Author Archives: Dreamaticus

Grand designs in south west Birmingham (Rousse)

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Dreamaticus

The suburb of Northfield in Birmingham had smartened up considerably since the late 1980s. The tumbledown garages behind our old street had been demolished and replaced with a row of neat new houses. Our old house had been vastly extended at … Continue reading →

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Developing a small business research strategy (Rousse)

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Belle was  in disgrace. While I had been advising DC and his colleagues that UK research council documentation could serve as the starting point for the development of a government mandated small business research strategy, Belle had sloped off to … Continue reading →

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A bedroom farce (Rousse)

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Dreamaticus

It was like the plot of a farce. My new friend and I bonded on a tropical beach while watching the enormous sun double dip into the sea beneath the far horizon. Then we went back to her room. She … Continue reading →

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The drunkard at the swimming pool (Rousse)

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I was now so friendly with the lifeguards at the gym that I would often pop in and out of their staff room for a chat. One day when I left the staff room to return to the swimming pool, … Continue reading →

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Peril in a pram, a phony pellet of paper, and political editor Chris Mason (Rousse)

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Dreamaticus

From a distance we could see a baby’s head hanging loosely out of the back of its pram. Its mother, who was pushing the pram along the edge of the dual carriageway, obviously mistook our calls as friendly greetings when … Continue reading →

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The 70% driver (Rousse)

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Dreamaticus

They gave me the nickname 70% to recognise the quality of my driving: OK 70% of the time, dreadful for the other 30%.

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David Tennant’s ‘dangerous driver’ wife (Rousse)

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Dreamaticus

It was still dark at 4:00am when I turned the key in my red Peugeot 205 to drive it up the hill past the community centre and round the corner to the village car park. This was the easiest place … Continue reading →

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Online conference revival (Rousse)

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Last held in 2013, we all believed that that was the end of the annual Online conference – until this week, when it was revived in London. LVZ was operating the complicated lifts, and my colleague BMR selling miscellaneous books … Continue reading →

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An inconvenient house in the Highlands, with stunning medieval hall (Rousse)

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Why did we ever buy this inconvenient house in the Highlands? The only advantage of living here was that you could leave your front door unlocked without any risk of burglary. The layout of the building was ridiculous. You walked … Continue reading →

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A rough Liverpudlian with rickets (Rousse)

Posted on March 23, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Having ended her relationship with AO, in the sitting room of my dead paternal grandmother, KA introduced us to her new partner. When Niklaus and I shook hands, we recognised each other. I’d seen him at work just a few … Continue reading →

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