounge I plodded upstairs to see if 'the incredible sulk' had become human again, but he was still talking out of the only visible part of his anatomy so I left him to it and after a bath to get rid of the disinfectant smell, I got on with the cooking.

We had my brother and my parents with us for the day and we had a lovely time. It was tiring and by the end of the day I was so fed up with listening to Guitar Hero on the Wii, but it was a very special day and there is nothing nicer than being surrounded by your family. Thankfully Robbie got his act together by lunchtime, and he joined in with the day. He had to wait until everyone had gone home to get his presents, but I think they were worth waiting for. He gave me several nice things including a signed copy of Pete Waterman's book A Train is for Life. It is nice to have the adult Robbie back!

Birthday Boy

It was Sam's 14th Birthday on Saturday. Having a birthday so close to Christmas is a bit hard on him so we always try hard to make it special for him. Of course if he had been born on time his birthday would not have been in Christmas week, he was due on 8th December – but I admit that a December birthday was a bit of bad planning on my part!
Robbie had been to a gig in London on Friday evening and it was close to 12.30am when I picked him up from the station and he was off again on a rail tour at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. Sam was fine about Robbie going out on his birthday, in fact it suited him because Sam and I were going clothes shopping and Robbie has very fixed ideas about clothes. Sam had most of the things he had asked for, dvd's, books, converse boots, a phone and other bits and bobs. I was still feely pretty diabolical because of the combined effects of my asthma and my flu bug but Sam and I went to town and had a good time. He bought the clothes he wanted including a ridiculously expensive pair of pants, a hat that looks quite good on him and a smart coat. We also went to see Grandma and Grandad and Sam had another lovely present, a pair of Vann's trainers.
Robbie was quite late home, but we saved Sam's birthday cake until he got back, Robbie's rendition of 'Happy Birthday to You' was memorable to say the least, but the main thing was that we were all together for Sam to blow out the candles. I think Sam had a good day and Robbie certainly enjoyed his rail tour, he hasn't stopped talking about it since he got back.

Undivided Attention?

I went back to the doctors yesterday because this cough/breathing problem just will not get better. I am not impressed, I have to have a week off work and I have been given a third inhaler and steroids. Oh well, if it makes me better it will be worth it.

Do you remember Robbie's promise about me having his undivided attention until next February? It seems we have a different interpretation of 'undivided attention' because Robbie is off to a gig tonight and he will not be home until midnight and tomorrow morning he will be leaving early to go on a rail tour! He hasn't been around to help with the shopping for weeks, so I hope he will be OK with beans on toast for Christmas dinner!!!

A Near Death Experience!

I have been suffering (not exactly in silence) with a chest infection that refuses to get better, it hurts to breathe and my cough is so bad that I end up choking. I have struggled to keep up with even the simple tasks like feeding Robbie, so I was annoyed on Tuesday evening when he arrived home late and then went to bed in a huff because he didn't want what I had cooked. I left him to it and got on with my evening, but when I went to bed he had managed to occupy the entire bed and my efforts to shift him proved futile. I gave up and took up residence on the sofa with a whole duvet to myself – luxury! My cough makes it hard to sleep, but I was warm and comfortable and I must have drifted off to sleep in the end. I woke again to the gradual realisation that I couldn't breathe and it felt as if there was a crushing weight on my chest. My thoughts seemed to be in slow motion, I wondered briefly if I was dead, or perhaps it was the start of a heart attack. Finally I was sufficiently awake to work out that the cat was asleep on my chest!!

So Frustrated!

I am so frustrated!! On Friday my asthma started to get really bad, I couldn't breathe I just kept coughing and coughing until I choked, it was horrible. As the weekend went on it got worse, I can't sleep because of the coughing, and not being able to breathe is scary, it is even a struggle to talk. I don't go to the doctors very often, but after a difficult weekend it was starting to feel out of control and I was worried that it could be bronchitis, so I really needed to get it checked out. I have to take Sam to school so Robbie rang the doctor for me as soon as the appointment line opened at 8am. He was put into the queueing system and when his call was answered there were no appointments left. In the end I had to have an appointment as an emergency and even then it is with the prescribing nurse not with a doctor. It never used to be this difficult to see a doctor, we just had to ring and we got an appointment the same day, then Tony Blair imposed some targets to make the system work better and surprise surprise, it has been a disaster ever since!

So, I am sitting at home waiting to go to the doctors and wondering how to stop the cat from climbing up the Christmas tree!

Busy Going Nowhere

It didn't take long did it? Only two weeks ago Robbie promised faithfully that I would have his undivided attention at the weekends until next February, I have to admit that he stayed at home last weekend, but he was dying of (man) flu, but he is going out to play trains again tomorrow. Apparently it is his last ever chance to travel on a particular route, so he is going all the way there (where ever 'there' is) just to come back again. Oh well if he wants to abandon me in favour of his boss I expect I will cope! To be honest I am struggling with my asthma at the moment, so it will be quite a relief not to have Robbie's undivided attention for a whole day.

Simple Tastes

I am a person of fairly simple tastes, no I'm not talking about why I was attracted to Robbie – that is a mystery even to me! What I mean is that I don't want an overly complicated life, I use my mobile phone to make calls and send texts, I don't need it to play music, take photos or access the internet. With my house phone I just want it to make and receive calls, nothing complicated, so when I had to buy a new phone I just bought a simple one with two handsets. Robbie set it up while I was working, it looked fairly nice – until it rang! I couldn't live with that, it played a very tinny version of the William Tell Overture, it was like an angry child demanding attention NOW. I told Robbie that I just wanted it to ring and I honestly didn't believe him, so he ran through the options. The Minute Waltz was equally annoying, there was another tune that sounded like a dalek on speed, yet another sounded like a car alarm and the final couple of options were unspeakable. There was no simple ringing sound so I have to put up with the least annoying of the options for now, but I want a phone with a proper old fashioned ring.

A Legacy of Happy Memories

On Tuesday my radio alarm clock clicked on and I was roused from my slumbers by the Radio 4 Today program. I lay there only half listening while enjoying the last few minutes of comfort before getting up. Suddenly the radio commanded my full attention, because the voice of my childhood is gone Oliver Postgate has died. I have written before about the important part he played in my childhood memories and I was sad to hear that he had died. I first came across him (or rather his voice) when I was a very young child, Pogles Wood was my favourite Watch with Mother program and the voice and imagination of Oliver Postgate brought a unique magic to the series. As time went on I grew to love his other work, the Clangers, Ivor the Engine and my special favourite Noggin the Nog. When my own children came along I was delighted to find that they also enjoyed the work of Oliver Postgate in Bagpuss. His work had a very special quality and for my family as well as so many others, the sound of his voice evokes very happy memories.

A Difficult Night

I went to bed before Robbie on Sunday evening, I was totally exhausted - by him and his illness. He arrived in bed a bit later, I have a vague memory of it because he trod on me as he got into bed, but I must have been very sleepy because I don't remember anything else until I woke with a start because there was apparently a block of ice in the bed next to me. I cautiously prodded Robbie, he was freezing even his usually radiant rear was ice cold, it made me worry that he was right after all and he really could die of a cold. A couple of hours later I woke again to find that I was unbelievably hot, Robbie was still asleep but was now too hot to handle. I gave up and decided to lay on top of the duvet to cool down. Later on I woke again because there was an eerie moaning like Marley's Ghost without the chains, I lay very still and listened - it was Robbie! He was moaning in his sleep! I hope he soon gets better because I can't cope with much more of this.

Feeling Like Death Warmed Up!

It's official Robbie is ill! I just want to make sure that everyone knows that, because every time he has spoken to me today he has informed me that he is 'not very well' and then he has gone on to accuse me of not caring. Of course I care, I know how rough he is feeling because I have had the cold/flu or whatever it is for a week and I still feel rough. He has an evil sore throat, a high temperature, a heavy cold, a nasty cough and he feels like death warmed up. I am not unsympathetic, but honestly we need to get a sense of proportion about this! I went out and bought him two giant boxes of tissues, some maximum strength cold relief tablets and some stuff to stick up his nose to help him breathe. He is sitting in the corner sniffing and sighing surrounded by a mountain of tissues looking like misery personified. I hope he gets better quickly because I'm not sure how long I can cope with this!

This morning Robbie listened to The Archers while I tried to get on with my writing work. Despite his sore throat he couldn't be quiet and he fired a series of questions at me about storylines in the Archers. I answered each question and tried to get on with what I was doing, but then he began to ask about another character and we had a slightly confusing conversation for a few minutes. Suddenly I realised that he now talking about a family member who by coincidence shares a name with the character I thought he was talking about. I moaned at him for not giving me any clue that he had leapt from one subject to another, but he just grinned and said 'they don't call me Random Robbie for nothing'.

Serious Grovelling

Robbie must have very sore knees because he had to do some serious grovelling after last night. Friday is the only weekday evening that we can spend together and it is nice for me to just sit down and enjoy the evening wit Robbie. Well that is the theory, on the rare weekends when he doesn't go away to play trains he always manages to work late! Yesterday was no exception, I went to the trouble of making him a chicken casserole with mashed potato but when I phoned to see where he was he was (allegedly) stranded in a pub in the north with his friends – dinner in the dog yet again! He got back to Northampton at 11pm, I picked it up from the station but it was a chilly ride home in more than one sense. It took me until this afternoon to forgive him, well, he is almost forgiven, but I do expect him to be a bit more thoughtful. He is now suffering with my cold, he is doing an Oscar winning portrayal of a 'dying duck' and he is annoyed with me for being unsympathetic, poor Robbie it's such a hard life!

Sleeping Beauty

Robbie didn't spend a second night on the sofa, but he almost did! The dispute about knickers had been resolved long before bed time, but he has got into the habit of sprawling on the sofa and 'resting his eyes' of course this means that he is snoring within seconds and it is very hard to wake him up. I kept telling him to go to bed but he just got more and more stroppy until fell out with me and I decided that he could stay there. I made one more attempt to wake him and gave up, it was like trying to reason with a drunk. I took myself off to bed and I was surprised to find that Robbie plodded up to bed a few minutes later. He got into bed, then out again, then returned and climbed back into bed and stole the covers. When I say climbed I mean climbed, he trod on me three times! Next time I will leave him on the sofa, at least that way I can be sure of keeping the duvet

A Night on the Sofa

Robbie went out for the meal with his train buddies and even with my heavy cold I could tell that he came home stinking. I told him that if he wanted to come to bed he would need to wear a gas mask, but it turned out that he never got that far, he decided to watch some horrible noisy music on television and he fell asleep on the sofa, I went down to wake him a couple of times but he never made it to bed. This morning he was in a bad mood and probably in pain after his night on the sofa. He managed to fall out with me because according to him he had no clean pants, he had of course but they were not the ones he wanted. Most people wear 'thinking caps' but it appears that Robbie wears 'thinking pants' because he told me that he couldn't think properly in the grey ones he is wearing today – the mind boggles!

Having already fallen out with me about his knickers, he then launched into a tirade of criticism because he was almost out of deodorant and I hadn't replaced it. Oddly enough I don't have a crystal ball and even if I did I would find something more interesting to focus on than the state of Robbie's armpits! If he doesn't tell me I am not likely to know that he needs more, anyway if he can find time to go on all his outings I don't see why he can't manage to buy his own toiletries! As always when in a hole Robbie started to dig furiously, he said far more than is good for his health and now he is contemplating a second night on the sofa.

Suspicious Behaviour

When I got home yesterday evening I thought Robbie must have been abducted by aliens and a complete stranger left in his place. Not only was he watching Pride and Prejudice, he was obviously enjoying it. That may not sound very strange, but Robbie doesn't usually bother with things like that, after all there are no trains in Pride and Prejudice! There was other uncharacteristic behaviour too, he was so attentive that I became suspicious and asked him what he had done wrong. It was at that point that the old Robbie became evident again, he began to talk about one of his favourite subjects – food! He told me yet again about the lovely breakfast he had on Sunday, then he began to tell me about all the people he was with, it made my head hurt. I wasn't sure if he was outlining a sub plot from EastEnders or even detailing a school reading scheme, each generation of family members seemed to begin with the same letter – could this be a real life version of Janet and John? It was all too much for me and I plodded off to bed.

This morning it didn't take long to get into my bad books. I woke him up on time but apparently he fell asleep downstairs and he ended up running late, he then moaned at me for making him late. Just before he left he announced that he was going out for a meal tonight, he claimed I knew that but I didn't, he mentioned a while ago that he was going out with some people from his train but he didn't say when. I think it is really weird, why would you want to go out with people that you travel on the same train with? The only thing they have in common is shared suffering and a deep dislike of Network Rail. Oh well, I expect he will do as he likes, but if he eats anything smelly he can sleep on the sofa!

Talking to the Wall!

Robbie is still talking about the lovely breakfast he had on Sunday. If he thinks I am going to spoil him like that he can think again – but if he wants to cook for me I wouldn't object! He said that the people he was with couldn't understand what he was saying, it doesn't surprise me, my mum still struggles to know what he is saying. Everyone thinks it's funny because Robbie talks enthusiasticly and very fast, after about two paragraphs worth my mum will look at me and ask what he said - I can usually sum the whole lot up in one sentence!

I wish Robbie would accept that he is not superman, I have written about it before but he really has to recognise his limits preferably before he falls over. When he got home on Sunday he'd obviously had a great time on the rail tour but he was struggling to walk and he had a lot of pain in his legs. The said that his legs felt as if they didn't belong to him, I can't imagine them belonging to anyone else, they are like him – unique, but if he wants them to keep working he needs to treat them with a little more respect and at least rest them for an hour or two on a long journey like that. I tried to tell him that but I may as well talk to the wall!!

He is off to the North today, to York I think, needless to say it involved an early start and I expect he will be late home too. By the time I get to see him in the evening he is so tired that he nods of mid sentence, but at least I can look forward to the weekend, I may be able to have a whole conversation with him!

Train to the North and Back Again

I have got another horrible cold and my breathing really hurts. On Saturday morning I woke up feeling sorry for myself after a very bad night. Robbie was away 'plating trains' so I rang him to remind him that I want to be cremated not buried! The they had made a very early start and rail tour was well under way heading toward Blackpool, Robbie was concerned that I felt rotten and he offered to come home. I gratefully accepted his offer and he was left stuttering and spluttering trying to think of a convincing reason why he couldn't come home. I didn't really expect him to come home, but I couldn't resist making him squirm. I dosed myself up and got on with my jobs which included taking Sam to his friend's party and doing some food shopping. The party was at a go carting circuit which must be run by the secret services because it is so badly signposted that we couldn't find it and everybody was half an hour late.

I spoke to Robbie later on Saturday evening and he assured me that he would get home as quickly as he could in the morning because he was worried about me. Sunday morning dawned and by 10am I still had not heard from him so I rang him, he said he had just woken up and he was sitting up in bed enjoying a cup of coffee. He told me that he would be on his way home after breakfast. By 3pm I was starting to wonder when he would be back, I rang again and he said he had just finished his breakfast and was having a coffee – he hadn't even started his journey! He finally got home at about 7pm and he was still talking about his wonderful breakfast – what is it about Robbie that makes everyone want to feed him? On the way back from the station we needed to stop for fuel, it had been raining and when stopped the car the wipers were not straight, Robbie protested loudly, he couldn't possibly refuel a car with wonky wipers! He sat there arms folded demanding that I should straighten the wipers, I didn't and he muttered and moaned all through the refuling and payment process.

Help it's chasing me!

On Saturday evening I had been running around doing the shopping and giving lifts to the children so when we got home we hurriedly put most of the shopping away and we left the last few bits while we ate our meal. Suddenly there was a clatter in the kitchen then the door burst open and in rushed Dave (the cat) closely pursued by a carrier bag. He did three circuits of the house before dashing into Emily's room for sanctuary, the bag caught on the door and Dave hid under the bed. He must have been investigating the last few bits of shopping when the handle of the carrier bag got stuck around his waist (well, I mean the middle bit that would be his waist if he had one). Hopefully it will teach him not to scavenge, but after living as a stray for so long I don't think we will ever stop him trying to steal food. The only thing in the bag was a refill box of sweeteners so it survived the srint around the house undamaged, after all even even Dave couldn't eat 500 sweeteners – but he would probably have given it a try if he hadn't been chased by the bag!

A Slow Learner

Robbie left at 6am as usual and I will not see him again until Sunday evening. He had to choose between me and a train and it was no contest – the train won! He promised me that after this weekend I will have his undivided attention until February, I doubt that somehow but we will have to wait and see. He was funny yesterday evening, he knew he was pushing it a bit by going away for another weekend , so he was trying to be helpful by doing a few jobs without being asked. It was much appreciated but he spoiled it by getting the words wrong. He said, “I have done a few jobs for you so that you don't have to do them at the weekend” he didn't spot the warning look on my face and he went on “I have done a couple of loads of washing for you, I did my shirts and a few other things”. How is that for me???? I don't have a contract making the housework my exclusive responsibility, and if he decides to wash his shirts he is doing it for him not for me! I think he was expecting me to be grateful, but if he thinks I am going to spend my weekend doing housework while he goes out to play he is deluding himself - poor Robbie! Now if he would finish mending the fence I would be more than grateful, I would be overjoyed!

Going Going Gone!

I was very sad to hear that Woolworths has gone into administration and it looks as if their stores will disappear from the high street. I know they haven't been doing very well for some time, but it is very sad, it is like losing an old friend. I have so many fond memories associated with Woolworths, I remember buying records from there in my teens and more recently cd's and dvd's, when we were on holiday it was a bit of a tradition to go to Woolworths to buy a few dvd's for the children. They owned the Ladybird children's clothing brand and and their designs were popular with parents and children, over the years we have bought party dresses, coats and casual clothes as well as all sorts of accessories. You could always depend on Woolworths for wellies, plimsolls, trainers and the like, I can remember when the girls were little we bought them some trainers that lit up as they walked, they loved them. My favourite area was the stationary section – I love buying stationary and you could always find something slightly different and we would often buy pens and all the bits and bobs the children needed for school. They didn't have a huge toy section, but the children liked to buy things from there, and they had no difficulty finding things they wanted, they own the Chad Valley brand of toys and it will be a shame to see that go. Like most people perhaps my strongest memory of Woolworths is the pick and mix sweets, when the children were younger they loved to be allowed to buy pick and mix when we went to town on a Saturday. I think we will all miss Woolworths.

The furniture company MFI has also gone into administration , but I can't summon up much regret, it was good in it's time but in recent years it had lost it's way. The last time I purchased something from them I received very bad service and and to compound my frustration the product proved to be expensive rubbish. I think the demise of MFI is long overdue.

Road Rage

Every day of my life I seem to be rushing around taking people to or from various places. I am used to being the kids taxi service, and because Robbie doesn't drive I have to drive whenever we go shopping, to town, to the doctors or whatever, but now I am the only driver for my mum and step dad as well. I hate being late and I often find myself racing against the clock to pick someone up on time. It seems as if everything conspires against me, I have written before about my 'love' of milk floats but I really think the local milkman has some sort of vendetta against road users. If he is not creating chaos by dawdling along at 5 miles an hour, he abandons his vehicle in the middle of the road while he delivers the milk and he brings the traffic to a standstill. Northampton must hold the world record for road humps, but once you get used to them they don't need to cause too much of a problem, So why do I always get behind people who have to slow to a crawl for every road hump? The idiots who lower their suspension and put 'go faster stripes' on their cars are the worse, they shouldn't be on the road if they can't cope with ordinary road hazards. Then there are the Volvo drivers who seem to panic and almost come to a halt before tackling the road hump, there is no need for such a reaction, maybe we should just ban Volvos!

It is my step dad's birthday today so I am taking him and my mum out for lunch, he was so ill in September so I am very grateful that he is well enough to enjoy his birthday.

The Shopping Trolley.

It was an exhausting day for me yesterday. I took my mum Christmas shopping in town, it was quite an experience because my mum loves to shop - and I don't! We spent so long in some shops that I thought I would die of old age before she had chosen what she wanted! It is quite hard to walk slowly enough for her (she has bad feet) and I had to swallow my pride in order to pull her trolley for her, it was OK because I didn't see anyone I knew! I was thankful that I wasn't carrying her shopping, she bought so much she was a one woman antidote to the poor trading figures! I was tired when I got back from the shopping trip, but I before long I had to go to work, so rest seemed like a distant prospect. I was exhausted when I got home and I looked forward to sitting down with a nice cup of tea and something relaxing on tv, but Robbie had other ideas, he was watching a documentary about the evolution of supermarkets so when I sat down I was treated to an excruciatingly detailed account of the history and design of the shopping trolley. It cured my tiredness, I no longer felt tired, I felt murderous!

Abandoned Again!

Robbie went 'out to play' again this weekend, this time it was a model railway exhibition that demanded his attention. I wasn't overjoyed about being abandoned again but he promised me his undivided attention on Sunday to make up for it. When I woke up on Sunday morning Robbie complained that he was wide awake and then promptly fell asleep and refused to be woken for ages. I just lay there thinking about Kenny Everett, I know that is an odd thing to think about but it was Robbie's fault, his legs seem to have a life of their own and he waves them around to such an extent that he lets all the warmth escape from under the duvet – it makes me furious! Eventually he woke up and finally I got his attention, but he spoiled it by choosing exactly that moment to tell me that he met Pete Waterman yesterday. I have nothing against Pete Waterman, but having to think about him and Kenny Everett before I get up on a Sunday morning is a bit scary!

Dave's Anniversary

It is a year since Dave the cat joined our family. Last November when we first found him living in our paper recycling box he was in a terrible state, he had badly infected open sores on his feet, a huge matted scar on his face another on his tail and he absolutely stank. When I took him to the vet I was almost certain that they would say he had to be put to sleep, and it was certainly discussed, but the vet said we could perhaps try to treat him and give him a chance to recover. It took months of treatment, a couple of operations, and quite a lot of money, but a year on he is a different cat. He is healthy with a lovely shiny coat and he has a very happy life with his friend Oreo. His manners have improved, he still eats whatever he can get his paws on, but he doesn't swear anymore (I wish I could say the same about Robbie!) and he is very gentle - except when he has to see the vet! Dave was an unexpected addition to the family, but he has become really special he is a very affectionate cat and I couldn't imagine life without him.

Buying Boots.

I think I have mentioned before that I have been giving my mum some extra help since David my step dad was ill, he can't drive for the next few months and mum can no longer drive because her sight has deteriorated too much. It is nice to spend more time with my mum but shopping with her is exhausting, it is as bad as shopping with Laura – we have to go everywhere and look at everything. In fact my mum is like a very old teenager sometimes. A couple of weeks ago she wanted to but some ankle boots because the ones that she wears when she takes the dogs for a walk are worn out. When we got to the shoe shop she was clear that she needed a nit of a heel on them because 'she is not ready for flat shoes just yet' we spotted a couple of suitable pairs and I left her to try them on while I had a look around. She seemed to be taking a long time so I went back to see what she was up to. She was fine, she couldn't resist trying on some stiletto boots as well because they looked so nice. I hope I will be like her when I am 78!

Conspiricy Theory

I am old enough to remember a time when our lives were not ruled by mobile phones and occasionally I feel nostalgic for those days when you could go out and not be troubled by messages or phone calls. During my childhood the house phone was connected to the wall and nobody thought of phones in every room, often it was positioned on a table in the hall and it certainly didn't dominate the house. Now I am driven to distraction by the phone, we have two cordless phones but when the it rings the handset is never on the base and I have to sprint from one room to the next looking for it. It is usually in Emily or Laura's bedroom, but by the time I have found it the ringing has stopped and I am left to wonder who was calling.

I think our bathroom is bugged, as soon as I get in there you can guarantee that the phone will ring. I would understand it if I shut myself in there with a magazine, but I don't stay in there any longer than necessary. I know the caller can't see you but I am never going to be comfortable about chatting on the phone while using the smallest room. I have to rush out in a dishevelled state to find and answer the phone and it is almost always Robbie just ringing to say hello. I don't know how he manages to time it so badly so often. Even more annoying is when I have just got into a relaxing hot bath, the phone rings and my moment of luxury is ruined. It is bad enough to drag myself out of the bath and stand there dripping and freezing to death just to answer the phone, but when it is Robbie ringing to tell me something 'exciting' about a train that he saw on his way to work I find it very hard to be civil to him. We probably couldn't manage without our mobiles for long, but just occasionally I long for the way it used to be! Of course I could ignore the phone, but it could be important. My parents may need help or Sam's school may need to get hold of me, I can't ignore it.

Lost!

Those people who know Robbie will perhaps understand that I don't always listen to Robbie when he is talking. He talks almost constantly and it is like a roller-coaster ride, dragging up hill via a long and contorted explanation, careering down hill as information tumbles out faster than you can take it in, twisting and turning from one apparently unrelated subject to the next and looping back to cover the same subject all over again. It is exhausting and if I am working I find it easier to just make the odd non committal grunt without actively listening to him. OK, I know that is a bit mean but it is a form of self preservation, my head would explode if I tried to listen to everything he said!

Robbie went off to play trains at the weekend, he left with his weekend bag at 6am on Friday and I didn't expect to see him again until Sunday afternoon. He phoned several times on Friday and in the evening he let me know that he had arrived at the Travelodge, but that was the last time I heard from him. I know I can't compete with his precious trains, but when I didn't hear from him on Sunday morning I started to become anxious. I realised that I didn't know where he was, who he was with with or how he was getting back because I hadn't listened. He had two phones with him, both were switched off, I kept ringing, but I didn't know what else to do. As the day went on I became convinced that he'd had an accident or something bad had happened. It was about 6pm when I finally tracked him down, apparently he had forgotten to take his phone charger, he was surrounded by people with phones but he didn't think it was important to send me just one text to let me know he was OK. He isn't in the dog house, he is somewhere much more remote than the dog house!

Keeping Busy!

I took my step dad and my mum to hospital on Wednesday for his follow up appointment with the consultant after his surgery in September. The consultant was very pleased with his progress, they have decided that he will not be able to go back on Warfarin any more because they think it was responsible for his bleed around the brain he will have to take asprin every day instead. He is not allowed to drive again until March next year, so as well as being the only driver in our house my role as driver for mum and David will continue for the next few months. It is a small price to pay when you consider that in the first few hours after he became ill there was little hope for David's recovery.

Yesterday I drove to my mum's house to pick her up and take her to the hairdressers, she lives about 7 miles away. I had just arrived home after dropping her at the hairdressers when I had a panic stricken phone call from David demanding that I should take mum straight home because his heating wasn't working. He was clearly getting uptight about it and he said the house was cold so I drove back to their house to see if I could sort it out. When I walked in the house was so hot it was like a sauna, so there was no chance of David freezing to death. The heating was not working because David had forgotten to override the timer, so it was easy to put that right. I set the heating to constant for him with the intention to put it back on timed when I took mum home. I was almost home again when David called on the car phone, panic again, this time he thought the radiators were too hot and he couldn't turn the system off, he was afraid that there would be an explosion so he had turned the boiler off! There was a danger of explosion, but it was my temper rather than the radiators that were at boiling point. I couldn't go back until I had picked mum up and taken her to get her food shopping.

When I took mum home I restarted the boiler and stayed a while to check that the radiators were OK, everything was fine, but poor old David was in mum's bad books for giving me the run around!

A New Book

After a weekend of Robbie huffing and puffing and falling out with his shadow because he left his magazines on the train, he was considerably brighter yesterday. He's had a book delivered through the post and when he opened it he was overcome with excitement, he kept holding the book up to show me full page pictures of biscuits. I must be missing something because a full page glossy picture of a custard cream doesn't do very much for me! Robbie was still chattering excitedly about biscuits at 1am!! It is nice to see him looking happy, but as far as I am concerned happy and quiet would be even better.

A Little Ray of Sunshine!

I always look forward to weekends but they seldom live up to expectation, this weekend was a bit fraught because I had loads of work and a tight deadline, but I managed to get it all done. Robbie was an absolute pain for most of the weekend, he was ready to fall out with his own shadow, it felt as if he was wandering around under his own personal rain cloud. The cause of all this doom and despondency – he had left a bag with 4 new and unread railway magazines on the train!

Pictures in My Mind

When Emily came home last weekend she asked where one of her old toys was. 2XL is an interactive robot that works with cassette tapes and he also plays ordinary cassette tapes and that was why she wanted him after so many years. Someone had lent her a set of Chaucer tapes and she had nothing to play them on because we have cd's now. Surprisingly I knew exactly where 2XL was because I had almost thrown him away last year, but Emily had loved him so much that I couldn't bring myself to part with him. After such a long time he needed a new set of batteries and he was a bit sluggish when he first started but he was soon chatting away in his robot voice, making corny jokes and asking endless questions. She took him back to university to play her Chaucer tapes and a couple of weeks ago I joked with her about listening to Chaucer spoken in a Robot voice with an American accent. It plays tapes normally except for the special robot ones but she said that the miller sounded very much like one of her uncles who has a strong Plymouth accent, he also has amazingly curly eyebrows so rather than Chaucer in a robot voice she is listening Chaucer with a strong Devon accent and amazing eyebrows!

Communication Skills

The wall to wall US election coverage was impossible to avoid yesterday. I couldn't believe that people had to stand in line for hours just to be able to vote, I thought that sort of thing only happened in third world countries. I am feeling tired this morning because I kept the radio on all night to listen to the Radio 4 coverage of the election results - Robbie was not amused, he buried himself in the duvet and snored loud enough to drown out the radio. I stayed awake long enough to hear about Obama's early victories, I woke several times to hear that the Democrats were heading for victory and when my alarm went off just before 5am (usual time) I was in time to hear Barack Obama's amazing victory speech, and then to John McCain's gracious acknowledgement of defeat. I think even his critics would admit that Obama is a great orator, of course he now has to turn the dreams and promises into action, but it really felt as if we were witnessing something significant. After Bush who is barely literate and seems incapable of stringing a sentence together coherently, it was a joy to listen to Obama. It made me feel a bit envious because we have no hope of inspirational leadership any time soon.

Talking of great communicators brings me on to Robbie. He can manage more words per minute than anyone else I know, but as far as communication is concerned sometimes less is more; I have to keep telling him to talk slowly because I haven't got a clue what he is talking about. He often accuses me of reading his mind (because he doesn't get away with very much!) but this morning he failed to communicate at all, apparently he thought telepathy was sufficient. My alarm went of at the usual time, I woke him at the usual time, he got up as reluctantly as ever and caused the usual clatter when he went downstairs. He brought my cup of tea earlier than usual, I didn't take much notice but I observed that he was well ahead of schedule when he went into the shower. I embarked on my normal routine at my usual time, but I felt that Robbie was rushing me along. Eventually I told him that he was way ahead of schedule, and it was only then that he told me he was aiming to catch an earlier train. Since I play an important part in getting him organised and out of the house on time clearer communication would have been very helpful!

It's Almost Over

The US election is almost over and hopefully we will finally have some respite from mindless news reports. I am so exhausted by the whole thing, it seems to have been going on for years. I have to admit it has made me grateful to be British because our election campaigns are mercifully short in comparison. We don't have any politicians to be proud of, in fact I can only think of two or three senior politicians in my lifetime that have inspired trust or respect, but I sincerely hope that we don't have anyone as unsuitable as Sarah Palin. I couldn't help laughing at the clips of her being taken in by a broadcaster who phoned her claiming to be the French president, it was such an obvious spoof, how could she possibly have taken it seriously? The thing is that it isn't really funny, that woman could potentially be the next vice president and McCain is an old man, so there is a possibility that if the unthinkable happened and he became president he could die or become unfit before the end of his term in office. Would anyone seriously want that woman to be president? She only has the vaguest idea where Russia is, and that seems to be the sum total of her knowledge of anything beyond Alaska, I think she would set the whole world fighting and that scares me. My greatest objection to her is that she does the cause of women no good at all. For at least a century women have struggled to prove themselves equal to men and to gain the same rights and responsibilities in society. Finally women we have reached a situation where they are recognised for their ability and achievement rather than for what they wear or who they are married to. Then this woman comes along, every time she opens her mouth she demonstrates her woeful ignorance, she spends far more than is decent on clothes (that don't make her look any better anyway) and she has some seriously disturbing beliefs. She is an example of pseudo equality, she is nothing more than a puppet, look hard and you will see that a man is pulling the strings. She is an embarrassment, but worse of all, she lacks compassion, if you look at what she believes in you are left wondering where is the humanity?

Scary!

This is Sam, he went to a Halloween party dressed as a Zombie, he looked good but afterwards he couldn't get the fake blood off his face. By the next morning he was panic stricken because his face was still red from the fake blood, in the end he had to raid Laura's make up removers and cleansing creams.

A State of Shock

I am still in shock following an incident after work on Thursday evening. It was about 10.30pm and I was tired and glad to be heading home, was listening to yet more drivel the radio about the Jonathan Ross saga as I pulled up at the traffic lights of a large roundabout in the town centre. Suddenly the rear door opened and it felt as id time stood still in that moment of sheer panic a person leapt onto the back seat and another person piled in. When they spoke I realised that it was Laura and her friend Iqra. My heart was thumping, I really thought something terrible was about to happen and it took me ages to calm down. The girls had been to a party in town but they decided to leave early and get a lift home with me, but they were later than planned and they almost missed me. They saw me driving past them and they ran after me and jumped into the car when I stopped at the lights. It was such a dangerous thing to do, they could easily have been hurt if I had pulled away suddenly, but thankfully they were OK and I was terrified but unharmed – except for a few more grey hairs!

Why Me?

In general I try to be a fairly helpful sort of person, nothing out of the ordinary, just on the boring side of normal if you know what I mean. So I really can't work out what it is about me that makes all sorts of people tell me about their problems.

I can be minding my own business wandering around the supermarket and bump into a parent that I knew slightly because years ago our children were in the same year at school. When I realise that I can't dart off in a different direction and pretend I haven't seen her, I manage a polite 'hello', and before I can stop myself the foolish question 'how are you' has slipped from my lips. Time slows down and my eyes glaze over as she relates every intimate and cringe makingly embarrassing health problem she has had in the last ten years. I do my best to compose my expression while my brain franticly searches for a plausible excuse to escape. When I finally reach the freedom of the car park I vow to be more careful in future, but it is so difficult to avoid the phrase 'how are you?'.

Another person who I know slightly because our children are friends bumped into me in the fizzy drinks section of the supermarket and after the briefest greeting proceeded to tell me in graphic detail about the trouble she was experiencing with piles – far too much information!

At work people tell me about problems with their children, their partners, their health and various unmentionable issues. I don't think I am especially sympathetic, I don't give amazing advice, I usually tell them that they understand their individual circumstances best so they are best placed to know the right answer for them. It isn't even that they think that if I can cope with Robbie I can cope with anything, because most of them don't know him. I really don't know what makes them confide in me.

A few weeks ago a customer at work asked for advice about a product, I helped him briefly as I would any customer. Now he seeks me out and comes to have a chat with me, he is a little unusual, in fact he may be the most boring man in the world. Last week he came in and told me about the history of a company that produces batteries, complete with dates, locations and sales figures. This week he took twenty minutes to tell me about the history and evolution of the cassette tape recorder. I asked if it was a special interest of his, he shook his head and said that he just likes information, then he added that he is most interested in the history of the teasmaid. I was horrified, could this possibly be Robbie's long lost twin! But to get back to the original question – why me?!

A Disturbed Night

One thing that Robbie is very good at is sleeping, he has even been known to fall asleep mid sentence. Unfortunately he does not always make it easy for me to sleep, his legs seem to have a life of their own and kicks the duvet about and worse still he lets the heat out of the bed. Occasionally he manages to roll himself up in the duvet, leaving me shivering with no covers, but at the weekend he came up with a new way to keep me awake. I had changed the bedding and he'd helped me to put the duvet cover on, but as we were drifting off to sleep he suddenly announced that I had forgotten to put a bottom sheet on the bed. I assured him that there was a bottom sheet but he refused to believe me and he put his search light on to check. I threatened him with unspeakable consequences and he grudgingly turned the light off. I was just starting to doze when he accused me of putting a nylon sheet on the bed, I began to think he was mad, where would I find a nylon sheet? I told him it was cotton, just like all the others but he wouldn't believe me, the light went back on so that he could check and I was becoming increasingly angry. The light was eventually turned off, but Robbie began a long and rambling account of synthetic fabrics that I have not heard of since the 1970's. Suddenly there was silence and then gentle snoring, Robbie had fallen asleep, but by this time I was wide awake!

Train Trouble in France

A man in France got his hand sucked down a train toilet when he tried to retrieve his mobile phone from toilet. That must have taken a bit of explaining when he was rushed to hospital with the toilet still attached to his arm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7693386.stm

XC Refurbished HST

On Thursday the BBC Midlands Today news program had a clip about the return of the HST. We don't get that TV channel in Northampton so on Friday Robbie sent me a link so that I could watch the clip. It was good, I still think the Cross Country livery lacks sparkle, in fact it is downright dull, but I can see the attraction of the HST, it looks as if they have done a very good job with the refurbishment of the trains and they certainly seem to be popular with the passengers. The HST's are the same age as Robbie, but after their twenty million pound upgrade they are looking better than ever. Hopefully they will continue in service for many years because Robbie loves them and anything that keeps him happy gets my vote. Talking of upgrades there was a news item last week about the staggering amount of money that the Republican party have spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. In her case I think they wasted their money, she is still very scary. Andy Cooper the MD of Cross Country appeared in the news clip about the HST what he said was interesting, but it crossed my mind that the company could learn from the political parties and use a stylist to make him seem a little more 'cuddly' and exciting.

The Bottom Line

Friday morning was one big rush, Robbie was running late again but this time it was planned, he had worked late the previous day before going to see Blood Red Shoes at the Academy in Birmingham. He didn't get back to Northampton until midnight and it was 1am before we got to bed, so it is hardly surprising that he didn't want to get up at 5am. Robbie was still galloping around in his pants when I was trying to get Sam organised, but he managed to get dressed and out of the house in time for his train. It was not the most inspiring vision to start the day, but I managed to banish all thoughts of Robbie's underwear from my mind and get on with the day. Robbie arrived home in a cheerful mood and announced that he'd had a brilliant day because the new pants he was wearing felt so comfortable. I was not quite prepared for such detailed information about his underwear (it's OK, I will spare you the detail) but if that is all it takes to bring a smile to his face I will know what to buy him for Christmas!

Running Late

Robbie has been so tired recently, he is very busy at work but I think mainly it is the legacy of the flu bug that we have had because it left me feeling exhausted too. We have had a couple of occasions when Robbie has struggled to get up when the alarm went off just after 5am, but this morning we both managed to go back to sleep and when we woke up it was half past seven! Panic ensued, Sam and I leave for school at 7.45am so there was frantic activity in order to catch up. I left with Sam only ten minutes later than usual and he got to school in good time. I then had to head back to pick Robbie up to get him to the station as quickly as possible – not an easy task in rush hour!

He settled himself in the car and began talking about car design - I turned up the radio and he took the hint! Then we got on to the subject of buses and coaches, believe it or not we managed to have an argument about the difference between a bus and a coach! Always one to choose just the 'right' moment to drop a bombshell Robbie announced that he was going 'out to play' on Saturday. Apparently he absolutely has to go because the HST is on an unusual diagram and it probably won't happen again. I was unimpressed, I would rather he finished the fence instead, but he keeps putting it off. I said that he seems to be always out, but this was denied strenuously, he said that he hasn't done his usual HST trips this year. I reminded him that he often goes away for the weekend to do the rail tours, but he said that that was different, it is (allegedly) hard work, not like going on the HST. The answer seemed simple to me, and I said that maybe he should give up the rail tours. He erupted with a tirade of loud and incoherent protestations. Clearly giving up the rail tours is unthinkable – I think he would rather give me up! Poor Robbie, he has such a hard life, how could I possibly deprive him if time with his precious HST. I expect that by Saturday he will have persuaded me to get up at the crack of dawn to take him to the station!

Too Hot To Handle

We had a couple of weeks without heating because we were waiting for the plumber to come and mend the boiler. It wasn't a big issue because we still had hot water and we had the gas fire if we needed it so it wasn't cold, but obviously we wanted it to be done quickly so that the heating was available when we needed it. The plumber came on Saturday and the heating was restored to full working order – and that was when the trouble started! Robbie will not stop tampering with the thermostat and the timer. I woke up at 3am on Sunday morning and I thought I had a fever it was so hot, then I realised that the boiler was thundering away heating the whole house to tropical extremes. Robbie had allegedly set the timer the day before so the heating should not have been on and the thermostat certainly shouldn't have been set at maximum. I woke Robbie and demanded that he should go and turn it off, he showered me with insults and we had a full scale row before he reluctantly plodded downstairs to do the deed. Since then we have had a battle, I set the thermostat and the timer and when he thinks I will not notice he overrides the timer and turns up the temperature. I could understand it if the house was cold, but it isn't, it is warm and comfortable. This morning he whizzed the thermostat around to maximum as soon as he got up, so when I went to the bathroom I was in danger of burning myself on the radiator – can you imagine explaining that at the casualty department! I am getting really fed up with this ongoing battle - I wonder if they make tamper proof controls?

Road Rage

I am so sick of road works in Northampton, it has taken months to be rid of the road works in the area around the station, so I have not been overjoyed to find new roadworks popping up like mushrooms all around the town. I know that roads have to be maintained, but it is so annoying. It wouldn't be so bad if you could actually see them making progress, but they are so slow that you would need time lapse photography to capture any movement at all!

There is a road that I use every day (along with thousands of other people) and they are doing resurfacing work on it. It has created chaos in that part of town and this has been compounded by the unhelpful notices that appeared to announce the impending road closure. The notice read “This road will be closed off peak from .....” what on earth does off peak mean? The train operating companies can't agree on a definition of off peak, telephone companies have their own ideas about it, and the fuel companies have yet another interpretation. I wasn't until the works had started that they decided to let us in to their little secret, off peak (according to them) means between 9.30am and 3.30pm. They are obviously not used to providing helpful information, so they redressed the balance (and caused chaos) by putting up a sign on the Billing Road to inform drivers that the road ahead was closed - with the arrow pointing in the wrong direction!

Leaves on the Line

When I got in from work this evening I was too tired and distracted to take much notice of Robbie rabbiting on about his journey to work this morning. As I tuned back in to what he was saying I thought he said there were 'extreme red head conditions' and I imagined the station being overrun with people who had ginger hair! He'd actually said there were 'extreme rail head conditions' that is just a posh way of saying leaves on the line! Network Rail were to blame because the rail head treatment train had not been able to run across the section - they were blaming bad weather, but we haven't had any bad weather yet! Personally I think the red heads would have been a more exciting reason for being late for work.

'Exciting' Information

Robbie and I finally had a weekend together without having to rush around, and at long last we are both feeling a little more human again after the flu bug. There is nothing nicer than waking up on a Saturday morning and not having to rush to get up. I had almost forgotten how good it felt, I had also forgotten Robbie's unfailing ability to spoil the moment - this week his thoughts strayed to the hand dryers in the gents toilets at Leeds Station! Why would he imagine that I would be interested at all, and why choose that moment to share such 'exciting' information? I don't suppose I will ever be able to change him, but there are times when I wish he could be just a little bit more 'normal'.

Imaginary Friends

Well I certainly tempted fate with my previous post, since then I have not been able to escape from the latest news of the US presidential candidates. You will be pleased to know that my radio is still intact despite my previous threats. I was trapped in the bath when the radio hijacked me with a whole program of highlights from McCain and Obama's latest spat. After my initial fury I must confess that I was fascinated because McCain brought along an imaginary friend. One of my children used to have an imaginary friend called Jimmy for a while. To be honest Jimmy was a bit of a pain, when the child did naughty things it always turned out to be Jimmy's fault, he had to have a place in the car and at the table and we had to be so careful not to tread on him! McCain's imaginary friend is imaginary in a different way - McCain imagines that Joe the Plumber is his friend and he imagines that he knows all about him. McCain decided to cling to his new friend throughout his encounter with Obama and Joe who objects to Obama's tax plans, became the star of the show. The problem with imaginary friends is that they always tend to get you into trouble and Joe the Plumber proved just as unreliable. It turns out that he is more imaginary than McCain expected, he's not called Joe, he's not a plumber and he doesn't earn what he claimed to earn. When imaginary friends get too troublesome children tend to leave them behind, the problem is McCain is not a child he is a presidential candidate. Perhaps it is about time he shuffled off quietly to a nice safe home for the bewildered. At least the end is in sight for us as far as the elections are concerned, we only have two or three weeks to go and then hopefully we will not need to think about him or his imaginary friend or that terrifying woman any more.

Gremlins!

Yesterday I saw Robbie off to work and then settled down in front of my computer to writ that day's post for the blog. I wasn't sure what I was going to write about, because I had two subjects in mind, frustration with AOL and my increasing irritation with the interminable US election coverage. I am so angry with AOL, having tortured customers for months with a saga of poor service and connection problems, they have now decided to close their journals at very short notice, leaving customers scrambling to move their blogs. The US elections have gone on for far too long and when I heard the latest fatuous sound bite from McCain I had an overwhelming urge to beat the radio to a pulp. I resisted the urge this time, but if I have to endure much more of it I will be a jibbering wreck!

Anyway I didn't get as far as writing a post for the blog, I didn't even get as far as the internet – the computer said No! My first response was fury with AOL for yet another interruption in service, but then I noticed that there were only two lights instead of three on the wireless router. I tried every trick in the book to get the router to behave, but without success. I even rang Robbie for advice, but I had already tried all the things he suggested. I am not sure if it was the remains of my 'flu bug or blind fury that made me miss the obvious – the wireless router was not working because the phone was not working. I was ready to find the number to report the fault when I decided to check the the line by plugging the phone into the original socket and bypassing the internal wiring - and it worked! I then traced the cause of the trouble to two feline villains who had decided to play with the wire and must have bitten or clawed it! So today I will be replacing the internal connections and the cats will find that the new wires taste of very bad because I will paint them with stop and grow nail treatment!

Feeling Frustrated

Gosh, two posts from Robbie within a week, I don't think I can cope with the shock! He has proved that he isn't just obsessive about trains, he is obsessive about music too, so when he bores you rigid you have a choice of subjects!!

On the subject of being annoying, someone is really getting on my nerves and I just can't escape - because it's me! I am fed up with being so pathetic, as well as the fatigue that comes with the flu, I have very little voice and a cough that is turning me inside out and creating havoc with my asthma. It makes me really scared when I struggle to breathe and not feeling well is really annoying me now, I have far too much to do. Robbie has been so supportive and helpful while I haven't been feeling well, but he is struggling now, he's too hot, then too cold and he's feeling like death warmed up. It was a real struggle for him to go to work this morning, poor old Robbie I hope he will soon be better.

20 years and still listening.........

Saturday felt very surreal for me as it is 20 years ago that I bought 'Into the Dragon' by Bomb the Base, and here I was buying the NEW Bomb the Base album ' Future Chaos!
The new album is quite a mix of various sounds, although to me MEGABLAST and Beat Dis will always remain high in my top 100 of the best records ever created.....
Below is the video for Beat Dis.............enjoy!!

To Birmingham and Back Again

Yesterday passed me by in a blur of agony. Clearly I insulted my flu bug by referring to it as 'just a cold' on the blog on Thursday, and it decided to show me exactly who was boss. By Thursday evening everything ached and my thermostat had gone mad, and by Friday morning I was ready to curl up and die. It is now Saturday evening, I am still feeling fragile and breathing is a bit of a challenge, but at least I can face the bright lights of the computer again. So rather than dwell on my aches and pains I will write about something completely different instead.

Last week Robbie took me to Birmingham for the evening. This may not sound very exciting but it is a big event for me because it involves passing through that God forsaken place known as New Street Station – I really hate it and I avoid it at all costs. Our journey started at Northampton Station, it is a while since I have been there and it will be a while before I go there again, the parking charge is a rip off! I hoped it would be a more pleasant experience than when it was in the hands of Silverlink. The best thing about the station was the hot chocolate from the coffee shop. The station staff seemed a little more cheerful and they has swapped the severe 'border guard' look of the Silverlink uniform for the 'slept in look' of what must be the most boring uniform ever. The station itself looks more unloved and shabby than ever, I'm not sure anyone could love a building that looks and feels like a farm shed, but I feel sad that this is the first impression that travellers get of my home town. Oh well, it could be worse, Coventry station takes 'grim' to a whole new level.

The journey to Birmingham was good, we travelled on a 350, it was surprisingly comfortable and it was a pleasant journey. I can't complain, but however perverse it sounds I miss the good old 321's and I miss the Silverlink livery that always reminded me of a Cadburys Dairy Milk wrapper. So there you are you have proof that Robbie is not the only weird one in our family when it comes to trains. All good things come to an end and all too soon I found myself in New Street Station. It didn't seem to have changed, there were the usual announcements about platform alterations and breathless and confused passengers with a demented look in their eyes sprinting from platform to platform in search of their trains. I know they have to announce platform changes, delays and assorted misery, but why do thy choose someone with such a grating voice that it sounds like nails being dragged over a blackboard?

We made our escape from the gloom of the station to the grim reality of the street. I never feel safe in Birmingham and I struggled to keep pace with Robbie, nothing would slow him down because he was heading in the direction of food. He took me to The Big Wok because he was sure I would like it – I didn't really, but to be fair I was probably coming down with the flu by then. Robbie made up for my lack of enthusiasm, in the interests of good taste I will not detail all that he ate but I can't resist mentioning the beef curry. I watched him polish it off incredibly fast, it looked as if he was melting like an ice cube in the sun, but he said he enjoyed it. I am sure that man would eat absolutely anything!

We enjoyed our evening out at the theatre, but afterwards we had to head back to the glories of New Street Station. The 'welcoming committee' defending the ticket barriers looked distinctly unapproachable and uninterested. Their uniform also had that 'slept in look' - obviously London Midland are a bit lacking in the imagination and style department! We had a while to wait for our train but I was happy enough on the platform watching the train dispatcher (he was rather nice) and having a good look at the 323 that was waiting to depart. The London Midland livery was hideous, the world should not have to endure that much green, but as soon as the engine started I cold tell that under all that war paint it was still the loveable, quirky 323. I love the way it sounds like a slot machine when it pulls away, you can hear it best from inside the train, but even from the platform there was no mistaking the sound.

Finally our Pendolino arrived and we were safely settled on board. For the first time that evening I felt safe, I'm not sure what it is about Virgin, but I love travelling on their trains. Unfortunately we had to abandon the Pendolino at Rugby in favour of a smelly old coach. Virgin failed to announce that passengers for Northampton needed to leave the train at Rugby, but at least they had a couple of friendly looking 'care bears' on the platform to point us in the right direction. Rugby Station looks like a bomb site, hopefully it will all come good in the end, but it is hard to imagine it happening in my lifetime! The coach journey was cramped, uncomfortable and scary, the driver threw it around as if his sole intention was to scare us to death. We arrived at Northampton safe but shell shocked, and I can honestly say I have never been so glad to see my car and to feel in control once more.

This is Not Funny

Last week I went to have my flu jab and while I was there they offered me another injection, I think it was to protect against pneumonia, I can't remember, but I took both injections anyway. If I get the flu or even just a bad cold I often end up with bronchitis and it always makes my asthma worse, so I try hard to stay well. The nurse put one injection in each arm right at the top close to my shoulder. I always react to the flu jab and within hours both arms were painful, by the following day I felt as if my shoulders were sticking out like an American football player. If anyone touched my arm it was so uncomfortable and it made me want to shout out, I couldn't even lay comfortably in bed. Steadily the discomfort diminished and I was left with a bruise to be proud of, but at least I could forget about it for another year. Then to add insult to injury my breathing started to play up, I started sneezing and now I have a really bad flu type bug, everything aches and I feel dreadful. I know it is just coincidence and nothing to do with the flu jab, but it feels a bit like a sick joke at the moment!

A Peaceful Night

Robbie seems to have got the message, he didn't cause any disruption at bed time. He had fallen asleep downstairs (again) and I think he was almost sleepwalking when he went to bed, so he was asleep again as soon as his head touched the pillow.

On the subject of sleep, I wish I was a cat, our two seem to have a very comfortable life!

He Has Been Warned!

Robbie can be so irritating sometimes, but somehow he always manages to make it my fault! It was past midnight when I went to bed, I left Robbie downstairs, but by the time I came out of the bathroom he had installed himself on the bed and was sitting there like an overgrown garden gnome reading one of his railway magazines. I tried to get into my side of the bed but the weight of 'the gnome' made it impossible to move the covers, it was more like a straight jacket than a duvet. After a battle he grudgingly moved for a second so that I could get into bed properly. I asked him to turn off the lights, but he refused, he needed the main light on as well as the 'search light' on his side of the bed, just to read about trains in the middle of the night.

All I wanted was to listen to Radio 4's book of the week, Chocolate and Cuckoo clocks: The Essential Allen Coren while I settled down to sleep. It is only on for 15 minutes and I can set the radio to turn off after an hour so it doesn't matter if I doze of f. Robbie would normally have listened to it too, but last night he turned the radio off without even asking me, I put it back on and he declared war. First he decided to read out loud and the more I asked him to shut up the louder he got, that didn't get sufficient reaction so he decided to eat Minstrels in bed, I can't bear the crunching, it's disgusting. I threatened to kill him but he still wouldn't stop so I lay there thinking about going to sleep downstairs, I started to get out of bed and he begged me to stay, promising to turn the light off. I stayed and he put, and he turned the light off and got into bed, but that was when the trouble really started. He deliberately lifted and fanned the duvet to let all the cold air in and as far as I am concerned that is unforgivable, then as I was finally dozing he kept prodding me and being annoying. Then suddenly he was asleep and once again I was left wide awake having to listen to him sleeping.

This morning he claimed that I was really miserable with him last night and he hadn't done anything to deserve it. Well, I am giving him fair warning, I am now armed with a black permanent marker and if he lets the heat out of my bed again he will wake up to find that his features have been enhanced with a moustache and whatever else I feel inspired to do at the time. I don't care if the RMT have messed up his timetables, it is no excuse for disrupting my sleep!

Trip to Trumpton

Well I thought it was time I put in a 'personal appearance' again...
I have had one of those weekends reminiscing about the days of acid house and stuff, and guess what I found on youtube??? well I won't spoil it for you all so I've attached the link below.....enjoy :)

Does it Measure Up?

Why does the weekend always rush past so quickly, while the week seems like such a hard slog? We went to the supermarket for our usual weekend shopping trip, it was nice to have something to distract Robbie because he had been talking about HST toilets again, I don't know why he finds the subject so fascinating, but apparently servicing the toilets has implications for his timetables. He told me I am not allowed to write about HST's because I was unkind about them last week, so of course that made me squeeze out another post on the subject. Telling me I can't do something is not a good idea! I may regret the loss of the shop and I may find the colour scheme a bit on the boring side, but even I have to admit that there is one plus point - decent brands are coming back. I was sad when Virgin lost the Cross Country franchise, but if it has saved us from that pathetic apology apology for cola, I am delighted. I don't think I have ever tasted anything as disgusting in my life. So OK bring on the (boring) refitted HST all is forgiven -well almost all, I haven't forgiven them for nicking half the toilets but I will have a rant about that another day.

Anyway back to Robbie and the supermarket, you will not believe what he did. I was so embarrassed that I had to walk away and pretend that I wasn't with him. He got down on his knees and measured the tomato sauce and HP sauce bottles! It was like shopping with Mr Bean.

It Could Only Happen to Robbie

There are some things that only seem to happen to Robbie. When I got home last night I found Robbie sitting in his PJ's with one trouser leg rolled up. It crossed my mind that he could have joined the Masons, but it seemed an unlikely explanation (unless they have a railway section) so I had to find a more obvious reason for the new style. As I took a closer look at his leg I saw that it was badly cut in a series of scratches that ran up and around his leg. According to him he was innocently walking home when a rose jumped out and grabbed his leg. Apparently he'd had quite a struggle to free himself! I hope he hasn't ripped yet another pair of trousers, it is bad enough when he falls over and writes off his trousers without finding new ways to destroy them. His leg is hurting him quit a lot, I really hope it will not turn septic.

Uninspired

Robbie got so cross with me yesterday. He is full of enthusiasm for the newly refitted Cross Country HST, he had been rather doubtful about the refit and he says it has turned out better than he expected and it doesn't feel cramped. He has talked about little else for the last couple of days, but after a while I stop listening – everyone has there limits!

Robbie showed me some photos of the new HST yesterday and he was furious when I said I was unimpressed. The Cross Country livery is OK but it is a bit dull, it isn't going to turn any heads and as far as I'm concerned that is how the new interior feels. From the pictures it looks cramped, maybe it doesn't feel like that when you are there, but it is so dull and boring, I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to travel on it. There again, I am writing from a female point of view, Robbie would travel on it all day long if he could – but he's unique. There are so many good things about Cross Country and in many ways they can be quite imaginative, so why do their trains have to be so dull!

Too Much Detail

Robbie rang me yesterday to apologise for the frying pan incident, I think he'd got the message loud and clear. He was very cunning about buying it on Sunday, I was going to wait in the car because he (allegedly) only needed to buy a couple of things. He gave me his copy of Rail Express to read so that I wouldn't notice how long he was in the shop. While he was gone I had time to read a long article about the Virgin Trains service from Euston to Holyhead, it was an interesting read, and the pictures were great, but I didn't like the writing style and it became irritating after a while. The choice of words was more 'Boys Own' than railway magazine, terms like “we spied” were out of place, what is wrong with saying 'we saw, we noticed or we spotted'. When Robbie got back into the car he distracted me again by talking about model trains and the pros and cons of buying weathered or pristine models. It wasn't the most exciting subject and I found myself wondering if this was really the best he could manage in terms of conversation, after all he hadn't seen me since early on Friday morning! As I explained yesterday conversation he last thing on my mind when I discovered the frying pan!

I was really exhausted when I got home last night and all I wanted to do was eat and sleep, but Robbie wanted me to stay awake long enough to listen to him talk about an upsetting incident on his journey to work. From his expression and the way he was speaking I thought something really bad had happened, perhaps he'd had another fall or something; he had my undivided attention. The so called upsetting incident was nothing of the kind – someone had sat in Robbie's seat! It completely disrupted his routine and he had to sit in the opposite seat and glare at the 'intruder' all the way to Birmingham. He has now decided that we have to get up even earlier in the morning so that he can be absolutely sure of getting 'his' seat! I thought I could escape to bed, but he embarked on a long and to be brutally honest boring monologue on the refitted Cross Country HST. Unfortunately I find it hard to get excited about the performance of HST toilets at any time, but it was after midnight and I just wanted to sleep! In the end I wandered off to bed leaving Robbie still talking (to the cat) about trains. This morning I felt like screaming, he got up and resumed the conversation from the previous evening!

You Know You Have Lost The Plot When .........

Robbie went off on another rail tour at the weekend while I stayed at home and rushed around like a headless chicken. My step father is still in hospital and as well as my normal routine I have been driving my mum to and from hospital, taking her shopping and helping her with all the jobs that she can't manage to do on her own. When I got in on Saturday evening after visiting David and then doing my food shopping I was trying to get on with the washing while preparing a meal. I must have had a senior moment because I suddenly realised that I had filled the washing machine soap dispenser with frozen peas! It is much harder to get them out than to put them in, but eventually I got the meal and the laundry back on track.

My step father is making good progress, mum said that you can tell he is getting better because he is moaning all the time. When I went to see him on Saturday treated us to a monologue about his waterworks, eventually mum got cross with him and insisted on a change of subject, he started to tell us about his bowels instead until mum gave him a murderous look and he decided to discuss his laundry instead. I am so glad he is getting better, but it is hard work at times!

Robbie arrived home on Sunday afternoon, and on the way home he popped into Morrisons to buy meat and rolls for his lunch at work. He made an unauthorised purchase, a frying pan. I was furious because it was expensive, he hadn't consulted me and it was so small that you could only fry one egg at a time. I told him he had to take it back because I didn't want a frying pan, but when he told me that the carpet hadn't been hoovered for days (I did it yesterday!)
I decided I may have a use for it after all – he can wear it!

So Frustrating!

Sometimes I despair of Robbie, he can be so frustrating but when I get cross with him he acts all innocent and genuinely seems to think I am the one being unreasonable. Yesterday he caught an earlier train home so that he could have his hair cut ready for the rail tour on Saturday. It was getting towards 11pm when I got home, I'd had the day from hell and all I wanted was to eat and then sleep, but I had to finish off some of my writing work before I went to bed. By the time I finally headed up to bed it was 12.45am and I was asleep on my feet. When I came out of the bathroom I found that Robbie had chosen exactly that moment to pack his bag for the rail tour. He had three lights on and the room was so bright that it was impossible to sleep, he refused to turn any of them off, I pulled the covers over my head and tried to ignore him but he is impossible to ignore. Next thing I knew he was pulling stuff out from the cupboard and throwing it into a pile right on to of me, he couldn't understand why I was so cross. He kept marching around accusing me of stealing his jeans, he even climbed over the bed at one point! Despite everything I must have fallen asleep in the end because I don't remember any more until I woke up slightly later than usual this morning. Robbie said he hadn't been able to wake me up, I wonder why!!!