"For solace and relief I flee to Bradshaw or the ABC, and find the best of recreations In studying the names of stations." C L Graves

Sunday 11th August

We had another early start and once again Robbie was eager to get up and get ready. Before long he was showered, shaved, the picnic was packed and we were ready to go. The things I do for Robbie, I'd agreed to give up The Archers, a trip to the car boot sale and Sunday Lunch at Jonet so that Robbie could go back to the North Norfolk Railway on a day when the bookshop would be open. I didn't mind all that much really. 

We arrived in Holt bright and early, the station was only just waking up and Robbie got some lovely photos of the station while there were no people in the way. My early start was rewarded with a nice cup of tea and we caught the first train to Weybourne. Robbie rushed around taking photos as usual, not just photos of trains, he stood by the door with his head out of the window to get photos of the harvesting in the fields near Weybourne (he is a closet tractor/combine spotter!). It was a beautiful clear day and he got some lovely shots. You could see the sea with the wind turbines in the far distance, I tried to count them but I gave up there are loads of them and I don't think they spoil the view at all.

Robbie spent an eternity in the bookshop, he added a number of magazines to his enormous collection, then he found several books that he absolutely had to have and the crowing glory to his shopping spree was an old copy of Bradshaws from 1954. Thankfully I'd packed a heavyweight shopping bag and we took the bag which was now full to capacity and impossibly heavy on the train to Sherringham (we had a non corridor compartment coach - probably my favourite coach of the day) and all the way back to Holt. There was just time for a quick picnic in the sunshine before we were off again heading for Sherringham again.

We travelled backwards and forwards all afternoon making sure that we were in Sherringham in time to see the Class 37 arrive and to take lots of photos. It was awesome, definitely the best part of the day. Another couple of journeys followed but I may as well have been on my own because Robbie had his head out of the window taking photos and listening to the powerful growl of the engine. We stayed for the very last train to Holt and then headed back to the bungalow tired but happy. 

Relaxing on the Railway

We had decided to get up early and drive to the North Norfolk Railway on Wednesday, but even the prospect of trains didn't encourage Robbie to get a wriggle on. We set of quite a lot later than we planned, but as it was Cromer Carnival I hoped that people would be heading to Cromer rather than Weybourne. As it turned out everyone seemed to have shunned Cromer in favour of the railway and we couldn't park at Weybourne. We drove to Holt instead and we found a fairly convenient parking space, it had the added bonus of giving Robbie the chance to take countless photos of Holt Flyer, the old Routemaster bust that runs between the station and the town centre.

Holt station is nowhere near as nice as Weybourne, and the toilets are disappointing but Robbie likes Holt because it has fairground rides and a little museum, which gives Robbie the chance to take lots of photos. We made lots of trips between Holt, Weybourne and Sherringham and there was the inevitable and very long visit to the railway bookshop at Weybourne. I don't know where we are going to put all his new books and magazines when we get home!

We had taken a picnic lunch with is and we ate it in the sunshine at a picnic table at Holt Station. The forecast was for strong wind and torrential rain, but it did not materialise, there was a brief shower which only lasted two or three minutes in the early afternoon, then it was calm and sunny again until we were back at the bungalow and we had a sudden heavy shower which lasted for less than five minutes. We have been very lucky with the weather it has been dry and sunny every day and I don't think I have worn a jacket or cardigan for the whole fortnight.

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!

Childhood is The Most Beautiful of All Life's Seasons.

I am looking forward to another long weekend. Having such lovely weather last weekend made Easter extra special. On Easter Sunday we had a family picnic in my mum's garden. Having my three year old nephew Oliver there made it extra special. My daughter had the idea of doing an Easter egg hunt for him. He is too small to have a lot of chocolate so I bought a set of hollow egg shaped chicks and my daughter bought some fun things to put inside them (or to hide near them). 

Oliver went racing around the garden looking for the chicks with Grandad giving directions from his deckchair and his cousins trailing behind ready to help him. It was lovely to watch him and to see how much pleasure he got from a tub of bubbles, a balloon on a string, bouncy balls and a selection of books. I think the rest of us enjoyed it every bit as much as he did. It was so nice to have all the family together and to be able to enjoy the sunshine.

I couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness because Oliver has come along so much later than my own children and he will only remember Grandad as old and frail. My children have a wealth of happy memories of time spent with their grandparents and their grandparents have been a very important and much loved part of their lives.  When my children were little they longed for cousins and I longed to become an aunt - we had a long wait! Oliver has cousins who adore him and a whole family who love him very much and who enjoy spending time with him. His experience of childhood will be different, but the important thing is that he is surrounded by people who love him. Grandad may no longer be able to race around leading ponies or playing cricket in the garden, but he and Oliver are great friends and he still enjoys the fun of family life.