A Deaf Ear

My car came back yesterday it looks good but it feels strange driving it after the Nissan Note, I am really going to miss that hire car. I will be glad when the whole car saga is over and done with, it really annoys me to think that one act of total stupidity by a driver can cause so much inconvenience. He pulled out of a parking space without even looking because he was on the phone, I just hope it is causing him inconvenience too!

Robbie was in a terrible state yesterday, he could hardly walk. He admitted that he came to a complete standstill when he got to New Street because the pain in his back was so bad. It took him ages to get to work because he was so slow. I am worried about him getting stranded at work and being in so much pain that he couldn't get home, I don't know how I would manage to get him back.

For months (well years actually) I have been teased by Robbie and the children about being deaf. It turns out that they were right, I went to see the consultant yesterday and the tests have showed that I have nerve damage and I can't hear a range of frequencies in my right ear. There is nothing they can do and a hearing aid will not help, so it is just a case of getting used to it. I have to have an MRI scan just to rule out any other problems but assuming that is OK there is nothing else to do about it. When I told Robbie and Sam about it I didn't expect them to be devastated, but I was a bit hurt by their giggles, I don't know why a hearing problem should amuse them. Oh well, boys will be boys!

Reginald Perrin Lives Again

Robbie is becoming more like Reginald Perrin, his morning call to me consists of a detailed account of his journey timed to the second. Paying particular attention to every minor failing and inconvenience. On the subject of convenience, he seems to have become obsessed with the state of the train toilets. A week or so ago he had a 'near death experience' when every toilet on the train was out of use, since then he has treated me to a detailed analysis on the number of available toilets and their rather dubious state of cleanliness. It wouldn't be so bad if he could choose a better time to talk about it, but it is a bit off putting when I am eating my meal. Oh well, he keeps telling me I am going deaf, so I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

What Did You Say?

I think there is a conspiracy in our house. The children insist that I am going deaf and they never miss an opportunity to make jokes at my expense. I am not going deaf, I can hear perfectly well if they speak properly, but most of the time they have their music blaring out making it more difficult to hear. It would help if they didn't mumble, sometimes when I hear them talking to their friends I wonder if they speak English at all, it seems like a spoken version of text language and teenage boys seem to converse in a series of monosyllabic grunts. I find Robbie hard to understand partly because he talks constantly about trains and partly because he speaks far too fast and I still find his accent challenging at times because he uses regional words that I have never encountered before.

Our cats are very good communicators, there is just one problem - they lie! This morning they put on an Oscar winning performance to try to convince me that Robbie had not fed them, but I knew that he had and their efforts were wasted.

On the subject of deafness I think it is the children who have trouble hearing – selective deafness. Any instruction, to pick it up, clear it up or switch it off seems to fall on deaf ears.