Every path hath a puddle - George Herbert

When I was thinking of a title for this blog post the quotation above seemed to to be a perfect fit, not least because this week began with a wet and miserable Monday. The cold wet morning came as quite a surprise after an unusually warm September and a surprisingly mild and sunny start to October. It was our ninth wedding anniversary on Saturday and we spent the weekend in Exeter. The choice of destination was a compromise, I had suggested a number of possible places to visit, but Robbie found fault with each one. At first I thought he was just being difficult but it didn't take me long to work out that Baldrick Burgess had a cunning plan to fit in a journey on an HST and he was going to veto every destination until I chose a place that suited his plan. I didn't mind too much, I'm not a fan of HSTs but it's not too much of a hardship and it gives Robbie a lot of pleasure. I didn't appreciate having to get up before the birds, but time together is precious and we were determined to enjoy the weekend to the full.

Robbie at our anniversary meal in Exeter

I like train journeys for many reasons, but perhaps more than anything else I value the thinking time and conversation. It is rare for either of us to sit still for so long with no demands on our time, and it is nice to be still and enjoy having time to chat. As it was our anniversary it is hardly surprising that we were in reflective mood. In a way marrying Robbie was an act of madness, we are a bit of an odd couple and I think a few of our friends doubted our sanity. For me the biggest commitment had been made a year earlier, exactly a year earlier in fact, in the first days of October ten years ago. Robbie and I had been together for just a few months when circumstances took a sudden and surprising turn. He rang me one morning in a state of great agitation, he had just been informed that he needed to take responsibility for his children on a full time basis starting that day. He had a one bedroom flat, which was large enough for his children to stay overnight with him once or twice a week, but it would have proved too cramped and ill equipped for a longer stay and it looked as if the children would be with him for several months. I didn't hesitate, the obvious solution was for them to come to me and so by that evening our three children each had become a blended family of six children. 

There were problems of course, but remarkably few, the children got on well and the Burgess children made the transition to a new school with little difficulty. Coping with six children was a very exhausting experience for me (and for Robbie) but I found it extremely rewarding. At the time my step children were 13, 9 and 5, each one was different but very like Robbie in their various ways. His son often asked to come with me in the car when I went to pick up my daughters from their music lessons or band practice. He was a gentle, thoughtful lad with a lovely nature; he loved to chat and like Robbie he was interested in a vast array of subjects. He shared my keen interest in history and like Robbie he had a passion for films and an eclectic taste in music. We had some fascinating conversations and he enjoyed listening to my music CDs. Robbie's older daughter was a clever and determined nine year old, who seemed older than her years. Like her older step sisters she enjoyed clothes and accessories and she had very firm opinions about what she should wear, in fact she had strong opinions about almost everything. She could be quite outspoken at times, and like Robbie tact wasn't her strong point - her disapproval when we were not having one of her favourite meals was expressed eloquently with just a look and a sigh. Even at age nine it was clear that she had the potential to do well in whatever she chose to do with her life. 

The five year old girl was like a miniature version of Robbie in every way, she looked even more like him than her brother (her sister is much more like her mum) and she had Robbie's ready smile and wicked sense of humour. There was a certain quirkiness about the little girl, she wasn't going to be like everyone else, even at five she had the confidence to be herself whether people liked it or not. I remember taking her to see my elderly aunt one day, my aunt had always enjoyed the company of children and it didn't surprise me that the two of them were soon engrossed in conversation. I popped into the kitchen to put the kettle on and I returned to hear the little girl ask my aunt why she used a walking stick. My aunt explained that she had a poorly hip and she needed the stick to keep her steady. The five year old gave her a thoughtful look and then she asked "couldn't you just try harder?". Clearly she had inherited Robbie's tendency to be a little too direct at times. She had also inherited his strong will and stubbornness, but I had a feeling that these would be a strength rather than a weakness. I already cared deeply about Robbie, and it didn't take long for me to become attached to these bright, lively children who were so like him in their different ways. The months that followed were exhausting and at times noisy and chaotic, but they were happy and all the children thrived. 

So by the following year when Robbie and I married we had already been through an eventful and at times challenging year. It was still a big decision to get married, but we knew that we were strong and that we could cope with the ups and downs of life. We were different in so many ways which made some people think that we were a very odd couple. Perhaps they were right, we’re unconventional certainly, but it works! It hasn't always been easy, we have encountered plenty of challenges over the years, but together we have coped and it has made us stronger. Our lives are still very busy, and Robbie often has to stay away from home on business, so we take time to have fun and to enjoy life whenever we can. We had a lovely trip to Exeter, we stayed in a very nice hotel just a stones throw from the station and it was mild enough for me to have the window open to listen to the sounds of the railway throughout our stay - perfect! 

It Wasn't Me!

Well this must be the longest gap in writing since I started writing the blog. Partly it is because I have been involved with an interesting little project which I should be able to write more about in a day or two. Mostly it is because I have been feeling absolutely dire for weeks. It sounds so pathetic to be moaning about having a cough, but this really is a hell of a cough. I have had it for at least four weeks this time and I only had a gap of about four weeks free of the previous cough which lasted for twelve weeks. The doctor says that my lungs are clear the problem seems to be higher up, but we are still investigating the exact cause. It always seems to happen when I get a cold and then I just can't get rid of it. Maybe I have to accept it as a very annoying symptom of my asthma, but to cough to the point of passing out or actually making yourself sick from coughing tends to limit your social life as well as scaring people who witness it. Anyway that is quite enough moaning for today, in fact I have probably used up a whole months ration of moans!

Robbie has been at home for three weeks or so and it has been frustrating that we haven't been able to enjoy doing more things together, but coping with the 'killer cough' and the fact that I still had to go to work got in the way of Robbie's plans. It is a bit of an exaggeration to say that he has been at home, Robbie gets withdrawal symptoms after one day without trains and I start to feel exhausted after a couple of days with Robbie, so when he asks for a lift to the station I am always ready to oblige! He has spent a lot of time on trains in the last few weeks and lots of numbers / routes have been ticked off in his little book!

This is his last week of freedom and he intends to make the most of it. On Sunday he had an HST day travelling to the South West and back. I love the sea wall, but I don't love HSTs so I decided that I would be happier at home. That turned out to be an inspired decision because when Robbie got on the train he discovered that one of the cats had vandalised his best Sennheiser headphones. When exasperated with the cats he always resorts to alliteration, when Oreo upsets him he is a 'furry, blank, fatherless, feline; but this time Bernard was under suspicion so we had a rant on the theme of 'B'.  

He managed a whole day without trains yesterday but he will be heading off on a train later today and he will probably fit several in several more trips during the week. On Friday we are going to York then at the weekend Robbie is off to a special event at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway. 

It's funny how fast you can wake up when you realise you've overslept.

I spent most of Friday getting ready to go out on a train on Saturday. So by Friday evening we had a massive picnic ready to take with us, my netbook was packed in my rucksack, my camera was charged and everything was ready for an early start. At least I thought everything was ready, but there was just one thing I had overlooked – Robbie! He was still awake when I went to bed but when the alarm clock went off at a stupidly early hour he was sound asleep next to me and he refused to wake up. I tried and tried but it was impossible, he didn’t wake up but when prodded he produced a selection of grunts and insults. In the end I gave up and let him sleep. When he woke up he was very cross with me. We were too late for the train we planned to catch but we made the best of the day and with a trip to Plymouth on an HST. I always enjoy the views as we pass the sea wall at Dawlish. It was a very exhausting day, we didn’t get home until almost 11pm and by then the roles were reversed, I was asleep on my feet but Robbie was wide awake!

Reverse Psychology

Photo by Hyperen

I think there has been a bit too much reverse  psychology going on recently and for once Robbie got the better of me! I suppose I have to let him win once in a while, but he needn't think he is going to make a habit of it.


A week or so ago Robbie announced that he wanted to go to a steam rally on Saturday, he was absolutely determined and he completely ignored my protests. I don't cope well with noise and my asthma has been dreadful recently (oil seed rape season always sets it off) so I really didn't fancy trailing around all day being expected to admire noisy, smelly engines so I came up with a cunning plan. I told him that I would really love to see the sea and I would like to travel along the sea wall at Dawlish again, we haven't done that for ages. Robbie jumped at the chance to play trains all day, so I thought it was a case of mission accomplished. Maybe I was distracted by the referendum and the local government elections, but I didn't spot that Baldrick Burgess was hatching his own cunning plan.


He was late home on Friday (due to computer problems at work) so by the time we talked in detail about our plans for Saturday it was very late and I was tired. I asked what time we needed to get up and he told me some crazy time even before the birds get up! I told him that there was no way that I was getting up at that time on a Saturday, I asked for a train at a more reasonable time but he said there wasn't one. I knew he was being evasive and he was not happy about being questioned because he had the look (you know the one with the lip and folded arms). Eventually I dragged the truth out of him, he wanted to go early because he wanted us to go to Plymouth on an HST rather than a Voyager, but he didn't want to tell me because I prefer Voyagers.


Saturday dawned and I was wide awake, but not too keen to leave my nice warm bed. Robbie was sound asleep and my feeble efforts to wake him failed miserably (as planned) and before long it was too late to get to Birmingham in time for the HST. We got up and got ready at a more leisurely pace, in fact Robbie seemed to be dawdling which seemed a bit odd to me. All went well, we caught the train at Northampton with enough time to buy a coffee and a bacon roll and we had a slow but adequate journey to Birmingham. Robbie raced off to buy some sandwiches and we caught the train without having to do the usual sprint between platforms. It was then that it became clear that I had been double crossed - it was an HST! I know some people like them but I find them uncomfortable, but at least it made Robbie happy. It was an OK journey but unusually for CrossCountry we had very poor service. No one checked our tickets for the whole journey and we had to go from Birmingham until way passed Bristol without a drink. When I finally got a cup of tea it was diabolical, I really don't know why CrossCountry can't make a decent cup of tea. The   RSM looked like a descendent of Fred Flintstone, he lacked any conversation skills, he had no belt, no tie, the wrong shirt and he was in dire need of a shave. However it wasn't a bad journey and the sea wall was as wonderful as ever.


Robbie was a cunning little devil because he had even worked out for us to come back by HST but after negotiations we got off at Totness and caught a Voyager back to Birmingham. It was a really good journey, the two RSMs (they changed during the journey) were fantastic, the tea on a Voyager is moderately better than on an HST (but it still tastes like pond water).  It was a lovely day out and even our journey back to Northampton on London Midland was good, the train manager was very friendly and he had a lovely accent. 

Trains and Tantrums

About a week ago I announced to Robbie that I was planning a trip on the train at the weekend, needless to say his eyes lit up and he announced his intention of coming too. By Saturday the destination had changed and being Robbie he made sure that we travelled on an HST (but we came back on a voyager because I like them better).

We decided to go to Newquay, it was a choice between Newquay and York, I was rather tempted by a day at the National Railway Museum, but Robbie's love affair with the HST won and we went to Paignton. Getting up on time proved a bit of a challenge, but we made it; I think the idea of breakfast in Birmingham spurred Robbie on! To be fair HST's aren't that bad but I don't like them because I can't sit comfortably in the seats. The base of the seat is too long so I have to sit forward to get my feet to touch the floor, I can't sit back because if I did I wouldn't be able to bend my knees and put my legs down. This predicament seems to cause Robbie a lot of amusement, but it really isn't funny on a long journey. Robbie was infuriated when I said that the seats on the local train from Paignton to Newton Abbott suited me better, but I am racing ahead, I haven't written about going to Paignton yet.

The journey wasn't too bad, I sat there reading my computer magazine and Robbie sat there with his Bakers Rail Atlas, his huge Bradshaws timetable book (or whatever they call it these days) and his quail maps. Just for good measure he had also printed out the timetable and he was monitoring his Blackberry to see how the railway world was coping on his day off. Any minor failure was met with groans and sighs and in the case of the dispatch at Weston super Mare a string of expletives too. Apparently they were very slow and showed no sense of urgency, causing a delay of several minutes. I was watching out of the window and it did seem rather like a Chuckle Brothers sketch and the train manager seemed equally frustrated with the platform staff.

Robbie had ants in his pants and couldn't resist several tours of the train. At one point early in the journey he returned to his seat and announced that there were about 133 empty seats (so there was no reason why the very loud moaning old man who parked himself in First Class couldn't have found a seat). Apart from the annoying man (who eventually upgraded and continued to annoy us all the way to Weston super Mare) the most significant problem was the toilet. The bin was full and overflowing when we boarded at Birmingham, the flush didn't work properly and the water in the hand basin was burning hot. The floor was very wet and this became worse during the journey to the point that I got my feet wet when I went in there. I can almost forgive CrossCountry for their dreadful tea, boring uniforms and uncomfortable seats, but a clean toilet is a fairly basic expectation and one that they keep getting wrong. On the plus side, most of the staff are very helpful and friendly and they do their best to make the journey pleasant.

On our outward journey the train announcements were hilarious, I didn't understand a single word, it was as if the person had been switched on to fast forward, I wonder if they get any training to help them speak clearly and and at an appropriate speed. It was almost as if he thought that by speaking so fast he would make up the time lost on dispatch at a couple of stations. It was a nice journey and as always the view from the window was wonderful around Dawlish.

Paighnton was a bit disappointing, very loud and brash, but we had a nice meal and a walk by the sea before heading back. The station was grim and everything was closed at 3pm when we were ready to head back. There were lots of people there needing tickets and advice so it seemed a bit short sighted to close the ticket office so early on a summer Saturday afternoon. Robbie hated the little local train, but I rather liked it, it was like a bus inside, but there was plenty of room and good provision for luggage.

The return journey by voyager was nice and the train crew were very nice, but guess what the toilet was dodgy. The flush wasn't working and the water at the sink was stone cold, surely it can't be that hard to have functional toilets on trains. New Street station was as grim and unfriendly as ever, they hadn't displayed the platform our train, Robbie had to phone so it was a last minute rush to get to the train, he was very uptight because when they finally listed it they had the wrong departure time. He gave me very detailed account of the sort of problems that such an error could cause - and for some reason or other I felt an over whelming urge to go to sleep!

Mr Impossible

During last week Robbie mentioned that he would like to travel on the last HST to Newquay on Saturday and he asked if Sam would like to go with him. Sam had a better offer for Saturday and he wasn't interested in going on a train, but I said that I would think about going with him. On Friday between all my other jobs I went out and bought soft drinks, bread rolls, sandwich fillings and various other packed lunch treats for the train. Oddly when Robbie got home he didn't seem to want me to go with him, he kept reminding me that I don't like HST's and that I would need to take a footstool. In the end I said that if he didn't want me to go I wouldn't go, he then said that he did want me to go, I was totally confused and said I didn't know.

I went to bed at half past midnight and as soon as I got into bed Robbie decided that he had to ransack the bedroom looking for his yellow T-shirt, because (allegedly) he always wears yellow when travelling on an HST – whatever! I got cross and told him to go away, he'd had all evening to sort out his clothes and I was not being unreasonable by wanting to sleep at well past midnight. I don't recall seeing him again, I must have fallen asleep. I went to the bathroom at about 5am and when I got back into bed I prodded him and said that he would soon need to get up. I went back to sleep and when I awoke it was nearly 7am and the room was deserted – he had gone without me!! I was furious, he could have at last woken me and asked if I wanted to go, I was really hurt. He always wakes me up even when he doesn't intend to, so he must have sneaked out really quietly to avoid taking me with him. He didn't wear a yellow top (he thinks I have stolen it), he wore black with luminous green writing instead!

I had plenty to keep me busy all day but I was so angry with Robbie. As always when he is in trouble he stopped answering his phone, so I didn't know what time to expect him back, it must have been after 11pm because I had already gone to bed. He did wake me up when he came to bed but that was much later, I think it was getting towards 4am!
He apologised this morning, but it didn't last long, he had a full scale tantrum because I bought three new knives (to replace some missing ones) without consulting him, and they do not quite match our set. He yelled at me all because of three knives that cost less than £1!

We also had a heated argument about London Midland and their problems. I can't imagine why anyone wants to travel on lurid green trains anyway, but I am fairly sure that the company could have resolved this months ago because the contracts need to be changed to accommodate the needs of the business. It really infuriates me that neither side in the dispute show any regard for the public. The union spokesman needs an urgent course in basic English (not to mention a Gok Wan style makeover!) and the spokesman for the company was totally unintelligible - I found myself wondering if he even knew what a train was! I can understand why they seem unable to negotiate about Sunday working, with both sides in the same room it must be like Bill and Ben meets the Clangers!

So having hardly seen Robbie all weekend he is sitting in the corner playing his music so loudly that I want to go and punch him on the nose. I will resist the temptation. I will go to bed to listen to my radio instead – at least I can get some sensible conversation from Radio 4!

To Go Or Not To Go.

When I was writing my list of annoying things that Robbie had done yesterday, I forgot to write about the most annoying thing of all. We were driving back from North Walsham along a narrow winding road and my attention was focussed on the road when suddenly Robbie exclaimed “Eh eh eeeehhhhhhhhhhhhh!” at the top of his voice (the noise made by Anne in Little Britain). I hate him making that noise and shouting out like that when I was driving made me call him some unfortunate names!

To continue the car theme, this morning we went to Wroxham and I asked Robbie to set the sat nav for me, he refused because he knew a better route!! I shouted at him so he grudgingly set the sat nav and it gave me instructions in a foreign language while Robbie whooped with laughter in the passenger seat. I told him off for resetting it to Polish and he insisted that he hadn't set it to speak Polish, then as an afterthought he said that it wasn't Polish it was Czech!

When we got to Wroxham I went to look at a big shop called Roys because I wanted to buy a new cd player because my old one is not working very well. I decided on the one I wanted, it was the kind that had a radio and could play tapes and cd's, but Robbie got really upset because he wanted me to have a different one, very similar in price, but not what I wanted. He just wouldn't give up on it, he kept going on and on about why I should like his choice better. I bought the one I liked, but he is still isn't happy!
Despite Robbie's peculiarities we had quite a nice day.

We had to take a walk to the shop this evening because the 'fridge police' had a tantrum in Tesco the other day when I wanted to buy more bacon and he wouldn't let me buy it, but as I predicted we had none left and Robbie wanted bacon. He doesn't like to be wrong, but he had more important things on his mind, he said that we should spend more time together. He then offered to take me to York first class, from Kings Cross on a Grand Central HST. I told him I wasn't fussed and I would rather have the money – he must think I am stupid, I know what is at York. He just wants an excuse to go to the NRM! He then gave me a long speech about us needing to do things together, I agreed but said that I would like to do non train type things and when he asked for an example I said brass rubbing (the first boring thing that came into my head). I have to give him credit for quick thinking because he said fine, he would look into it and find somewhere that we could travel to by train to to brass rubbing – no way! In the end I took pity on him and told him that I would quite like to have a day out on a train, but not on an HST, I want to go on a Virgin Train – he is not impressed.

Revenge of the Short People

My legs still haven't recovered from the journey on Saturday, it seems that these days we have laws to protect almost everyone from being discriminated about - except short people. I think I will have to start my own campaign against heightism. It is a shame because it spoilt a nice trip, obviously I will have to travel with a foot rest in future - until the short people take over the world! I wonder if they make inflatable foot rests, if not maybe I will have to invent one.

I reminded Robbie that he had promised to take me on a Pendolino and I wanted to plan where we would go, but he seemed quite determined to take me on another HST, I don't think he will give up until I learn to like it! It was nice to go out with him, and I would like to do it more often even if that means enduring an HST. I even said that I would quite like to go on one of his rail tours, but he was very quick to put me off. He explained the logistics and made sure I understood that it just wasn't possible, that's OK, I wouldn't want to come between him and the love of his life - trains!

Dangling Legs and Other Problems

Saturday dawned far too early for my liking, but after a lot of moaning and groaning on my part we were on the road and heading for the station. We travelled First Class to Birmingham on a 350; I wasn't impressed because it felt cramped and it looked shabby, but at least it was quiet and we had an uneventful journey arriving in Birmingham slightly late.

I hadn't travelled on a refurbished HST before so I was looking forward to it. I'd been underwhelmed by the livery but I'd heard good things about the refurbishment and was keen to see it for myself. The first problem we encountered was the platforming, it was rubbish, the signage was wrong, leaving us sprinting down the platform to find first class. The platform staff were neither use than ornament - certainly not ornament!

The train looked OK except for the horrible colour of the upholstery and the hideous curtains that looked as if they had been cut down from an old woman's crimpelene dress. The antimacassars looked good, very simple and tasteful, which is more than I can say for the carpet which was too 'busy' and not dark enough, it already looked dirty and shabby. The seats are fairly comfortable if you happen to be a giant, but it is impossible to use the table comfortably because the distance between the seat and the table is to great. I am a bit on the short side but not abnormally short for an adult, so I was annoyed to find that my feet didn't reach the floor when I sat down. The seats were adjustable but unfortunately it required more height than I possessed as your rear end had to be in the seat and your feet in contact with the floor to achieve the required thrusting motion. This was the first of many clues that it had been designed by a man!

Clue number two came when I visited the toilets. They are 'cosy' but I guess there is adequate space for the average contortionist to cope with the 'essentials'. It wasn't the space that bothered me as much as the poor design, the unpleasant smell and the dirty state of the facilities. The toilet tissue does not dispense correctly, it comes out in handfuls, but then it will not flush away. The sink is too low even for someone as short as me! It is not possible to see how the soap dispenser works, so you have to put your hand into the gap and feel around for the soap. This triggers the automatic tap and rewards you with wet cuffs. Then when you have wet hands you have to battle with a towel dispenser that dispenses small soggy strips of tissue, so you have to reach in and grab a few towels. For some reason the towel dispenser is above the sink so while you are doing battle with it the water from your wet hands runs down your arms and drips off your elbows! The final insult was the bin, the gap is too small to put the used paper towels in without pushing your clean fingers into the bin. I returned to my seat with wet cuffs, damp sleeves and soggy elbows, thankful that I had hand sanitizer in my handbag because I had no intention of using that sink again.

It was the bumpiest journey I have ever experienced and I didn't feel safe, even Robbie said it was a bad journey. I wanted to get off but Robbie reassured me that it would be OK.

We lost time at Cheltenham. I thought we had slipped into a parallel universe. The train stopped and the dispatcher came wandering down the stairs looking as if he had escaped from a home for the bewildered and was about ready to be dispatched himself. When he had plodded down the platform and remembered what he was there for we departed several minutes late. There was a really cute dispatcher at Bristol so that was some compensation.

Robbie had to sprint off the train at Bristol because nobody delivered the urns to the train so there had been no hot drinks available between Manchester and Bristol. Apparently the previous week there were no hot drinks available all the way from Manchester to Newquay! There had been a mix up with the reservations too, they had labelled up for the wrong train meaning that a whole first carriage was rendered unusable as the seats were labelled up for people on a different route!

As I was gazing out of the train window my eye fell on the paper notice Headed Manchester Picadilly - Newquay, I wondered why it was necessary to list the starting point, after all even the most 'challenged' traveller knows where they are when they start their journey!

We were delayed from Dawlish onward by an HST in front that was busy going nowhere. Robbie was getting seriously irritated about his timing being messed up, but it was nice to crawl along and enjoy the wonderful views. I couldn't believe that there were so many cranks scattered along the line just to take photos of an HST - what a waste of a Saturday!

We arrived at Plymouth a few minutes late and I begged Robbie to let us travel home on a Voyager, but he wouldn't hear of it. My verdict on the journey, a thumbs down to the refurbished HST and a huge thumbs down to the catering trolley. However there were highlights, the staff were all friendly and helpful and the views from the sea wall at Dawlish were as wonderful as ever.

We spent the day in Plymouth, then we set out on our return journey to Birmingham. My legs were OK just dangling for a while, but then they began to ache and by Taunton they were swollen and painful, so I had to rest them on a rucksack. We saw a kettle at Taunton, Oliver Cromwell, it looked amazing

The ride back was every bit as bumpy, I would much rather travel on a Voyager or a Pendolino, but it was a nice day out. Robbie says I am mad, apparently I don't know a good thing when I see it, he still thinks HST's are wonderful. He says we have to do the journey again soon to check that some of the problems have been put right (he is determined to make me like HST's), but he has promised to take me on a Pendolino next, so I am looking forward to that.

Us Time?

Robbie wants us to go out and do something special on Saturday, to make up for the weekends when he abandons me and goes off to play trains. I liked the sound of that, but guess what he wants to do – go on a train! He really does have a one track mind. I suggested a couple of other things that we could do, but he said he couldn't possibly miss out on the HST's this summer, so the message is that he wants to spend time with me as long as it doesn't get between him and his trains! Travelling with Robbie is not always a pleasure, in fact it is very similar to travelling alone. I always make sure I have my own tickets and passes because he finds all sorts of reasons to dart off the train when it stops at a station leaving me convinced that he will get left behind, then at the last second he appears. He always meets people he knows and he wanders off to talk to them or to talk to the train staff and he doesn't come back for ages. In the rare moments that he is actually with me, he reads me 'exciting' snippets from his railway magazines, or he gets his quail map out and mutters incoherently to himself. Worse still he gets his notebook out and starts noting down train numbers, and then he tells me in great detail about the last time he saw this or that train. The only good point about Robbie's behaviour is that people don't seem very keen to sit next to us and I like it that way. I will probably go out with him on Saturday as long as he promises to be on his best behaviour!

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.

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!

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.

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!

Making Lists

This has been a week of frantic list making. We are going on holiday on Saturday and it feels as if there is absolutely no chance of getting everything done on time. The cats and the guinea pig will be looked after by grandma but Meg is going to the kennels. I need to make sure all your food and equipment is sorted out as well as getting everything washed ironed and packed ready to go. I keep remembering extra things that I need to do and my list now runs into several pages! Robbie hasn't switched into holiday planning mode yet, he woke me up before 6am to tell me about some problem or other with his HST's, I can't remember my exact response but I think it adequately conveyed my absolute refusal to discuss trains of any kind at that time of the morning!

Fame At Last!

Robbie is famous! He found that someone had posted a clip of the CrossCountry HST on Youtube. Robbie is the man in a bright yellow T Shirt hanging out of the window towards the end of the clip - don't blink or you will miss him!

If you share Robbie's passion for trains I am sure you will find lots of other interesting clips on Youtube, here are some by the same photographer. http://uk.youtube.com/user/37670productions

HST - Why All the Fuss?

Robbie decided that he absolutely had to work late on Thursday evening, I wasn't impressed because we have had so many disrupted meal times recently and the short notice meant I had to scrap my plans for an evening meal and start again. He promised that he would stay at home with me on Saturday to make up for his lateness and get some long overdue jobs done in the garden. When he got finally got home he was in a dreadful mood because I was forcing him to miss a momentous event – on Saturday the first properly owned CrossCountry HST would be in service. I wasn't impressed by this, after all it was only last Wednesday that Laura could have caught an HST from Leicester to Kettering, she chose to wait for the next train instead, she preferred the more modern Meridian to the old HST. I felt the need to tame the back garden was more pressing than the 'need' to travel there (wherever there may be) and back again on an HST.

Friday was equally disastrous Robbie was late home again and in a foul mood. He claimed he would be the laughingstock of the railway world if he didn't go on the HST the following day. Personally I didn't thing that would make much difference, but I had no intention of spending a wet Saturday with Robbie doing his Rumpelstilksin impression. I told him that I wasn't stopping him, but he needn't think I was going to get up in the middle of the night to drive him to the station. He stomped around the lounge claiming he couldn't go because he hadn't got any rolls or any meat for sandwiches. It was so ridiculous that Laura and Sam have been doing Robbie impressions all weekend! I had already been to Tesco's and Morrisons that day, but I had to go out again, to the small local Tesco's buy supplies for Robbie's day out! He spent the rest of the evening planning his route, believe it or not he was going all the way to York just to travel all the way from York to Plymouth on the HST. He was planning to leave at 4am to get to the town centre to catch a bus to Kettering station.

Saturday morning dawned and Robbie overslept, so once again I found myself driving to Kettering at the crack of dawn! I came home and went back to bed again, after all he wouldn't be home again until almost midnight so I would have a late night as well as an early morning! It was a lovely peaceful day and I got loads done, we are going on holiday next weekend so I have a lot of planning and packing to do.

Dave the cat has an infected eye so I have to take him back to the vet on Monday, he swore at me when I bathed it for him and when I put him down again he gave Oreo a clip around the ear on his way past him. I expect he will teach the vet a few new words too!

He is so Annoying!!!

Do you know what annoys me more than anything else about Robbie? Don't worry this is not going to be a long post, I'm sure I could write a book about the many things that annoy me, but today I will restrict myself to the highlights! The thing that annoys me more than anything else is that he is a control freak, not in a loud bombastic way, but in a quietly determined, critical sort of way. If I change any minor thing we have to have an inquest about it and it drives me mad. By the time we had our evening meal yesterday I was exasperated, he had already told me that I was storing the washing liquid in the wrong place, I had placed a bag in the wrong place in the hall, 'someone' (meaning me) had messed up the knife drawer, 'someone' (me again) hadn't done the washing up and I had even left a pile of ironed and folded clothes in the wrong place. He is either brave or stupid because this causes friction so often that even the slowest learner should have got the message by now!

I was so cross that I couldn't talk to Robbie so I took myself outside to sort out the Micra ready for its MOT today. It gave me a few minutes peace to get over my murderous thoughts, and I thought perhaps Robbie had got the message when he followed me out with a cup of tea, but no such luck. When I came back in for my meal, I got the mayonnaise out to use, Robbie noticed that I had bought a different brand and I had to endure twenty questions about why I bought that make, that bottle design, etc. He wasn't even eating the mayonnaise! It really drives me mad. Why does he have to go on and on about such trivial things? Oh well, I have a day off to look forward to on Saturday, Robbie is going out to play on an HST.

Back to 'Normal'

The trains from Northampton were back to what passes for normal on Tuesday so I didn't have another trek to Kettering. I'd already seen rather more of Kettering station than I wanted in the last few days. The previous evening I had taken Emily to Kettering to catch the East Midlands Trains service back to Leicester, it is quite a good service - as long as you don't expect a seat! Usually it is a Meridian, but on this occasion it wasn't hr usual train. Emily sent Robbie a text to say that it was a very old train and she found his reply so funny that she forwarded it to me.

"Hellfire! You've got an HST then. 27 years old this year and still OUTSTANDING! You lucky girl!"

That man is so sad!