In Trouble Again

Robbie is in the dog house yet again. He has been forgetting to phone me because he is too busy, then when he did mange to remember to pick up the phone he managed to annoy me even more - he has been mixing with the wrong kind of people! I may not be there to keep an eye on him but he needs to remember that he has left me to do his packing for our holiday next week!!

Absolute Trust?

Robbie has gone to Ireland for a week and I am enjoying the peace and quiet. We are going on holiday at the weekend, we leave in the early hours of Saturday morning and if all goes to plan he will be home on Friday evening so he has left me to do his packing. That is either very brave or totally stupid - for the first time ever he will find himself wearing the things I want him to wear! Of course there is some doubt about him making it home on time to go on holiday, if he gets delayed I will go without him!

How will Ireland Cope with Robbie?

Robbie got to Ireland safely and when I spoke to him last night he chatted excitedly about the meeting he'd attended. Apparently they were given a cardboard cut out train, if only I had known that a cardboard cut out and a couple of pens would cause such excitement I could have saved a fortune on his birthday! He will be home this evening, and no doubt he will talk incessantly about trains for the next couple of days. Never mind, I will be glad to have him home despite the ear ache.

Robbie chose the right time to be away. I was woken last night at about 1.30am by a car alarm going off, it continued until well after 2am by which time Meg the dog had started to whine and make a fuss. Shortly after 2am I was out in the garden with Meg who proved very reluctant to return to the house. For the rest of the night she moaned and whined and scratched at the bedroom door asking to go out. I spent more time in the garden than in bed and it became obvious that she had a tummy upset. I wished Robbie was here, because at the very least he would have kept the bed warm! Meg seems a bit better this morning, but I am feeling rather tired.

Robbie phoned again told me about his breakfast in much greater detail than was necessary, he then provided a detailed account of the room layout and the performance of the shower, then just in case I was not already bored rigid he launched into a detailed synopsis of this weeks Archers storylines. It left me wondering how Ireland will cope with Robbie - they probably can't understand a word he says!

Robbie went to see the children in Walsall yesterday, just a brief visit to deliver their Easter gifts, then back to work to finish a few things off because he is off to Ireland this morning. He was quite late home so by the time we had eaten I was quite tired and he made it worse by reciting packing lists over and over again. He will be back on Thursday evening so I don't think packing would have proved too taxing, it is just Robbie's way to speak his thoughts and he drives me mad, I had to beg him to shut up.

I correctly predicted that Robbie would want the white shirt that he wore yesterday to take to Ireland, so as soon as he got home I put a load of white washing on. I was too tired to stay up and wait to put it in the dryer so I left Robbie with clear instructions. I often go to bed before Robbie and I am usually asleep within a few minutes, but there is no guarantee of staying asleep. Robbie tends to appear like an apparition at the end of the bed, flapping his arms and sighing a lot - like Marley's ghost without the chains. He launches into conversation regardless of whether I am asleep or awake. Last night I became aware of Robbie's voice saying something about his balls not working anymore, I struggled towards consciousness wondering whatever could be wrong. Further conversation revealed that his shirts had come out of the dryer badly creased and Robbie was blaming the dryer balls (they work brilliantly by the way). I told him to put the shirts on a quick wash and then hang them on coat hangers to dry them over night. The apparition vanished or to be more accurate it stomped off and it was heard rampaging around the house for the next hour or so.

Robbie got to the airport safely this morning and the mystery of the balls was solved - they didn't work because he had stuffed the dryer so that the air could not circulate properly. When Robbie phoned from the airport I told him to take care and stay safe, he replied that he would be fine because he'd had three weetabix this morning - I don't think I will ever understand how that man's mind works!

The Wanderer Returns 24.03.07

The wanderer finally returned late on Thursday evening, still clinging to his story that phones don't work in Ireland. At first he alleged he was busy with exhausting but productive meetings, maybe but it wasn't the full story! Mr talkative soon fell into a heffalump trap. He had indeed sampled the local brew and enjoyed 'networking' with colleagues from other areas. Judging by the number of photos and he found ample time for cranking too, it was just phoning home that proved too taxing for him!

He was late home last night too, apparently he went to a leaving 'do' at Crewe, he seems to be catching up on his sleep today, so he has not had much to say about Crewe yet

The 'Dying Fly' 22.03.07

I can't tell you how Robbie is getting on in Ireland as apparently they don't have telephones! Sam has been unwell all week with a very sore throat and a constant headache, he had a day off school on Tuesday and he was very reluctant to go back yesterday, even the snow this morning hasn't provoked any enthusiasm from him. I am sure he is ill, but the problem is that it is impossible to tell how ill. He is an expert at the 'dying fly' routine and we are treated to the same academy award winning performance for 'finger ache' as for something serious. So I have spent this week worried about making the wrong decision and being told that I am a terrible uncaring mum. Why is life never simple?

Heading for Ireland 21.03.07

Robbie has gone to Ireland and he has managed to leave me absolutely furious with him. Last night I went to bed shortly before midnight, it was cold an it took me a while to get to sleep. When I finally did fall asleep he woke me up twice, first to tell me he couldn't find his passport and then when he got into bed he kept flapping the covers around and I was freezing again! This morning he had to leave before 5am but believe it or not he woke me twice. Once when he sat so heavily on the bed to put his socks on that I was practically bounced out of the bed. Then just as I had drifted back to sleep, he woke me again because he had lost his memory stick! Amazingly he left the house unharmed - but a little wiser!!