We had a beach day today, it was lovely. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze and the only cloud on the horizon was the man next door. The sight of him in Speedos (again!) was more like a total eclipse than a cloud but we did our very best to ignore him. The beach stretches on as far as the eye can see, so when we went down to the beach and spotted him in the sea we took a brisk walk in the opposite direction and we found a nice section of beach all to ourselves.
Robbie sat and watched while I wandered around taking photographs. He was enjoying the sun and for the very first time this holiday he allowed me to take a photo of him. He is very unhappy with his hair at the moment because he was so busy before we came away that he didn’t have time to have his hair cut. Hopefully we will put that right in the next few days .
This evening we popped into Tesco for some milk, but Robbie really struggled to walk around the shop, the pain was almost beyond endurance and it has continued to be really bad all evening. He tries so hard not to make a fuss, but you can see that he hardly knows how to move. I wish I could do or say something to make him feel better, but it is usually better to say very little and not to make a fuss, the last thing he wants is sympathy. He will have to go back to the doctor when he gets home, he can’t go on like this.
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.
Robbie had a very bad day on Sunday. We had to get up early to go and get the dog from the kennels and I decided to take the other car, but I asked Robbie to bring both car keys with us. It was a reasonably long drive because the kennels is near Milton Keynes and Robbie talked non stop about trains, including a very odd statement about a Pendolino 'sitting down'. It was lovely to get Meg back, but the journey home was hot and uncomfortable. We arrived home to find ourselves locked out because Laura was out and the other key that I had asked Robbie to bring was locked inside the house! I had to drive all the way to my mum's to get the spare key. In the afternoon he kept me waiting outside Tesco for an hour and a half, he should have only bought a few essential food items, but he 'accidentaly' went shopping for clothes! I was not amused, in fact I was furious. He did say he was sorry, but he didn't seem very sorry and when he moved my cleaning stuff that evening and then mocked me for getting cross, he ended up wearing a cup of tea! I did regret it, it was a waste of good tea, but everyone has limits – even me!
The shirt hasn't gone back to Marks and Spencer - yet! However Robbie has agreed that he will buy some long shorts instead, so I will be keeping alert until the shirt is safely returned. He got me to take him late night shopping at Tesco last night and he fell in love with some very loud and scary shirts there too, but I managed to steer him away without incident. There were some very nice but loud shorts, just Robbie's sort of thing, bright pink and brown with a huge pattern on, I could have coped with those but they didn't have his size so maybe the world is not quite ready for that vision yet! Robbie is feeling very hard done by, he claims he has even had women offering to take him shopping to help him choose more suitable shirts. They would soon learn, taking Robbie to Marks and Spencer is like taking a child to Toys R Us, you lose all hope of seeing daylight ever again!
I think someone must have kidnapped the real Robbie and left me with an overgrown toddler. He was in a strop when I got home and in the process of telling him to grow up I mentioned that I had bought something that he would like and that really set him off. He found my Tesco receipt and checked through every item until he spotted Polish jaffa cakes on the list. He rampaged around the house looking for them and demanding to be told where they were. That sort of behaviour made me more determined to not to tell him, he even searched the car but in the end he had to give up. I left him to calm down for a few minutes, then I got the jaffa cakes for him, but he told me I could keep them, he didn't want them any more. I knew Robbie well enough to know that if I opened the packet and put them near Robbie he would not be able to resist, his willpower lasted for about a minute and a half!! If you like Jaffa cakes you would love the Polish version, they are called Delicje.
We certainly have an exciting life! This evening was a little more tranquil than yesterday and Robbie had time to show me the full glory of his new bag. He brought it into the lounge to show me the concealed handle and the various height positions, he then demonstrated how easily it can be carried with the shoulder strap, but the best was yet to come. He plunged the room into darkness to demonstrate the light that is clipped to the inside of the bag, and thanks to a retractable lead the light can be directed into any of the many pockets. Finally he showed me the drink holder and as always he provided intricate details. I was starting to think that there is only so much enthusiasm that one person (even Robbie) can express about a briefcase without attracting unwanted attention from men in white coats! I was wrong, when he suddenly discovered a concealed pencil case in the bag, I thought he was going to burst with excitement. I shouldn't moan, at least he seems to have accepted the need for a briefcase on wheels.
I hardly had time to recover from all that excitement before the main entertainment of the evening began. I told Robbie about a BOGOF offer on cat food at Tesco and I had also found a code to get £10 off the order for home delivery. Robbie loves to shop, even for cat food and we are now expecting a delivery of 20 boxes of Oreo's favourite food between 9pm and 11pm tomorrow night! I was coping well up to that point, and even joked about him needing to build an extension, but when he announced that he intended to order another 20 boxes tomorrow I started to panic. After the first order Oreo will have 160 pouches of food, we couldn't possibly store any more! I don't think there can possibly be anyone else quite like Robbie
Sometimes I am amazed that Robbie has managed to survive for so long! Yesterday we had to go to the dreaded Tesco's, we hadn't shopped together for a while and I soon remembered why. We were in the milk section when the first problem occurred, having stopped to collect the milk I turned the trolley and headed back the way we came. I became aware that I had 'mislaid' Robbie and I looked back to see him standing there like a 'terrible two' with his arms folded and a defiant look on his face, I remember Laura doing exactly the same thing when she was tiny. The reason for his strop was that I was pushing the trolley and it is 'his job'. I decided that now was not the ideal moment to address the issue and I left him in charge of the trolley once more. We continued shopping, but my tolerance decreased each time he challenged my choice of purchase. Apparently his choice of bread was better because he preferred the feel of the wrapper, my pack of fish fingers cost fractionally more per 100g than his choice. Similar objections were raised as each item went into the trolley until the temptation to park that trolley was hard to resist. At the checkout the tension prickles in the air like electricity, he has to be the bag monitor, he has to pack the trolley his way and if I deviate from his plan he even repacks the bags! He has to push the trolley, he has to pack the car and when we get home he has to pack the fridge to his exact blueprint and if anyone changes it he declares war! Control freak in the making!!
After our evening meal I was exhausted and I decided to go to bed. I was soon snuggled up in bed and I must have drifted off to sleep fairly quickly. My sleep was disturbed by a thunderous noise that could have been mistaken a police raid, it was actually Robbie galloping up the stairs and talking to himself. He burst into the bedroom, asking very loudly if I was awake, he leaned over me still talking loudly and when he got no response he pulled my covers off to see if I was still asleep. Undaunted by the adverse reaction he jumped on the bed (yes literally!) and then settled himself at the side of me and made a determined attempt to engage me in conversation. I begged him to go away, I begged for peace, I even begged for a cup of tea, but he said I was 'confused' and he carried on talking to me. In the end sleep was my only escape. I don't recall dreaming but if I did I wouldn't be surprised if it was about cruel and unusual revenge!
Not a very good start to the week, we overslept! I woke up half an hour after Robbie should have left for the station. For the next 15 minutes we were on fast forward, Robbie had the world's fastest shower and shave and made a frantic dash for the station. I hate rushing like that, and Sam was furious about having his morning routine messed up. But by the time Sam and I left for school and work we were only running about five minutes late.
I think it was a busy and frustrating day for both of us, but as soon as Robbie got home I was treated to all the intricate details of his journey to work. We had a lovely meal and I was just looking forward to sitting down with a cup of tea when 'Sparky' Burgess emerged from the kitchen clutching his finger and writhing in pain, he had apparently got an electric shock from the kettle which had then spluttered and died (the kettle, not Robbie). I was happy to cope until tomorrow, but he wasn't taking no for an answer and he dragged me off to Tesco's for a new kettle. What is the attraction of Tesco's, he can't keep away. Oh well, at least I got a cup of tea in the end!
Robbie has been extremely irritating today. Before we got up this morning we got into a verbal dispute about the location of Northampton, he simply will not believe that we are in the East Midlands despite overwhelming evidence. In the end he reached over to his book case and I thought the dreaded Quail map was coming out again. I had intended to hide it after being treated to an incredibly detailed account of the route taken during his marathon journey from Leeds to Birmingham on Thursday. My efforts would have been pointless because he produced the Bakers Railway Atlas instead, and knowing that he had lost the argument, he attempted to bore me into submission!
I retreated to the bathroom for a relaxing bath, but Robbie was not far behind. By this point he was bleating about the exact location of Walsall (unless last weeks gales were more devastating than we have been led to believe, I suspect it is still in the same place!). I thought he needed something to distract him, so I asked him to go up to the loft to get some items that he had squirreled away before Christmas. I find it hard to get into the loft so I have to rely on Robbie, but as usual he got really possessive about it and seemed to require my request in triplicate giving detailed reasons for wanting my own stuff back. Somewhere hidden inside that train planner there is a bureaucrat fighting to get out! Sanity won, and with a bit of huffing and puffing he went up to the loft and reluctantly liberated most of the things I needed.
I shopped for food on Thursday and again on Saturday but once again Robbie asked to go to Tesco Express this evening. Every sunday evening he finds a compelling reason to drag me off to Tesco's, I am beginning to think he must have a woman hidden away there! He means well, but today was definitely one of his annoying days; never mind, I can send him to work tomorrow, I'm sure they must be used to him by now!
