Everyone wants to escape sometimes

I am getting bored with this now, the snow is still here and it looks as if it intends to stay. My son's school was closed and my daughter was unable to drive to Leicester to get to university, so we had the pleasure of their company at home. My son wandered around with an air of disapproval and he resisted all my efforts to encourage him to do something useful. My daughter was less visible but it was clear that our weekday routine was getting in the way of her plans for the day

Robbie was up and ready for work very early this morning, he wanted to get all his work done so that he could finish early and go out this afternoon. The snow has kept him away from the railways for a few days and it doesn't take long for him to get withdrawal symptoms. So this afternoon I braved the weather and the roads to drive Robbie to the station. The main roads were not too bad but if you strayed on to the very icy side roads you had to take your life in your hands.  

I only had an hour of 'peace' without Robbie, then I had to go to work, but it least it gave my son and daughter a chance to watch television and take possession of the lounge for a few hours. Robbie returned late but happy, the train for his return journey was rather special (according to Robbie) so he had plenty to tell me about his afternoon. I'd been worried about him falling over in the snow, but thankfully he managed to stay upright thanks to his Dr Martens shoes.

Adults are obsolete children - Dr. Seuss

It hasn't been much of a weekend. I was kept awake by the wind last night (the outside kind) it rained all night and the wind was very strong. It woke me up and then I couldn't get back to sleep because I was worried about the roof, it felt as if the wind was strong enough to dislodge tiles from the roof. I got increasingly irritated  with myself because I was tired and I really needed to get some sleep. Then this morning I really didn't feel very well, I am cold and shivery and I ache, I really hope it is not a bug, I haven't got time to be ill. 


This morning Robbie was anxious about the state of the railway, it seems it took a bit of a battering last night and fallen trees and such like have caused problems today. I was more anxious about feeling unwell, Robbie brought me a cup of tea to make me feel better. Then he cuddled up next to me and talked about the weather (and trains). He was surprisingly perceptive in noticing that I am sick and tired of 'weather'. It seems to have rained every day since I they declared that we are in a drought area! I have to admit that Robbie managed to cheer me up with his next topic of conversation. Only Robbie could cuddle up in bed on Sunday morning and talk excitedly about his childhood collection of erasers. Apparently his favourite was one in the shape of a cassette tape which fitted into a cassette player shaped case.


We went out briefly this afternoon to see my mum, there were floods on several roads and our lovely park is flooded; we saw the ducks swimming along what should be a footpath. We were glad to get back to the relative sanity of home. I was still feeling out of sorts, so I wasn't that bothered when Robbie asked to watch Get Carter for the second time this weekend. I had my head buried in the computer when Robbie gave a shout of excitement. He said he had seen a Deltic and he insisted on rewinding it so that I could see it too. He sat there on the floor rewinding it and watching it over and over again. It seems he is easily pleased!

The more things change the more they stay the same

Thursday afternoon seemed fairly ordinary when I went to work, but then at about 7pm it started to snow. At first I thought it wouldn't come to much, but it did, it settled very quickly and when I left work soon after 8pm the roads were horrible and once I got of the main roads it was a rather scary journey home. 

Robbie was not happy because the snow had ruined his plans to go to Carlisle by train on Friday. My son was not happy because according to him he had no suitable footwear to walk in ice and snow. I questioned him closely about this because I distinctly remember buying him waterproof walking boots. Apparently his not inconsiderable collection of footwear is designed to be fashionable rather than functional and with the exception of the walking boots (which are allegedly are just a figment of my imagination) none of them have sufficient grip for walking on snow and ice. I threatened to search his room for the 'imaginary' walking boots, but it was clear that he urgently needed a pair of wellies.

So today Robbie and I set out in search of black wellies for my son. He was very specific about having to have black boots so that they would match whatever he was wearing. We found boots in his size at a fairly reasonable price and we bought him thick socks as well. I felt quite pleased with myself until we got home and we realised that one boot was all rough inside. So I went out again, this time accompanied by my son, to get the boots changed. That was when the problems started, all the black boots in his size had the same problem, so my son agreed to have green ones instead. He was dressed in his 'smart casual' attire ready to go out to a sixth form party at a venue in town, so I was rather surprised when he took off his fashionable boots in the car and put on his new wellies. We went home for a while as it wasn't quite time for him to go out. He walked around in his wellies, they looked a bit odd with his smart clothes, but he kept glancing down at them and admiring them. Suddenly I was reminded of when he was a very little boy and he was so proud of his shiny new wellies that he refused to take them off! Today he kept his inner child under control, when it was time for him to go out he took a last look at his wellies and then changed into more suitable footwear.   

Too Much Excitement

The road where we live is reasonably straight, then there is a bend and the road changes its name. This causes some confusion especially for delivery companies because it seems like one long road. Anyway, the 'powers that be' decided to have the road resurfaced, something which is long overdue it was more like the surface of the moon than a road. Each morning they closed the end of the adjoining road and they closed our road part way along to stop traffic getting stuck. Unfortunately it caused problems for me and many other residents trying to reach their homes, so I hoped that it wouldn't take too long. By the end of the first week my hopes had been dashed, they had taken the surface off the road, but there was no sign of a new surface. It is only a short road, not the M1 so I don't know why it took so long, maybe they were digging it up with a teaspoon!


After a second week of road closures and no significant action, they have managed to produce a road surface, still unfinished and not the smoothest I have driven on, but after waiting for two weeks I was glad to be able to drive along the road at last. Robbie had paid keen attention to the road closures because it altered the bus route slightly, and we all know that he loves to obsess about timetables! I wasn't really surprised by that, but I was amazed by his reaction to driving over the new road. His excitement about driving on a road with no marking was just plain weird, he still manages to surprise me!

All Good Things Must Come to An End

On Saturday morning we made an early start and after packing the car we were on the road by just after 8am. It was refreshing to get on the road again after the very narrow (and sometimes scary) Cornish lanes. I was very sorry that our holiday was at an end, but since we had to go home I just wanted to get the long journey behind me.

It seemed to take forever to get to Exeter but eventually we were on M5 and Exeter was behind us. We stopped at the services and managed to lose Robbie. Sam Laura and I had all got back to the car, as sat there enjoying a long awaited cup of coffee and a snack I saw three trains go past, but still no Robbie. I thought there must be something seriously wrong if Robbie was missing out on trains, they were only FGW but even so trains are like magnets to Robbie. I tried to phone him but there was no reply, I seriously considered driving off without him because I didn't want to lose the advantage of an early start. Eventually he appeared and all became clear, he had been to Mc Donalds to by breakfast and there was a massive queue. He knew better than to buy anything for me, so I drove of as the others tucked into stinky breakfast snacks. I wish I could train Robbie not to hum when he eats, it really drives me mad but he claims he doesn't know he is doing it.

Robbie survived and we made steady progress towards Bristol and then on to the M4, we made a brief second stop at a service station, this time Robbie only escaped my clutches long enough to buy a Rail magazine before being escorted back to the car. The rest of the journey was uneventful, I got a bit irritated with the sat nav because it wanted me to go a different way and I knew that my way was better. That woman gets a real edge to her voice when I don't follow her directions, in fact I am fairly sure that she sighs when she says 'recalculating'. My ideal sat nav would have the voice of David Attenborough, I would follow him anywhere. To be fair the sat nav is a whole lot better than Robbie because it doesn't shout out when it sees a train, it doesn't fall asleep when it should be looking at the signposts and it doesn't time every journey according to rail times!

We got home safely at about 2.30pm, so we made reasonable time. Sam insisted on being dropped off at his girlfriend's house and as soon as we got back Laura went dashing off to uni to see her friend before she goes home. I was too tired to face unloading the car, we just took the essentials inside and after a welcome cup of tea I went to bed for a well earned nap - I love my bed. I had been looking forward to seeing Emily, but I had to wait until the evening to see her. Meg (the dog) and Dave and Oreo (cats) were pleased to see us, but I think it will take Dave a few days to completely forgive me for abandoning him, he thinks he is my shadow.

As I Was Going Up The Stair ..................

We were cuddled up in bed this morning when Robbie started talking about Alice. I was confused, who was Alice? Was it another one of his women, a friend of Brenda perhaps? No he doesn't have a harem (as far as I know) he wasn't even talking about Alice. Apparently he was talking about the name of a company that provides road transport for railway locomotives. It is so nice to know that I have his full attention!!

Last night I had to abandon Robbie in the lounge, I tried to wake him up but he was deeply unpleasant. Apparently he woke up a few hours later and he couldn't move because his back was so painful. Eventually he managed to fall from the chair to the floor and there he remained on his hands and knees for more than five minutes. Eventually he managed to crawl upstairs to the bathroom, unfortunately I chose that moment to wake up and walk along to the bathroom. We made each other jump and we both shouted out. It reminded me of that poem 'As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there'. Robbie was real enough, but he really made me jump. When I got back from the bathroom Robbie was already sound asleep in bed and he was doing Ivor the Engine impressions - I give up!

Head in the Clouds

Robbie was very late home last night, so he met me from work to get a lift home. Guess what he talked about on the way home - trains! Apparently there are plans to electrify certain routes and Robbie has big reservations. He probably has good reason for his doubts, but I was tired, hungry and not in the mood to hear a detailed comparison of the merits of diesel against electric. I was just thinking that for once it would be nice to talk about anything but trains, when Robbie did one of his famous conversational U turns and began talking about clouds. He pointed upwards and said "look at that cloud formation". I was tempted to remind him that I was driving and it was fairly important to keep my eyes on the road, but as usual I couldn't get a word in. I thought it was nice to hear him talking about something that had no connection at all with trains, you could almost call it romantic (well, as close as Robbie gets anyway). Then he spoiled everything by telling me that there was a list of cloud names in that dreaded book of his, Shott's Original Miscellany. He started to list the various different types of cloud and I made a mental note to burn that book. I love books and I honestly don't think I could destroy any book, but in Robbie's hands that book becomes an offensive weapon!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/5892821/Electrified-rail-network-the-benefits.html

Back to Reality

Saturday dawned impossibly early, we were all up by 5.15am and by 7am we were on the road. It was the Royal Cornwall Show and I wanted to be well away from Wadebridge before the queues built up. It was an uneventful but exhausting journey and we made reasonably good time. Something about the M5 always brings the worst out of Robbie, he spotted a train at the point where the motorway passes close to the railway line and for the next ten minutes he 'entertained' us with a medley of train noises - I think he has been missing work! My nerves were still jangling when there was a thump against the window behind me, I thought some debris had broken the window but it was only Sam recreating the legendary moment when grandad had thumped his hand on the side of the window to express his feelings to a particularly inconsiderate driver. Needless to say both 'boys' were silenced by a few words from me!

When we got home there was a note and a key from our neighbour, she had just left for her holiday and she wanted Robbie to water the plants and feed the fish. He takes his responsibilities seriously and he popped round to check on the fish and see to the plants. He was gone for quite a long time, and when he returned he had a puzzled look on his face, he had been searching for the fish. Apparently he expected them to be in a tank somewhere in the house, but when he couldn't find them he went out to water the plants and found the fish - in the garden pond! The following day he wasn't quite as long, but he still took longer than expected, apparently he was trying to count the fish to make sure they were all still there, but they wouldn't stay still!

Double Trouble

Double Trouble Tuesday 21st August 2007

It was cold last night but by morning it was warmer and calmer, not pleasant but tolerable. It was one of those damp grey days that refuse to brighten up, but it was good enough to go to Cromer. As usual we sat in the car for ages waiting for Robbie, his lateness really frustrates me, I can't imagine why it takes him so much longer than anyone else to get ready.

It was nice to have a look at Cromer again. Robbie wanted to look in Jarrolds, they sell books, very nice jigsaws, stationary and art and craft materials, in fact it is just the sort of shop that could tempt me to spend a fortune. I restrained myself and just bought a couple of Christmas presents after that we wandered through the side streets towards the restaurant that we like and we treated ourselves to a welcome lunch. Usually we would have wandered down to the sea front to have a look at the pier and enjoy the view, but we gave it a miss yesterday, fearing that we would probably blow away if we ventured down to the front. Anyway Robbie had another goal in mind - his favourite bookshop. As usual it didn't disappoint, Robbie was thrilled to find a book about Walsall's engine sheds, another about British Railway's Workshops and yet another called London Midland Then and Now. I was equally thrilled - because that lot would almost certainly guarantee me an evening of peace and quiet!! Cromer is quite a pleasant little town, but it is let down by three issues that impact significantly on visitors. The public toilets are grim, the car parks are not well designed or well signposted and road layout is dangerously chaotic and it appears to have been designed by a toddler or a lunatic!

We had a nice quiet evening, Robbie was happily reading his books and doing his second jigsaw, Sam watched something gruesome on DVD leaving me to get on with my writing and to enjoy the peace and quiet. Unfortunately the peace was short lived, as the evening went on Robbie and Sam managed to lower the town of the conversation until they were rolling around convulsed in laughter like little boys at primary school! I don't understand those two, one minute they are competing for my attention and arguing about the most ridiculous things, then all of a sudden they are allies, giggling at rather dubious jokes and encouraging each other in further wickedness. I guess it is true, little boys never really grow up!