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

A Day in Cromer

We decided that we would get up early on Monday and drive to Cromer. The early bit didn't quite work out as planned, the Norfolk air must be getting to Robbie because he has lost all sense of urgency. Even when he'd had his shave and shower, he took an age to get dressed, then when he was finally dressed he put his shoes on in slow motion - how long can it possibly take to put two shoes on!

When we got to Cromer Robbie found a hotspot and he took the chance to upload a lot of photos to Facebook. Mobile phone and internet  reception in Norfolk leave a great deal to be desired, so Robbie was determined to make the most of the hotspot - while I waited! We enjoyed wandering around Cromer, but Robbie kept vanishing, one minute he would be next to me then I would turn around to see him darting off to take yet another photo of a bus. They all look the same to me, but I don't tell Robbie that otherwise he would explain the differences in far more detail than I could cope with.

We enjoyed looking at books and jigsaws in Jarolds and our favourite book shop behind the church. We bought one or two things but we were quite restrained by Robbie's standards. It was another lovely warm, sunny day so we strolled towards the sea front. I must have taken countless photos of the pier over the years, but I couldn't resist taking more because it really is a splendid pier. When we had seen all we wanted of Cromer we drove back to Walcott in time to stroll on the beach and enjoy the garden.

The Sights You See When You Haven't Got Your Gun.

That was one of my grandmother's sayings. I always found it rather confusing because I knew very well that she didn't have a gun. She used the phrase when she saw something that she disapproved of, she used it often because she had turned disapproval into a performance art! Other people of her generation used it with a little more humour, to express amusement or incredulity at some of the things they encountered.

I don't go to town very often, so you can imagine my surprise when I encountered a gorilla in the centre of town! It was no ordinary gorilla, it was dressed as a boxer or a wrestler or something of the sort. On closer inspection there was something haunting about his face, it was just a bit too real for comfort. I had to ask Robbie to take a photo for me. I don't know why but it really made me smile - maybe in some way it reminded me of Robbie who knows.

As we walked around the town we came across more wildlife. There was a life size giraffe in the shopping centre and whole herd of very colourful elephants. Elmer the Elephant would have fitted in very will with this techinicolour group! There are even lions in the park - whatever is the world coming to! I am not a great fan of street entertainment etc, but these creatures made me smile and brightened my day. 

You have to kiss a lot of toads before you find a prince

Who needs a handsome prince when they have a Robbie? I thought this little chap (found in our front garden) was perfect just the way he is, he even posed for the camera!

Pigs Might Fly

My charm bracelet is one of my treasured possessions, I have had it since I was about nine and it has lots of charms which remind me of various events and special times in my life. I had previously told my friend about the bracelet and when we went to see her last week I took the bracelet over to show her. She was fascinated by all the charms especially the ones that opened, but the one she likes best was the flying pig. I told her that that was a fairly new charm, I chose it because it reminded me of Robbie. I worked out long ago that there is more chance of me seeing a whole heard of flying pigs than there is of getting Robbie to change. I think he will still be train spotting and listing to loud indie music when he is 90 - but by then I will be too old to care!


On the subject of flying, the other day I told Robbie that I had evidence that a flying train had once visited Northampton. He was convinced that I was trying to trick him and he thought up all sorts of explanations, but he couldn't work it out. He was most impressed when I showed him the photo of a  Thomas the Tank engine balloon flying over the rooftops of Northampton in 1996.

In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back - Charlie Brown

Robbie is a fan of Charlie Brown, he particularly likes Linus. Linus always reminds me of my son, not just because of his attachment to his security blanket, because he is clever, spiritual and a deep thinker. He has his own view of the world and it doesn’t seem to bother him that other people see things differently. I guess there is a bit of Linus in Robbie too, but instead of a security blanket he has a rucksack!

The one thing that both Robbie and my son have in common is that they don’t always understand me. This week has been a bit of an uphill struggle for me, my asthma has been playing me up which makes everything so much more of an effort. It makes me feel scared, struggling to breathe is horrible. It felt as if I was plodding through the week with diving boots on! My son, who probably hasn’t noticed that I have been feeling off colour this week, added to my burden by breaking the habit of a lifetime and delivering all his washing to the washing machine without being asked  - how many clothes does that boy have!! Later on he saw me trying to compare an old photo with the present day image on Street View. He asked what I was doing and I explained that I was trying to work out exactly where the photo had been taken. He was quiet for a minute or two, then he posed a deceptively simple question, “why does history matter?” I think the answer to that could be a blog post all on it’s own, but it gave me plenty to think about.

Robbie did his best to cheer me up, he made me a lovely meal on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately his efforts to cheer me up tonight fell on stony ground. He sat at the side of me with his ipad, he wanted to show me train pictures. I thought it was quite sweet until I realised the grim story behind what he was showing me. He made a hasty retreat to the other side of the room with my words still ringing in his ears!

The only person who knew instantly without being told that I wasn’t feeling very well was my best friend – and we were only speaking on the phone. It made me realise how lucky I am to have her. It is the strangest thing, it was a very odd situation that brought us together and no one would have expected us to become friends because we are very different. I think it surprised us both, but there was an instant connection between us from the very first time we met. It feels as if we have been friends forever.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart & can sing it back to you when you've forgotten the words

Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations - Faith Baldwin

It has been necessary to make changes to the blog, partly because Blogger (the platform I use) has changed, but also because the blog has grown and I felt that having everything on one page made it look too 'busy'. Robbie didn't like the first change that I made, he said it didn't feel like his blog any more, so we have settled on this fairly simple layout. Just below the header you will see the links to the photo page and the information page, everything is still there but I hope the home page looks cleaner now. Hopefully there will be no more big changes, there are one or two cosmetic changes to make and I need to make it easier for people to find older posts, but that will take a few days. Thank you for being patient over the last week or two while I have experimented with different layouts, and thank you for your continued interest in the blog.

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on - Franklin D Roosevelt

Yesterday was 'one of those days'. If I am honest those difficult days seem to crop up with surprising regularity and just occasionally I find myself wondering if things will ever get easier. I am not usually an Eeyore type, I try to have a positive outlook, but everyone has their moments. 

We all have our own ways of dealing with a bad day, some people distract themselves with a shopping trip, but I prefer to log on to the computer to spend an hour or two working on my family history. I enjoy finding out about the lives of my ancestors and it helps to put things into perspective. However difficult things seem to be for me, I know that I have it easy in comparison to many of my ancestors. 


I have been working on a very faded photograph of my grandma and a group of other people. With the help of a couple of other people I have managed to restore the photo and I have been trying hard to identify the other people in the picture. It is strange looking at a photo of my grandmother as a young woman, no older than my children are now. I remember her as a strong and rather formidable old lady, but looking at the younger photo I saw a gentler face full of youthful hope. It must have been about 1911 and I realised that dreadful worry and sorrows lay ahead of her. There must have been times when just putting one foot in front of the other and getting on with life was almost impossible, but she did it. Her life experiences gave her the inner strength and determination that I remember so clearly.


She had many little sayings, one of her favourites was 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. I didn't realise it at the time, but she was living proof of that. Thinking about my grandma reminded me of a framed verse that she kept on the mantelpiece,"Four things come not back, the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity". I didn't understand the truth of it at the time, but I do now. I will not allow the worries and aggravations that come my way to cast a shadow over the many good things in my life. People may have cause to regret underestimating me, I come from a long line of strong women and I don't give up!

Magna est veritas et praevalet     

Bursting the Bubble

I had a very strange experience this evening, I feel a bit sad about it really because I think I preferred not really knowing and letting my imagination fill the gaps. For years Robbie has been entertaining me with tales about his work, it is bit like the railway version of The Archers - the everyday story of train planning folk. Over time I have got used to this strange little world peopled with an odd assortment of characters, most of whom are known by weird and wonderful nicknames. Gradually I had built up mental images of all these people just based on their names, one was like a character from the beano, one had rosy cheeks and a slightly camp manner, another was tall and thin with a rather confused expression and one just had a silly grin. I was quite happy with my version of reality, but tonight Robbie burst my bubble by showing me a photo of all these people. My mental images were completely wrong, except for the beano character, that one wasn't too far off target. Most looked older than I expected, one had a lovely smile, one looked far more scary than I imagined, and one bore an uncanny resemblance to Richard Briars. From now on every time I hear his name Howard and Hilda in their matching anoraks will pop into my head, and this saga now has it's own theme tune - ever decreasing circles!

University

It was a busy day yesterday, Laura started university, she was only there for a couple of hours but it seemed to go well. Her greatest concern seems to be the her ID card, she hates the photo they took of her! I told her that it is traditional for passport and ID card photos to be unspeakable, but she is convinced that this is the most unflattering photo ever. I can't see anything wrong with it, in fact I have had worse photos myself and some of Robbie's ID card pictures have been seriously scary!

Sam was feeling unwell when he got home from school, he had a pounding headache and he was finding it impossible to stay awake. I could tell he was genuinely unwell because we went to Grandma's for tea and usually he loves to be there, but yesterday he just sat curled up on the sofa and he went to bed as soon as he got home. I expected him to be too unwell to go to school this morning, but he came down in his school uniform as usual, he looked dreadful and he said he had a pounding headache. I suggested that he should stay at home, but he was determined to go to school, he said he had coursework to hand in. Now I am convinced he is ill! The Sam I know would never pass up the chance of a day off school, maybe he is growing up at last!

A Lazy Day

Saturday was a lovely lazy day and I needed it so badly after all the rushing around. It was nice to just take our time and do our own thing and for the first time in ages I was able to have some me time on the computer. For weeks before Laura's birthday I was busy creating a huge photo scrapbook for her, it took up every free moment and it almost took over my life. It was worth the effort because Laura loved it, but she was so funny when she looked through the book, she complained about almost every photo of her. Just knowing that it brought back so many happy memories made all the effort worth while.

Conflict

Sam is very keen on photography and since he got his posh new camera for Christmas no one is safe, from Sam quest to get the perfect picture. His homework for his school photography class is to take a photograph of conflict. At first Sam thought it would be easy because he intended to take a photo of of the cats play fighting, but they don't perform to order and when they play they will not stop to pose for the camera! So he has had to resort to plan B - staged conflict. This has not been very successful either staged conflict looks staged and despite his best efforts he is still searching for the perfect photo. He took this photo of Laura after a staged fight with her yesterday, I love her expression and the look in her eyes, it isn't clear if she will 'attack' or if she will burst out laughing. One thing is clear she will never forgive me if she finds out that I have put this picture on the blog, she hates it when her hair is all messed up!

It is quite comical to have Sam setting out to create conflict, when we have plenty of the real kind every day, it just doesn't lend itself to being photographed. Yesterday when Robbie got home I began to cook our meal and he began to disapprove. First I'd said I was doing mashed potato and he wanted chips, I intended to have baked beans but he wanted gravy, I was very tolerant. I got a pan out to put the sausages in the oven, he looked, shook his head and said "no, no, not that one". I gave him 'the look' but he blundered on. He offered me a much less suitable pan, then changed his mind and offered a third, then a forth pan. I offered him a stern warning but he pressed on with advice on how to cook his sausages! I looked at my lovely new saucepans on the worktop and felt an overwhelming urge to hit him over the head with one! I decided that love had to win (love for my new saucepans) and I stormed out and told Robbie to get on with it himself!

Grounds For Divorce!

Robbie scares me sometimes. On Tuesday evening he was watching How to Look Good Naked, he and Sam love watching it, I can perhaps understand why a 13 year old boy would be interested in women taking their clothes off, but judging by the giggles and the school boy banter, Robbie is still very much in touch with his 'inner child'. On the program the woman's photograph was put on one of those huge advertising posters on the side of a building. I was just thinking that I couldn't imagine anything more embarrassing, when Robbie announced that he would love to have a photo of him naked turned into a huge poster like that. As far as I am concerned that would be grounds for divorce! Can you imagine walking out of the station at New Street or Euston to encounter Robbie larger than life grinning down at you in his birthday suit. It would cause mass hysteria with people fleeing in all directions.

Talking of hysteria, there was a fair bit of that going on yesterday evening. Robbie went for his MRI scan, he was very anxious about it and he got himself in to quite a state before the appointment. Afterwards he was very pleased with himself, to hear him talk you would think he had survived torture. I listened for a while, then I reminded him that it didn't involve any pain, nothing was poked, prodded or pressed. I suggested that if he'd survived a mammogram or certain other intimate procedures I would be much more impressed. At least it is done now and he doesn't need to worry about it anymore. We will not get the results for a while as we have to wait for his consultant to contact him.