Pushing the Boundaries of Time

Well, last week was quite a week! Robbie announced his new venture to the world and after spending a couple of days earlier in the week 'getting all his ducks in a row' concerning the admin side of his company he is now hard at work. It was nice having him at home for a week or two, but it is good to get back to something like a normal routine.

Unfortunately 'normal' involves some very early starts. Getting up at 4.30am on a dark and dismal October morning is a bit of an effort, but once I'm up I'm okay. Getting up is the easy bit, getting Robbie out and to the station on time is more of a challenge. He always plans well and has everything prepared the night before, but in the morning there is always a frantic few minutes with Robbie trotting around on 'fast forward' dressed only in socks in the style of Benny Hill. Then having tested my stress levels almost beyond endurance he is suited and booted and ready to go.
   
It is one of those unfathomable things about men is that they consistently over estimate length except when it comes to journey comes to journey times - then they think they can achieve the impossible! Robbie seems to forget that I drive a Ford Galaxy not a time machine. He is so precise when it comes to train planning, so why can't he cope with allowing enough time for a car journey. His habit of providing time checks during the journey does nothing to ease my stress levels, I don't know why he does it but it doesn't get him there any quicker!

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!

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! 

Stopping to Look Both Ways

We have had a lovely Christmas this year, nice food to eat, nice presents, but most important of all we were able to enjoy time with the people we love. We always have good intentions but life can be so busy that far too long can slip by without us spending quality time with family and friends. So the Christmas break has been especially important to us, we have enjoyed special moments with our wider family. It is rare that we are all together at the same time so that makes it extra special. After all the activity and chaos of Christmas, Robbie and I appreciated a few days of quiet with nothing much to do and all day to do it. Usually our days start very early, so not being ruled by the alarm clock has been fantastic and I think it has done us both good to have time to unwind. Despite all the pre Christmas stress, I have really enjoyed this Christmas break and I will be sorry to see Robbie return to work tomorrow.


I am not a fan of new year celebrations. It always seems rather sad to be closing the door on the old year and I look ahead to the new year with a certain amount of trepidation, wondering what new worries and challenges it has in store. It is odd really as I am not a pessimist and I tend to take most of the ups and downs of life in my stride, I think mostly it is just fear of the unknown. Every year the world changes a little bit, situations change, new people come into our lives and some become very important, and sadly other people are lost from our lives. As the year draws to a close we remember the familiar faces no longer with us who have brightened our lives in various ways. We may not know them personally but we are touched by their loss and we will miss them. Perhaps I am just getting old but it seems to me that we have said too many goodbyes in the last year. Among those that I will miss most are George Baker who brought Inspector Wexford to life, Jimmy Saville because there was no one quite like him, Peter Falk because I loved Colombo, David Croft who wrote Dads Army as well as other great comedy shows and brought so much pleasure, Billie Jo Spears because I loved her voice, and Edward Hardwicke who I will always think of as Dr Watson.

An Early Start.

The insistent bleeping of the alarm clock roused me from sleep, but 'Sleeping Beauty' slumbered on oblivious of the cacophony of sound that filled the room as all three alarm clocks demanded attention. I shook him and yelled at him to turn it off, he said "yes dear" and carried on snoring! Clearly it was going to be one of those days. Trying to get Robbie out of bed is like trying to raise the dead - even when (as today) it is something he wants to do.


It took a minor miracle but at 7.55am we pulled out of Northampton on the London Midland service to Birmingham. It was a double set 'blue' train so Robbie had nothing to moan about (for a while at least!). As soon as we arrived at Northampton it was clear that this was no ordinary Saturday morning. The 'socks and sandals brigade' had donned their winter uniform and turned out en masse for the annual gathering of the weird, the worrying and the downright certifiable - otherwise known as the Warley Model Railway Exhibition. 


We left the train at Birmingham International and when we entered the National Exhibition Centre we were herded towards the exhibition hall. We waited for the exhibition to open in a tightly packed and ever growing crowd. I felt very small and outnumbered lost in the crush of men with backpacks who all had the same thing on their minds - trains! The crowd surged forward and I was carried along with it, down the stairs round the corner and in to the exhibition. Robbie was like a kid in a toy shop, he didn't know what to do first, but in true Robbie style he insisted that we had to stick to the same route that we take every year! 

There was lots to look at and Robbie's wish list grew by the minute. I wanted to look at things too but there were some very rude and hostile men around. Several times I was deliberately shoved out of the way and on many occasions men pushed in front of me as I was looking at stalls. Even Robbie noticed the hostile looks I got, as if they thought I had no right to be there. I got sick of dodging rucksacks. Being short is always a bit of a hazard in a crowded situation, but today was worse than usual. They are not going to get rid of that easily, my money is just as good as theirs and when necessary I have sharp elbows (at just the right height) so watch out!


Before long Robbie was walking around with a 'Roy Cropper' shopping bag as well as his rucksack. We bought some lovely books, one for me and four for him, as well as a stash of magazines a couple of little shunt engines and two very nice Hornby circus trucks. As I looked around I noticed that most of the other men were now armed with shopping bags as well as their rucksacks. It was rather like a Roy Cropper convention, or perhaps Where's Wally in reverse - If you looked hard enough you might be able to spot someone 'normal'. People watching is always fun, but at Warley it takes on a whole new dimension!


I am not sure how long we stayed at the exhibition, probably not much more than an hour but we managed to see everything and by the time we left we were absolutely exhausted. I enjoyed it, but I don't think it was as big or quite as good as last year. My favourites were the book stalls and the Stall selling Ivor the Engine books and mugs - I love Ivor the Engine! There was one other highlight, the ladies toilets, they were clean, practical and there were no queues, in fact they were almost deserted. If only it was always like this! 


Robbie and I left the exhibition exhausted but content and keen to take a closer look at our purchases. It was still early so we caught a train to Birmingham with the intention of having a day on the railways - but that is a story for tomorrow, I'm tired now. 

Robbie On A Bad Day

Where do I start? Maybe I should just say that Robbie's mood yesterday evening was a little fragile, it was clear that he was tired - the sound of snoring was a bit of a hint! I went to bed at around 11pm and I thought he would follow shortly after - he didn't! I made sure that all my alarm clocks were set correctly because it always takes my body clock a few days to adjust to losing an hour. Then I settled down to sleep. The next thing I remember is being woken by someone treading on my ankle - Robbie had finally decided to come to bed. I probably told him to go away as I drifted back to sleep, but I was woken again shortly after by a loud bleep, then another, then a whole series of bleeps and a flashing blue light. In my confused and sleepy state I couldn't work out what was going on, was it morse code or some sort of secret message? I forced my eyes open to see Robbie kneeling naked on the bed attempting to change the time setting on his new Lego alarm clock. There was a brief but brutal exchange of insults and I advised Robbie to take clock to the bathroom to set it with the light on! It was just after 2am and I was determined to get some sleep so I turned my back on him and pulled the duvet over my head.


His Lego alarm clock announced  that it was 5am and time to get up - he slept on. After several further episodes of blue lights and bleeping and considerable input from me, Robbie plodded off to the bathroom. That dratted alarm clock continued to serenade me every 5 minutes until Robbie returned, I wanted to implant it in his head but I restrained myself and told him to take it away and drown it! His interest was then taken up with pants! Allegedly I had deliberately deprived him of his favourite underwear by failing to do a dark wash yesterday. I did a dark wash on Sunday evening, how many pairs of pants could he possibly have got through since then! I provided him with clean pants and socks but he wasn't keen to let go of the issue and he continued muttering about the underwear conspiracy until he found something else to moan about. Apparently I have deliberately failed to oil the hinges on our bedroom door just to annoy him! That man makes my hands itch sometimes!!


The thing is that none of those things were the real problem. The truth is that he is in so much pain from his back and his legs that he doesn't know how to put one foot in front of the other. He will not go to the doctor because he knows there is nothing they can do except give stronger pain killers. I feel so useless, I wish I could make the pain go away, I wish I could do something, anything to make it easier for him. There has to be some way to ease the pain and I am not going to give up until I find it!


Photo by Clix

The Big Freeze

Robbie often comes up with ideas and most of them are totally batty (I think he reserves his sensible thoughts for work) but his latest daft idea has really annoyed me. We have had a couple of occasions recently when he has struggled to get up on time. Any sensible person would tell him that if he stays up working on his timetables until 2am he will not be ready to wake up again at 5am! Robbie has given the matter a lot of thought and has come up with the idea that we are feeling tired because the bedroom is too hot, so without any discussion he turned the radiator off. We only have it on for a few hours morning and evening, but that is enough to take the chill off the room and make it comfortable. Without heat it is so cold that I can't get to sleep for ages and when I wake up in the morning it is so cold that I just want to turn over and go back to sleep. I have had a full and frank exchange of views with Robbie and until normal heating is resumed I am on strike!

Winter Woes

1st December dawned icy cold, one of those mornings when the prospect of getting out of bed seems unthinkable and the temptation to roll over and go back to sleep is hard to resist. I had the usual battle with the alarm clock and as usual it won, so by 5.40am I plodded downstairs ready to face the day. I'm not sure why I was surprised to find the car windows covered in a thick layer of ice, but I was; it was the first frosty morning this winter. My carefully timed morning routine had suffered a set back and the prospect of being late loomed large. The ice was soon cleared and I was on my way, but from now on I will need to allow time each morning to clear the windows. I hate winter!

How Did This Become My Job?

I have written before about Robbie's selection of alarm clocks, each one set for a slightly different time. The theory is that if one alarm doesn't wake him the next one will, the reality is that none of them wake him up. They wake me up, they probably wake my neighbours up but Robbie slumbers on! Each time I silence an alarm I wake him up, he responds, he even speaks to me, sometimes he tells me in no uncertain terms to go away, often he agrees that he needs to get up but before he has even finished his sentence he is snoring again! It isn't good for my blood pressure, I end up wanting to scream at him, in fact I think I will have to design an alarm clock that administers an electric shock, maybe that will get him out of bed without all this fuss!

Direct Action - By The Dog!

I need to buy an alarm clock with sharper edges because the only way an alarm clock will ever wake him up is if I beat him with it! Robbie was late home last night and he'd had a hard day so I understood that he needed to unwind for a while. I went off to bed shortly before midnight leaving him to follow soon after, but he did his usual trick of falling asleep on the sofa and he didn't get to bed until the dog decided to chuck him out of the lounge. Megan is a very placid dog, but she has her limits and when the snoring gets too bad she wakes him up and sends him off to bed. A couple of weeks ago he was asleep on the sofa and he woke with a start to find the dog standing on top of him licking his face. It frightened him half to death and he thundered up the stairs as if the devil was after him!

This morning was a rush because I couldn't wake Robbie up, I had to resort to threats of harm before he finally struggled out of bed. I will not see him again today because he is going off to a gig after work, a group called the Bombay Bicycle Club. I am not really interested in music so When he first mentioned The Bombay Bicycle Club I had visions of Robbie on a bike, what a scary thought! I will be asleep before he gets home tonight, so I expect I will have similar problems waking him up tomorrow morning.

Getting Him Up!

Robbie is impossible - but that may not come as a surprise to many blog readers! The cause of my annoyance this morning is his inability to wake up when the alarm clock goes off. Before we went on holiday a situation had evolved where Robbie has just one alarm clock on his side of the bed and I had three! The were all set by Robbie to the time that he wanted to get up, in fact he had it so that they went off at five minute intervals and he didn't need to get up until the last alarm sounded. It was a lot of nonsence, it woke me but (in fact it drove me mad!) but Sleeping Beauty slumbered on and when I tried to wake him he would call me unpleasnt names.

At the start of this week I insisted that Robbie should have the alarm clocks on his side and take responsibility for getting himself up. He was very reluctant but I insisted, after all he is the one that needs to be up at that time, not me. It is a disaster, on Monday I finally woke him up by throwing the alarm clock at him, on Tuesday he went bask to sleep and called me a 'stupid woman' for making him late and this morning I woke him up five times to ask hin to turn the alarm clock off. He found a number of different ways to tell me to go away and in the end he passed me his mobile phone and asked me to turn it off when the racket was being created by one of the alarm clocks not the phone.

We have a sofa bed in the lounge, it looks as if it will be getting a lot of use!

Sock Thieves

He did it again! What is wrong with that man? At about 1.45am I was sound asleep when Robbie came to bed. For some reason he found it essential to stand over me and prod me to ask if I was asleep. Then the light went on and he spent the next ten minutes looking for his socks, muttering darkly the whole time about sock thieves. He's deluded, who would want his socks! I got increasingly annoyed and he became increasingly irritating. Still proclaiming his conspiracy theory, he turned the main light off, climbed over the bed and switched on his side light in order to rummage in his sock drawer. His light was intolerable, it is like a searchlight and I was furious that yet again he thought it was OK to wake me up and subject me to this sort of torture. Finally he was reunited with his socks, but he refused to turn the light off, he made a big deal about setting the alarm on his phone before very grudgingly settling down and putting out the light. By this time I was furious and ready to harm him, yet again he managed to fall asleep within minutes, leaving me wide awake and unable to sleep. Please, for the sake of my sanity make him understand that waking me up in the middle of the night could be dangerous to his health!

Cornwall at Last

Friday passed in a blur of activity because we had so much to do to be ready to go on holiday in the morning. As well as washing, packing, getting the car ready and shopping for food, we also had to take Meg to the kennels. She wasn't too impressed when I took her out to the car, but when we got to the kennels she seemed happy to be there, she was very interested in the other dogs and she didn't give us a second glance. By 9pm the car was packed and most jobs on my list had been ticked, so I headed off to bed leaving Robbie to finish the last few jobs. We were planning to get up at 2am so I needed some sleep. I was woken at 1 am by Robbie coming to bed and when the alarm clock went off at 2am there was no way, that Robbie was going to get up. I had to get very cross with him and even then it took half an hour to get him out of bed. Once I got downstairs I found that he hadn't done anything after I went to bed, he had fallen asleep on the sofa. I was busy chasing everyone around to be ready to leave and Robbie was busy - cooking sausages! Totally normal, everyone cooks sausages at 2.30am! In the end I had to give him a deadline and threaten to leave without him.

It wasn't the best journey, everyone was asleep except me of course, I had my talking books to keep me company. Most of the journey along the M5 was through thick fog, there were lots of speed restrictions and it slowed us down considerably, but at last we arrived in Padstow in time to choose the best parking space and be happily settled in the Quayside Café eating breakfast before it got busy. It was nice to potter around Padstow looking at the shops, but we were very sad to find that the lovely old book shop has closed down, we will really miss it.

After lunch we drove to Mother Ivey's Bay and settled ourselves in the caravan. Finally we were unpacked and ready to enjoy the holiday. I love Cornwall and this little corner of Cornwall is best of all

Alarmed

As usual the alarm clock went off far too early, it still felt like the middle of the night and I didn't want to get up, but when Robbie informed me that it was an hour later than our usual time to get up, I was suddenly wide awake. I have to take my mum to an appointment today so I had a very tight schedule and I was annoyed about getting up late. I was just sitting on the bed when Robbie burst in again to inform me that he was wrong and that it was an hour earlier than he thought! I was annoyed with him because that is a horrible way to wake up, but at least I was on schedule after all.

Timetable Change

Robbie fell asleep on the sofa last night, I did my best to get him to bed but he sat down again and insisted that he had to wish the cat goodnight, so in the end I gave up and left him and the cat to it. Apparently he woke up and wondered where he was at about 1.30am and he finally found his way up to bed. When the alarm clock went off just before 5am Robbie was very reluctant to get up, but eventually I managed to boot him out and he came back with a cup of tea for me, but he then got back into bed and said he had re timed our morning timetable and he was going to catch a slightly later train. It was lovely to have a few extra minutes in bed, but it really messed up my morning routine. It is an odd week anyway because Laura is away on a Geography field trip and Emily is back at uni so there is just me and Sam once Robbie has gone to work. I cant get used to it, I have twice gone to wake Laura up this week, it feels really strange. Sam is usually like a bear with a sore head in the morning, and getting him organised in time for school can be a bit of a challenge, but despite Robbie's change to our morning routine I got 'Mr Grumpy' to school at his usual time.

Laura will be home tomorrow, I have really missed her this week, she seems to be having a good time, but she was very upset that she got rained on and it made her hair go curly. She will not like the picture I have added, you can tell from her expression exactly what she thinks of having her photo taken!

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!

Pillow Talk

After coming to bed on Thursday night and ranting about Barry Doe, Robbie found that his list of banned subjects had a new name on it – I am so sick of hearing about that man! Robbie was going on a rail tour on Saturday, but it didn't involve an overnight stay so just as I settled down to sleep on Friday night, Robbie plodded up the stairs and plonked himself on the bed with a thud (as usual). I was jolted awake. He was looking forward to the rail tour and he checked the alarm clock several times as he talked about the route, and all sorts of details of the trip. He wasn't exactly talking to me, it was more like speaking his thoughts, I like to listen to the radio at night because I can switch it off when I am tired – if only it was that simple to silence Robbie. I usually give him a sharp prod, occasionally it makes him shut up but usually it just jolts him on to another subject. After pausing for breath he launched into a completely different subject – the demon from the deep north! An irritating chap, bigger in ego than brain cells who has a one man crusade about coach replacements. Robbie muttered darkly about him for a while, he made me laugh because he refers to him as 'Barry's brother in the north' – another haemorrhoid, no wonder Robbie never sits still!

The alarm woke me in the middle of the night and I got up to take Robbie to the station, then I went back to bed, to get a couple more hours sleep. I was enjoying it until Robbie rang to tell me about the lack of coffee at Northampton and about his breakfast – typical Robbie!

I had a busy day, I have been looking after my mum's 3 cats and 2 tortoise for the last fortnight and I was glad that my mum and stepfather were coming home on Saturday to relieve me of the responsibility. One of the cats is very old, close to 20 years old, she is quite frail and she needs a special diet so it was a bit of a worry to look after her. I picked up some shopping for them then I went over to tidy their house and to make sure that everything was ready for their return. Then I went home to do my own cleaning and to tackle yet another washing mountain.

Robbie rang me a number of times during the day, he really enjoyed his day, but it was almost midnight when he arrived back at the station so it was a long day for me too. He talked non stop on the way home and he was still talking when we went to bed, it didn't matter because I was so tired that I fell asleep. Sunday morning was wet and miserable, but at least I had Robbie's undivided attention. He got up to make me a cup of tea and when he came back to bed he brought two boxed Bachmann wagons with him, Satlink Western to be exact, he started to tell me all about them and he was rather hurt when I wasn't interested! Men!!

Early to Rise 14.02.08

On Wednesday morning I came back from takind the dog out at about 6.45am to find Sam sitting on the sofa fully dressed and ready for school, he even had his rucksack on his back. I was rather surprised because he is not usually that keen on mornings. A few minutes later he told me we would have to hurry up or we would be late. I told him it was only 7am and he was horrified, apparently he had misread his clock and got up a whole hour earlier than he needed to. He felt cheated and blamed his clock for misleading him. I blame my clock most mornings, when I wake up at 5.30am it still feels like the middle of the night!

Robbie has been a bit of a misery over the last couple of days, he is busy at work but his leg is really misbehaving at the moment and it makes everything that bit more difficult. I suppose we should be grateful that it is just his leg that's plauing up - the rest of him can be fairly challenging at times!

A Question Of Time

I woke this morning secure in the knowledge that it was Sunday morning. I reached down to turn off the alarm clock and relaxed back into the pillow to listen to the radio. Suddenly I became aware that I was listening to the Today program - and that isn't broadcast on Sundays. My heart sank as I was engulfed by the realisation that it was Monday and it was already 6.50am, we were already an hour late getting up. Robbie was still sound asleep so I had to resort to desperate but well proven measures - I pinched his bottom! The result was amazing he leapt from slumber to standing in one movement, unfortunately his brain needed to catch up and he spent almost 5 minutes working out if he had time to make a cup of tea or not! He made up time on his shave and shower, achieving almost world record speeds and amazingly he was ready and out of the house by 7.05am. I had already woken Sam and prodded him into action, it is hard enough to keep him on task on a well ordered morning and messing up his morning routine is a recipe for disaster! But incredibly by 7.50am I had said goodbye to Emily (she is off to Poland today) and Sam and I were heading off to school and work on time!

It was a tedious day at work and by home time I was feeling really tired. I had to go rushing around to do various errands, then I met up with Robbie so that we could go to the supermarket. By then I was really tired, but Robbie practically sent me to sleep while driving. He spent the entire journey telling me in the most intricate detail about the problems that they had experienced with a rogue pdf file and the various steps he had taken to resolve the problem. I asked him for the abridged version but when he still went on and on I had to tell him to shut up because he was sending me to sleep!