Author Archives: Dreamaticus

A bathroom for every bedroom in Edinburgh’s Victoria Street accommodation (Rousse)

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I visited AC in his Victoria Street flat. None of us had ever been there before, although TPR had once peered into the sitting room and concluded that this was the extent of the apartment. This was on the basis … Continue reading →

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A creepy Cotswolds hotel and a fight for fish fingers (Rousse)

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The reviews for the Cotwolds hotel were amazing, but the longer that JC and I stayed there, the less inclined we were to recommend it ourselves. The two owners were rather creepy, following us around everywhere. When they complained about … Continue reading →

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Clever words win Russell Crowe (Belle)

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The dog and I stood at the top of the hill, admiring the view in front of us – lush green valleys and emerald green woods.  The view behind us was a complete contrast – the whole of London was … Continue reading →

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A missed reservation at the “best restaurant in the world” (Rousse)

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We arranged to meet in Paris at 1:30pm. J chose the venue: a beautiful white stucco-fronted hotel, opposite a formal park. When I arrived (just a couple of minutes late) J greeted me enthusiastically. Although we hadn’t seen one another … Continue reading →

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An under-resourced conference (Rousse)

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Even though I had passed the duties on to another colleague months ago, I was getting the blame for the failure of the conference. I couldn’t help it if I spent the afternoon cosying up to P and playing with … Continue reading →

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Direct flights from Edinburgh to Boston (Rousse)

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We’d never flown in such comfort before. The economy seats folded down into beds complete with soft fleece blankets. “This is a bit over the top for a flight to London” I mentioned to TPR, just as it dawned on … Continue reading →

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The Hashtag of the Devil (Rousse)

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Dreamaticus

When I first spotted the blue flash on my heel I thought it was a trick of the light. Then someone pointed out that it was a tattoo called the “Hashtag of the Devil”. It was well known that this … Continue reading →

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Small dog meets tiger (Belle)

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Now that he was ‘all grown up’, T the dog announced it was time for him to leave home.  He intended to move to California. Somehow things didn’t go according to plan. I later discovered that he was cohabiting with … Continue reading →

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A near-death experience in Alpine ski resort (Rousse)

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Dreamaticus

On the last day of our holiday we chose not to ski, but instead wandered around the resort and the technical college. There we bumped into other friends from home, including HW with a group of girlfriends; and S, N, … Continue reading →

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Good academic conduct (Rousse)

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Dreamaticus

MS made us sit through a multimedia training video that covered topics such as the disappointing award of non-English (specifically not “non-British”) degrees to Chinese students, plagiarism, bribery, and the spending of departmental funds on whisky. JK played all the … Continue reading →

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