Author Archives: Dreamaticus

A ladybird problem and an excess of dry goods at Bridge Farm, Ambridge (Rousse)

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Dreamaticus

While a guest of Pat and Tony Archer at Bridge Farm I supervised some final year undergraduates as they completed a maths and genetics project. The assessment task involved the breeding of super-strength ladybirds and storing them in jars. In … Continue reading →

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Goth drag queens and yellow pigeons (Rousse)

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Dreamaticus

TPR held my hand tightly as we walked along the dark street. Although the many passers-by frightened me due to their appearance, I was fascinated by the beautiful Goth drag queens. When we emerged into the sunny square at the … Continue reading →

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Between Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant: another Dr Who (Rousse)

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Dreamaticus

Few know that between Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant there was another Dr Who: Scottish student JM.

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A dearth of decent restaurants in Harrogate (Rousse)

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Dreamaticus

My step-mother-in-law organised a reunion in Harrogate. For a tourist town it lacked a decent restaurant. We tried two establishments but left each of them before a morsel of food was served simply because the waiting staff failed to come … Continue reading →

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Doctoral degree entry requirements: Oxford and Edinburgh (Rousse)

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Dreamaticus

All the others were clutching revision notes as we entered the exam hall. I had nothing in my hands because I had done no preparation whatsoever. So what if SH got a first and I failed? Then I started to … Continue reading →

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Unhelpful underground officials at Heathrow (Rousse)

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Dreamaticus

The two London Underground officials at Heathrow Airport were hopeless. When I asked them which service ran to Kings Cross they simply laughed, then took another puff on their ridiculous pipes.

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Harold Wilson’s women (Rousse)

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Dreamaticus

Harold Wilson had a wife and a mistress, yet I still accepted his generous invitation to become his girlfriend. (That he was dead was an irrelevant detail.)

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A car accessory catalogue obsession (Rousse)

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Dreamaticus

TPR had a new hobby – cropping pictures of petrol cans from car accessory catalogues and reassembling them as colour-coordinated collections in Mac photo albums.

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Topless waitress survives tsunami (Rousse)

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I’d got into the habit of going topless – everywhere. At Friday morning meetings my colleagues just ignored my bare breasts and didn’t pass comment. However, when I applied for a job as a waitress at a luxury tropical hotel … Continue reading →

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ISIS ambitions thwarted (Rousse)

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Dreamaticus

My father accepted an invitation to travel to Australia to fight ISIS. He was just about to set off when I pointed out that he wouldn’t get very far without a passport or visa.

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