Author Archives: Dreamaticus

YouTube family secrets (Rousse)

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I was going to be auntie to a new nephew in the summer. My family was adopting him from a doctor couple who had recently found that they could not cope with a third child. By the time he reached … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged adoption, child, doctor, doctors, nephew, sister-in-law, son, summer, video, YouTube | Leave a comment

Tried and tested techniques for keeping young, travelling free of charge on the M1, and repelling criminals (Rousse)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Dreamaticus

Have you ever wondered how to keep young, which is the cheapest form of travel between Leeds and London, and how can you best avoid the attention of burglars? If so, read on… How to keep young I was under … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged belongings, burglar, burglars, cage, coach, comfort, criminal, criminals, fare, father-in-law, free, how to, Leeds, London, M1, metal, motorway, office, paid, pay, PhD, repel, repelling, retire, retirement, safe. safety, stranger, student, students, supervision, technique, techniques, travel, travelling, young | Leave a comment

New York’s finest and cream slices (Belle)

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Dreamaticus

My secondment to the New York Police Department was nearly over and yet the NYPD officers were still taking every opportunity to laugh at me. They thought my slow meander to the driver’s window of a stopped car was laughable. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aircraft, car, cream cake, driver, New York, New York Police Department, NYPD, police, police officers | Leave a comment

Dog and duck a worldwide hit (Belle)

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Dreamaticus

My dog was an overnight YouTube sensation. It seemed the compilation of clips, documenting his friendship with a duckling, had really touched a nerve. In particular, the final scene, showing him riding around on the (now fully grown) duck’s back … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged dog, duck, jockey, YouTube | Leave a comment

Bob Dylan’s secret muse (Rousse)

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Dreamaticus

Bob Dylan paused mid-song, stepped to the edge of the stage, and glanced down at a girl in the audience about three rows back. It was rather like the scene in Dancing in the dark where Bruce Springsteen pulls an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged audience, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Courtney Cox, Dancing in the dark, Dylan, girl, muse, Robert Zimmerman, secret, singing, smile, smiling, song, Springsteen, stage, unknown | Leave a comment

A stay at the budgie hospital hotel (Rousse)

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Dreamaticus

How fortunate that AM and I were allocated to the same hotel bedroom. Without her tutoring, I would never have known that bedside light fittings also double up as iPhone chargers, nor would I have had access to the wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bedroom, bird, birdies, birds, birdy, budgerigar, budgerigars, budgie, budgies, charger, chargers, dead, death, fitting, fittings, heaven, hotel, ill, iPhone, light, room, room-mate, room-mates, sick, stroke, strokes, tea, TPR | Leave a comment

Ricki Lake, weight loss, and an over-zealous patrol man (Rousse)

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Dreamaticus

Ricki Lake looked fabulous close-up. She wore a tight black pencil skirt, white blouse and pillar box red jacket over her neat little body. My only criticism was that she was too heavily made-up. On the other hand, this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Americans, artist, audience, bellies, belly, blouse, body, car, driving, fat, gown, gowns, grandmother, Hexham, jacket, make-up, Manchester, overweight, patrol, pencil, pencil skirt, plastic surgery, police, Ricki Lake, show, skirt, speed, speeding, star, street, television, ticket, TV, weight, wheel | Leave a comment

Rousse is left holding the rag doll baby

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Dreamaticus

The excitement invested in anticipating the trip to China and meeting SC, her husband and their children, was eclipsed by the nature of our one and only encounter. We sat in front seats of the Landrover, then they opened the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baby, car, child, children, china, Chinese, doll, driver, exit, family, feed, feeding, kid, kids, Landrover, passenger, rag | Leave a comment

Moomin office delight (Rousse)

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Dreamaticus

All my colleagues on campus were dressed in matching black suits with peach cravats (or scarves for the ladies). Most were also carrying wands. I hung my head in shame. It was so long since I’d attended a graduation ceremony … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ceremony, cravat, cricket, curtains, decor, degree, degrees, England, fashion, furniture, graduand, graduation, iPod, iPods, Moomin, Moomins, office, purple, scarf, scarves, suit, suits, technician, technicians, television, thrashing, TPR, TV, wand | Leave a comment

The super-speedy husband (Rousse)

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Dreamaticus

While SM completed a half marathon in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 1 second, TPR ran the entire distance from Edinburgh to Newcastle along the A1 in just over three hours. By his calculations the distance was 30 miles. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A1, distance, Edinburgh, half marathon, marathon, Newcastle, prowess, run, running, sportsman, TPR | Leave a comment