Category Archives: Uncategorized

Driving a wooden train and a bonus human pyramid (Belle)

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Dreamaticus

My new job was driving a red wooden train in a New York department store. The best part of the job was tooting the horn and aggressively waving at shoppers, insisting they move to the side of the aisles so … Continue reading →

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In defence of the ‘Nonsense Norwegian’ (Rousse)

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Dreamaticus

The residential staff retreat was a dreary affair. As I stood in a queue waiting for my turn to take part in the next ‘exciting’ activity – charity shop shopping – my mother-in-law lifted my woollen jumper to check that … Continue reading →

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Boss cuddles naughty magician (Rousse)

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Dreamaticus

A former PhD student of mine asked if I would support her over a difficult issue at work. I gladly agreed to help her avoid the sack, but without realising the extent of her problem. She just couldn’t behave politely … Continue reading →

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Wrinkly faces and a Fiat 500 (Rousse)

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Dreamaticus

JB was alive and well in Birmingham. I admired her Fiat 500 and the way that the family had stuck four large cardboard head portraits of themselves across the car’s dashboard. JB complained that she looked very wrinkled in her … Continue reading →

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Rousse and Belle join the ‘Read an article a day’ (Rousse)

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I signed up for a scheme entitled ‘Read an article a day’. Under sufferance, Belle agreed to ensure that I kept to the regime.

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A trinkets ban and a secret smoker (Rousse)

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Before I saw the table setting, I had already decided the colours of my mother-in-law’s bouquet: pale greens and yellows, with a splash of white. What a coincidence that SLHG had laid out green grapes on pale green Lalique glass … Continue reading →

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Cycling in the Pentland Hills (Rousse)

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I had stripped down to my underwear in the charity shop, but the staff couldn’t care less – presumably because I was their best customer. However, it was getting late, and at 9pm TPR was anxious that we might miss … Continue reading →

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A sea view and a criminal trespass (Belle)

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Although I had already landed back home in the UK, and I hate flying, I decided to fly back immediately to my friends’ home “just to see the view again”. They were astonished – and not too happy – to … Continue reading →

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Care home pros and cons (Rousse)

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Dreamaticus

The care home had its attractions. My favourite activity – for residents and visitors alike – was to leap with the others into a field of soft, waist-high, broad-bladed grass. However, the broken blue and white crockery in the galley … Continue reading →

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An open invitation to theft and burglary (Rousse)

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I was asking for trouble when I left my handbag next to a bin beside the road when I went for a run. By the time I returned my bag was gone – and with it my bank cards, keys, … Continue reading →

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