Birds of a Feather Flock Together

You would think that after this long Robbie's capacity to surprise me would have diminished considerably, but you would be wrong! The other day he read out a comment that he had made on the facebook status of one of his friends, it didn't make much sense to me but that wasn't a surprise, train spotters (sorry I mean railway enthusiasts!) seem to talk to each other in code most of the time. The comment in question was about hiding a pair of trainers under the bed, that seemed relatively normal to me compared to some of the things that are hidden under our bed, but Robbie seemed to find it funny. Eventually he explained that his friend was a trainer collector and he had to hide new purchases because they were taking over the house. It still didn't seem very funny to me, after all I spend my life tripping over Dr Marten boots with a few pairs of Converse thrown in for good measure. I pointed out that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, but that just made him fold his arms and stick out his lower lip.


That little incident set me thinking, Robbie knows some 'interesting' people including a plane spotter, an escalator spotter, a roundabout spotter (the road type not the fairground ride), several bus spotters, a couple of closet milk float spotters and a whole legion of train spotters. Then there are the obsessive collectors, some collect train parts or railway related stuff, there is the trainer collector and various other hoarders. Robbie collects railway books, magazines, model railway stuff, cuff links, ties, pens, stationary - and that is only the things that I am prepared to admit to in public. The big question is where does he meet all these people? Hoarders anonymous perhaps or maybe there is a social networking site for extreme spotters or possibly they have some sort of secret handshake like the masons. One things is certain, when it comes to the weird and the wonderful, birds of a feather flock together!

A Troubling Obsession?

When we were on the train on Sunday Robbie waited until I was relaxed and comfortable, then he rummaged in his rucksack and brought out a leaflet. He opened the leaflet and slid it across the table towards me with a big grin on his face. There were pictures of old buses (Robbie is a bit of a closet bus spotter!) but my eyes fell on a much more troubling picture of milk floats. This place (I can't remember where it was - I was too traumatised!) has a collection of milk floats. Why would anyone want a collection of milk floats? I hate milk floats even more than I hate Volvos, they get in my way, they park inconsiderately and and they always seem to be driven by fiercely ugly old men. As far as I am concerned the only sensible thing to do with a milk float is to blow it up 'Braniacs' style!

I gave Robbie a steady stare, I can put up with a lot, I don't mind his obsession with trains, I can tolerate his 'thing' about buses but if he is going to get into milk floats that is a step too far, its unnatural, in fact it's scarily weird. Robbie guiltily admitted that he wanted to go to see the buses with a friend of his. I grudging agreed on the strict understanding NO MILK FLOATS! I can tolerate most of his enthusiasms but milk floats are a step too far!

Surely Not!

I am getting seriously worried about Robbie, in fact I'm expecting the men in white coats any day now! The other day he told me about a new group that he had found out about, I wasn't taking too much notice until he mentioned the name of the group - The Pylon Appreciation Society! At first I thought I had misheard, but no he really did say 'Pylon'. I was incredulous, I though he was joking, I just couldn't believe that anyone could be interested in pylons! In the end Robbie printed out the details for me. He assured me that lots of people are fascinated by pylons, in fact he claims to know several pylon spotters I wonder why that doesn't surprise me! He even told me about a really good book about Pylons - I can't cope with more books. I gave him a serious warning - if he decides to to take up pylon spotting I will consider it grounds for divorce!!

This Makes Train Spotting Sound Normal!

With two teenage daughters in the house, control of the TV is very firmly in their hands. One of their favourites is the Sharon Osborne Show. A while ago there was a guest on the show who was a roundabout spotter, not the sort of roundabout that you ride on, the sort that you drive round! The chap seemed fairly normal but the girls found his hobby hilarious. It was still the topic of conversation when Robbie got home and between fits of giggles they told him about it. Robbie wasn't remotely surprised, and after showing off his own detailed knowledge of roundabouts in various parts of the country, he went on to explain that he had a friend who was an escalator spotter. By this stage the girls were in agony from laughing so much!