A Sense of Perspective

Last Friday was the last day of our holiday. I didn't want the holiday to end, but I was determined that we would enjoy our last day. Robbie jumped at the chance of another visit to Wroxham Barns, so when we had done all the boring things like last minute shopping and filling the car with fuel we took a gentle drive to Wroxham. 

Robbie wanted to have a look around before going to Uncle Stuart's Brewery for a pint of Summer Ale. We looked at jigsaws, Robbie usually has a new one to take on holiday, but this year he couldn't make his mind up about what he wanted so when he sees one that 'floats his boat' we will buy it. He is rather tempted by a design called Grandad's Attic, but in the end he decided to have another think before buying it. There is method in his madness, if he puts it off for a week or two he knows that he will have a good reason to go to to one of his favourite shops Jeys of Earls Barton to look at jigsaws - and of course they have an amazing coffee shop! Anyway we had a good look around at all the shops and we bought one or two things. Then we went to sit in the sunshine while Robbie enjoyed a pint of Summer Ale and I had a cup of tea. I don't need to say that we had a lovely day, the picture of Robbie says more than words ever could!

We spent the afternoon and evening at the bungalow, enjoying the special atmosphere of the place and wishing that we didn't have to return to reality. In the evening I watched the bats circling around and then I stood by the back gate as it was getting dark and listened to the waves lapping on the beach it was like listening to the heartbeat of the earth. Far on the horizon I could see lights from distant ships sparkling like stars on the sea. I felt very small and insignificant standing there in the darkness but in some way it put the world and it's worries in perspective and reminded me of the things that really matter in life.

Magna Est Veritas

Bat Watching

Sunday was the most amazing day, hot, sunny with just a slight breeze, it was a real beach day but I wanted to fit a couple of other things in as well. We went to have a look at the car boot sale in Stalham, it was a bit too hot and crowded for comfort and despite his protests that he was okay, I could tell that Robbie was in a lot of pain, so we didn't stay too long. We didn't buy much, but I couldn't resist buying a couple old annuals. Treasure was one of my favourite comics when I was little and 50p per annual it was a small price to pay to rekindle old memories. 

After the car boot we took a drive to Mundesley for a wonderful roast dinner at Jonet. I had a feast of vegetables because Robbie only wanted a few peas and carrots so I had all his cauliflower, sweet corn as well as my own vegetables. There is something extra special about a roast dinner when you haven't had to cool it and I really enjoyed it.

We spent a little while in Mundesley, enjoying the beach and soaking up the sunshine, then we took a gentle drive back to the bungalow. We had a walk on the beach and we sat in the garden for a little while. I didn't stay outside for too long because I was afraid of getting burnt, I had sun block on but I still caught the sun a bit.

At dusk we stood outside and watched the bats flying around the garden, I love watching them. They are so quick that it is hard for my eyes to keep up with them, but there is something soothing about watching them

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked” - Warren Buffet

I am one of those people who doesn't like hot or strong tasting food, but my son a more adventurous attitude to food. He enjoys hot and spicy tastes and one of his favourite treats is hot salsa dip. When I went shopping a couple of days ago I bought him some salsa dip because it was on offer. I was I a bit of a rush when I got home and I absent-mindedly packed it into the fridge with the chilled items. The fridge was rather full so I just tucked items in whatever spaces I could find because I knew the fridge fairy (Robbie) would rearrange it anyway - he always does!

We have a fridge freezer with the freezer at the bottom and the fridge above and I find it hard to reach  the top shelves of the fridge. I don't know why I put the salsa dip in front of the milk on the top shelf, but it certainly wasn't intended to be a booby trap. The salsa had escaped Robbie's attention on the day of purchase, but it made it's presence felt the following morning. It is Robbies habit to wander downstairs wearing 'not a lot' to make a coffee (tea for me) and to feed the cats. He opened the fridge and reached up to get a new bottle of milk and the glass jar of dip fell from a great height, smashed and splattered everywhere. Thankfully 'everywhere' did not include that sensitive spot that would probably have required a trip to casualty. However it did involve a massive clean up operation which disrupted his morning routine - I was not popular! 

“Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain”

It seems that I was wrong, 'monsoon season' is not over. After a perfect week of sunshine last week a very hot weekend and a hot sunny days at the beginning of the week the rain came back with a vengeance yesterday evening. It was uncomfortably hot and late afternoon we had a brief shower which cane as a relief, it was so hot that I wanted to go and stand in the rain to cool down, but unfortunately I was busy at work so I couldn't do that . At about twenty past eight I was at the station waiting for Robbie because he was having a bad day and struggling to cope with the pain in his legs. The sky darkened and the heavens opened, it only lasted for about twenty minutes but it came down so hard that many roads including those in the station car park flooded (the water soon soaked away afterwards). By the time Robbie came out of the station the rain had more or less stopped. I thought his pain and the bad weather would have put him in a bad mood, but I was wrong. He was very happy, because lots of people had admired his new and rather splendid pink Lego brick cuff-links. 


As we drove home we encountered huge puddles and several flooded roads. The road where we live is quite high up and not prone to flooding but the drains couldn't cope and when we got home the road was flooded just beyond our house. The people from the houses opposite were all out trying to stop the traffic because the water from the road was flooding down into their houses. Thankfully our side of the road was fine.

From Troubles of the World I Turn to Ducks - Frank W. Harvey

There will be few words in this article because the pictures can tell their own story. It is 2nd October but today was as hot and sunny as a day in July, so Robbie and I went to the park to enjoy the sunshine.

There are several exercise contraptions positioned around the park. Robbie decided to use the twisty one, I think it is designed to work on waist and tummy muscles. It was very entertaining but I am not sure if it did any good!

Robbie spent a long time stalking a squirrel in the hope of getting the perfect shot. The squirrel obliged and posed for a photo, but Robbie accidentally deleted it - the photo not the squirrel! As we walked back from the ice cream van I picked up a conker and slipped it into Robbie's pocket. At the time he was busy eating his ice cream but when he found it a few minutes later he decided to search under a tree for more conkers. There was just one problem - it wasn't a Horse Chestnut tree!!

I never tire of this view. I used to come here as a child to feed the ducks or to fish for tiddlers, So many memories.

You are never too old to feed the ducks. I don't think anyone can sit by the lake watching the antics of the ducks and still feel miserable.

All along the backwater, 

Through the rushes tall, 

Ducks are a-dabbling, 

Up tails all!

Kenneth Grahame

Too Hot to Handle

Having insisted on heat in the bedroom I looked forward to a comfortable night, but it was worse than before. I was so hot that I thought I was having a senior moment! I went into the bathroom and found that the radiator was so hot that anyone using the' facilities' risked burning their bits. Robbie had been twiddling with the timer and had somehow set the heating on constant and set the thermostat to tropical! He is like a man with a bag of spanners, he goes round sticking them in the works and I run along behind trying to restore order. We now have the timer set at the correct time and it is obediently coming on and going off at the times set. The thermostat is back to normal and sanity has been restored - until the next time!

In the Sea

It was so hot today that the beach was the best place to be. I loved going into the sea, and eventually Robbie broke his own rule and paddled, and surprise surprise, once he tried it he liked it and he wanted to do it again!

We found several wishing stones on the beach (stones with holes going all the way through them) and I took lots of photos of the beach and of Robbie. I had to make him put his bag down while I took some photos, because he looked like Roy Cropper (from Coronation Street) standing there on the beach with his bag!

I have put a number of holiday photos on the blog and if anyone has noticed that Robbie seems to wear the same clothes on different days. Don't worry, he doesn't smell, I have washed his clothes every day because he and Sam both like to to wear their favourite things over and over again – yet another of Robbie's Aspie traits!

Everyone Has Limits!

Robbie had a very bad day on Sunday. We had to get up early to go and get the dog from the kennels and I decided to take the other car, but I asked Robbie to bring both car keys with us. It was a reasonably long drive because the kennels is near Milton Keynes and Robbie talked non stop about trains, including a very odd statement about a Pendolino 'sitting down'. It was lovely to get Meg back, but the journey home was hot and uncomfortable. We arrived home to find ourselves locked out because Laura was out and the other key that I had asked Robbie to bring was locked inside the house! I had to drive all the way to my mum's to get the spare key. In the afternoon he kept me waiting outside Tesco for an hour and a half, he should have only bought a few essential food items, but he 'accidentaly' went shopping for clothes! I was not amused, in fact I was furious. He did say he was sorry, but he didn't seem very sorry and when he moved my cleaning stuff that evening and then mocked me for getting cross, he ended up wearing a cup of tea! I did regret it, it was a waste of good tea, but everyone has limits – even me!

The T Word

Wow, we had the most amazing last day on holiday. It was a beautiful day, hot and sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky. Robbie had breakfast outside while I went for an early walk to get some photos while it was quiet and the sun was in the right position. We had a nice day on the beach, the sea was a bit cold but once I was used to it I enjoyed paddling in the shallow water as I wandered along the beach. Robbie doesn't paddle, he just sat in his chair enjoying the sun and reading railway magazines. We had a nice walk this evening and I thought I had his undivided attention, but something set him off and he was back on his favourite subjects, trains, rail tours and railways in general. It would have been nice to have one day without the T word, but I guess you can't have everything!

A Difficult Night

I went to bed before Robbie on Sunday evening, I was totally exhausted - by him and his illness. He arrived in bed a bit later, I have a vague memory of it because he trod on me as he got into bed, but I must have been very sleepy because I don't remember anything else until I woke with a start because there was apparently a block of ice in the bed next to me. I cautiously prodded Robbie, he was freezing even his usually radiant rear was ice cold, it made me worry that he was right after all and he really could die of a cold. A couple of hours later I woke again to find that I was unbelievably hot, Robbie was still asleep but was now too hot to handle. I gave up and decided to lay on top of the duvet to cool down. Later on I woke again because there was an eerie moaning like Marley's Ghost without the chains, I lay very still and listened - it was Robbie! He was moaning in his sleep! I hope he soon gets better because I can't cope with much more of this.