Monthly Archives: May 2025

Hair bobble clues point to sub-standard cleaning (Rousse)

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Under a thick layer of dust beneath our bed, I found three hair bobbles. What were they doing there, and why hadn’t our cleaner J found them? More to the point, when had she last cleaned under the bed? Of … Continue reading →

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Contributing to a Media and Cultural Studies compilation in Canada (Rousse)

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I had only volunteered to review a couple of papers, so it came as a shock to be told that everyone taking part in the compilation of the book was also expected to write a chapter on a relevant theoretical … Continue reading →

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Rumoured death of Canadian boyfriends 1 and 2 (Rousse)

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I was passed from one Canadian young man to another. It was as if the second had asked the first if he could borrow a bag of sugar. This was such a disappointment. I had become quite attached to Canadian … Continue reading →

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Is Olly Murs coming for dinner? (Rousse)

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Dreamaticus

There were several areas set out for dining in the canteen. I first found a table with AA-D. He had placed only two jam tarts on his plate for his main meal of the day. When I questioned this, he … Continue reading →

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Dreadful driving with the Bay City Rollers in Birmingham (Rousse)

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I was a terrible driver anyway, but when the accelerator of the huge Ford Granada got stuck to the floor as I drove through Birmingham, I was in big trouble. I had no option but to steer the car wherever … Continue reading →

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A home in the Pentland Hills and a bad tempered husband (Rousse)

Posted on May 18, 2025 by Dreamaticus

High in the Pentland Hills, we moved to a lovely large bungalow with beautiful views of the city of Edinburgh in the distance. The one drawback was that our new house was underneath a pylon and several criss-crossing electricity cables. … Continue reading →

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A helicopter ride and Prince William’s patchwork Harris Tweed flat cap (Rousse)

Posted on May 17, 2025 by Dreamaticus

The big treat at BR’s decade-late retirement party was a helicopter ride for his closest colleagues. Since I’d worked with him for a decade and a half from the late 1990s until mid twenty-teens, I was welcomed aboard as one … Continue reading →

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The fate of Hostage John (Rousse)

Posted on May 16, 2025 by Dreamaticus

JG and I relived our student days of 1982 with a trip from Paris to the Middle East. TPR joined us to help find the old lecture theatre that used to double up as a party venue. It seemed to … Continue reading →

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A lost white Volvo, a 10K race, and a needy husband (Rousse)

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Dreamaticus

My sisters argued that my mother’s white Volvo would look good in her care home car park. I refused to move it there. In any case, I had no idea where it was. I also had other things on my … Continue reading →

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Two double beds, four American exchange students, and an older woman (Rousse)

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I soon guessed WB’s plan when she invited me to spend the day with her at her ex-husband AB’s house in the country: matchmaking. I willingly made the visit with her, but also insisted afterwards that the pair of us … Continue reading →

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