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!

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant - Robert Louis Stevenson

I love Saturdays, there is nothing better than the luxury of time. Going to bed on a Friday evening knowing that you don't have to set the alarm clock. Then waking up on a Saturday morning knowing that you can lay there and listen to the radio if you want to, or you can take a long lazy bath without anyone telling you to hurry up. Perhaps most important of all from my point of view is having time to enjoy a cup of tea without the need to rush, in fact I can enjoy two cups of tea if the mood takes me!


It was such a relief to have a more or less dry day on Saturday, it gave us a chance to consider the garden. I use the word consider rather than a more active word because I rendered myself incapable of anything more active. Robbie whispered the magic words into my ear and I gave in to temptation. The words in question were 'full English' - Robbie's speciality. I couldn't resist, it was more brunch than breakfast by the time we got around to eating and by then I was hungry. I ate too much because it was too nice to leave and after that I felt so full that I thought I would never be able to move again. So we spent time planning our next moves in the rather than actually doing the deed.  

We decided that the back fence needed urgent attention. I wanted something to grow up the fence that would look more attractive than the fence and would deter anyone who may be tempted to climb the fence. So we went out to choose some plants to grow along the fence. Robbie spotted a very pretty fuchsia, which while beautiful was not what I had in mind at all. We settled on Pyracantha it has several things to recommend it, it will add some colour to the garden in winter and if anyone tries to climb over that they will probably end up on hospital, it has thorns as long as spears! We bought some more potting compost too. We need to replace the soil in the tubs in the front garden, they have been washed out and waterlogged for so long that we need a fresh start. I think I will leave that job for a little while until I am certain that it has stopped raining.

Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors - Alice Walker

Today didn't start quite as well it should have. The alarm went off at 5am and I jumped into action, I shook Robbie awake and told him that it was already 5am and if he didn't hurry he would be late for his train. He turned over and said that he was getting up, there was no further action for a few moments, then he sat up 'zombie style' but he seemed to be still asleep. In those few moments my brain managed to catch up with the situation and I realised that it was Saturday! I told him that it was Saturday and I was very sorry for waking him up, he said "yes dear" and still in zombie mode he settled back into bed; he was instantly asleep. When we woke up at a more realistic hour for a Saturday Robbie had no recollection of the 5am episode.

A favourite pair of Robbie's Shoes

He came back to bed with a cup of tea for me (and a coffee for him) and announced that he wanted to show me some Dickies. I wasn't entirely sure what he was suggesting until he picked up my laptop and logged on to his favourite shoe website. Apparently the 'Dickies' in question were a particular type of canvas boots. Being Robbie he couldn't just look at one pair of shoes he showed me a whole selection of footwear that he would love to own. I guess he could be doing worse things than lusting after shoes, but our house isn't big enough to accommodate all his footwear.


Looking at the website led to a (very long) conversation about shoes he has known and loved. To be honest it was more of a monologue than a conversation. We had worked our way back to 1980s but I was spared further 'time travel' to his earlies footwear memories because he sent himself to sleep! I can't say it was the most exciting start to a Saturday morning, but seeing Robbie happy and relaxed makes me happy.  I was left feeling that some things are just meant to be. Robbie came to Northampton because of me, but what better place for someone with a passion for shoes, a bus ride away from the shoe museum and a stone's throw from the Doc Shop! 

Do As You Are Told!

Last weekend Dave (the cat) and I had a nice quiet Saturday while Robbie had a fantastic time on a rail tour to Penzance. By the time Robbie got home I had gone to bed so I didn't have a good look at him until the Sunday morning. Most blog readers will know that he likes nothing better than trotting around in his pants - only in the house, it scares the neighbours if he goes out like that! Anyway I noticed that he had cuts and grazes on his legs and when I questioned him he didn't have a clue how they had happened. Robbie's legs are a bit challenging (rather like their owner!) and what would be a fairly trivial cut for most people can be a real problem for him because things take so long to heal, in fact they often get worse rather than better. So it is hardly surprising that I was determined to bathe the cuts and put some antiseptic on them before they had a chance to go bad. Robbie, who still deludes himself that he is Superman, had other ideas and he was equally determined that his legs would be fine without any attention. I gave up on him because I knew that he would meet his match later in the day, and sure enough he had only been at my mums house for ten minutes before a large tube of Germolene was produced and his legs were duly anointed. The tube of Germolene was sent home with us and Robbie promised to take care of his cuts and grazes. Taking care of his legs has involved me chasing around the lounge armed with antiseptic several times this week and until yesterday he was adamant that he would be fine. Yesterday morning he was forced to admit that one of the cuts was now green and nasty and looking very angry and will need to be dressed to prevent it getting even worse. The problem is that he is going on another rail tour in a week or so and I am wondering how to protect his legs from whatever he managed to scrape them on last time - shin pads seem a bit extreme for a rail tour!

Secret Vices

Robbie managed to convince me that he is sorry, so despite my suspicion that he is more sorry about being found out than about what he did wrong in the first place, he is forgiven. It was a strange Saturday morning because Robbie was actually here for a change! Well to be more accurate he was mostly here. We didn't plan on getting up too early, but each time Robbie went downstairs there was a long delay before he returned. When he went down to make a cup of tea he was gone so long that I thought he'd gone to milk the cow! He found a couple more reasons to go downstairs and I was becoming suspicious, something or someone was monopolising his attention. I listened carefully and I could tell he was in the lounge, but I had no idea what he was up to. There was very little movement and I couldn't hear him talking, so I was suspicious, you never know what he will get up to if you don't keep an eye on him. He did his best to distract me, in fact he did a fairly good job of distracting me for a while. He even made me that bacon sandwich he owed me, but then he vanished and he didn't return. I left him to it, to lull him into a false sense of security, I was determined to find out. When he popped up to offer me more tea I asked casually what he was doing and he mentioned 'MTV and Stuff'. Later on I casually wandered into the lounge and there was the evidence - he has a new book and he can't put it down! I can't quite see the attraction, it is called On Track Plant . When I commented on it he got so excited that I thought he would burst. Oh well, I suppose it keeps him out of trouble!

Disappointment

I had more difficulty than usual trying to get Robbie to wake up this morning. My alarm went off at just before 5am as usual and as usual I woke Robbie and told him to get up. On my first attempt he told me to go away, I tried again to ask him to get up and this time I got a resounding No! I gave him a minute or two to wake up and then I tried again, this time my words were accompanied by a well aimed prod. His response to being asked to get up was to ask why should he? I informed him that he would be late for work if he didn't! With the superior tones of someone talking to an especially stupid child he announced that it was Saturday and he wasn't going anywhere! Poor deluded man! When I told him it was only Tuesday he leaped into action but there was such a disappointed look on his face, like a child who had been told that Christmas cancelled!

A New House Rule.

Robbie never learns! After a less than perfect Friday evening we had a lovely start to Saturday morning. It is so nice not to get up in a hurry, to have time to relax and listen to the radio or just talk. That's the bit that Robbie has problems with - the just talking bit. He can talk faster and for longer than anyone else I know. If talking was an Olympic sport he would be a gold medalist. His problem is what he talks about and when he talks about it! We were cuddled up, just enjoying the moment, one of those times when words are not really necessary - and then he spoiled it. He looked into my eyes and told me that he'd had an email the evening before. I thought it must be something serious, but I was wrong. He went on to tell me that the email contained details of the next three rail tours. He embarked on a detailed account of the proposed route of one of the trips. He was very excited about it because he had not traveled that route before. I was far from excited! I made a mental note negotiate a new house rule - no trains in the bedroom!!