Monthly Archives: March 2011

Duchess of Cornwall and the Queen share a drink (Belle)

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I was standing at the bar with the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall. I was telling the Queen about how my tour of America with the Duchess had gone. “Of course, most people haven’t got a clue who she … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bar, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Queen, tour, USA, wine | Leave a comment

A campus love affair rudely interrupted, and a seaside crime (Rousse)

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Dreamaticus

While most colleagues met for Friday night drinks in Bruntsfield, I discovered that the senior staff held a private reception on a secret campus. I set off to investigate. I spotted current and former colleagues through the windows of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baby, beach, bed, bedroom, books, Bruntsfield, campus, colleagues, conservatory, Edinburgh, hall of residence, Islay, nephew, niece, police, rock star, secret, Simpsons, singing, tryst | Leave a comment

Anti-French feeling and fossilised fruit (Rousse)

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Dreamaticus

We even surprised ourselves when we signed up for the mediterranean cruise. However, this was a cruise with a difference. The small wooden boat was so packed that we fought for sleeping space at night, and most of the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged apples, bananas, boat, cruise, fossils, France, French, holiday, islands, mediterranean, passengers, pears, plums, queues, queuing, refugees, school, teaching | Leave a comment

Queen cuts down official duties (Rousse)

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The pensioner at the till was agog. Could it really be true that the Queen would put in an appearance later in the day? What on earth was she doing in a tea shop in St Ives? Yes, came the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aspic, conference paper, curry, foil, library, New York, Pearly Queen, Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, rice, rice pudding, rice salad, scalpel, sister, snowboards, St Ives, tea shop, Thai, till | 1 Comment

Top fashion designer turns her talents to academia (Rousse)

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Award-winning dress designer MSB swapped her sewing machine for a computer screen and started work as my assistant. Grant-making bodies and research councils would soon sit up and take notice of the work of our amazing proposal-generating dream team.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged award, dress, fashion, grant, proposal, sewing machine | Leave a comment

A food-based rave and a sporting mix-up (Belle)

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I was amongst the crowd waiting for the ‘harissa party’ to start. We were milling at the sides of a Victorian music hall, while the dancefloor was being prepared. An elaborate two-colour paisley pattern was being created on the floor … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baby, cricket, dance, fruitbowl, garden, Golf, music hall, nightclub, rave, summer | 1 Comment

Selling tickets at the Fringe, and shooting woodcock in the Borders (Rousse)

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Kev F Sutherland was our new boss. For our first task we set up a stall in the Pleasance Yard and prepared to sell as many tickets as we could for that night’s performance by the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brooch, California, campus, Canada, Caribbean, Chicago, coat, Danish, driving, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, fans, flag, flying, Fringe, fur, hedge, holiday, Kev F Sutherland, letter box, paint, Pleasance, Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, sea, shooting, stall, teenager, thunderstorm, TPR, wall, woodcock | Leave a comment

Noël Coward’s sick sense of humour and fridges full of carcasses (Rousse)

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The faster runners soon pulled away from me and in a short time a significant gap developed between us. At least I was managing to keep everyone else in sight. Fortunately for them, the others reached Royal Terrace before the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ambush, bottles, cliff, compost, driving, Edinburgh, film, Georgian, glass, London, menu, Noel Coward, pig, rescue, Royal Terrace, runners, running, screams, sea, shopping, supermarket, tub, work | Leave a comment

Exciting new printing facility in central Edinburgh and the death of Cousin Bunny (Rousse)

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Everyone enthused about the new printing facility on North Bridge next to the Scotsman Hotel so I thought I’d give it a go first thing in the morning. There were so few people around at this time that I didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cousin, death, Edinburgh, funeral, ginger, hair, kitchen, nightie, North Bridge, phone, printing, pyjamas, Scotsman Hotel | Leave a comment

From Joan Armatrading discussions in Windermere to abandoned babies (Rousse)

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Funny fragments: Travelling in the back of the car along the shores of Lake Windermere listening to the two butch women in the front arguing about Joan Armatrading, and working out how to persuade them to get back onto the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged adoption, babies, car, driving, Eaglescliffe, Edinburgh, father, Hartburn, Joan Armatrading, Lake District, Lake Windermere, M6, mother, sister, Teesside High School | Leave a comment