Monthly Archives: July 2020

A happy heiress and Nottingham University fraud (Rousse)

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Dreamaticus

My greatest delight in inheriting my maternal grandmother’s house was that I now owned a proper pantry. The battered and beautifully engraved silver napkin rings left in a kitchen drawer also fascinated me. Which of my ancestors was born (or … Continue reading →

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A peg-legged threesome (Rousse)

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Dreamaticus

I got a lot out of my marriage, not least because my husband’s almost identical brother was part of the deal. We didn’t know his name, nor whether he was younger or older than TPR, but he was always there … Continue reading →

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A foul-mouthed husband in a frilly shirt (Rousse)

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Dreamaticus

It was Sunday and TPR was in a terrible mood. From my corner of the garden I could hear him swearing as he dug deeper and deeper into the hard ground to prepare a spot for repositioning the pond. From … Continue reading →

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Style on a 600 calories a day diet (Rousse)

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Dreamaticus

My sister J now looked long, lean and extremely stylish. Her secret was to live on 600 calories a day. Unfortunately this also made her rather bad-tempered.

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Suffrajet ban on the Isle of Man (Rousse)

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Dreamaticus

TPR explained that he could not possibly live on the Isle of Man because the song Worthy by the Suffrajets was on the island’s banned music list.

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A Russian spy and dangerous old English sheepdog in John Lewis (Rousse)

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Dreamaticus

The University Principal found out that we were harbouring a Russian spy. She first tried to capture him by inviting us all to breakfast at her town house (with newly astro-turfed front lawn). Her servant served us, taking our orders … Continue reading →

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What not to take to a beatification (Rousse)

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Dreamaticus

I shamed myself at the beatification for two former popes by carrying a bottle Heinz tomato sauce in my right hand all the way through the ceremony. Even at the conclusion of the formal proceedings, when the two appointed choir … Continue reading →

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A visit to the Manchester United and BBC comb factory (Belle)

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Dreamaticus

I was guest of honour on a tour of the comb factory. Away from the production lines the offices doubled as BBC newsrooms while the glass windows looked out over the Old Trafford pitch. They showed me a video of … Continue reading →

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Arran by bike (Rousse)

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Dreamaticus

I was the front passenger on a blue five-saddle tandem steered by my nephew P from very the last seat at the back of the bike. To ride the winding one-track roads of the Isle of Arran without protective clothing, … Continue reading →

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