Author Archives: Dreamaticus

Top of the Form meets the Archers in 1970s quiz flashback (Rousse)

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Dreamaticus

“And next, after the 7 o’clock news bulletin on Radio 4, 13-year old TPR answers quiz questions in the Archers”. We both looked up from unpacking our suitcases, each searching for answers to half a dozen questions evident in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 13-year old, accent, Archers, archive, astronomy, Barwick Green, BBC, bulletin, clip, dance, intellectual property, maypole, news, programme, question, questions, quiz, Radio 4, recording, scene, Scottish, show, suitacses, suitcase, teenager, theme, top of the form, TPR, unpack | Leave a comment

Wet underwear (Rousse)

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Dreamaticus

The underwear crisis struck in a rented house in Corbridge, Northumberland. My black bra was still wet from handwashing. I couldn’t wear it in this state, but I did not have a spare. What was I to do? PB’s girlfriend … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged black, bra, Corbridge, crisis, enormous, fat, garment, girlfriend, handwash, house, lacy, lilac, offer, rent, solution, spare, torso, underwear, wet | Leave a comment

Jane Garvey acrobat commentary, bad taste in clothes, and slum living (Rousse)

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Even with Jane Garvey providing the commentary, the Chinese acrobatic performance was dull, dull, dull. Indeed, it was so tedious that I could feel myself drifting off to sleep in my seat. The looks that my neighbours cast my way … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accommodation, acrobat, acrobatic, acrobats, attic, bed, bedroom, broken, brown, camp, cardigan, Chinese, clothes, colour, dull, flat, Jane Garvey, living, outfit, performance, purple, room-mate, room-mates, seat, shoes, skirt, sleep, sleeping, slum, snore neighbours, taste, tedious, tights, Women's Hour, work | Leave a comment

Drunk Police fan and dead grandmother responsible for multiple car crashes (Rousse)

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Dreamaticus

With my sister J at the wheel of the Fiat Panda, we turned off the main road and drove past a country pub packed with Eton schoolboys dressed in their school uniform. They couldn’t take their eyes off A, next … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accident, boys, CD, claim, co-pilot, control, dead, door, drive, Eton, Fiat, grandmother, greatest hits, insurance, insurer, lady, lift, motorway, Oban, panda, passenger, passengers, player, police, pub, school, seafront, seat, sister, sports, steal, swap, Swedish, swop, uniform, vintage, walk, wheel, white wine | Leave a comment

Bedroom tuition (Rousse)

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Dreamaticus

It was mildly embarrassing to wake up to find ES, DS and another industry guru seated at the end of my bed. On the other hand, I could do with their help in preparing class material for the coming term.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bed, bedroom, class, guru, industry, material, term, tuition | Leave a comment

Back to Birmingham for the finals (Rousse)

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Why had I volunteered to resit the final exams of my undergraduate degree? There was no need for me to do this, and I didn’t stand a chance of passing. The only benefit of dragging myself back to Birmingham was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birmingham, cake, cakes, degree, examinations, exams, finals, Friends, jewellery, languages, pass, picnic, resit, tapas, undergraduate, university | Leave a comment

Graffiti vandal cites Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum (1753) as defence (Rousse)

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Dreamaticus

The back hallway looked so much smarter after TPR painted the walls pale green. A further improvement was the list of garden tasks that I wrote up in blue felt pen on a patch of wall to the right of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1753, blue, botanical, Carl Linnaeus, Carl von Linné, credentials, dead, death, defence, disease, door, feather, felt, garden, graffiti, green, hallway, heath, home, jay, Linnaeus, peacock, pen, pride, scientific, sister, Species Plantarum, tasks, TPR, vandal, vandalis, walk, walls | Leave a comment

Upstairs, Downstairs and Yorkshire pudding (Belle)

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Dreamaticus

My role as ‘tweenie’ involved acting as a go-between for the ‘downstairs’ staff and our bosses. I volunteered to take a message so the rest of the staff would not be forced to interrupt lunch. I ran outside and realised we … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged boss, Chicago, downstairs, roast beef, servants, upstairs, Yorkshire pudding | Leave a comment

Badger cull targets head north of the border to attack household pets (Rousse)

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Something yellow and blue was peeping out of the undergrowth in our back garden. Was it a parrot? Yes, a parrot, in Edinburgh, at the tail end of summer! I ran to the kitchen to grab the camera only to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aggressor, asleep, attack, back, badger, blue, border, camera, creatures, cull, discovery, dog, Edinburgh, garden, grey, hall, household, jaws, juvenile, kitchen, limp, north, parrot, pet, pets, rescue, room, save, sitting, summer, TPR, trap, undergrowth, wildlife, yellow | Leave a comment

Knowledge Management on ice (Rousse)

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Dreamaticus

This term I was studying the Knowledge Management module rather than teaching it. The new tutor brought in a number of major changes. For example, most of the classes were taught outdoors in the melting snow, and the regulation module … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bunk off, changes, classes, enormous, father-in-law, footwear, Germany, graduate, guest, hut, ice, ice-skates, indoors, knowledge management, literature, melt, niece, quiz, sea, seashore, snow, speaker, speakers, statement, statements, stature, study, teach, tutor, white board, wooden, Word | Leave a comment