Confession Time

Yesterday Robbie rang me at about 8.30am, he usually phones at around that time. He said that he was in London and he wanted to say hello before dashing off to his meeting in Cambridge. I asked him how long his journey to Cambridge would take in total, it was an innocent enough question but t elicited some interesting confessions from Robbie. First came the rather sheepish question "What, including breakfast and meeting friends?" He had been to visit his old friends at Euston, and apparently his three Weetabix wasn't sufficient to sustain him until lunch so he had to have a second breakfast! Then came the confession, he made me get up in the middle of the night and miss the end of my dream because he wanted to go on a Voyager! He could have travelled over an hour later but the lure of the diesel apparently justified the early start! In an attempt to distract me he told me what we could have for breakfast when we go on a Pendolino. That man, if he isn't thinking about trains he is thinking about food!!

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!

Not Entirely Forgiven! 19.09.2007

Robbie headed off to work still feeling a little sorry for himself and not entirely forgiven. A few weeks ago I asked him how old his colleague Richard was, at first he shrugged and said 'indeterminate' then he shrugged and said that he was about the same age as me. Having read a recent comment from Richard where he admitted to being almost 60, Robbie realised that he was in a hole (bit of an understatement!) and started digging furiously. He assures me that Richard looked very good for his age. I suppose that there is a vague possibility that he has a painting in the attic, but it seems far more likely that life with Robbie has aged me dramatically! If you are wondering about my age, I'm younger than George Clooney. Robbie has meetings in London today so he can finally collect Sam's lost jacket from Euston. The saga with the car continues, I am feeling far too frustrated about it to write any more on that subject now. I will update you when I have more information.

Laura doesn't usually get much of a mention in the blog, but she has had a good few days so it is nice to have something positive to write about. She has got a weekend job at a large toy superstore and she starts her training tomorrow evening. Emily worked for the same company, but as she is off to university she will only work for them during the holidays from now on. I think it does the girls good to learn the value of money and to get some idea of real world, as long as they keep things in proportion and don't let it get in the way of their studies.

She got tickets to go to the Paul O'Grady Show in London, it wouldn't fill me with enthusiasm but Laura was really excited about it. She rang me after the show to tell me that she had been given a nodding Buster (dog). I wish I had known that a nodding dog would have given her such pleasure, I could have saved a fortune on Christmas and birthday presents over the years!

Robbie is going to a concert this evening, a group called Blood Red Shoes, the girls will be out too, so Sam and I will have a nice quiet evening.

Déjà Vu 05.08.07

I had so much to do today and so little energy, the intentions were good but the effort was sadly lacking. When I rather belatedly emerged from the shower and ventured downstairs my nostrils were assailed by the unmistakable fragrance of fox. Megan had rolled again, we get foxes in the back garden sometimes and she must have found the 'noxious substance' there because she was fine last night. Robbie and Sam were sitting in the lounge wondering what the smell was, neither of them had noticed the caked on 'perfume' around Megan's neck! The 'b' word was mentioned and Megan instantly became a quivering wreck, she was dragged off for a bath by two equally reluctant men. I kept well away, but I could still hear the soundtrack - a crescendo of expletives followed by a cry of anguish from Robbie and further disparaging remarks directed at Megan. In due course Meg reappeared looking fresh as a daisy, next came a rather dishevelled Sam and finally Robbie looking like a drowned rat, he was drenched and was promptly despatched for a shower. Sam explained that the shriek of anguish from Robbie was in response to Megan jumping out of the bath prematurely she then shook herself which soaked Robbie. He and Meg kept out of each others way for the rest of the day!

Robbie nearly drove me mad regarding the choice of our next washing machine. We both agreed that we wanted a Bosch machine, but I wanted a basic one as there is less to go wrong, while Robbie wanted to get one with lots of extra bells and whistles. We ended up arguing over the need for a digital display and as the machine hasn't yet been ordered it is not clear who has won the argument yet.

I forgot to mention yesterday that yet another garment has made a lonely journey to Euston. This time it was Sam's jacket - I am sure Robbie bribed him to do it. A few minutes after they got in the car Sam announced that he had left the jacket on the train, that necessitated a flurry of phone calls from Robbie to a variety of railway people. The jacket was rescued and is now safely tucked away awaiting collection, so Robbie will have to make yet another trip to Euston to fetch it. He has made so many detours to Euston recently that I am beginning to think he must have a woman tucked away in the stores there!!

A Day To Myself 23.06.07

I have the day to myself today - luxury. Robbie has gone by train to Paignton for the day accompanied by half a dozen young ladies and Sam (well someone had to keep Robbie in order!). It involved an early start for everyone and I was woken at an impossibly early hour by the alarm clock duet, we have one clock to wake the other clock, and being a 'belt and braces' sort of person Robbie sets the alarm on his phone too! Having exhausted the possibilities of the snooze button I gave in to the inevitable and got up. Robbie was the last to be ready as usual, Laura and Sam were waiting by the door while he was dancing around the house in his knickers making incoherent noises which conveyed a general impression of panic. Eventually he was ready and despite the delay I left them at the station in time to catch their train.

I hope Robbie doesn't misplace any of his clothes today. Last week he went to Walsall but he left his jacket on the train and it went to Euston. Well, it makes a good excuse for a trip to Euston I suppose!

Robbie rang me a couple of hours after they got to Torquay to say he was having the time of his life!

A Question of Time 21.06.07

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

Time Traveller 15.05.07

Well, I have more evidence that Robbie is losing touch with reality. At the weekend when I was feeling unwell he was very attentive, making sure tat I had frequent cups of tea, etc. He could see that I needed cheering up so he brought me his latest treasure to look at - a 1966 Rugby to Euston timetable. I suppose if I ever work out how to travel back in time I will at least know when to expect the next train!

This evening, having promised me his undivided attention he was busy chatting online to one of his colleagues about Volume 3 of LMS Coaching Stock - scintillating!

The Sleeper to Penzance

Robbie has just read the last entry and he says I should tell you about our honeymoon. Don't worry; no classified information will be included! Apparently our honeymoon has become a bit of a legend among his work mates. Robbie works for a railway company as a train planner, and he is obsessively interested in everything to do with trains. His mates couldn't work out how he got away with a 'train focussed' honeymoon.

We had the most amazing start to our honeymoon. We spent an afternoon and evening in London cranking at Euston and the Kings Cross, after that we made our way across to Paddington. We had a first class booking on the Penzance sleeper, but it didn't leave until almost midnight, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the wonders of the First Class Lounge. Robbie got 'ants in his pants' and asked if he could go off and do a bit more train spotting. That was fine by me, I was happy to sit there and take in every detail of my surroundings, those rooms are incredible.

The sleeper journey was really special. I made sure I was awake in time to enjoy the early morning part of the journey. ‘Sleeping beauty’ didn’t wake up until his breakfast arrived! One of the most magical memories was watching the sun rise as we came towards St Michaels Mount.

Well I have shared quite enough details about our honeymoon! The rest of the week was great too …….and it involved lots more trains!!