Monthly Archives: January 2014

Green and black chocolate confession (Rousse)

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The office party was only made bearable when I discovered an untouched stack of Green and Black chocolate bars in one of the bedrooms – and stole one from the pile.

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Floods, Scotland’s obesity problem, and the Great British Bake Off (Rousse)

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Dreamaticus

PR was at a loss as to what to do with the flooded garage attached to his house. “Apply for a grant to turn it into a swimming pool, open it to the public, and solve Scotland’s obesity problem”, I … Continue reading →

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Animal magic in the Edinburgh New Town (Rousse)

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I rushed back into the study with my camera to photograph the orange toucans perched in the tree at the window. Two minutes earlier had been beside myself with excitement when I learnt that members of this exotic species had … Continue reading →

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An appointment on the Isle of Skye with Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod (Rousse)

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Strangers helped me pack my bike for the journey to the farthest reaches of the Isle of Skye. It was a long way, and I had probably left setting off too late in the day for any hope of arriving … Continue reading →

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Edinburgh’s worst driver (Rousse)

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Dreamaticus

TPR leapt out of the black BMW at the traffic lights while we were queuing at the Barnton junction. “I’ll be back in a minute” he shouted. “I’m just going to get some petrol.” When the lights changed to green, … Continue reading →

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Crowded office sleeping arrangements (Rousse)

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Dreamaticus

It was a bit of a squash, but nine of us were now sleeping on mattresses on the floor of my office on campus every night.

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Human sacrifice on the school bus (Rousse)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

One school party took over the upper deck of the bus. The other settled in below. Rumours spread that the rival schools would go into combat as soon as the first human sacrifice was made. “OK,” I said to TPR, … Continue reading →

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Musselburgh: bike repair capital of Britain (Rousse)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Musselburgh boasts the highest number of bike repair shops in Britain. This is due to its large resident population of retired cyclists.

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Scott McNealy continues to charm (Rousse)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

It was the 1990s all over again. Scott McNealy took to the tiny blue stage to promote his new company. The charisma for which McNealy was famed in the heady days of dot.com boom at Sun Microsystems soon had the … Continue reading →

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Pens lost and found (Rousse)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

PT interrupted F’s PhD supervision with a question. “Are these pens yours?” he asked me. “Did you leave them behind when you moved offices?” There were three pens in total: a beautiful dark blue-marbled fountain pen; the striped wooden roller … Continue reading →

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