Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober - 1 Thessalonians 5:6 King James Version

Robbie wanted to go out on Friday evening, I wasn't keen because he'd had a very challenging week and I knew that he was very tired and struggling to cope with pain from his back and legs. However it was the anniversary of his friend's death and he needed to meet with other friends to remember better times. I begged him not to be too late home because I was tired too and I didn't want to be too late to bed.

We had spoken on the phone before he went out and I kept my mobile close to me hoping that he would remember his promise not to be too late. It remained silent all evening so I sent him a text to say that I was going to bed and he should ring me when he needed a lift. I sat in bed listening to the radio and doing some writing on my netbook, trying to stay awake. He finally rang to say that he needed picking up at midnight and I asked him to ring me again when he got to Rugby just to make sure that I hadn't dozed off. Time marched on and no call came, so I set off for the station, I thought Robbie had just forgotten ring. 

When I got to the station I began to worry that Robbie may have fallen asleep, so I rang him several times and sent texts for him to contact me, but there was no reply. A stream of people wandered wearily around to the car park indicating that Robbie's train was in, I looked and looked but there was no Robbie. After a brief flurry of activity the car park was still and silent again and I was still there waiting. Time passed very slowly but eventually a few more weary travellers came into view, another train had arrived, but after a brief moment of hope my heart sank, there was no sign of Robbie. By this time I was seriously worried, my mind raced, perhaps he'd had a bad fall, perhaps he had even fallen under a train ........... Finally the truth became clear, a rather confused text from Robbie revealed that he had fallen asleep on the train and ended up in Buckinghamshire. A phone call followed and a rather unhappy Robbie admitted that it would be a long wait for him to make his way back. I wasn't best pleased, but at least he was safe, so I couldn't be too angry. We finally got home at about 2am - not the best start to a weekend! 

The sea hath no king but God alone - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

According to the forecasts Friday was to be wet and miserable but Norfolk weather has a mind of its own and the ominous dark cloud was chased away by the sun leaving a lovely bright sky. We decided to make the most of the nice day and had a wander around the car boot sale, Robbie bought a cd but apart from that we enjoyed looking at all the goods on sale without giving in to temptation. By the time we had finished at the car boot sale Robbie’s tummy was rumbling so we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the beach café in Mundesley. There were lots of people on the beach and we enjoyed looking out at the sea as we ate our lunch. To my considerable relief Robbie passed on the onion rings this time, I can’t stand the smell of onion.



After lunch Robbie suggested that we should take a drive to Horsey Mill. It is a nice drive and it takes us past the lighthouse at Happisburgh as well as several beautiful churches and other buildings of interest. Horsey Mill is rather spectacular and Robbie darted about taking photos before his attention was taken by the shop – they had several interesting railway books! We took a gentle drive back towards Stalham so that Robbie could buy supplies for a packed lunch. He was determined to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to go and play trains – again. I was equally determined that I wasn’t going, but I didn’t mind dropping him off at the station.

Why Are Bananas Funny?

After a hectic and exhausting week I always look forward to Friday evenings because I don't work on Fridays and it is lovely to spend some quality time with Robbie. Usually Friday evenings don't live up to my expectations for one reason or another and this Friday was no exception. I had made an appointment for Sam to have his hair cut at 5pm, thinking that I would have plenty of time to pick Mr B up afterwards, but he changed the goalposts and decided to come home on an earlier train. Robbie said he would get the bus, but by some miracle I managed to be at the station by 5.35pm to pick him up! I thought he would be pleased, but being Mr Autistic he got himself into a right strop because I had changed the goalposts and it took him ages to get over it.

I tried my best but I couldn't manage to put a smile on his face, so I had to use my secret weapon - Lego! He carefully opened the bag and tipped out the pieces of his latest Lego man, he was very impressed, it was a man in a gorilla suit holding a banana. I thought there was something vaguely familiar about it but Robbie seemed to be deeply amused by the banana. I am not sure why he found it so funny, but at least it put a smile on his face!