“Neither can the wave that has passed by be recalled, nor the hour which has passed return again.” Ovid

It is just over a year since I last wrote anything for the blog. I made a conscious decision to stop writing the blog because there were a number of other demands on my time and it became necessary to be a little more discreet than usual. Robbie started a new contract last September, working on a bid team. It was a new experience for him and quite a steep learning curve, but he loves a challenge - he's on his third bid now! I have had to make some important adjustments too, I gave up my job to work with Robbie, taking charge of the business admin, driving and the various other tasks necessary to keep Robbie 'on track'. I continued with my writing work and my time was taken up with writing, proof reading and selecting photos for my book. It was such a relief when everything had been delivered to the publisher! The book was published in May and I had the pleasure of seeing my book on the shelves of Waterstones and W.H. Smiths. 

I didn't intended to return to the blog. Several of my friends urged me to start writing again, but I wasn't convinced and oddly it was a book that changed my mind. I have been reading The Diary of Samuel Pepys, and I find it fascinating because it deals with the so many of the ordinary aspects of life. It may be almost 350 years since Samuel Pepys wrote his diary but he and Robbie seem to have a lot in common - perhaps men haven't changed greatly over the years! My children, who are now all adults do not approve of the blog, or to be more accurate they would prefer to remain anonymous. So in future they will not write about them as much and when their names crop up I will come up with aliases for them.

tomorrow will be our ninth wedding anniversary and we are looking forward to a weekend away. Yesterday a friend asked me if I would change Robbie if I could, I enjoyed thinking about it for a minute or two but my answer was no, I wouldn't change him. He is a good man with a big heart and a passion for life, why on earth would I want to change him? Not so long ago my son asked me if Robbie had been my mid life crisis, his question made me laugh but I have to admit that we are an unlikely couple. The important thing is that we are happy; we have been through a lot together over the years and it has brought us closer and made us stronger than ever. 

Don't smother each other. No one can grow in shade - Leo Buscaglia

Good Advice - Keep Your Mouth Shut!

Sometimes I wonder about my fellow human beings, they say and do some really stupid things at times, if only they would stop and think first! At the checkout in a toyshop a 'normal' looking woman began shouting at a member of staff. She had bought a dolls twin buggy and was complaining that the shop did not sell twin dolls. The member of staff explained to her that she could buy two identical dolls of her choice, or she could choose dolls with the same features but different outfits, or even a boy and a girl doll from the same range! The woman continued to shout and swear and insisted that it would be no good unless it said 'twin' on the box!! 


'Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent' Proverbs 17.28 

In the same toy shop I spotted a display of Smurf figures. It reminded me of visiting Roy's Toys in Wroxham with Robbie, when he saw the Smurfs he was so excited that he practically jumped up and down and begged to buy one. Anyway, I was looking at a box containing a set of Smurfs and I realised how closely they represented the many faces of Robbie. Before he takes offence I'd better explain. There is one with (almost) Robbie type glasses carrying a book, it reminds me of the countless times he says "Did you know ..........................." There is one with red trousers (enough said on that subject in my recent post), there is one with a daft grin and one with his arms folded looking very moody. Even the one in the kilt reminds me of Robbie because he never misses an opportunity to show off the Burgess legs! There is also a female Smurf (Smurfette) I am not suggesting that Robbie is a closet tranny, of course not, he has no problem being in touch with his feminine side. He often tells me that he was just as happy to play with Barbie dolls with his cousin as to play with his beloved Tonka toys. I tried to make sure that my own children were brought up in the same way. 

So which of those Smurfs is my favourite? that is easy, it has to be Grouchy because that expression is so like Robbie when he has a strop! 

A room without books is like a body without a soul - Cicero

I had such a good time on Saturday. For me it was a Robbie free day because he was out playing trains - nothing new there! A couple of months ago my friend took me to visit the most amazing place, it is called Astley Book Farm and it is the largest second hand book shop in the Midlands. I loved it and I promised myself that I would go back when I had plenty of time to brose. I told my daughter Emily about it and she wanted to go as well, so we planned our trip for Saturday. To say that Emily shares my love of books would be an understatement, I have never seen anyone so excited about visiting a bookshop! 


It was a nice morning and we had a nice drive to the book farm, we got there fairly early so that we had plenty of time to explore every section of the shop. It is an amazing place, just when you think you have got to the end of the shop you find a doorway or turning opening on to another section. Emily soon found the English language section and she was in her element, crouched on the floor looking at every book that took her fancy. I wandered off and soon I had found two or three books that would make perfect Christmas presents. I was having a great time and I felt virtuous too, it is only September and I have started my Christmas shopping! 

Emily was still sitting on the floor reading text books when I wandered past ten minutes later. She excitedly offered me a book, it was a dictionary of vulgarity in 
old English, that girl is passionate about language. I left her surrounded by a pile of books and headed up to the children's section in the hayloft. Who needs anti wrinkle cream when you can visit a place like this. Soon I was sitting on the floor rediscovering treasures from my childhood including Sam Pig, My Naughty Little Sister and many more. Emily came up to join me and we rekindled memories from her childhood too. 


Considerably later I made my way down from the hayloft and headed for the transport section clutching the pile of books that I intended to buy. There was a whole section on railway books so I happily whiled away another half an hour looking at some amazing books. I selected a book about the railway companies pre nationalisation, it is a lovely book and it was very reasonably priced.


By then my friend had arrived so we paid for our books and put them in the car before going to the coffee shop for a cup of tea and a natter. Afterwards we had a last look around and we bought a couple more things before going back to my friend's house for a while. I really enjoyed the whole day, it is nice to spend some quality time with my daughter, and I always enjoy spending time with my friend. The added enjoyment of the bookshop turned it into a perfect day. I must take time to do more things like this.

How to Transport a Banana?

Yesterday Robbie and I went shopping to buy birthday presents for my daughter who will be 20 very soon. It gets harder to choose presents as they get older, I have fond memories of the days when the whole thing could be sorted in one trip to Toys R Us. We went to Home Sense to look for a couple of items that I can't name here for obvious reasons. I thought I was fairly safe taking Robbie to a shop that sells household goods but as so often when it comes to Robbie I was wrong!


The first thing that he spotted was a large and truly hideous clock that he thought would look perfect in our lounge - believe me it wouldn't! He was just on the cusp of a strop, the bottom lip started to jut out and he gave me the look so I thought it would be best to distract him by heading up to the cookware department. As we got to the top of the stairs I realised that I had to keep him away from the bed linen section because they had Kath Kidston designs and he would want to buy a new duvet set if he saw it, he loves Kath Kidston designs. Amazingly I managed to avoid that section, but that didn't keep him out of trouble.


I was looking at the baking section when in his usual loud voice he called to me to say that he needed a banana carrier. I tried to ignore it but that just made him louder, he informed anyone listening that he has been having a lot of trouble with his bananas getting bruised! It was a pointless conversation because they didn't sell banana cases, but once he got going he wouldn't shut up. Thankfully his attention was taken up with a two book set about the history of Lego and Lego Mini Figures. He was so excited that it was embarrassing, I agreed to buy him the book in the hope that it would keep him quiet.


When we got home he started researching banana carriers. He informed me that you can buy blow up ones that look really good. I informed him that there was no way that he was having a blow up banana carrier because he would probably get himself arrested. Just in case he was in any doubt I made it absolutely clear that if he bought a banana carrier I had no intention of taking a tape measure to Morrisons with me to find bananas of the correct shape and size!!

The Unforgivable Sin

I have upset Robbie so much that I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel. He was speechless, he looked horrified and he had such a menacing look on his face that I thought he was ready to commit murder. My sin was to mend the kitchen drawer. You may think that was not such a serious crime, but I needed to apply weight to the draw to hold the front in place while the repair material hardened. Unfortunately Robbie's Track Atlas was just the right shape and size for the job and the repair worked perfectly. The book was unharmed in the mending of the drawer, but Robbie went mad, I am sure he would have been less upset if I had weighted it with a Bible!

The next evening I decided to get my own back and I told him that I was very sorry but I had accidentally spilled tea on his book. His face was terrifying, he looked as if he had just walked out of a horror film. He came over and checked the book page by page and when he found that it was still in perfect condition he gave me a menacing look and told me that some things should never be joked about. He then retreated to his corner, clamped on his headphones and gave his computer his undivided attention.

To make things even worse I let him down big style when I washed his high visibility jacket. I made the foolish assumption that a grown man of almost 40 would not put his coat in the washing pile without checking his pockets. I gave the pocket a cursory check and I couldn't feel anything in them, but apparently I washed a whole load of junk, the most valuable item was a (free) ballpoint pen, but apparently Robbie was saving the wooden coffee stirrer, used tissues and McDonalds wrappers for posterity, so he gave me a lecture about checking pockets. Apparently Robbie never makes those sort of mistakes, the evidence doesn't back up his statement, but Robbie is not big of evidence! He completely overlooked the fact that the coat is a pain to wash and I had followed the washing instructions to the letter including the need to allow it to drip dry. Oh well, maybe next time he wears it he will appreciate having a nice clean coat with empty pockets!

Surely Not!

I am getting seriously worried about Robbie, in fact I'm expecting the men in white coats any day now! The other day he told me about a new group that he had found out about, I wasn't taking too much notice until he mentioned the name of the group - The Pylon Appreciation Society! At first I thought I had misheard, but no he really did say 'Pylon'. I was incredulous, I though he was joking, I just couldn't believe that anyone could be interested in pylons! In the end Robbie printed out the details for me. He assured me that lots of people are fascinated by pylons, in fact he claims to know several pylon spotters I wonder why that doesn't surprise me! He even told me about a really good book about Pylons - I can't cope with more books. I gave him a serious warning - if he decides to to take up pylon spotting I will consider it grounds for divorce!!

Horns and a Tail!

Robbie has been totally horrible all weekend, he went down to make a cup of tea on Saturday morning and came back with horns and a tail! He thumped and clattered around all day and as I wasn't feeling very well, I really didn't have the energy to be bothered with him. He was just as bad this morning, but thankfully he went out to take his frustration out on the garden and left me in relative peace to get on with my work. He declined a trip to Tesco's so I went without him, then he turned down a visit to my mum's so I went without him again. He waited until I had got to mum's then rang me to complain that I had gone without him apparently when he said no what he actually meant was yes. I have always known he was in touch with his feminine side, but that is ridiculous!

By 9pm this evening he decided to speak to me again. It began with a 'do you know' then he went on to ask me about the most frequent and least frequent causes of death in the Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie. As soon as I had answered his questions on crime fiction he embarked on a whole series of facts about the shipping forecast areas, and I found myself wishing for silence. It seems he bought himself a book called Shott's Original Miscellany when he went out yesterday. I managed to silence him with a stern look, but his colleagues better watch out because the book is small enough to slip into his briefcase and it is bursting with enough facts to keep Robbie talking for weeks!

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!

Does it Really Matter?

Robbie and I don't see much of each other during the week, but even in the short time that we are together we end up talking about trains! Yesterday evening there was an advert on TV, I think it was for insurance, but it had a brief shot of a train and then you saw the people inside the train discussing insurance or whatever it was. I made the foolish mistake of asking Robbie about the livery of the train, he confidently told me what it was and then he got one of his books out to show me. I told him he was wrong and we got into a pantomime argument of "yes it was, no it wasn't" with neither of us willing to give in. Robbie decided to prove that he was right by rewinding the TV to check - he was wrong!! Then he spent an age debating (with himself) whether or not the interior shots were from the same train, he decided that he didn't think they were, I couldn't care less, I had lost the will to live by then!

That Sunday Morning Feeling

The rain which began in the late evening on Saturday continued all night and Sunday dawned wet, windy and miserable. There was nothing to get up for, so I didn't bother! I had a lazy morning with my radio and my laptop. Robbie was still finding it a bit of a challenge to sit down after his close encounter with the towel rail, so he wardered off into the lounge to read his latest railway book. He bought it yesterday from his favourite bookshop in Padstow, it is all about the trains used on the London Underground. He seems to be fascinated by the book and every so often he stops reading long enough to share a random fact with us. As soon as you hear the words 'did you know .....' you know that you are doomed!

By lunchtime the weather was brighter and we decided to go and visit Laura and Sam's grandparents in Torpoint. It takes over an hour to get there and it involves some rather challenging roads. The journey back to the caravan proved much more difficult as the sun was in my eyes almost all the way. My in laws were very pleased to see the children, they thought that Sam had grown a lot since they last saw him, I don't really notice it because I am with him every day. On the way back we stopped at Windy Ridge in Trerulefoot, it is one of my favourite places to eat, no fuss, no frills, just well cooked sensibly priced food. It has changed hands since our last visit, but the food was every bit as good as before.

Reaching For the Off Button

I love Radio 4 and I listen to it in the car, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in fact I listen to it wherever I am. For me the height of luxury is a relaxing bath with Radio 4 to listen to. Yesterday I was enjoying my bath, a tranquil moment in a particularly trying day when my ears were assaulted to such an extent that I had to jump out of my bath to turn off the radio. Can you believe it, Radio 4 is serialising Chere Blair's book. Why would anyone imagine that I would have any interest in that woman, she is an irrelevance and I have no respect for someone who attempts to make money from backstabbing and sleazy revelations about people in public life. I can't undrestand why she would imagine that anyone would be interested in her sex life, even the thought of it turns my stomach! What really makes me cross is that when Tony Blair was prime minister they were fierce about protecting their children from press intrusion - quite rightly in my oppinion (but they didn't mind using them for a bit of PR from time to time). Now, Chere Blair is telling the world about how Leo was conceived, how can a mother do that to their child? I'm not sure how old Leo is now, but he is certainly old enough to be mortified by her revelations. There are standards and there are some things that you just shouldn't do even for money, it seems to me that Chere Blair has put £'s before parenting and I am disgusted. I really would have expected better from Radio 4, what will it be next - readings from the News of the World perhaps?!

Running Late

I nearly had to put Robbie's dinner in the dog yesterday evening, he got delayed at work - again! Just being an hour later throws our whole evening into confusion, it gets very complicated to try to provide the whole family with a meal at the same time, usually there is always someone who has to eat later, it drives me mad.

When he finally got home Robbie got a bit huffy because I had bought myself a book, it was about railway history in Northamptonshire, it's really interesting, but he seems to think that all train books in the house have to be chosen by him. He was bursting to read it, but he wouldn't because he kept stressing that it was my book - what nonsense!

We overslept this morning, I remember waking Robbie up, but he must have gone back to sleep because he was racing around on 'fast forward' trying to get out on time to get his next train. He rang me later to say that he got the train with 2 minutes to spare. I am used to him giving me a detailed account of all his journeys with accurate timing, but it wasn't until this morning that something triggered a distant memory in my mind. Reginald Perrin! He used to entertain the women in his life with mind blowingly boring detail about his daily journey's to and from work. At least Robbie is rather less predictable than Reginald Perrin, but he is irritating sometimes, I have to beg him to stop talking!

Yet More Trouser Trouble!

Robbie's pledge to work on the garden caused a change in the weather - we woke up to find a covering of snow this morning! I can't complain, when he finally got into the garden yesterday he worked hard to tidy it up. He had to go to town on Saturday morning because he had to return his black suit trousers to Marks and Spencers. On Friday he had a 'close encounter' with his zip and now like Grand Old Duke of York the zip is neither up nor down, not the best way to get noticed! Robbie and Sam headed off to town and it seems they disappeared into a black hole because they vanished for hours. Robbie finally returned without exchanging his trousers, they didn't have his size in black so he has to look in Birmingham next week. He said they had a similar suit in beige that would make a nice change. It would be a change certainly, but he must have taken leave of his senses if he thinks it would be nice. He is not a beige person, to borrow a phrase from my mum, you can wear beige when you are dead. In fact he may as well go all the way and get a white suit, like in Randal and Hopkirk (deceased). At least that would add some comedy value!

While in town he accidentally bought another railway book. It is called Traction Recognition, and Robbie sat reading it and making appreciative comments for ages, anyone listing to the commentary would have assumed he was looking at a top shelf magazine rather than 'anorak's' reference book! Finally the procrastination had to stop and he headed out to the back garden to restore order.

Happy Birthday 21.12.07

Thursday started horribly early, Robbie wanted to make an early start and Sam wanted me and the girls to be ready by 6.30am so that we could watch him open his birthday presents. We obliged, but Sam was the only person who was full of life at that time of day. He is going skiing in February so I bought him some ski wear, the outer layer met with his approval, but when he opened a box containing the base layer he suddenly became very embarrassed and he tucked them out of sight very quickly. Later in the day he gave me a stern telling off for embarrassing him, it is most odd that 13 year olds can be such prudes about perfectly ordinary things yes they find toilet humour absolutely hilarious. I asked Sam what his favourite presents were, I wasn't surprised to hear that he thought his new PSP was great, but his other favourite was more surprising, it was a book that he had asked for - The Canterbury Tales. Sam is not a keen reader of fiction at the best of times and even bookworms find Chaucer challenging so I assumed it must be a passing whim when Sam asked for the book for his birthday. I got the modern English version, but I had a quick look at it and it still required quite an effort, but I caught Sam with his nose in the book several times yesterday. I think he had a really good birthday, but as you will see from the picture he wasn't too keen to pose for photos.

Ancient History 21.11.07

The cat with no name (now know as Dave) went back to the Vet this morning. She was very pleased with his progress, he has put on some weight and his ulcerated feet are much less swollen - but they still look very painful. He has a lovely nature with people and he is OK with other animals, he just likes to make it absolutely clear that he is the boss. When we were booking in at the vet's he growled so loudly from his cat carrier that he made a great big labrador tremble! He gave the vet the benefit of his extensive vocabulary when she pulled the gunky bits off his sore feet, but he didn't scratch or bite - he just swore meaningfully! He has to go back in just over a week, but it is good to know that he is progressing well.
Sam made me feel incredibly old today. He had been sorting through some bits and bobs that I had packed away and he came in to show me a 'book from the olden days'. It was actually a Harold Hare annual from the year I was born! I was a great fan of Harold Hare and friends when I was little and I couldn't resist leafing through the annual to revisit some long forgotten friends. Samuel was fascinated, he kept telling me that there were some very modern illustrations considering the book was so old. I asked what he expected, he didn't quite say that the world was totally black and white in those days, but he did say that he had expected the illustrations to be 'water-colours and stuff'. Clearly he imagines that dinosaurs still roamed the streets in those days as well!

I have often mentioned to the children that there was a character in the comics I used to read called Happy Hedgehog who had a very similar hairstyle to Robbie. It didn't take Sam long to spot the similarity, and on closer inspection it seems Robbie had a bit more in common with the cartoon character than I first thought - dodgy tie, always eating, peculiar footwear! See what you think!

The Elusive Deltic 24.07.07

Robbie disappeared soon after arriving home yesterday. He popped upstairs to the loo and vanished. He should have been helping me to finish off our evening meal, but there was no sign of him. Considerably later he thundered down the stairs armed with a couple of books. No, don't be silly they were not cookery books. He had chosen that particular moment to start a major search for a specific photo of two deltic's standing in a station. I am so used to him that I didn't even try to explain that the deltic picture is not a top priority when compared to the family meal, it would have been a waste of breath. I did mutter a few dark words later when I went up to the bedroom and found that he had ransacked it during his search for the elusive deltic picture, and if I get my hands on the colleague who set him off on this search I may have one or two meaningful things to say to him! Robbie won't rest until he has found it and neither will I - because I will be clearing up after him!!

Emily is due home from Poland on Tuesday afternoon and I will be so pleased to see her back safe and sound. She says that the tour has gone very well and all the concerts were successful, no doubt we will hear about it in more detail when she returns. I have been more worried about the fate of Ron, Emily's favourite character in Harry Potter. Emily intends to buy a copy of the latest book as soon as she is close enough to home to find an English version of the book. I was terrified that Ron would die in the book and Emily would arrive home in tears. It seems my fears for Ron were unfounded but as there are plenty of deaths in the book (at least 9 and a half) there is a strong possibility that Emily will emerge from the coach in floods of tears - she is a real softie. Come to think of it Hogwarts with soon rival Emmerdale for the most dangerous fictional location, I bet they have big problems getting life insurance!

Midnight Madness 17.07.07

So Asda have settled their dispute with Bloomsbury the publishers of the Harry Potter books. The had to issue a grovelling apology for their earlier press release which suggested that Bloomsbury were exploiting young readers by setting a high cover price of 17.99 for the latest book. As the parent of an avid Harry Potter fan I am feeling rather exploited myself. In fact my good nature is being exploited beyond human endurance, I can put up with the high cover price, I can even put up with all the hype about the latest adventures of the boy wizard, but why do I have to drive into town and queue up in the middle of the night just so that my child doesn't miss out on the 'Harry Potter Experience' - it's madness!

Emily is a great fan of the Harry Potter books and I have had to endure the midnight madness a couple of times before. As soon as she has the latest book her nose will be buried in it every waking hour until she has finished the whole book - and then she will read it again! She has even read one of the books in French, but that took her considerably longer.

Emily will be in Poland when the new Harry Potter book is released and the prospect of having to wait until she gets back to England to get her hands on the new book is torturing her. I was secretly delighted because there would be no pressure on me to drive her into town at midnight to get book. Laura isn't really bothered about Harry Potter and Sam is fairly interested, but not enough to put himself to any great inconvenience, so you can imagine my reaction when I found out quite by chance that Robbie and Laura have planned another midnight venture - and guess who is the chauffeur!!

Stormy Forecast 09.01.07

I despair of Robbie. He will be 35 in a couple of months, but when it comes to understanding women he is absolutely clueless. He has noticed that I am feeling a little 'cool' this evening, I think most people could work out why, but not Robbie! We were having a cuddle when I noticed his eyes stray towards the clock. He said 'Oh no!' and pulled away from me as if I had suddenly developed leprosy. I assumed that it must have been something really important to provoke a reaction like that, but he explained that he was upset because he had missed the end of an ebay auction. He wasn't even bidding on a train, it was only a book about the shipping forecast! That certainly illustrated where I come in his list of priorities. Maybe the next time I notice it, I will tell him that the bedroom ceiling needs painting, then we will see how he feels.

Actually the prospect of Robbie armed with a paint brush running amok in the bedroom is sufficient incentive for me to keep my observations to myself, but you get the idea! Robbie eventually noticed that I wasn't overjoyed about coming a poor second to ebay, but his reaction just made matters worse. He remained glued to his laptop and read to me from a web site that had caught his eye. It was the Encyclopaedia of Modern Traction Names - scintillating!! At least it showed me how to get Robbie to understand women, the only way to get his attention would be to write the instructions on the side of a train!!