Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover!

I wanted to have a quieter day on Tuesday (holidays with Robbie are exhausting!) and Robbie needed to have his hair cut so we decided to have a lazy morning and then head into North Walsham for him to 'get his ears lowered'. It didn't take very long and they did a good job, so after having a quick look at the shops we drove to Mundesley because Robbie wanted to try out a new coffee shop.

The coffee shop, called The Corner House looked promising, when we drove past it but sadly looks can be deceiving. My grandma would occasionally describe people 'as all fur coat and no knickers' meaning that they may put on a good front, but that beneath the window dressing the person was 'cheap' - that is exactly what we found with the Corner House, the food was putrid and it was our worst eating experience in Norfolk. I ordered a pot of tea for one and a jacket potato with cheese and Robbie had a coffee with a cheese panini, so there wasn't a lot that they could get wrong - or so we thought! My tea was served in one of those pots that fits into the tea cup, with a silly little jug of milk that did not contain enough to drown a gnat. It is all very well having fancy tablecloths, but if your teapots dribble it really spoils the experience for the customer. I would have been much happier with a normal functional teapot, I would have also liked a jug of hot water so that I could vary the strength of the tea. There were sugar bowls on the table, with disgusting, hard crusty bits of sugar on top, but there were no sweeteners. Thankfully I had my own sweeteners, but the tea was disappointing, like bad railway tea. Robbie said his coffee was OK, but he would have liked sweeteners not sugar. 

My jacket potato arrived before Robbie's panini, it looked alright but on closer inspection it was ruined before it even go to me. When you order a jacket potato with cheese you don't expect someone to contaminate it with onion, but that is exactly what they had done, what passed for a side salad had been scattered over the plate and that included chopped onion and pepper as well as coleslaw. I picked every bit out and heaped it on the side of my plate but it was too late, the taste of onion had tainted the whole meal. There were no condiments except salt (in a dirty salt cellar) and pepper, I would have liked mayonnaise, but there was none available. The potato itself tasted foul, it was powdery and disgusting, I got Robbie to taste it to prove that it wasn't just me moaning, he said it was horrible. His panini was thin, flat and seriously anaemic, he said it was just about edible but only just.

The food wasn't the only problem with the Corner House, the music was absolutely dreadful, I don't want that sort of row when I go to a coffee shop. The seating was very uncomfortable and they allowed dogs in the coffee shop. Over all it was a very unpleasant experience.

We enjoyed a nice relaxed evening at the bungalow, I love the big Norfolk skies and the red sky in the evening is beautiful - 'Red at night shepherd's delight'.

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins. Benjamin Franklin

One thing that may be a mixed blessing for Robbie is that I understand him very well, too well for his comfort at times! There have been times such as the test card incident and the fuzzy felts birthday card when I've thought that Robbie didn't understand me at all, but that's not true. He knows that I love him and even when he gets things horribly wrong his intentions are usually good - misguided but good. 


Thankfully I have help in keeping Robbie on the 'straight and narrow', my older daughter (mini me) and my mum (senior me) keep reminding him of the 'rules'. 


1) Never attempt to buy clothes for me without 'advice'
2) Never spring a surprise on me - his type of surprises scare me!
3) Retro is not always good
4) Never choose music for me
5) Never make arrangements which can not be changed later.
6) If in doubt, don't!!


It probably makes me sound very boring, I'm not really, but perhaps I indulge in quieter passions than Robbie. I think the real difference is that I am the one who has to keep my feet on the ground and not let my passions run away with me. 

I was so impressed with Robbie this week, he brought me a little treat and I was in heaven. It was a can of Root Beer from Cybercandy and it was absolutely wonderful, I love root beer. It was the perfect way to show he cared, not stupidly expensive and very thoughtful. There were just a couple of little problems, it made me wonder 'what he had done' (but I was tactful enough not to put that thought into words!) and it has left me craving Root Beer. Maybe he does understand me a bit after all, he certainly knows how to make me happy!!

Decisions, Decisions.

It seems as if the blog has focussed a lot on aches and pains recently, I try not to sound too gloomy, but as I write about the ordinary events of family life it is hard to avoid writing about something as important as Robbie's struggle with back and leg pain. Over recent years his legs have misbehaved more and more frequently (that is true of the rest of him too - but that's another story!). He has written off so many pairs of trousers and jackets, but every cloud has a silver lining - I suspect he is single-handedly responsible for the improvement in Marks and Spencer's profits.

For quite a long time I have been trying to persuade Robbie to take his health more seriously and to make some adjustments in his life to make things a little easier. To be honest I get more attention when I talk to the dog (and she is deaf!) but finally we have reach the point where Robbie has had to take stock and admit that even a superhero would struggle to cope with the wide range of commitments that he was trying to cope with.

As well as a demanding job and a difficult journey to work every day, he had his rail tours, gigs, various union responsibilities, family commitments, a demanding wife, and one or two other little diversions that he would kill me if I mentioned on the b

log (yes even worse than milk floats!). Anyway Robbie has reluctantly admitted that he has to put his health and his family first. Sometimes just getting to work is a real struggle, but he never gives up, he loves his job, and he puts his heart and soul into his work, so that has to come first, before any of his other activities. He loves his trains too, I am sure if he had to choose between me and a deltic he would the deltic! Never mind, I know my place! He couldn't give up his trains and his rail tours, it would be cruel to expect him to do that, but he has promised to be more realistic about how much he can do.

So that leaves gigs and the union. In his heart Robbie knows that gigs will not figure very much in his future, but he isn't quite ready to put that into words. He would't be able to stand for that long and that ridiculous bouncing up and down thing that he used to do has to stay firmly in the past. I know it is hard, but I am sure we can find other ways for him to enjoy his music (I use the term music in it's broadest sense, to me the stuff he likes is just noise). The union was the most difficult decision of all. I make no secret of the fact that I disapprove of his union involvement, but I love Robbie and I am proud of the work he has done to support his colleagues in many different ways. Recently he has been very unhappy and stressed because there have been times when his health has stopped him from fulfilling his union responsibilities and there have been even more times

when his union work has encroached on his paid work to an unacceptable degree. In the end the union pressures were too much to cope with and something had to give. It was such a hard decision but Robbie has finally decided to step aside from his union roles and let others take their turn.

So if you see Robbie he could use a few friendly words because it has been a difficult few weeks, but beware, he doesn't like people to make a fuss so a dodgy joke or a chat about trains would be

far more welcome than an excess of sympathy. He may have had to face a few setbacks, but in his head he still thinks he is Superman!

The Things You Do For Love!

I have always known that Robbie and I have different tastes. Mostly I give in to his demands because I love him, I even let him eat onion rings - but I don't let him get anywhere near me afterwards! I can cope with his fashion sense, his music, his railway obsession and countless other things, but I have my limits. On Wednesday evening he begged me to do something that was way beyond my comfort zone, I told him that it was too weird, but eventually I gave in and let him watch Fred Dibnah on TV!!

A Day We Had Been Dreading

This turned out to be the day that we have been dreading for what seems like a very long time. Robbie's friend Chris died this morning. We knew that this would be the ultimate outcome, and no one wanted to prolong his suffering but when the time comes none of that makes it feel any better. This is a terrible loss for his family and for his friends.

Chris was a very good friend to Robbie, in fact he probably understood Robbie better than anyone else ever will. They shared an interest in music, they would often go into Birmingham at lunchtime and come back with vinyl records and cds. They had a similar or at least an overlapping taste in music and they liked to go to gigs. Their shared interests didn't end there, they both shared a passion for the railways. For Robbie, Chris was the sort of friend who comes along once in a lifetime, he will be deeply missed and he will never be forgotten.

Time Warp

This weekend has left me feeling as if I am living in a time warp. Yesterday Steve Davis knocked John Higgins out of the World Snooker Championships and Sam came home from from town proudly carrying two vinyl records! I blame Robbie for this sudden fascination with vinyl, several weeks ago he announced that he intended to review his seven inches, Sam found this hilariously funny and asked if he was boasting, but when he brought his usb turntable downstairs he was intrigued. He said that he had never seen an 'old fashioned cd player' before! Robbie played a few of his singles, then I was seized with the desire to revisit my music collection. It was so nice to remember those days but I have to admit that my teenage choice of music emptied the lounge! Anyway Sam has been bitten with the vinyl bug and yesterday he added two Queen singles to his collection.

Not Exactly Music To My Ears

Robbie usually spends some time in the evening sitting in front of his laptop with his headphones clamped to his ears. If I want to speak to him I have to wave my arms in the air to get his attention, it is so frustrating. Even worse is his inability to be quiet, I am glad that he uses headphones because what he calls music doesn't sound very melodious to me. The problem is that Robbie is not the most tuneful person at the best of times and the headphones make his 'singing' completely tuneless. Unfortunately he gets rather carried away with his music and he sits there rocking backwards and forwards and tapping his fingers, I try to ignore it but it is so difficult. The rocking motion makes the low moaning sound (Robbie calls it singing) fade and increase in volume. His singing is not unlike the sound a cow makes, so with the fading in and out it is more like a cow on a swing! Robbie has many endearing qualities, but his 'singing' is more than flesh and blood can stand!

Throwing His Toys Out of the Pram

To say that I am angry is a huge understatement. Robbie was home late last night because he had been to the North, I messed up my evening in order to pick him up and everything was fine - until we got home! An innocent remark about his bookcase caused him to throw his toys out of the pram. The bookcase is already full and groaning under the weight of books and a simple request not to load any more books on to it was all it took for Robbie to fizz up and bang. Anyway he clamped on his headphones, plugged himself into his laptop and tried to annoy me with his music that was so loud it spilled out int the room. Failing to get a reaction he turned to Facebook and advertised for a good home for all his railway books, my comment that he should grow up prompted him to add his model deltics to the list (because I had bought them for him). I am not sure how he thought getting rid of that much clutter was going to hurt me, but I was sick of his childish games and decided not to succumb to the temptation to advertise 'Annoying husband free to a good home'. I gave up and went to bed and the silence has been 'golden' ever since! He must know he was being ridiculous and regret his actions because he deleted his facebook comments, but so far the 's' word has eluded him!

A Short Lived Smile

I managed to put a smile on Robbie's face last night - I bought him some Polish Jaffa Cakes! unfortunately the smile didn't last too long he is like a bear with a sore head again this morning, but at least I know he is still capable of cracking his face. Actually he even laughed at one point last night, but that was only because he was laughing at me for not knowing who Jane Fonda is. I know now, I looked her up, she was in that L'Oreal advert, apparently she was in some films too but I didn't see any of them. When he stopped laughing at me for that he decided to test me on other people I may not know. He started with John Lydon, but I did know who he was because he was in a butter advert. I didn't know what group he was in but I don't think I would have been interested in him, I was never that interested in music and judging by the song that Robbie played last night his music wasn't exactly attractive.

Robbie says that his colleagues keep teasing him about his yellow T-shirts, I don't really understand they just pick on the yellow ones they are quite tame compared to his vivid blue one, and his lurid pink one can only be viewed with sunglasses! If that is not enough to scare you, there's always his luminous green and brown shorts. Robbie wouldn't be Robbie without his loud and slightly alarming clothes, they are just like him really!

Revenge is Sweet

They say revenge is sweet, I would probably have calmed down about Robbie going out to 'play trains' again, but leaving his flasher mac next to the washing machine for me to wash while he was out enjoying himself was a mistake. I considered accidentally putting it on a boil wash, but I didn't want to ruin the machine, so I had to be more subtle. Sam gave me the idea when he asked me not to play my talking books when we go on holiday next weekend because they get on his nerves. I was happy to agree because I intend to get on someone else's nerves! I have chosen some music CD's for a change, including some that I haven't listened to for a while. Cilla Black, Shaggy, Jimmy Nail, Dolly Parton, and a collection of music from the musicals, It is had to know which one Robbie dislikes most, probably the last one because he detests musicals. He doesn't like Country music either, I wonder how many times he could cope with Dolly Parton singing In the Ghetto - it could be a very long journey! There again I am a reasonable person and`I do quite like to listen to Radio 4 on a Saturday morning, so if Robbie starts being a bit more thoughtful, I may forgive him before Saturday!

Through Sam's Eyes.

Sam is amazing, I don't always understand how his mind works or what makes him tick, but just occasionally he allows me to have a little glimpse at the world through his eyes. He has an amazing general knowledge, better than anyone else I know, he is like a sponge soaking up ideas and information and processing it all in his own unique way. When we were driving in the car the other day he said that he liked to imagine people with their own signature tune to match their walk. I told him that I thought it was a really good idea but I didn't have enough music in my head to do that. He then asked me if I knew Henry Mancini, I told him that I didn't know anything about him except that he had something to do with music. Sam explained that Mancini composed a tune called Baby Elephant Walk and it was the perfect theme tune for Robbie. He played it for me on his PSP and he's right, it fits Robbie perfectly. I wasn't brave enough to ask what my theme tune was!

Sound Effects

Robbie was late home from work again today and when I left work he was waiting for me in the car park so that he could get a lift home. I love him dearly, but at times like that I wish he could be a little more 'normal', last time he turned up wearing that dreaded flasher mac and today he had his white London Underground umbrella!

He told me a funny story on the way home. This morning he was in he bathroom on 'the throne' when he became aware that he could hear faint music and someone was talking to him. It wasn't 'heavenly' music so he had no fear that he was about to 'do an Elvis' and meet his maker in the bathroom. This was much more down to earth music, and it bothered him, he couldn't believe that someone would be thoughtless enough to have their radio on in the street at 5am loud enough for him to hear it. He then remembered that the bathroom is at the back of the house, so he deduced that the offending radio must be in our garden, but he wasn't in a position to go an investigate straight away. Thankfully the neighbours were spared the vision of Robbie in his smalls searching for a radio in the back garden, because he found the source of the mystery music before he left the house. We have two radios in the bathroom, ours (tuned to Radio 4) and theirs (tuned to something else). One of the children had turned their radio down to almost nothing instead of turning it off!

On the subject of mystery noises, the previous day Robbie and Emily searched the lounge for a phone that kept vibrating. It wasn't a phone, it was the cat snoring!

Moved By Music

The children had Guitar Hero (for the Wii) for Christmas. They love it, but it is not exactly designed for spectators, so why can't they take the Wii upstairs and play it in one of their bedrooms? The root of the problem is Robbie! The songs on Guitar Hero have reminded him of all the 'wonderful' music that he has not listened to for a while and he encourages them to try out new tunes (I use the word 'tune' in the loosest sense). So for what seems like hours on end we have someone strumming away, then when they finally lose interest and peace is restored, Robbie starts. He clamps on his headphones and listens to 'music' on his laptop, it wouldn't be a problem if he didn't feel the need to sing along! Robbie has many attributes but his singing voice is not one of them and wearing headphones enables him to achieve new extremes of tunelessness. He sounds like a warthog in distress, then he wonders why I take myself off to the bedroom for some peace and quiet with my radio!

Beyond Endurance

Robbie and I are spending new year apart, I am upstairs listening to Radio 4 and Robbie is downstairs as he prefers to see in the new year with Jools Holland. He is a man by the way way, from his name I had assumed he was a woman. Robbie said he was in a band or something but I had never heard of him or his band. I did my best to endure this thing on television, one woman sang and it sounded like a cat being slowly strangled, I don't know who she was, apparently she was just called Adelle - with a voice like that I am not surprised that she wouldn't give her last name. Then there was a group of geriatrics who sang Jimmy Mac, they looked and sounded as if they had just been dug up, so I thought things could only get better. I was wrong Duffy came on next and that was truly more than flesh and blood could stand, so I voted with my feet and came up to listen to the radio. I am much happier up here on my own.

A Night on the Sofa

Robbie went out for the meal with his train buddies and even with my heavy cold I could tell that he came home stinking. I told him that if he wanted to come to bed he would need to wear a gas mask, but it turned out that he never got that far, he decided to watch some horrible noisy music on television and he fell asleep on the sofa, I went down to wake him a couple of times but he never made it to bed. This morning he was in a bad mood and probably in pain after his night on the sofa. He managed to fall out with me because according to him he had no clean pants, he had of course but they were not the ones he wanted. Most people wear 'thinking caps' but it appears that Robbie wears 'thinking pants' because he told me that he couldn't think properly in the grey ones he is wearing today – the mind boggles!

Having already fallen out with me about his knickers, he then launched into a tirade of criticism because he was almost out of deodorant and I hadn't replaced it. Oddly enough I don't have a crystal ball and even if I did I would find something more interesting to focus on than the state of Robbie's armpits! If he doesn't tell me I am not likely to know that he needs more, anyway if he can find time to go on all his outings I don't see why he can't manage to buy his own toiletries! As always when in a hole Robbie started to dig furiously, he said far more than is good for his health and now he is contemplating a second night on the sofa.

Feeling Frustrated

Gosh, two posts from Robbie within a week, I don't think I can cope with the shock! He has proved that he isn't just obsessive about trains, he is obsessive about music too, so when he bores you rigid you have a choice of subjects!!

On the subject of being annoying, someone is really getting on my nerves and I just can't escape - because it's me! I am fed up with being so pathetic, as well as the fatigue that comes with the flu, I have very little voice and a cough that is turning me inside out and creating havoc with my asthma. It makes me really scared when I struggle to breathe and not feeling well is really annoying me now, I have far too much to do. Robbie has been so supportive and helpful while I haven't been feeling well, but he is struggling now, he's too hot, then too cold and he's feeling like death warmed up. It was a real struggle for him to go to work this morning, poor old Robbie I hope he will soon be better.

Things That Go Crunch in the Night

I went to bed at about midnight and left Robbie fighting a losing battle with his computer. His whole iTunes library has vanished without trace, apparently even artificial intelligence is offended by the stuff that Robbie calls music! I listened to my radio for a bit and then I settled down to sleep. Some time later I was was woken by a strange noise. In that semi sleep state I tried hard to make sense of the noise. It was rather like the noise of the filter in the big fish tank in the orthodontists waiting room, a sort of watery sucking noise. I knew we didn't have a fish tank and I could tell the noise was close by so I had to wake up and investigate. When I was fully awake it didn't take very long to solve the mystery, Robbie had given up on the iTunes and had come to bed and had decided to cheer himself up by chewing a chocolate toffee!! I put two pillows over his head but the chewing and sucking went on and on for ages, I'm sure a gobstopper wouldn't have lasted that long. Words were exchanged and I don't think he will do that again!

Feeling Old!

I'm feeling old! I keep blaming Robbie for wearing me out, but I think the cold I had last week has exhausted me. I can cope with sniffles and sneezing, bit it made me ache all over and I alternated between feeling shivery and being too hot. The cold has more or less gone but it has left me with an annoying cough and it has started my asthma off, so I am feeling tired and frustrated. Robbie tries his best to say the right thing but he never gets it quite right, he assures me that I'm not old but rather than quitting while he's ahead he always goes on to say 'well not to me anyway' and that gives a completely different message!!

I had one of those 'end of an era' feelings last week. Laura had her last ever lesson at the music centre, she has decided to give up lessons to concentrate on her A Level exams. I have been going to the music centre for so many years that it will seem very strange not to have to go anymore. Laura plays the Saxophone very well and I love listening to her play, but it took her a while to find an instrument that suited her. Emily knew from the beginning that she wanted to play the flute and she went from strength to strength. Laura began with the clarinet, in fact she continued playing the clarinet until last year, but she always longed to play the saxophone. Somehow a music teacher convinced her that she really should play the oboe instead. I remember the oboe phase in excruciating detail, it sounded like a duck being tortured and it coincided with Sam's early adventures on the violin - it was agony! Laura didn't enjoy the oboe and before long she took up the saxophone instead, she must have been playing the Saxophone for about seven years now. All my prayers were answered when Sam gave up the violin in favour of the cornet - a much more tolerable sound! I am not very musical, in fact I am pretty close to being tone deaf, but I know when it is painful and the oboe phase was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

I met my new nephew for the first time on Sunday, he is lovely. They have decided to call him Oliver John, that is quite a relief because my brother wanted to call him Cecil - poor little chap that would have been cruel!

National Fig Roll Crisis!

Robbie and Laura went to a gig at last night. The group was Blood Red Shoes, they have seen them before so they knew they would enjoy the music. Laura loves going to gigs with Robbie, but she said his singing was a bit on the loud side last night, the observations about his singing led on to observations about his dancing which Emily described as like a child's impression of an aeroplane, I presume it involves a lot of arm flapping. Never mind, at least he enjoys himself! The gig was tinged with a certain amount of sadness because it was announced recently that the venue The Soundhaus is to close because of nearby redevelopment, the result of a potty planning decision. There is a very active campaign to save The Soundhaus and hopefully common sense will prevail in the end.
Save the Soundhaus

When they got home I'd hoped Robbie had a sudden rush of energy and set about extending my general knowledge. Did I know that that there is a national fig roll crisis? No, I didn't and more to the point I am not bothered in the slightest. When that failed to get the desired reaction he changed direction, did I know that the first teasmaid (also spelled teasmade) was gas powered. No strangely enough I have never wondered about that, but thanks to Robbie I now know that Samuel Rowbottom patented it in 1892. As if that wasn't excitement enough Robbie shared yet more tantalising details about teasmaids, the first electric teasmaid was patented by George Absolom in 1933. There is one thing to be grateful for - I will never need sleeping tablets!

Fig Roll crisis
Fig Rolls in detail

Teasmaid facts
teasmade.com

Over Dressed

Robbie went to a gig last night, to see a group called Be Your Own Pet, he has seen them before so he must have thought it worth the effort of going to the gig. He tends to like loud and tuneless music, there are a few groups that we both like, but generally if I like it he doesn't and vice versa. I picked him up at the station at midnight and he could hardly walk, his legs were killing him because of all that standing around. He insists that he is not too old to go to gigs, but I do worry about him, his legs hurt and his ears play him up for days afterwards, I can't understand why anyone would do that for pleasure!

Just when I was thinking that I was on a winning streak with Sam and his school shoes he found a new issue for me to worry about. He was obviously acting as Robbie's understudy this morning, still flitting around in his PJ's fifteen minutes before we needed to leave the house. He finally appeared in the lounge fully dressed, in fact he was a little too fully dressed, he had his uniform black trousers, white shirt, tie black blazer and lurid green belt! I insisted that the belt had to go but he was adamant that it would be fine, after another verbal spat I won and the belt was reluctantly returned to his bedroom to be reunited with his jeans. By the time I dropped him at school he managed to look approximately tidy and he was very reluctantly wearing his new school shoes. I wonder what new challenge he will manage to come up with tomorrow!