Well this must be the longest gap in writing since I started writing the blog. Partly it is because I have been involved with an interesting little project which I should be able to write more about in a day or two. Mostly it is because I have been feeling absolutely dire for weeks. It sounds so pathetic to be moaning about having a cough, but this really is a hell of a cough. I have had it for at least four weeks this time and I only had a gap of about four weeks free of the previous cough which lasted for twelve weeks. The doctor says that my lungs are clear the problem seems to be higher up, but we are still investigating the exact cause. It always seems to happen when I get a cold and then I just can't get rid of it. Maybe I have to accept it as a very annoying symptom of my asthma, but to cough to the point of passing out or actually making yourself sick from coughing tends to limit your social life as well as scaring people who witness it. Anyway that is quite enough moaning for today, in fact I have probably used up a whole months ration of moans!
Robbie has been at home for three weeks or so and it has been frustrating that we haven't been able to enjoy doing more things together, but coping with the 'killer cough' and the fact that I still had to go to work got in the way of Robbie's plans. It is a bit of an exaggeration to say that he has been at home, Robbie gets withdrawal symptoms after one day without trains and I start to feel exhausted after a couple of days with Robbie, so when he asks for a lift to the station I am always ready to oblige! He has spent a lot of time on trains in the last few weeks and lots of numbers / routes have been ticked off in his little book!
This is his last week of freedom and he intends to make the most of it. On Sunday he had an HST day travelling to the South West and back. I love the sea wall, but I don't love HSTs so I decided that I would be happier at home. That turned out to be an inspired decision because when Robbie got on the train he discovered that one of the cats had vandalised his best Sennheiser headphones. When exasperated with the cats he always resorts to alliteration, when Oreo upsets him he is a 'furry, blank, fatherless, feline; but this time Bernard was under suspicion so we had a rant on the theme of 'B'.
He managed a whole day without trains yesterday but he will be heading off on a train later today and he will probably fit several in several more trips during the week. On Friday we are going to York then at the weekend Robbie is off to a special event at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway.
Robbie usually spends some time in the evening sitting in front of his laptop with his headphones clamped to his ears. If I want to speak to him I have to wave my arms in the air to get his attention, it is so frustrating. Even worse is his inability to be quiet, I am glad that he uses headphones because what he calls music doesn't sound very melodious to me. The problem is that Robbie is not the most tuneful person at the best of times and the headphones make his 'singing' completely tuneless. Unfortunately he gets rather carried away with his music and he sits there rocking backwards and forwards and tapping his fingers, I try to ignore it but it is so difficult. The rocking motion makes the low moaning sound (Robbie calls it singing) fade and increase in volume. His singing is not unlike the sound a cow makes, so with the fading in and out it is more like a cow on a swing! Robbie has many endearing qualities, but his 'singing' is more than flesh and blood can stand!
The children had Guitar Hero (for the Wii) for Christmas. They love it, but it is not exactly designed for spectators, so why can't they take the Wii upstairs and play it in one of their bedrooms? The root of the problem is Robbie! The songs on Guitar Hero have reminded him of all the 'wonderful' music that he has not listened to for a while and he encourages them to try out new tunes (I use the word 'tune' in the loosest sense). So for what seems like hours on end we have someone strumming away, then when they finally lose interest and peace is restored, Robbie starts. He clamps on his headphones and listens to 'music' on his laptop, it wouldn't be a problem if he didn't feel the need to sing along! Robbie has many attributes but his singing voice is not one of them and wearing headphones enables him to achieve new extremes of tunelessness. He sounds like a warthog in distress, then he wonders why I take myself off to the bedroom for some peace and quiet with my radio!
After our meal yesterday we settled down to a quiet family evening, I hoped for pleasant conversation and perhaps to hear a little about Robbie's day. Instead he parked himself at the table with his laptop, his new noise reducing headphones in his ears and his head was bobbing up and down like a nodding dog. There are times when words simply will not do, but my best Paddington Bear stare seemed to get the message across eloquently. He realised that he was required to take a more active part in proceedings, and when he thought I hadn't noticed, the music went off and the headphones were no longer evident. Shortly afterwards Robbie embarked on one of his 'did you know' conversations and my heart sank. For the next hour of so he told me all about the alterations to the December 08 train timetable for the route he travels on. I'm not sure if I can cope with that level of excitement!
I hear that the National Rail Enquiry service is being slated in a survey published today, apparently a large percentage of the information they provide is inaccurate. They didn't need a survey, I could have told them that for free. Maybe Robbie should set up an independent rail enquiry service, it would be far more accurate and there would be a free offer included - a guaranteed cure for insomnia!
