Why Me?

In general I try to be a fairly helpful sort of person, nothing out of the ordinary, just on the boring side of normal if you know what I mean. So I really can't work out what it is about me that makes all sorts of people tell me about their problems.

I can be minding my own business wandering around the supermarket and bump into a parent that I knew slightly because years ago our children were in the same year at school. When I realise that I can't dart off in a different direction and pretend I haven't seen her, I manage a polite 'hello', and before I can stop myself the foolish question 'how are you' has slipped from my lips. Time slows down and my eyes glaze over as she relates every intimate and cringe makingly embarrassing health problem she has had in the last ten years. I do my best to compose my expression while my brain franticly searches for a plausible excuse to escape. When I finally reach the freedom of the car park I vow to be more careful in future, but it is so difficult to avoid the phrase 'how are you?'.

Another person who I know slightly because our children are friends bumped into me in the fizzy drinks section of the supermarket and after the briefest greeting proceeded to tell me in graphic detail about the trouble she was experiencing with piles – far too much information!

At work people tell me about problems with their children, their partners, their health and various unmentionable issues. I don't think I am especially sympathetic, I don't give amazing advice, I usually tell them that they understand their individual circumstances best so they are best placed to know the right answer for them. It isn't even that they think that if I can cope with Robbie I can cope with anything, because most of them don't know him. I really don't know what makes them confide in me.

A few weeks ago a customer at work asked for advice about a product, I helped him briefly as I would any customer. Now he seeks me out and comes to have a chat with me, he is a little unusual, in fact he may be the most boring man in the world. Last week he came in and told me about the history of a company that produces batteries, complete with dates, locations and sales figures. This week he took twenty minutes to tell me about the history and evolution of the cassette tape recorder. I asked if it was a special interest of his, he shook his head and said that he just likes information, then he added that he is most interested in the history of the teasmaid. I was horrified, could this possibly be Robbie's long lost twin! But to get back to the original question – why me?!

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