Money Makes the World Go Around

I wasn't so concerned about the world going around, thanks to Robbie it was me who was going around in ever decreasing circles. He had an appointment somewhere north of here (I forgot to ask exactly where, but it involved heading towards Birmingham on a train). I altered my usual Monday routine so that I could drop him at the station at the time he wanted. I came back to the house to pick him up and he told me that he was ready, he just had to put his boots on, so I went out and waited in the car. Robbie turned up a few minutes later and I drove him to the station. He said a cheery goodbye and trundled off to buy a coffee for his journey and I drove back across town to the supermarket.

I parked the car in the supermarket car park and as I walked across to get a trolley I opened my handbag to get a pound coin out of my purse. My heart sank, there in my handbag was Robbie's wallet!! I turned around and went back to the car, I sent Robbie a text to let him know I was heading back to the station. I thought it would take me about half an hour to return the wallet and get back to the supermarket, after all Robbie couldn't go anywhere without money to buy a ticket. How wrong I was!! Baldrick Burgess had apparently bought his ticket for today's trip at the end of last week when he was at the station. So, when I arrived back at Northamptom station Robbie was just arriving at Rugby! I had to sit and wait, getting increasingly irritated while he travelled back from Rugby.

Finally he arrived looking very sheepish, I reunited him with his wallet and dashed back to the supermarket. I rushed around gathering the essentials in my trolley, but I didn't have time to do a proper shop because it was almost time for me to go to work. Men!! 

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober - 1 Thessalonians 5:6 King James Version

Robbie wanted to go out on Friday evening, I wasn't keen because he'd had a very challenging week and I knew that he was very tired and struggling to cope with pain from his back and legs. However it was the anniversary of his friend's death and he needed to meet with other friends to remember better times. I begged him not to be too late home because I was tired too and I didn't want to be too late to bed.

We had spoken on the phone before he went out and I kept my mobile close to me hoping that he would remember his promise not to be too late. It remained silent all evening so I sent him a text to say that I was going to bed and he should ring me when he needed a lift. I sat in bed listening to the radio and doing some writing on my netbook, trying to stay awake. He finally rang to say that he needed picking up at midnight and I asked him to ring me again when he got to Rugby just to make sure that I hadn't dozed off. Time marched on and no call came, so I set off for the station, I thought Robbie had just forgotten ring. 

When I got to the station I began to worry that Robbie may have fallen asleep, so I rang him several times and sent texts for him to contact me, but there was no reply. A stream of people wandered wearily around to the car park indicating that Robbie's train was in, I looked and looked but there was no Robbie. After a brief flurry of activity the car park was still and silent again and I was still there waiting. Time passed very slowly but eventually a few more weary travellers came into view, another train had arrived, but after a brief moment of hope my heart sank, there was no sign of Robbie. By this time I was seriously worried, my mind raced, perhaps he'd had a bad fall, perhaps he had even fallen under a train ........... Finally the truth became clear, a rather confused text from Robbie revealed that he had fallen asleep on the train and ended up in Buckinghamshire. A phone call followed and a rather unhappy Robbie admitted that it would be a long wait for him to make his way back. I wasn't best pleased, but at least he was safe, so I couldn't be too angry. We finally got home at about 2am - not the best start to a weekend! 

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!! 

It's funny how fast you can wake up when you realise you've overslept.

I spent most of Friday getting ready to go out on a train on Saturday. So by Friday evening we had a massive picnic ready to take with us, my netbook was packed in my rucksack, my camera was charged and everything was ready for an early start. At least I thought everything was ready, but there was just one thing I had overlooked – Robbie! He was still awake when I went to bed but when the alarm clock went off at a stupidly early hour he was sound asleep next to me and he refused to wake up. I tried and tried but it was impossible, he didn’t wake up but when prodded he produced a selection of grunts and insults. In the end I gave up and let him sleep. When he woke up he was very cross with me. We were too late for the train we planned to catch but we made the best of the day and with a trip to Plymouth on an HST. I always enjoy the views as we pass the sea wall at Dawlish. It was a very exhausting day, we didn’t get home until almost 11pm and by then the roles were reversed, I was asleep on my feet but Robbie was wide awake!

I am best viewed from a distance - Jenny Eclair

For the latter part of this week Robbie has been best viewed from a distance, and to be quite honest the greater the distance the better as far as I was concerned. I didn't see him until after I finished work on Wednesday evening. He approached the car with a big smile and as soon as got into the car he leant across to kiss me and he quite literally took my breath away - he stank! When I eventually recovered the power of speech I asked what he'd been eating? He gave a little shrug and said "nothing". I knew that wasn't true, the day that Robbie doesn't eat anything will be the day that he requires an ambulance!


It was a very difficult journey, the car stank and I was scared to breathe. I needed to get home as quickly as possible in order to escape from Robbie's breath, but I resisted the temptation to exceed the speed limit! He gave me one of his sheepish 'little boy' smiles and admitted that he had been out for lunch with his friends. He said that he'd had some rather nice sweet potato soup. Sweet? His breath was anything but sweet, he could have stripped paint with his breath! I kept my distance for the rest of the evening, but the pong seemed to take over the house so I retreated to the relative safety of the bedroom. I was asleep before he came to bed but too my horror his breath was just as bad the next morning!


His breath had improved a bit by the evening (but it was still a work in progress). He'd had a productive day and a pleasant time after work with friend's so he was bouncy and cheerful while I was exhausted after a challenging day. I was sitting at in the car looking down at my phone (to reply to a text) when Mr B crept up to the car and banged on the bonnet. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but he thought it was hilarious. Why do men never grow up? He spent the first half of the journey home giggling and the second half apologising!


I thought life would be back to normal by Friday, but I had forgotten that he was going out after work to mark a colleague's retirement. He arrived home (eventually) sober but smelly - I detest the smell of alcohol. I was happy to leave him downstairs watching television when I went to bed, but he must have found his way upstairs at some point because I woken this morning by Robbie 'backfiring'. I tried to ignore it, then I tried to wake him up, I failed dismally on both counts. In the end I decided that I suffered enough and I abandoned him in favour of the peace and quiet (and clean air) of the lounge. This week has taught me an important lesson - not to take fresh air for granted!

Teaching an Old Cat New Tricks

I saw far too much of the station car park last week, Robbie was working impossibly long hours and he was in so much pain that getting home on his own really wasn't an option. Thanks to the 'rancid green machines' (which are the bane of Robbie's life) I had plenty of time to take in all the 'delights' of Northampton Station. In fact I could probably have read the whole of War and Peace during my evening sojourns at the station. So by the time we got home and and got a meal on the table, Robbie was nodding off before his fork reached his mouth, like the dormouse at the Mad Hatter's tea party in Alice in Wonderland. 

It seemed as if the fun and closeness of the week before was just a distant dream but when life is tough and stressful, you have to take pleasure in the little things and the fleeting moments of fun. One evening after our meal I came into the lounge and was surprised to find Robbie wide awake and sitting at his computer. I was even more surprised to see Dave the cat sitting on his lap with his front paws leaning on the table, apparently looking at the computer screen. I told Robbie to "get that cat away from the table" but both he and the cat ignored me - nothing new there. As I sat down I realised that Robbie was talking to the cat comments such as "look at that one" and "this one is even better". Curiosity got the better of me and I walked over to see what they were doing. To my amazement they were looking at pictures of ginger cats! One thing is certain, there is no one in the world quite like Robbie and I am proud of him for so many reasons, but most of all for being true to himself. 

The Final 'Glowex' - For the Time Being

Thursday was our day, special to us but not for sharing on the blog. Among other things we went out for a meal, enjoyed more of the Northamptonshire countryside and visited the garden centre. So I will move on to Friday.


I really must love Robbie because I got up in the middle of the night to take him to the station for his 'away day'. This is Robbie's day in his own words and pictures.



London Midland 06.16 Northampton - Birmingham (blue train), 


Cross Country 07.30 Birmingham - York 

Grand Central HST at York Station 

Trans Pennine Express 09.57 York - Leeds, 

TPE York - Leeds

Northern 10.49 Leeds - Carlisle, 

Settle

From the window

Wow!

Northern 14.20 Carlisle - Sellafield, 

Saw 86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS @ Carlisle   

87002 Royal Sovereign @ Carlisle

Northern 16.48 Sellafield - Carlisle,  

37423 + KM01 ticking over in Sellafield Sidings

Virgin Trains 18.54 Carlisle - Birmingham, 


London Midland 22.53 Birmingham - Northampton


Mrs J 23.54 Northampton - Home

A Railway Rant

Robbie has been really struggling mobility wise recently, in fact at the end of last week he was so bad that he simply couldn't make it to work and he had to work from home. This week it has been a real struggle for him but he has got himself to work. At times like this he has to plan his journey even more carefully than usual, making sure that he travels on a train that gives him more leg room and planning his return journey so that it works well with his bus connections and does not involve an excessive amount of standing around in the the cold. 


Yesterday his train home was running on time, but it was delayed at Rugby to allow a freight train that was running late to go ahead of the passenger train. This caused great inconvenience to the passengers as the train arrived at Northampton 12 minutes late. Meaning that Robbie missed his bus - and at that time in the evening buses are not very frequent. He was forced to walk to the bus station, a long walk when you are in pain, all up hill, and just to make matters worse it was freezing cold and raining heavily. By this time he had missed his connecting bus too, so he had a long cold wait at the bus station. It was passed 9.30pm when he eventually got home, and by then he was in agony.


Unfortunately this issue of a passenger train being delayed at Rugby in favour of a late freight train is a frequent problem for passengers. Robbie expressed his frustration (rather mildly in the circumstances) on facebook. He was met with a barrage of criticism from one person who works for a company which until now I have trusted and respected. Among his various unhelpful comments was a suggestion that Robbie should just put up with it and that he detested passengers claiming compensation because it takes money out of the railways. He also said 'thats the joy of public transport' and 'if you don't like it get a car' I was staggered by his attitude, it makes me wonder how many other people think like that. It certainly makes me wonder if the company he works for shares his lack of respect for passengers! Passengers have paid for a service and they should complain when things go wrong, especially if the same problem happens often. It is the only way to make rail operators understand how much inconvenience it causes and hopefully this in turn will lead to better service. It really isn't about compensation, nothing could compensate for such a miserable end to Robbie's day. If a train is delayed by a tragedy or by problems arising from bad weather that's one thing, and most passengers would be understanding about that, but to deliberately delay a passenger train that was running on time to accommodate a late running freight train has to be wrong. 


I understand that the railway has many customers and freight companies need to make a living too, but whatever the rules say, it is not unreasonable for passengers to expect their trains to be punctual and to expect that consideration will be given to their needs.  

'The Norfolk landscape sends a shiver through my soul....' - Raffaella Barker

Our holiday in Norfolk had been planned long before our recent woes and despite the huge black cloud of worry hanging over us we decided to go and make the most of the peace and freedom that we always find in Norfolk. These things never work out as planned and before we could pack and get ready for our holiday we had to address the pressing issues that were crowding into our week. Robbie had important deadlines to meet at work, but he also needed to see the GP urgently, and just to confuse matters further he had to take time out of a very busy week to deal with three totally intelligible letters sent by CMEC/CSA which no one dealing with his case could explain. They couldn’t even tell who had sent the letters or why, I in these days of austerity I can’t help wondering why a government agency would send out three different letters to the same person on the same day in three different envelopes and then waste hours of staff time responding to frantic phone calls from intelligent people who are totally baffled by the correspondence. What I wonder has happened to plain English and what on earth has happened to customer service?



Robbie arrived home from work at 11pm on Friday evening; I was tired, frustrated and still packing. Robbie was so tired that he was like a zombie and so challenging that if I hadn’t sent him upstairs to sort his clothes out I might have harmed him! It was heading towards 3am when I went to bed and Robbie was even later because he was dealing with final bits and bobs of work that had to be done before we could go on holiday. I knew that would fall asleep but I was too tired to wait for him, in the past Meg would have woken him up and sent him to bed when she got sick of his snoring, but now he had a stark choice, find his own way to bed or stay put.


The alarm woke us at 6am and ‘sleeping beauty’ reluctantly plodded off to make a cup of tea. Within half an hour I was up, washed, dressed and packing the car. I wanted to be on the road by 8am, but Robbie trotted around in a state of undress and showed a marked reluctance to get himself organised. He still had to finish off some bits and bobs at work and this was delayed further by computer problems. The clock ticked on, 8 o’clock came and went and by 10 o’clock a near naked Robbie was still messing around with work matters and I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep my temper. I finally chased him off to get ready and at 10.50am I went to sit in the car to wait for him, at least I could listen to the radio while I waited. At 11.30am he came out to announce that he was on his way before scuttling back in to do a few last minute jobs. At 12.OO I was parked outside Marks and Spencer’s waiting for Robbie to buy himself a coffee and a breakfast baguette. Then at long last we were on our way.


Considering the late start we had a reasonable journey and made good time. Before we had even left Northampton Robbie did his usual trick of squealing with delight at something that he had seen from the car. This time it was not a train, it was two traction engines in the car park of the rugby club, he was very disappointed that I refused to stop for him to take a closer look. One day he will cause an accident by shouting out like that. I got my own back on him later when I told him that I had caught him out in a bit of mischief (yet again), it is one of the few occasions that I can recall Robbie being completely speechless. He should know by now that I don’t miss much!


We arrived at about 3pm and began the exhausting process of unpacking and putting everything away. I was exhausted and all I really wanted to do was to make the bed and crawl into it, but suddenly we were thrown into panic mode – it seems I had forgotten to pack the coffee! Robbie was very good, he managed not to stamp his feet, but the arms were folded and the bottom lip was sticking out as if he was a sulky toddler. So, before the unpacking was completed we had to get back into the car and head for Tesco in order to find the correct brand of coffee. By then I was far too tired to contemplate cooking, in fact I wasn’t even sure I was awake enough to eat anything, but Robbie’s rumbling tummy led us to the fish and chip shop. I found that I was hungry after all and I managed to clear my plate before sleep finally caught up with me.

Normal Service Will Be Resumed

It will not surprise those who know me that Robbie and I do not always agree. We are quite capable of arguing about everything from politics to pet care, but when you get beyond the bickering our views are not significantly different. It is just that Robbie is less willing to be outspoken than I am -yes really! I can tolerate people spouting drivel as long as I don't have to listen. I can accept their right to believe passionately in the most ridiculous things, but if they try to impose their batty beliefs on me they will get their answer loud and clear - even the Jehovah's Witnesses have blacklisted our house! The thing that really gets me wound up is when one group gets so forceful about asserting their rights that their actions have a devastating effect on others, including those more vulnerable and less able to assert their 'rights'.


That brings me on to a name which has fast become a swear word among many of it's customers - London Midland. If you type the words 'London Midland chaos' or 'London Midland Disruption', you will find countless examples of delayed or cancelled services and services that terminated before their expected destination. Their name has become synonimous with disruption, chaos and unreliability. The the drivers dispute which has been causing havock for passengers is supposedly at an end. There have been various promises about normal service being resumed from yesterday. It is that little word 'normal' that bothers me because 'normal' for London Midland is not a good customer experience. Yesterday Robbie's journey to work was one of the worst yet. I would be much more reassured if they said that they would be running the full timetabled service, on time and with working toilets. Come to think of it I wouldn't believe them even if they said that!!


Like so many others Robbie has has had a terrible time trying to get to and from work.  Often it took three times as long as it should and it required considerable ingenuity to get there or to get home again. It was exhausting and extremely worrying. I understand that the drivers have issues, of course they want to be paid well for what they do. I am not anti union (but I am deeply unimpressed by the way some unions behave) and I understand that this problem is not all one sided, the company should have sorted this out long ago. In fact the faceless bods at DFT who make totally batty decisions about franchise allocation should have foreseen the problems of harmonising the pay and conditions of workers who joined the new franchise from two different companies. It is simply not good enough to treat passengers so badly.  


Needless to say the chaos has generated a lot of frustration and there has been plenty of heated discussion on facebook. I was pleasantly surprised to find that even some fellow railway employees did not support the recent action. One person wrote (not a direct quote as it was necessary to tone down the language) They need to get their heads banged together. For too long the insulated world of train crew have been taking advantage of at the people who employ them as well the poor passengers stood on platforms waiting for a non-running service. A fortnight working hard in a different job would be enough to make them appreciate just how fortunate they really are.


It seems the drivers have got their deal, but at what cost. What about the people who have had to drive to work or to university because the train service is so unreliable, what about the countless people who lost pay because their train was cancelled or terminated short. Did the drivers give a thought to the people who were terrified of losing their job because they just couldn't get to work on time. I wonder if they cared that the passengers that they messed about so badly will get no meaningful compensation. It is great for the drivers that they have got what they wanted, but at what cost? 

Just Looking

Friday

We had to get up earlier this morning because we wanted to go and have a look at the car boot sale and it started at 11am. It wasn't such a difficult target when you consider what time we get up on weekdays when we are at home, but still we had a last minute rush, in fact it looked as if Robbie would be attending the car boot sale in his lounge wear!

It was a sunny and very warm morning and we enjoyed walking around looking at all the stalls, it was fun. In the end we didn't buy anything, I think we both know that we have more than enough junk in our house and we need to be getting rid of things not buying more!

After the boot sale we went to Mundsley for the afternoon we enjoyed the beach and we had a lovely meal. I am so sorry that we are going home on Sunday, it has been such a wonderful holiday that I would like to pause time for a while and just enjoy being together - but I have missed the children and I am longing to see them again.

Delayed

I missed Robbie so much while he was away and by the time Monday morning came I was longing to see him again. Before he went he told me that he expected to be back soon after lunch time on Monday, so I had a plan in my head of what we would do when he got back. I sent him a text when I woke up and I got a nice text back, then as I was getting on with my morning I was thinking about what he was doing and where he was on his journey. I rang him at about 9.15am and I was disappointed to find that he was still at home, but he said he would be leaving within half an hour so I didn't make a big issue of it.

It felt as if time stood still, I was keeping busy and doing things that I enjoyed, but I just wanted him to come back. Just after half past eleven I signed on to the internet and found that Robbie had left a comment only a couple of minutes before. I reassured myself that he must be using his netbook on the train, but when I rang to check he was still at home! I wasn't amused. I had willingly agreed to him going away for the weekend, in fact I had suggested it, but I felt that he was now taking liberties and I made my disappointment clear.

Robbie did his old trick of going silent because he knew I was cross, so I didn't have any more calls or texts from him until around 4pm, I expected that he would be well on his way, but he was only at Leicester! I had to wait until 8.15pm to pick him up at North Walsham, I was cross with him but i still really wanted to see him and I thought I would go mad having to wait so long. Finally it was time to go to the station, I drove off delighted that my long wait was almost over. I hadn't got very far when my phone rang (hands free), it was Robbie telling me to go back. I couldn't make sense of what he was saying so I had to find somewhere to pull over and ring him back. He had got on the wrong train, he discovered his mistake in time to avoid an unplanned trip to Lowestoft but by then he had missed his train! It was like a cruel joke, I had to turn back.

We were finally reunited an hour later. I was so glad to see him that my annoyance was quickly forgotten. We have the rest of our holiday to enjoy now.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

It seems that Robbie is aspiring to become a Mills and Boon writer - in other words creating a work of fiction that doesn't sound real and expecting the readers to suspend their disbelief! He didn't get as far as writing it down but the more he repeated the story the less believable it became.

Robbie managed to upset me during the afternoon. I was having the day from hell, in fact it is no exaggeration to say that it was the week from hell. Things were going wrong at every turn, it felt like a line of dominoes falling over. I will not bore you with the whole list of problems, but the final straw was the car not passing it's MOT, needing several expensive repairs and not being ready until Monday or Tuesday. The frustration and expense had me really worried and when I told Robbie about it all he could say was that he was OK because he had his bus pass! I felt so upset that I put the phone down, so he was in a mood with me and I didn't hear from him again that day.

Robbie was due home soon after 6pm and after a dreadful week I was looking forward to a 'normal' evening. Six, seven and eight o'clock came and went with no Robbie and no contact. I guessed that he was out enjoying himself and he wasn't going to tell me because he knew I wouldn't like it. The trouble is that it is always possible that he could have had an accident or been taken ill and as time went on I couldn't put those thoughts out of my mind, so by 9pm I was angry and worried.

10pm came and went and there was still no contact so I got on with all the evening jobs and at around 11pm I locked the front door, took the key out and went to bed. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew it was 11.30pm and I got a text thanking me for locking him out - he had forgotten his key! I got up and let him in, but I was in no mood for excuses and I went straight back to bed.

The next morning he told me that he had gone out for a drink because I had annoyed him. He'd caught the train to Rugby but had dozed off and only woken up as he was departing Milton Keynes for Euston (any excuse for a bit of cranking!). He then had to buy a ticket to get back home. He said he didn't bother to text me because he was annoyed with me. To borrow a word from my son - whatever! I hope his adventure was worth a night on the sofa!

Late Again!

Robbie was late home last night, I couldn't believe that he would be late even on his birthday, but he said he had to sort out some diagrams. His train didn't even get in until about quarter to nine, so by the time he was home and settled the evening was gone. He was delighted with his presents especially the railway book about British Rail Mk2 coaches that my mum bought for him. I bought him a number of bits and bobs as well as his real presents, he loved the little Lego man keyring with lights in his feet and he even got excited about the big b,ox of Smarties!

The Friday Night Fiasco

Robbie is making himself feel at home in the dog house, after the Friday night fiasco he is likely to be there for the foreseeable future. On Friday morning he set off for an appointment somewhere far away. I can't remember where he said he was going, but I distinctly remember that he didn't say a word about the possibility of being late home. He didn't contact me all day, so at about 5pm I sent him a text. When he had not responded by 6.30pm I phoned him, but he ignored the call. Hours passed, his dinner was put in the dog and I got on with my evening. Eventually he sent a text with the exact time of his arrival at Northampton. I took this as a request for a lift, I sat there waiting for him and he went straight past heading for the bus station. I can't tell you exactly what I said to him, but it caused him to turn back and get a lift. He even insisted on stopping to buy chips at 11pm! To say I was unimpressed doesn't even come close. Out of the last 5 days he has been seriously late home 3 times, even Network Rail can do better than that in terms of punctuality!

Late Yet Again!

Robbie was in the dog house again last night for being late home. We are fast reaching a point where him arriving home at a normal time is less common than all the late nights. It is not as if his ordinary day isn't long enough. He gets up at 5am to catch a train just after 6am and he usually gets home is about 7.30pm, that is a long enough day for anyone and him stumbling in at 10.30pm in so much pain that he can hardly walk is absolutely stupid. We all have a responsibility to take care of our own health (not to mention our family responsibilities!) but I just don't know how to make him understand that. I think I will have to make him stand in front of the mirror and practice saying no and meaning it!! How do I get him to stop thinking that he is Superman when the reality is much closer to Homer Simpson!!

The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back

Robbie found himself spending the night on the sofa bed last night. He pushed my tolerance to the limit during the evening. He phoned me to say that he had been delayed and he would not be on his planned train so could I please pick him up at 7.30pm, I wasn't overjoyed because it would mean that we could not eat our meal until well after 8pm. I wasn't too impressed with his attitude either but I got on with preparations for the meal and various other jobs and at 7.29pm I pulled into the station car park to meet Robbie. Almost as soon as I turned off the engine my phone bleeped to signal that a text had been received, I rummaged in my handbag for my phone and read the text (sent at 7.25pm) Robbie had missed his train and was still at the pub, he would text me again soon! To say that I wasn't amused doesn't really get close to my real emotions. I went home again, did Robbie's jobs, fed the rest of the family and waited , and waited ..........and waited. Finally a text arrived informing me that he was on the train and in need of a lift at 10.30pm. He always texts when he knows he is in trouble, he is two afraid to ring. I was very tempted to leave him marooned at the station, but I went to fetch him. He got into the car with a daft grin on his face and told me that he'd had a really good time. At least one of us had! As we drove off he informed me that several of his friends were drunk, and I informed him that he stank of alcohol. I was still waiting to hear anything that sounded remotely like sorry, but when I glanced across at him I saw that he was dozing with the idiot grin still spread across his face. He managed a couple of incoherent sentences before we got home, but when I reversed on to the drive he thanked me as if I was a taxi driver, grabbed his bags and trotted off into the house, leaving me outside! I didn't even get the usual cup of tea as a peace offering.

This morning he appeared at 11am bearing a cup of tea and an apology and promising breakfast. I am still waiting for breakfast an hour later!

Making Demands

Robbie hasn't mentioned his egg box again - but I did find him staring into the fridge a couple of times! He was late home yesterday so it was after 9.30pm before we sat down with a cup of tea (coffee in his case). He told me that he was travelling east on Thursday, that didn't give me many clues, a trip to Moscow perhaps? I could imagine him in one of those Russian hats! He was actually going to Cambridge, it isn't all that far from Northampton but it is very hard to get there by train and he had to go via London.

The subject of Cambridge cropped up again when we went to bed. At 1.13am Robbie decided to run through every station on his route to Cambridge - whatever happened to counting sheep? I told him that I was sure he had Waterbeach and Ely the wrong way round, Waterbeach was before Ely. Robbie told me that I was wrong and he would prove it, the next thing I knew the light was on and I was all I could see was his rear end as he leaned out of bed to get his railway maps. He sat there thumbing through his books and moaning that we needed an extra copy of Bakers Railway Atlas so that he could keep one by his bed - great!

Finally he gave up on his maps and we settled down to sleep, but just as I was drifting off to sleep he woke me up making unreasonal demands - he wanted me to get him some beef dripping - yuck!

This morning was a rush, but Robbie had time to check his Bakers Railway Atlas and grudgingly he had to admit that I was right! He was not a happy man at all.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder?

I haven't seen much of Robbie this weekend on Friday he allegedly got snowed in and had to stay overnight in Birmingham. I say allegedly because he went to the office Christmas celebration on Friday afternoon and evening so it may have been that he was conveniently marooned in Birmingham, so I had a peaceful night and just for once I was able to hang on to all the duvet! He came bouncing back on Saturday lunchtime, but he got his priorities all wrong the best way to get into my good books is to make me a cup of tea! He has a nasty bump on his knee, he fell over in the snow on Friday.

On Sunday morning he was off again on a secret mission (I'm not allowed to write about it on the blog) but he had my approval. I had to take him to the station, I can't believe they haven't gritted the car park it was like a skating rink, it is an accident waiting to happen! Anyway Robbie didn't get back until late in the evening, but he had a great time and surprise surprise he managed to stay upright all day!

The Big Freeze

Robbie often comes up with ideas and most of them are totally batty (I think he reserves his sensible thoughts for work) but his latest daft idea has really annoyed me. We have had a couple of occasions recently when he has struggled to get up on time. Any sensible person would tell him that if he stays up working on his timetables until 2am he will not be ready to wake up again at 5am! Robbie has given the matter a lot of thought and has come up with the idea that we are feeling tired because the bedroom is too hot, so without any discussion he turned the radiator off. We only have it on for a few hours morning and evening, but that is enough to take the chill off the room and make it comfortable. Without heat it is so cold that I can't get to sleep for ages and when I wake up in the morning it is so cold that I just want to turn over and go back to sleep. I have had a full and frank exchange of views with Robbie and until normal heating is resumed I am on strike!