Trains and Drains

Poor old Robbie had a really bad headache all day yesterday and it was still bothering him when he woke up this morning. He was particularly disappointed because he had been going on a special train journey today, but he didn't feel well enough to go. He loves trains and he must have been feeling rotten to decide not to go. He snuggled back into bed, his mind still on trains. After a brief ramble about a preserved line near our home, he made a huge geographical leap to talk about Laira Depot in Plymouth. I am always interested in Laira when we go past on the train because there is always something different to see. This morning I was treated to a painfully detailed description of the facilities at Laira for emptying train toilets - not exactly a turn on! He even explained how long it takes. The mad thing is, only Robbie could make a subject like that sound vaguely interesting!

The Sleeper to Penzance

Robbie has just read the last entry and he says I should tell you about our honeymoon. Don't worry; no classified information will be included! Apparently our honeymoon has become a bit of a legend among his work mates. Robbie works for a railway company as a train planner, and he is obsessively interested in everything to do with trains. His mates couldn't work out how he got away with a 'train focussed' honeymoon.

We had the most amazing start to our honeymoon. We spent an afternoon and evening in London cranking at Euston and the Kings Cross, after that we made our way across to Paddington. We had a first class booking on the Penzance sleeper, but it didn't leave until almost midnight, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the wonders of the First Class Lounge. Robbie got 'ants in his pants' and asked if he could go off and do a bit more train spotting. That was fine by me, I was happy to sit there and take in every detail of my surroundings, those rooms are incredible.

The sleeper journey was really special. I made sure I was awake in time to enjoy the early morning part of the journey. ‘Sleeping beauty’ didn’t wake up until his breakfast arrived! One of the most magical memories was watching the sun rise as we came towards St Michaels Mount.

Well I have shared quite enough details about our honeymoon! The rest of the week was great too …….and it involved lots more trains!!

Fancy Footwork

It is only just over a year since we got married, but it feels as if Robbie and I have been together forever because despite 'eccentricities' we get on incredibly well. There were lots of reasons why we didn't rush into getting married, but there was one major obstacle for Robbie - I wanted him to wear shoes! For any readers who don't know him, he always wears Dr Martens (because he has different sized feet). Eventually Robbie negotiated a deal re the shoes for the wedding. He would wear Dr Marten Oxford shoes for the big day and I would make no objection to him buying a new pair of purple Dr Marten boots. I wouldn't have minded him buying the boots anyway, but I let him think he had struck a tough bargain! He does make me laugh.

He was even brave enough to suggest that I should also wear Dr Marten's. Apparently they do make Dr Martens for women, but there is no way on earth that I was going to wear them for my wedding - or any other occasion. Robbie's boots are incredibly heavy, it would have been like getting married in diving boots, I wouldn't have been able to lift my feet up! My friend got married wearing an Arsenal top, I was tempted by that idea, but I don't think I was designed for sports wear!!

A Burning Enthusiasm

Robbie was busy looking at disused railway stations on his laptop last night. It is a really interesting site, but by 11pm and quite a lot of 'did you knows' I retreated to bed exhausted. Considerably later Robbie came to bed - he is incapable of doing so quietly! He appeared to be in pain and he explained that he had to put cream on his legs because he had fallen asleep holding his laptop and burned his legs!!

Under Plain Cover

There are three special little words that Robbie says almost every day. Those little words are "did you know........" then follows a detailed (usually very detailed!) explanation about the latest thing that has caught his attention. Last night he uttered those three little words and then treated me to an in depth analysis of the game of marbles. I have no idea why that little gem popped into his head!

Like me he loves magazines, I don't really mind his railway magazines, in fact I quite enjoy reading. I wish he didn't hoard so many old copies - we will need a bigger house soon! I can tolerate him reading NME and even that limp lefty thing that he calls a newspaper, but there is one title that he smuggles into the house and he thinks I don't know about it. No, it isn't anything from the 'top shelf' it's The Grocer! I can't imagine why he reads it, I guess some people find their thrills in the weirdest places!!!

A Man of Many Words

One of the things I found attractive about Robbie when we first met was his voice – especially on the telephone. I don’t recall having too many problems with his accent, but most of my family behaved as if he was speaking in a foreign language. The problem is that when he gets excited or enthusiastic he speaks much faster and he is harder to understand. Robbie is a man of many words; his philosophy seems to be to uses as many words as possible in the hope that a few of them make sense! My mum finds him especially hard to understand. We often visit her on a Sunday and Robbie chats away about all sorts of things, sometimes I notice my mum wearing a polite but confused expression and she has to ask me what he was saying. Much to her amusement I can often distil five or ten minutes of Robbie’s conversation in to one sentence!

The Fridge Police

When I first met Robbie it wasn't 'love at first sight' but he has an energy and enthusiasm that is really unusual. He is interested in almost everything and he hoards nuggets of random information that tend to spill out at the oddest of times. He is passionate about trains, music, clothes, gadgets - the list goes on, it is one of his most attractive traits. I wouldn't want to change him, but sometimes life would be easier if he wasn't quite so passionate about the little things!

When we do the supermarket shop Robbie always takes responsibility for putting the food away, he is particularly possessive about the fridge. If anyone tries to be helpful (or brave) and alters the storage arrangements Robbie will take everything out and repack it to his satisfaction. Everything has it's own designated place. One day while shopping I picked up a different shaped bottle of tomato sauce because it was much better value. I got ‘the look’ - the Paddington bear stare with the pouting lip; I ignored it and told him not to be silly. Hostilities escalated and I was treated to a rather uncoordinated dance in the style of an angry troll, when this also failed he stalked off in search of his dignity. You may well ask why there was so much fuss about one bottle of tomato sauce - it was because the different bottle shape would not fit the fridge!! Ok I admit that I left Robbie in no doubt that I would have little difficulty in fitting it somewhere else! We have had no problems with sauce bottles since then, but the tea, coffee and sugar containers are an ongoing saga!

Train Spotting

We were quite late going to bed last night and when I walked in to the bedroom Robbie was sitting on the bed in his usual Buddha like pose reading one of his many train books. Usually I take an interest in his passion for trains but at well past midnight it was the wrong time and the wrong place! I closed my eyes and was just drifting off to sleep when Robbie jolted me back to consciousness. He was showing me a picture of a train interior and demanding to know if the train I used to catch to London in 1982/3 was exactly like this. My answer was not particularly pleasant!!!!!

Emergency Stop!

We were on the motorway on our way to Cornwall when suddenly Robbie let out a piercing yell, so loud that I thought we were about to crash. It turned out that he had spotted a train at the side of the motorway! Thankfully I was driving otherwise Robbie may not have survived unharmed!

Problems with PJs

I can live with Robbie's peculiar taste in music, I don't have a problem with his passion for trains but there is one thing that I just can't tolerate! He is not allowed outside in his PJs, (or lounge wear as he calls it). One morning in early summer I had been out doing errands while Robbie was doing some jobs at home. Just before lunch, I dropped my daughter off at home and I told her to ask Robbie to come out to the car to speak to me before I went out again. Suddenly Robbie appeared at the side of the car wearing only PJ bottoms and looking uncannily like Homer Simpson's brother. Before I could fully express my displeasure our neighbour arrived home, poor woman, she looked terrified!