I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me - Noel Coward

Robbie and I had planned to go out for the day today, but the snow dictated otherwise. It would have been madness to try to go very far today, but I wanted to get as far as the supermarket because we needed supplies and I didn't fancy trying to carry everything home. Robbie went out and cleared all the snow off the car, it proved to be a long and exhausting job. Then when I got in the car and attempted to start it, there was a tiny splutter and then nothing. That dratted car is definitely male - high maintenance and totally unreliable!

We had to jump start the car with the help of my daughter and her Yaris. Then I thought it would be best to take the car for a drive before going to the supermarket. It wasn't a very fast journey but at least we stayed safe. By the time we got to the supermarket Robbie was in a foul mood, I tried to ignore it and keep things pleasant, but it was hopeless. He was in the sort of mood where nothing was right, every item of food that I selected was wrong in some way and as we progressed around the store our trolley remained ominously empty. When we got to the pet food section he even criticised my choice of cat food - apparently he had appointed himself as spokesman for the cat! Having provided a detailed explanation of the cat's likes and dislikes he chose a selection of food that was more in keeping with the cat's (expensive) tastes! At least the trolley was filling up so we were making progress of sorts.

We got to the meat section and it seemed that nothing pleased him so I asked if he would like some gammon for a change. I suggested that it would be nice with new potatoes and vegetables but he said that he only likes gammon with egg and chips, so I said that we would have that instead. I went over to choose the gammon and he turned his nose up. That was the last straw, I abandoned the trolley and left him to have his strop on his own while I regained my composure in the magazine section. That is his favourite part of the shop so I knew he would turn up eventually. He appeared surprisingly quickly still with a face like thunder so I left him there looking at the railway magazines while I went off unhindered to pick up a few essentials.

The calming effect of railway magazines should not be underestimated. When I returned to collect Robbie he was 'mellowing' and by the time we got home he was keen to find a way back into my good books. It took me a little longer to 'thaw' but before long harmony was restored. The snow on the other hand showed no sign of thawing, in fact it looked as if there was plenty more to come.