Category Archives: Uncategorized

A broken-hearted friend (Rousse)

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Dreamaticus

HJ clearly considered me rude and unsophisticated. She hadn’t told me that she would be in Edinburgh, and told me off for calling out her name when I saw her in the street. I was heartbroken that HJ would choose … Continue reading →

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An unhappy return to Nantes (Rousse)

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Dreamaticus

Nantes was unrecognisable to me after my 33-year absence. I was also very nervous about returning to France barely able to speak French. It didn’t help that I had brought no French cash with me, and that the University sports … Continue reading →

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Hexham cocktail bar kidnapping (Rousse)

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Dreamaticus

My mother and sister S ordered cocktails at £150 a shot in a posh bar in Hexham. I knocked the drinks over because they had been delivered to a brown leather sofa cushion. When I complained to the staff that … Continue reading →

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Small yellow leather cross-over handbags (Rousse)

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Dreamaticus

In an Ullapool shop we discussed the merits of small cross-over handbags, and the usefulness of those in yellow leather. Even AN joined in – although the likelihood of her ever carrying one was low.

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Poultry parkour, a strawberry queen and Harry Potter decoration (Belle)

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I was sitting outside a cafe with my very old flame JHI when we saw Deptford’s famous ‘free-running rooster’ tumbling elegantly across the rooftops. I made an oath not to eat roast chicken that day. —– The documentary short featured … Continue reading →

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Hope for hoarders dashed (Rousse)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Dreamaticus

The back staircase was decorated pink. The neat piles of junk on the steps were numerous – perhaps an indication that, at long last, my parents were having a clear-out. However, when I stumbled over a box of out of … Continue reading →

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Incidental divorce lawyer advice (Rousse)

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Dreamaticus

My parents, sisters and I travelled in our pyjamas to Dryburgh Abbey for my father’s last hurrah. On the way back home we stopped off in Corbridge. Here we called in on my grandmother’s house (which had not been knocked … Continue reading →

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Sisters on the run (Rousse)

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I joined a family of dog-lover runners. Whenever they came back from the supermarket the sisters ran behind the family car, pulling the dogs alongside them. The only difficulties arose when the sisters accidentally fell out of order (the two … Continue reading →

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Vending machine temptation (Rousse)

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I lay under the vending machine eyeing the US equivalent of a Kit Kat that was almost out the drawer, unwrapped. When I could not bear it any longer, I gave into temptation and licked the chocolate. Of course, now … Continue reading →

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Belle’s beard

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I wished I hadn’t looked in the mirror.  Not only did I have stubbly beard, I also had what were known as ‘apple-cheek whiskers’.

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