Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dinner, Duns, and editing dissertations (Rousse)

Posted on July 4, 2026 by Dreamaticus

Four years later than anticipated, finally I was the guest of honour at a dinner to mark my retirement. Former colleagues and long-term friends joined the celebrations. The locals included MS and IH from work. From further afield came university … Continue reading →

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Looking for LP Hartley’s house (Rousse)

Posted on July 4, 2026 by Dreamaticus

TPR and my sister’s boyfriend CM managed to lift the shopping trolley over the back yard wall. I couldn’t scale it myself, so I went round to the front of the red-bricked terraced house in the hope that the owners … Continue reading →

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In the deep end with Tony Soprano (Belle)

Posted on June 30, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I was ‘swimming’ (hanging on to the side of a swimming pool) when I spotted a bathrobe-clad Tony Soprano walking towards me. He jumped in the pool and threatened me angrily, although I couldn’t understand what he was shouting. Later, … Continue reading →

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Silent Sting spot in Scottish capital city (Rousse)

Posted on June 30, 2026 by Dreamaticus

Elsewhere fans would have chased him for an autograph or selfie. Only here in Edinburgh could international celebrity Sting emerge from a modest basement restaurant dressed in jeans and a plain brown long-sleeved shirt, a child in each hand, in … Continue reading →

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A thousand pound chicken mole dish (Rousse)

Posted on June 28, 2026 by Dreamaticus

It was highly embarrassing that we had accepted two invitations to dinner, both on the night that I was meant to be at my book group meeting in Glasgow. The first was from my childhood friend ECM, and the second … Continue reading →

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Castle walls, cake, and equestrians (Rousse)

Posted on June 22, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I was learning how to climb the castle ramparts wearing a pilfered riding hat for protection when a bunch of equestrians came looking for their kit. My teacher – a rough lad mounted on a white stallion that could scale … Continue reading →

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Corpse ‘reborn’ at circuits class (Rousse)

Posted on June 22, 2026 by Dreamaticus

My long-dead friend BT turned up to my Wednesday circuits class. I wondered how he would cope with the intensity of the exercises having been buried underground for over 25 years.

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A fabulous doctoral defence finale (Rousse)

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Dreamaticus

In a change to usual practice, all doctoral degree candidates now defended their theses in a classroom in front of the whole school. When it was XX’s turn, the chair realised that he had a conflict of interest with the … Continue reading →

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A muddy path in the middle of nowhere (Rousse)

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Dreamaticus

My sister J boasted so much about the new path from the main road to her house, that I felt compelled to test the route myself. I was well prepared in wellies, waterproof trousers, and an anorak for the mud … Continue reading →

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How to build a good teacher-student relationship (Rousse)

Posted on June 16, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I wanted to endear myself to the next cohort of students at the start of the new academic year. So, above the wording ‘We don’t want to be here’ chiselled into a long table in the lecture theatre, I picked … Continue reading →

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