An Early Start.

The insistent bleeping of the alarm clock roused me from sleep, but 'Sleeping Beauty' slumbered on oblivious of the cacophony of sound that filled the room as all three alarm clocks demanded attention. I shook him and yelled at him to turn it off, he said "yes dear" and carried on snoring! Clearly it was going to be one of those days. Trying to get Robbie out of bed is like trying to raise the dead - even when (as today) it is something he wants to do.


It took a minor miracle but at 7.55am we pulled out of Northampton on the London Midland service to Birmingham. It was a double set 'blue' train so Robbie had nothing to moan about (for a while at least!). As soon as we arrived at Northampton it was clear that this was no ordinary Saturday morning. The 'socks and sandals brigade' had donned their winter uniform and turned out en masse for the annual gathering of the weird, the worrying and the downright certifiable - otherwise known as the Warley Model Railway Exhibition. 


We left the train at Birmingham International and when we entered the National Exhibition Centre we were herded towards the exhibition hall. We waited for the exhibition to open in a tightly packed and ever growing crowd. I felt very small and outnumbered lost in the crush of men with backpacks who all had the same thing on their minds - trains! The crowd surged forward and I was carried along with it, down the stairs round the corner and in to the exhibition. Robbie was like a kid in a toy shop, he didn't know what to do first, but in true Robbie style he insisted that we had to stick to the same route that we take every year! 

There was lots to look at and Robbie's wish list grew by the minute. I wanted to look at things too but there were some very rude and hostile men around. Several times I was deliberately shoved out of the way and on many occasions men pushed in front of me as I was looking at stalls. Even Robbie noticed the hostile looks I got, as if they thought I had no right to be there. I got sick of dodging rucksacks. Being short is always a bit of a hazard in a crowded situation, but today was worse than usual. They are not going to get rid of that easily, my money is just as good as theirs and when necessary I have sharp elbows (at just the right height) so watch out!


Before long Robbie was walking around with a 'Roy Cropper' shopping bag as well as his rucksack. We bought some lovely books, one for me and four for him, as well as a stash of magazines a couple of little shunt engines and two very nice Hornby circus trucks. As I looked around I noticed that most of the other men were now armed with shopping bags as well as their rucksacks. It was rather like a Roy Cropper convention, or perhaps Where's Wally in reverse - If you looked hard enough you might be able to spot someone 'normal'. People watching is always fun, but at Warley it takes on a whole new dimension!


I am not sure how long we stayed at the exhibition, probably not much more than an hour but we managed to see everything and by the time we left we were absolutely exhausted. I enjoyed it, but I don't think it was as big or quite as good as last year. My favourites were the book stalls and the Stall selling Ivor the Engine books and mugs - I love Ivor the Engine! There was one other highlight, the ladies toilets, they were clean, practical and there were no queues, in fact they were almost deserted. If only it was always like this! 


Robbie and I left the exhibition exhausted but content and keen to take a closer look at our purchases. It was still early so we caught a train to Birmingham with the intention of having a day on the railways - but that is a story for tomorrow, I'm tired now. 

There's weird and then there's Warley!

A few months ago Robbie asked me if I would like to go to a model railway exhibition with him in November. He must have caught me at a weak moment because I agreed without hesitation. I am quite interested in Robbie's model railway collection - I don't have much choice really because they are taking over the bedroom! In previous years the thought of the crowds has put me off (I really struggle with crowds) but this year I braved it.

I thought Robbie's back pain would stop us going, but he was determined not to miss it because he had been looking forward to it for months. We got up stupidly early on Saturday morning and headed towards the station, before long we were sitting comfortably on a train enjoying a bacon roll and a cup of tea (coffee in Robbie's case). We spotted a number of other passengers who seemed to be heading for the same destination - how did we know, well they had train spotter written all over them! It was a bit too chilly for even the hardiest among them to contemplate socks and sandals, but there were plenty of beards and bellies in evidence!

When we got to the NEC we were herded into a rather disorderly crowd by one frantic man with a walkie talkie, and just before 9.30am the crowd moved forward and down the stairs and a few minutes later we were in the hall and wondering what to look at first. Robbie was like a kid in a sweetshop, he wanted to dash off in all directions at once. At one of the first stands we looked at he saw a Heljan Class 17 Clayton that proved too hard to resist, he looked at a few more stands before dashing back to blow his whole budget on the Clayton.

I managed to hang on to my money for a little longer. I was so tempted by the Ivor the Engine products, I love Ivor the Engine and I did go back and buy a couple of Ivor books later on. I could have spent a fortune, but since I didn't have a fortune to spend I manages to keep more or less within my budget. I saw loads of things that I really liked especially a Virgin Voyager set (so if Santa is reading this please take note). I spent most of my budget on books, I just couldn't resist them, there was one about Victorian and Edwardian carriage design, one about the history of the circus train, another about the railways during the war and Robbie's favourite 'Rails around Walsall'. In a weak moment I agreed to let Robbie buy loads of back copies of magazines. Before long I was weighed down with bags and I felt as if my arms would be stretched right down to my knees!

I was surprised how easy it was to lose Robbie in the crowd - but he kept finding me again! I found it very exhausting and by about 11.30am Robbie was struggling to cope with leg and back pain and I was tired, so we decided to go to York on the train. We could eat our packed lunch in comfort and enjoy looking through our new books. It was a really nice day. When we finally caught the train back to Northampton we were in for a nice surprise at Rugby, Tornado (60163) was sitting in platform 5 on it's return journey from working a rail tour. Our train was full with many people standing, lots of people were coming back from Warley and it was fascination to see all the different types of people who become obsessed with all things railway. Robbie told me off for staring, but I couldn't help it I had never seen anything like it in my life - so many variations on a theme. Robbie's quote of the day - 'there's weird and then there's Warley!'

Too Much Excitement

When Robbie got home on Friday evening he told me that he had brought something exciting for us to look at over the weekend. After his 'exciting' conversation about his eraser collection last weekend I didn't have high expectations, but I didn't expect toe curling boredom. He had brought home the Hornby model railway catalogue - and he is still looking at it!

Robbie is travelling north today, so I am expecting bad weather (it always happens when he goes north!)

Something Close to Normal

Robbie is back in 'normal' mode – well, not normal exactly, Robbie doesn't do normal but he manages a fairly close approximation. He has been trying to make up for being a pain in the rear on Christmas morning, I have forgiven him, but he is still cross with himself. He invited me to have an early night last night, but I realised that it was just his one track mind getting the better of him when he said “just you and me and the new train DVD”. I like watching the DVD's with him, but sometimes I think trains are taking over the bedroom. The top of the wardrobes are packed with his model trains, he has piles of railway magazines on his side of the bed and his collection train DVD's is growing like a triffid. Most of his books have taken up residence in the lounge, but there are still plenty upstairs and some of them even find their way into the bed! I have to ask him not to read his books out loud when I am trying to sleep!! People told me that having a 'toy boy' would be exhausting, but I don't think this is quite what they had in mind, sometimes it would be nice to be just a bit more normal.
On the subject of 'normal' Robbie was in a fragile mood on Christmas Eve, not yet in a full blown strop, but working on it. All the family were at my mum's, just enjoying a nice family day together, but Robbie sat there reading The Grocer! What am I going to do with him?

This evening he is watching a scary film on his laptop, it is called The Strangers. It is comical to watch him, he's there with his headphones on looking terrified and making occasional terrified gasps and whimpers. At least it has given me a bit of peace for a little while.

Abandoned Again!

Robbie went 'out to play' again this weekend, this time it was a model railway exhibition that demanded his attention. I wasn't overjoyed about being abandoned again but he promised me his undivided attention on Sunday to make up for it. When I woke up on Sunday morning Robbie complained that he was wide awake and then promptly fell asleep and refused to be woken for ages. I just lay there thinking about Kenny Everett, I know that is an odd thing to think about but it was Robbie's fault, his legs seem to have a life of their own and he waves them around to such an extent that he lets all the warmth escape from under the duvet – it makes me furious! Eventually he woke up and finally I got his attention, but he spoiled it by choosing exactly that moment to tell me that he met Pete Waterman yesterday. I have nothing against Pete Waterman, but having to think about him and Kenny Everett before I get up on a Sunday morning is a bit scary!

Not So Hidden Secrets 10.03.08

Some people are so careless about what they leave in their pockets and at the bottom of abandoned carrier bags. I always make a profit on the laundry, I put all the lost coins in a jar to boost our spending money when we go on holiday. I check carefully, but it is surprising how often a tissue sneaks into the wash, it's so frustrating because it takes ages to get all the bits off!

This morning I was sorting out the hall, to be honest it looked more like Steptoe's yard than a hall. Why do people abandon shoes, coats and bags all over the place, in fact why do they need so many bags and pairs of shoes in the first place? Having plodded up and down stairs delivering Sam and Laura's belongs to their rooms I was left with a selection of Robbie's bags, there was the casual rucksack, the laptop bag containing his old computer, his retired briefcase which he can't bear to part with, then there was a suit cover and a couple of carrier bags. On closer investigation I found that one carrier bag contained Robbie's (still dirty) travel mug and a magazine, the other proved more interesting it contained an opened package, lots of bubble wrap and a receipt - another accidental purchase perhaps? It turned out to be a very recent receipt for a very expensive (and unauthorised) item, two items in fact, two model railway carriages! £55 for two carriages!! Oh well, it looks as if he has bought his own birthday present, at least it has saved me a job!

Obsessions! 01.12.07

Robbie does talk rubbish at times. Last night we finally sat down to eat our meal just before 9pm, because we had been food shopping. For no obvious reason he started to talk about the packaging and merchandising of Smarties - do I care? Robbie wasn't bothered about boring his audience, it obviously mattered him and he was going to make the word pay attention. Apparently the familiar Smartie tubes are a thing of the past and the new packaging is hexagonal. My first reaction was that it would make them more stable and easier to display but Robbie disagreed. According to him the manufacturer has not taken account of the problem of merchandising Smarties on board (he means on trains). I am sure he is right, after all onboard sales would be a negligible fraction of their market! According to Robbie it is a huge problem and they have to find a solution. I pointed out that Cross Country seemed to have made a reasonable start to the new franchise, but maybe they should concern themselves with issues such as punctuality, overcrowding and customer service rather than the merchandising of Smarties. I don't think I will lose any sleep over the Smartie problem, but you never know, it could make the headlines in the next issue of Rail Magazine!!

Robbie does not have a monopoly on obsessing over trivia. Sam came home and asked me if I knew the correct name for the plastic tags on shoe laces that make them easier to thread. I don't know, what is more I have got through this much of my life very well without needing to name the ends of a shoelace, so it probably doesn't matter! Later on he asked if there was a specific word for someone's hair going grey overnight after a shock. I wasn't convinced that such things really happen, but Sam pointed out that Alistair Darling may have suffered such a fate because his hair is white and his huge eyebrows are very dark. I suggested to Sam that the word he was looking for was stress! With Robbie and Sam in my life I do have a passing acquaintance with stress - and I also have a few grey hairs!

I do love Sam, and yesterday he brought a big smile to my face. He was telling me about an oral Spanish test that he did which involved describing his parents and siblings. He confided to me that he'd had to lie because he couldn't count high enough in Spanish to give my age accurately so he said I was 32 - I wish! I am not sure what the teacher would have thought about a 32 year old having a daughter age 18, but it was nice to be young again!

Robbie left home very early this morning to go to a model railway exhibition. I must admit to a bit of a fascination with railway modelling myself, but at 5.30am if forced to choose between my bed and getting up to go to the exhibition my bed would win hands down! I got up at a much more civilised hour when Emily arrived home, it was lovely to sit and chat with her about university, Christmas shopping and countless other things. She headed off to town to meet up with Laura, who was already in town, she takes shopping seriously and had made an early start. Robbie rang to tell me that the model rail exhibition was great, he was very impressed because he'd had a chat with Pete Waterman!