I wasn't so concerned about the world going around, thanks to Robbie it was me who was going around in ever decreasing circles. He had an appointment somewhere north of here (I forgot to ask exactly where, but it involved heading towards Birmingham on a train). I altered my usual Monday routine so that I could drop him at the station at the time he wanted. I came back to the house to pick him up and he told me that he was ready, he just had to put his boots on, so I went out and waited in the car. Robbie turned up a few minutes later and I drove him to the station. He said a cheery goodbye and trundled off to buy a coffee for his journey and I drove back across town to the supermarket.
I parked the car in the supermarket car park and as I walked across to get a trolley I opened my handbag to get a pound coin out of my purse. My heart sank, there in my handbag was Robbie's wallet!! I turned around and went back to the car, I sent Robbie a text to let him know I was heading back to the station. I thought it would take me about half an hour to return the wallet and get back to the supermarket, after all Robbie couldn't go anywhere without money to buy a ticket. How wrong I was!! Baldrick Burgess had apparently bought his ticket for today's trip at the end of last week when he was at the station. So, when I arrived back at Northamptom station Robbie was just arriving at Rugby! I had to sit and wait, getting increasingly irritated while he travelled back from Rugby.
Finally he arrived looking very sheepish, I reunited him with his wallet and dashed back to the supermarket. I rushed around gathering the essentials in my trolley, but I didn't have time to do a proper shop because it was almost time for me to go to work. Men!!
Since the new year I have been writing in my Question and Answer Journal every day. The questions seem very simple but when you attempt answer them you find that they have hidden depth.
Today's question was simple enough 'What is your favourite accessory?' but when I asked other members of my family I found that everyone had a definition of accessory. In the end I decided that accessories include bags, jewellery, belts, sun glasses, hats, scarves, gloves etc. My daughter (who rivals Imelda Marcos when it comes to shoes) insists that shoes are accessories, but for me they are more functional so I did not include them in my definition of an accessory.
Even when I had decided what counts as an accessory I still couldn't answer the question. Usually I don't really bother with accessories, I am a very practical down to earth sort of person and I mostly think of clothes as functional more than fashionable. My handbag is important to me but it is a necessity rather than an accessory. I have a couple of other handbags in my wardrobe but I hardly ever change bags because it is far too complicated - on the other hand my daughter changes her handbag to suit her outfit. I have one or two necklaces that I like and sometimes I wear a broach but they are not exactly favourite accessories. When it comes to jewellery my wedding ring and my eternity ring are my most treasured possessions, but they are far to precious to be thought of as accessories. So having eliminated the other things, the choice was easy, my perfume is my favourite accessory.
If I asked Robbie the same question he would probably provide me with a very long list of favourites. It would not surprise me if a bag was close to the top of the list, Robbie loves man bags, rucksacks, briefcases, in fact he loves bags and wallets of all kinds.Then he would have to consider his cufflinks, he loves cufflinks and has lots of favourites among his large collection but if he had to select just one pair I think he would perhaps choose the Lego ones.
Robbie's legs are still hurting him, but he is managing to walk more normally – if you can call his gay walk normal! I waited in the car while he went into a shop the other day, I watched him walking and he really does have an noticeable wiggle. What was also noticeable was his new wallet sticking out of his back pocket. Does that man never learn? Having already had is pocket picked while at a gig, he knows how upsetting it is to lose a wallet and to have all the fuss of stopping your cards and waiting for new ones. He loves his new wallet, it was a birthday present and it probably cost more than the value of the contents, so if he loses this one he will be in big trouble. I think I will have to attach it to his pocket with elastic, just like the little children who have their gloves attached to their coats on a string of elastic!
The strangest thing happened yesterday, my phone rang and I thought it was Robbie ringing to apologise for being totally out of order the previous evening. It wasn't him, it was the police asking to speak to my late husband. I took over his mobile number and I still occasionally get calls from recruitment companies and such like so I asked who it was before explaining that he was dead. The policeman was more than a little surprised and told me that his wallet had been found dropped in a shop door way. This was more than a little disconcerting, I was afraid that someone had stolen his identity or something dubious was going on. To cut a long story short the policeman came to see me and it turned out to be Sam's wallet, he had his dad's business card and private health insurance card in it. Having provided suitable proof and signed the policeman's notebook the wallet was returned to me complete with the £20 that had been in it. It is nice to think that there are still some honest people around. Losing wallets is becoming a bit of a habit with the men of the house, I don't think they are safe to be allowed out on their own!
I am seriously annoyed with Robbie this morning, we had another one of those mornings with him claiming that I was depriving him of his pants. In fact he went as far as to accuse me of hoarding his knickers in the laundry basket! How ridiculous - that would be a bio hazard! Being ranted at at 5am really doesn't put me in the best of moods. I wish he would get it into his head that nobody is interested in his pants, especially not the unwashed variety! I think I will have to start setting out his clothes the night before, I used to do that for the children when they were younger. On the subject of young children, Robbie admitted that when he was little he used to have his gloves on a string through his coat to stop him losing them, I think I will have to do something similar with his wallet to avoid any more mishaps. I was very impressed by the banks, he reported his cards lost/stolen at about midnight on Tuesday/Wednesday and his replacement cards arrived in the post on Thursday morning, that is very good service.
Robbie went to London last night to see a group called Late of the Pier. He said he really enjoyed the gig but his legs were hurting and on his way home he found that his wallet was gone. He doesn't know if it was lost or stolen, but it caused a lot of fuss putting a stop on his cards and he was upset about losing his money and other oddments that were in the wallet. At least his rail tickets and passes were not in the wallet, that really would have caused problems.
