“I never travel without my diary. One should always have somethingsensational to read in the train.” - Oscar Wilde

Thursday 15th August

I didn't want to get up when the alarm went off, but if we were going to get the best out of the day we needed to get up and get going. Despite initial reluctance Robbie was out of bed and into the kitchen while I still clung to the duvet.

We were on the road before 9.30am and by 10.00am we were pulling into the station car park at Holt. For the third time this holiday we were at the North Norfolk Railway, sitting on the first train of the day with a cup of tea (coffee for Robbie) waiting to depart. What could possibly be better than this? I love the feeling of anticipation with the whole day stretching ahead of us. I don't mind if I travel on a coach or compartment that I've travelled on before, I don't mind which engine is out, and (unlike Robbie) I don't even care if we depart late, I just love the whole experience. 

The railway was very busy today and we had more than our fair share of badly behaved brats travelling on the trains. As a parent and step parent I know that coping with children can be challenging but it is up to the parent to set limits and to say 'no' and mean it when necessary. Why on earth do they think that it's acceptable for their 'little angels' to stand on seats, to yell at the top of their voices throughout the journey and to behave in a way that spoils the experience for everyone else. One little horror who rejoiced in the name Caspian had a father who was so pathetic that I wanted to shake him and tell him to man up and control his child. Who calls a child Caspian for heaven sake,  with a name like that its hardly surprising that the boy has issues. 

We spent the earlier part of the day dodging badly behaved children, but it didn't stop us enjoying the railway. There is something about Weybourne in particular that makes you feel calm and relaxed and the Ladies toilet is so wonderful that you can't help smiling. The black five and the 5619 were out today, they are both interesting, 5619 was making a strange blowing noise again today, we heard it making the same noise last Wednesday but it sounded fine on Sunday so I don't know what is wrong with it. 

I must admit that I tend to prefer diesels rather than steam so I always look forward to the last two round trips from Sheringham. Today we had a Class 101, Robbie likes it, but it is not among my favourites. To me it feels like being on a bus and I'm not into buses in the way that Robbie is. We sat at the front in the seats behind the driver and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The view through the front windows enables you to see things which you would usually miss, so we took lots of photos. When we were departing Holt we saw deer running across the field and Robbie even managed to get a photo.

'For the traveller in search of the English Heritage, the county is a paradise.' - Arthur Mee

Monday 12th August

It is week two already, I really want to slow down time and make this holiday last for ever, I love it here and I love having Robbie all to myself. I need to make the most of it, after this fortnight he will not have any free time for the foreseeable future so I need to make the most of it. I'm not complaining, when he went self employed we worried that he wouldn't find enough work, but thankfully he has, in fact he has had a very busy first year and things are looking good.

Robbie was very tired after his train filled weekend, he fell asleep in the chair last night and he wasn't keen to get out of bed this morning so we are having a lazy day today. It makes a change to enjoy each others company and not have to rush to get ready. 

After a very chilled morning we went out we took a drive on the coast road to Waxham Barn. Robbie loves this drive because there are so many interesting things to see, churches, the Happisburgh lighthouse, and various interesting buildings. The trouble is that it is a very narrow winding road and Robbie keeps wanting me to stop so that he can take photos and take a closer look. It reminds me of taking a dog for a walk and having to stop at every lamp post, I love him dearly but at times like this I have to say a very firm "no". 

We had a cup of tea and some cake at Waxham Barn, then we went to have a look around. Robbie enjoyed looking around the barn and taking lots of photos. The highlight for me was seeing a bat, they have Naterer bats at the barn, but it is very unusual to see one in daylight. It was looking up at the roof timbers and the thatch and I happened to see it fly in and vanish behind one of the roof timbers. It was a really nice afternoon. 

Walcott Church

We drove home via Stalham to pick up some groceries, then we went back to the bungalow to cook a nice evening meal. Robbie had goat burgers, home made sauté potatoes and a bottle of local ale. I had something rather more 'normal' and non alcoholic! He said that the goat burgers were lovely, I'll take his word for it!

“Voyage upon life's sea, To yourself be true, And, whatever your lot may be, Paddle your own canoe”

Saturday 3rd August

The alarm woke me, I could so easily have turned over and gone back to sleep but I wanted to make an early start. I have looked forward to this holiday for so long and I want to make the most of every single minute. Surprisingly 'Sleeping Beauty' got up willingly and trotted off to make a cup of tea.

Usually Robbie finds every possible reason to delay us, but to my surprise we were packed and ready to go by 9am - perhaps the promise of a brief stop at Mc Donald's to get some breakfast helped to focus his mind. I am not a great fan of Mc Donald's but their hot chocolate is very nice as an occasional treat. Dave the cat was in a very bad mood he turned his back on me, refused his breakfast and wouldn't even acknowledge me when I said goodbye to him! Poor Dave, he hates it when we go on holiday but I'm sure My daughter will take good care of him.

I'd already had firm words with Robbie about the Sat-Nav. Last time we went to Norfolk he upset it and the poor thing lost the plot, it was a case of train planner v Sat-Nav and we almost ended up in a field! This time I'd had a good look at the map and I was determined that neither of them should lead me astray. Robbie did very well really, I was somewhat alarmed when I glanced across and noticed that he was using a Quail map but apparently he was just trying to identify a disused level crossing!

We made good time and arrived in Mundesley in time to enjoy lunch at the Beach Cafe, the food there is fantastic, I love going there. Robbie had his favourite lifesaver breakfast and I had fish and chips, it was lovely, beautifully cooked, and such a large portion that I wouldn't want anything else to eat that day! After a couple of hours in Mundesley we took a gentle drive towards Walcott, picked up the key and then at long last we were at the bungalow - I have been looking forward to this for so long, I love this place.

The car was unpacked, everything was put away, and before long it was just like home, our sanctuary for the next two weeks. At last we could relax, enjoy the sunshine and leave the worries of the world behind for a couple of weeks. The view from the back garden is awesome, just sand, sea and sky as far as the eye can see - it certainly helps to put things into perspective! 

“Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.” - Ben Hecht

Friday 2nd August

In theory today should have been a fairly easy day as I was well ahead with my packing and I didn't have too many jobs left to do before our holiday, but I hadn't taken Robbie into account. He has been working so hard recently and he had loads to do before he could think about the holiday. He asked me to take him to Marks and Spencer's in his lunch break because he wanted some more shorts and a couple of other bits and bobs. It was a fleeting trip, but he got what he needed. Then he had to get back to work while I went off to do a few more errands. 

I began to think that Robbie would never be able finish his work in time, but at last he closed his laptop and announced that he was ready to help with the packing. He packed his railway DVDs, an N gauge railway set with lots of extras, three Lego sets (Technic, Lone Ranger and Back to the future), a selection of railway books, a graphic novel, stacks of magazines, his jigsaw board, binoculars and assorted gadgets. He seemed to think that he had completed his packing and I had to remind him that he would probably need clothes as well as toys. He claims that he would like to be a naturist, but I don't think Norfolk is ready for that!!

Finally all the annoying little jobs were done, the car was packed and everything was ready for us to make an early start in the morning. Robbie turned back to his work to have one last attempt to solve an annoying planning problem that had chosen to rear it's ugly head at a most inconvenient moment from Robbie's point of view. I don't know how long he spent in search of a solution because I had gone to bed and I was asleep long before he came upstairs.

The greatest gift is our own eyes, sense of smell, and abilities to deduce - Patricia Cornwell

I was dreading going home after our holiday, because I knew the house would be a mess, it was, but it was not as bad as it was last year. We had a nice surprise because my daughter had painted the bathroom and it looks very nice. When we opened the front door we were met by a very unpleasant smell and my first hour or so at home was taken up with trying to track it down. It wasn't animal related and it wasn't the bin, amazingly the bin bag in the kitchen was almost empty. I tracked the pong to the kitchen but I couldn't identify it, I checked for rotting vegetables, but there were none, I had a good sniff inside the fridge but the smell wasn't coming from there. 

In the end I had to leave it and get on with tidying the kitchen and doing the laundry. Then Robbie made me a cup of tea and I sat down in the lounge to drink it. I could smell an over-ripe banana in the fruit bowl and I took it out to the food recycling caddy and as I lifted the lid, the pong was revealed in all it's glory. The contents of the caddy which had morphed into a green hairy mass, had been there since before our holiday! When I had escorted the stinking mass to the outside food bin and disinfected the food caddy, the inquest began. My son was adamant that it was not on his list - a typically aspie response! My older daughter who has a poor sense of smell claimed not to have noticed it and her sister announced that she doesn't have anything to do with food recycling because it is gross. So, the combined intellect of two university graduates and an A Level student was not sufficient to cope with the 'complexities' of  emptying the food caddy. Next year I will leave the cat in charge!

Time To Go Home .........................

Saturday was a bright sunny morning, we didn't need to rush as we had until noon to pack up and leave the bungalow. Usually at the end of a holiday it feels rushed and chaotic but not this time, we were relaxed and organised and it didn't take too long to get everything packed in the car and to leave the place looking spotless. I had time to take one last look at the beach and to say a reluctant farewell to the sea. I have spent so many happy times there and some heartbreaking times too, it seems as if I have a very special connection to Walcott.

It must have been about 11am when we drove away from the bungalow. It was a scorching hot day, and I was looking forward to having brunch in Mundesley before heading home. The car park at Mundesley was filling up fast and there was a long queue for the pay and display machine, so while Robbie got the ticket I put the reflective sun screens across the front windows of the car so that the steering wheel wouldn't be 'too hot to handle' when we got back. 

We had a lovely meal and (in my case) a very good pot of tea at the Beach Cafe. It was a nice way to end our holiday. Afterwards we sat and looked out across the beach at everyone having fun and enjoying the sunshine. To be honest it was too hot for me, I don't cope very well with heat and there was no breeze. I decided that it was time to hit the road so that the air conditioning in the car could cool us down. Robbie thought it would be better for us to take the scenic route - which just happens to take us past the North Norfolk Railway! When we got to Holt he asked to spend some time at the railway, but I think we both knew that it was time to bid a fond farewell to Norfolk.
We had a good journey home and we stopped off at my mum's for a cup of tea before going home. Mum is still not feeling too well, but she is making progress.

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can - Danny Kaye

What am I going to do with Robbie? We are both on leave from work and we had big plans for our week together, in fact we had something planned for every day, but at the end of last week Robbie expressed a burning desire to travel to Weymouth on Monday. When I asked why he wanted to go to Weymoyth he looked at me as if I was mad and told me "that's where the train goes". It was the train that was the attraction not the destination. To be fair he said I could go with him and he offered some sort of explanation about it being a new route or a new timetable or something like that. I had switched off by then, the idea of another marathon train journey did not appeal to me after our trip to the South West on Saturday. He seems to have had a good time but I wasn't best pleased when he announced (from a safe distance - he didn't tell me until he got to Weymouth) that I had to stay up until after midnight to go and fetch him from the station!

While Robbie was away I shopped for a picnic lunch for the next day because we had planned a trip to the National Railway Museum. We didn't need an especially early start, but after the late night Robbie had difficulty getting himself into gear, so in the end we decided to have a more relaxed day and stay local. We needed to go and pick up a parcel from the sorting office so we decided that we would pop into the farm shop as well. They didn't have any dripping for Robbie, but we bought a couple of other treats instead. The farm shop is part of a small outlet centre attached to the garden centre, so we had a look at the other shops too. I had forgotten that they had a clothing outlet there, but it didn't take long for Robbie to spot the Weird Fish stuff. He found so many T shirts that he liked, I guess they were OK but they were all very loud, so I wandered off hoping that he would follow. I was looking around a jewellry shop when Robbie came bounding in to tell me that he had seen some nice shorts and he wanted me to look at them. As we went back towards the shorts he said that I would like them because they were a bit more subtle than his usual choice. They were black and white in the loudest pattern imaginable, I didn't like them at all but according to Robbie's logic they were subtle because they didn't contain any bright colours!! 

'I am still reeling with delight at the soaring majesty of Norfolk.' John Betjeman

It feels as if things have been tough for a long time, worries and problems seem to pop up like mushrooms. Mostly we can deal with them, I'm a fighter, I don't give up, but I do get tired sometimes. It is hard to watch the gradual decline of a family member and it is even harder to to find the time and energy to offer appropriate support. Other problems are a different sort of battle, time consuming, exhausting, but with right on our side, dogged determination and persistence, I am sure that things will work out in the end. Worries or not we still do our best to enjoy the fun  and challenges of family life. Life is here and now so we can't let it slip through our fingers.

We has some exciting and unexpected news last weekend. It will be possible for us to go to Norfolk on holiday after all. When we went to the bungalow last year we thought it would be the last time we would be able to stay there. The person who owned it, a family friend had been very ill for a long time and his family were not sure about the future of the bungalow. Sadly he died recently but his wife has offered us the chance to rent the bungalow again this summer. It has really cheered me up, it is lovely to have something to look forward to, I love the bungalow and that part of Norfolk holds a very special place in my heart.

Robbie is very excited about another holiday in Norfolk, he loves it there too. He has already planned a couple of trips to the North Norfolk Railway, a trip to Norwich to have a look at Crown Point, a day out 'doing the drags' on the middle weekend, the list goes on and on! I have already had to remind him that there are only 14 days in a fortnight and he has to leave himself time for his other favourite pastime, watching the ship with his binoculars. Once a 'spotter' always a spotter!!

Travelling Light - or Not!

When we got home on Sunday evening we had lots to do to be ready for work on Monday. We had to get evidence ready to post to CSA the next day and Robbie being Robbie couldn't possibly face work unless he had the correct pants, so we had to deal with several loads of washing. All the essentials were done and Robbie was able to face work with his 'thinking pants' on, but I was just too tired to unpack and put away all our luggage. It had been our intention to travel light, but we were so busy and so worried before the holiday that packing was a bit haphazard. Robbie had taken 48 Tshirts as well as long sleeved tops, jackets and enough pairs of shorts to dress a centipede. Getting them ready to pack was one thing, getting them to all fit back in his draws and wardrobes is still a work in progress! I think by the time I have unpacked and got everything back to something approaching normal I will need another holiday!

As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat. Ellen Perry Berkele

Returning home from holiday felt like coming back to reality with a bump. We still have the huge cloud of the disputed CSA arrears hanging over us, as well as various other worries and uncertainties, and I really need to find another job. When we walked into the house there was no one there to welcome us, no wagging tail, just a dog shaped space where Meg should have been, I am really going to miss her, she was part of our family.

The cats were doing their own thing, Oreo was at the top of the stairs watching the birds out of the window and Dave was dozing on the sofa, he chose not to notice our arrival. Usually he would come to me straight away, but when I put my hand out to touch him he turned away, making it very clear that he was not happy with me. We had loads to do on Sunday evening, so there wasn't much time to think about Dave, but he managed to radiate disapproval, he was punishing me for going away and leaving him. He kept up the hostility until lunchtime on Monday, then when I sat down with my laptop he came and sat on the back of my chair, then after a little while I noticed that he had moved silently on to my lap and was purring loudly - I had been forgiven!


'For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a cat.' Anon

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly - Epictetus

Why do I have to wake up at 6am when I am on holiday? The things I do for a quiet life! Robbie absolutely had to go out at the crack of dawn to play trains, so I had to get up and take him to the station. The journey to the station at North Walsham is very pleasant if you have time to get there, but as always Robbie cut it rather fine so I had a stressful drive to the station. All was well in the end, he caught the train and I had a whole day to myself.

We had been promised a nicer day today - so it rained! I wouldn’t have minded so much if it had rained from the start, but it waited until I had hung all my washing out and then it rained. The rain didn’t last too long, before long it was replaced by sunshine, so I was able to get the washing dry after all.

Unfortunately the sunny afternoon brought unexpected perils. The chap who lives next door is rather difficult to like, he is thoughtless, noisy and always so pleased with himself. I have no idea why he feels so smug, perhaps he doesn’t possess a mirror, he has what my mum would call ‘a face to go ratting with’ and the body of a Moomin. I didn’t notice him when he went off for a swim but when he and his cronies came back from the beach the full ‘glory’ of his outfit was unmissable. Somehow he had poured himself into speedos! To add insult to injury he cavorted around the garden in just his speedos for the rest of the afternoon. Honestly, it shouldn’t be allowed, that man is a danger to shipping!

Robbie had to be picked up from the station at North Walsham and he chattered on and on about his day on the railway. I just can’t make him understand that I am not really interested, but Robbie has a knack of giving far too much information and not just when it comes to trains! The main thing is that he’d enjoyed his day. When we got back we had a nice walk on the beach and then a lovely quiet evening, the sea looked beautiful tonight, it was almost silver in the moonlight.

'You either get Norfolk, with its wild roughness and uncultivated oddities, or you don't. It's not all soft and lovely. It doesn't ask to be loved.' Stephen Fry

We woke up to a lovely quiet and sunny morning, I felt much better after a long sleep and after a refreshing shower and one of Robbie’s legendary bacon sandwiches I was ready to face the day. I finished off the unpacking while listening to the Archers and Robbie had a shave and shower, then we were ready to go to the local car boot sale. I love car boot sales, but we only go when we are on holiday because we already have far too much junk in our house.



Robbie had very bad cramp in the night and it had left him with a very painful leg, but he managed to walk around the reasonably well. He didn’t want to buy much, just a couple of music cassettes and a book of railway postcards, but he enjoyed searching through boxes looking at old die cast vehicles and various model trains. I bought several cds including Summoned by Bells, the verse biography of John Betjeman, we enjoyed listening to the first part of it when we got back to the bungalow.


It was mid afternoon when we got back from the car boot sale. It was nice to have time to just sit and look out across the sea and enjoy the calm that time away from reality brings. There was plenty to see first of all we saw a life boat travelling at speed along the coast, Robbie went out to take a photo, but his blackberry was not powerful enough so he dashed back for his camera. Then there were two lifeboats and a little dinghy type lifeboat and then he said that there was a fourth boat. I wonder what was going on.

Robbie had only just settled down again when another boat came past, it was fairly close and Robbie rushed out again for a better look. He said he thought it was a customs boat and he came back in to look on the site he uses to identify the shipping in the area. It was a nice relaxing evening, we watched DVDs, and enjoyed the unusual feeling of having nothing pressing to do – I could get used to this!

The Glass Magnet

After having a week off together last week I had very mixed feelings about Monday because Robbie was going back to work (I had an extra day because of the bank holiday). Having Robbie around 24/7 can be challenging at times and occasionally I long for a bit of peace, but I am always sad when our holidays come to an end. I wasn't best pleased about the early start either! 


Robbie is a bit annoyed with me at the moment. He knows that it is unreasonable to get cross about it but, he doesn't like his routine to be changed even in smallest changes upset him. I have bought 6 new drinking glasses without seeking his approval. I really didn't think I needed to consult him about spending the grand sum of £2, but I had forgotten how particular he is about deciding on the exact size and shape of everything in the kitchen. By his standards he did well at hiding his annoyance, but we had an hour or so of sulking and stomping before he resigned himself to accepting the new glasses.  


We wouldn't have needed new glasses at all if Robbie hadn't had such a smashing time recently. I wouldn't exactly say that he is clumsy, it is more a case of things not getting out of his way quickly enough! He has wiped out two glasses and a railway mug in just over a week. That isn't such a big deal but he is like a magnet to glass and every time something gets broken he manages to cut himself. He doesn't have as much feeling in his feet as other people so that is probably why he treads on the glass in the first place. Sometimes the first hint of injury is a trail of blood leading to Robbie, at other times he does something resembling a native American war dance with corresponding sound effects as he hops into the lounge to sit down. Either way the result is the same, me on my knees picking glass out of his foot, then on my hands and knees in the kitchen with the dustpan and brush trying to pick up every speck of glass. I wish someone would design glass proof socks, preferably multicoloured ones that would appeal to Robbie.   

Mixed Feelings

Sunday

Despite having to head home, today was a lovely day. We had a lazy morning then my mum and step father took us to Mundesley for lunch. I had a roast dinner with my absolute favourite carrot and swede (as well as cabbage, peas and runner beans - I love runner beans too). Robbie is a man of many passions, but that does not extend to vegetables - he decided that good food could wait and he had an all day breakfast! After lunch we said a fond farewell to the sea and reluctantly set off for home.

I felt a strange mixture of feelings, I was very reluctant to leave Walcott and the bungalow and I really didn't want the holiday to end, but I had missed the children very much and I really wanted to see them again. We had a leisurely drive home, no radio, just chatting, it was really nice. When we got back there was the inevitable cleaning tidying and food shopping but we didn't let it get to us. The challenge now is to adapt to reality again while preserving something of the closeness we enjoyed on holiday.

Endings and Beginnings

Saturday

We were up reasonably early to get on with the cleaning and to get our stuff packed up ready to go home. We are not actually going home until tomorrow but in many ways this is the end of our holiday. My mum and step father arrived today to start their holiday, but they have asked us to stay until Sunday to help them with unpacking and such like. I love them very much and it is nice to spend time with them, but for me what made the last fortnight really special was that Robbie and I had time together on our own and I am really going to miss that closeness when we get back.

The things that stick in my mind about today are our three walks along the coast path to the shop. The first walk was in the morning when the bungalow was cleaned and our belongings were packed up. We went to get Robbie's newspaper and other bits and bobs. It was sunny and the happy sounds of children playing on the beach reminded me of the many holidays we spent here when the children were younger and the happy times they spent playing on the beach and splashing in the sea. It is lovely to have memories to treasure but it is important to live life to the full now as well.

Our second walk was in the afternoon, I can't remember why we went to the shop, I just remember walking back and sitting at the edge of the beach enjoying the sunshine and looking out at the sea. I will really miss that view and the walks by the sea. Our last walk was in the evening, we went out to buy fish and chips (you have to have fish and chips at least once when you are on holiday!). The view across the sea is totally different as it gets dark, it has a special sort of beauty. As we came back with our fish and chips the bats were flying over the gardens, we have really enjoyed watching them in the evenings, I hope we can make time to notice and enjoy the little things like this when we get back.

Confession Time

They say that confession is good for the soul, if that is true Robbie's soul should be in tip top form because he certainly gets himself into some scrapes and he has had to do a lot more confessing than most. His latest confession isn't such a big deal really, he bought himself a netbook without telling me then when he got it he couldn't pluck up the courage to tell me so for the last couple of months he has had to keep it hidden and he couldn't use it. I feel sad that he couldn't tell me, it is fairly trivial really compared to some of the things that I have had to get my head around, but I am so glad that in the end he told me rather than me having to drag the truth out of him. The bottom line is that I love him and nothing can change that, especially something as unimportant as a netbook. We are making up for lost time, since his 'confession' we've had loads of fun with the netbook.

Getting There

Robbie and I had both had a rather chaotic and distracted week in various ways. He had loads of work to get through before going on holiday and my week at work started badly and got worse so one way or other I seemed to be going round in ever decreasing circles. By Friday I was tired and unfocussed and packing seemed more of a chore than ususal. We were up bright and early on Saturday morning but buy the time we were finally packed and ready to go it was past 9am. It felt great to be leaving behind all the cares of everyday life to have a couple of weeks of freedom.

The sat nav behaved surprisingly well on the whole, there was just one non compliance when it told me to turn off the dual carrageway only to direct me straight back on to it! I love Saturday morning radio but we completed most of the journey without Radio 4 because we were chatting, it was really nice. This is the first time ever that Robbie and I have had time away on our own, it feels really odd, but very special. Laura and Sam have gone to Plymouth for a few days to visit family and Emily is busy with her new job - so that just leaves us to enjoy the peace and quiet of Norfolk.

We reached the bungalow by lunch time and once we were unpacked we were able to relax and enjoy the luxuary of time with nothing to do. There is nothing to compare with sitting looking out across the sea and listening to the regular pulse of waves lapping the shore, it is my idea of heaven. It really is special to have time as a couple with no distractions - well not many distractions anyway. Robbie is always interested in looking out at the ships and before long he had the laptop out and loged on to one of his favourite websites so that he could identify the ships and track their routes. It is a harmless passtime, but he was still at it on Sunday morning!!

We have has such a lovely time so far, it is doing us the world of good.

A Moment of Panic

I was just getting ready to go to work yesterday when the phone rang. As always I had to sprint downstairs from the bathroom before the answer service cut in. A worried female voice at the other end asked if it was me, then she identified herself as Emily's friend Fi. Panic set in as soon as I realised who it was because Emily is away on holiday with a group of friends including Fi, if Fi was ringing something must have happened to Emily and her boyfriend. As it turned out Emily and everyone was was fine, they had all decided to cycle the Camel Trail from Padstow to Wadebridge, but Fi and her boyfriend were a bit slower than the others and they got lost. They did not have their mobile phones with them so Fi rang me from a pay phone to ask me to contact Emily. The others had to do a lot of cycling to find them, but in the end they were all reunited. I guess it is hard to keep a mobile charged when you are camping, but it shows how important it is to have a phone on a trip like that.

All Good Things Must Come to An End

On Saturday morning we made an early start and after packing the car we were on the road by just after 8am. It was refreshing to get on the road again after the very narrow (and sometimes scary) Cornish lanes. I was very sorry that our holiday was at an end, but since we had to go home I just wanted to get the long journey behind me.

It seemed to take forever to get to Exeter but eventually we were on M5 and Exeter was behind us. We stopped at the services and managed to lose Robbie. Sam Laura and I had all got back to the car, as sat there enjoying a long awaited cup of coffee and a snack I saw three trains go past, but still no Robbie. I thought there must be something seriously wrong if Robbie was missing out on trains, they were only FGW but even so trains are like magnets to Robbie. I tried to phone him but there was no reply, I seriously considered driving off without him because I didn't want to lose the advantage of an early start. Eventually he appeared and all became clear, he had been to Mc Donalds to by breakfast and there was a massive queue. He knew better than to buy anything for me, so I drove of as the others tucked into stinky breakfast snacks. I wish I could train Robbie not to hum when he eats, it really drives me mad but he claims he doesn't know he is doing it.

Robbie survived and we made steady progress towards Bristol and then on to the M4, we made a brief second stop at a service station, this time Robbie only escaped my clutches long enough to buy a Rail magazine before being escorted back to the car. The rest of the journey was uneventful, I got a bit irritated with the sat nav because it wanted me to go a different way and I knew that my way was better. That woman gets a real edge to her voice when I don't follow her directions, in fact I am fairly sure that she sighs when she says 'recalculating'. My ideal sat nav would have the voice of David Attenborough, I would follow him anywhere. To be fair the sat nav is a whole lot better than Robbie because it doesn't shout out when it sees a train, it doesn't fall asleep when it should be looking at the signposts and it doesn't time every journey according to rail times!

We got home safely at about 2.30pm, so we made reasonable time. Sam insisted on being dropped off at his girlfriend's house and as soon as we got back Laura went dashing off to uni to see her friend before she goes home. I was too tired to face unloading the car, we just took the essentials inside and after a welcome cup of tea I went to bed for a well earned nap - I love my bed. I had been looking forward to seeing Emily, but I had to wait until the evening to see her. Meg (the dog) and Dave and Oreo (cats) were pleased to see us, but I think it will take Dave a few days to completely forgive me for abandoning him, he thinks he is my shadow.

Ready at Last

Friday was a bit of a blur, packing, getting the car ready and filling it with fuel as well as last minute shopping. By 7.30pm everything was packed, the house was a tidy as I could manage and I tucked myself into bed to get some sleep before the long drive to Cornwall. I planned to get up at 2am so I needed a very early night. I'd not heard from Robbie but Laura was on standby to pick him up if he managed to get home without incident.

The call of the bathroom woke me up at midnight and as I sleeply emerged from the bathroom Robbie came bounding up the stairs wearing some new PJ bottoms, they had Batfink on them and they were startling to say the least. I went back to bed and reluctantly got up again at 2am. Robbie was still up, he was too scared to go to be because he knew he wouldnt get up again. I had to hurry him along because he was still running on Irish time and at that speed the holiday would be over before we got there!

I packed the flasks and food for the journey, then I packed the final items into the car while Robbie downed tools and made himself a bacon sandwich (at 3am!). Finally Laura and Sam and I were ready in the car and after sitting in the car waiting for Robbie for what seemed like hours we drove off towards Cornwall. By the time we reached the end of our road everyone else was asleep and I was left with an increasingly stressy sat nav for company. I knew the best way to go and each time I ignored the sat nav I could hear the edge in her voice as she announced that she was "recalculating".