Category Archives: Uncategorized

Princess Anne, a posh prat, polar bears, and perfume preferences (Rousse)

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We’d all worked hard on the show for months. Even S played an active role, kindly agreeing to deliver the opening address. I did wonder, however, if she now regretted this offer given the fuss that I was making over … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged adress, all-terrain, audience, bear, bears, black, body, brown, clutches, conversation, cotton, guest, hair, happy, interval, offer, opium, perfume, polar bear, polar bears, posh, prat, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Queen, red, royal, sandals, scent, show, skirt, socks, speech, trip, whiff, wool, wrap, Yves St Laurent | Leave a comment

Queen’s safety comprised by ‘sleepover break-in’ at Grey Gables (Rousse)

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We were all invited to Grey Gables for New Year’s Eve so I didn’t think it would make much difference if we arrived a day early. Surely Peggy Woolley wouldn’t mind? We walked past the gardeners who were planting up … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ambridge, Archers, arrest, beds, bobble, Borders, break-in, brother, cotton, defence, endanger, Eric, flower, gardeners, Grey Gables, house, life, monarch, New Year's Eve, party, Peggy Woolley, plant, Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, residence, Rhys, sheets, siter-in-law, sleep, sleepover, Special Branch | Leave a comment

Strathpeffer: highland holiday destination (Rousse)

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Dreamaticus

My mission was to restore Strathpeffer to the glory of its Victorian status of sought-after spa town and top holiday resort. Braving the midges I set off along the river to the ornate former railway station, which I heard had … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged activity, buidling. bodies, chairs, council, destination, dining, disabled, drown, food, glory, highland, holiday, lukewarm, midges, ornate, railway, restaurant, river, riverside, room, signage, silence, spa, station, Strathpeffer, swimmers, therapy, town, Victorian, walk, walks, water, worker | Leave a comment

What to do at Grand Central Station (Rousse)

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Dreamaticus

At Grand Central Station in New York we would regroup for the next leg of our journey. In the meantime I scattered my business cards in the hope of widening my network of work contacts. I then returned to my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged business cards, contacts, female, frighten, Grand Central Station, journey, network, New York, relation, relations, work | Leave a comment

The Emperor of China, Tom Forrest, an absent wife, and a widower (Rousse)

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Ancient tradition in China required the donning of a long black robe (similar to an academic gown) whenever the emperor visited. Every day during my imprisonment I was on standby for this eventuality. Meanwhile I joined in with the activities … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged academic, ancient, Archers, bars, bed, bedroom, black, blue, Bob Arnold, border, breach, china, chinos. shirt, couple, darling, dead, delight, dress, emperor, English, escape, foreigner, foreigners, gesture, gestures, gown, green, guest, hand, host, hosts, imprisonment, invisible, lake, land, language, minder, restaurant, robe, sad, sign, speak, streets, table, Tom Forrest, TPR, travel, upstairs, weight, westerner, westerners, widoer, widower, wife | Leave a comment

Ducks and drowning risk in city centre (Rousse)

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I’d craved a sea view for years and now I had one – almost. When we woke at 05:00am to the blast of morning television from the flat upstairs TPR and I had no option but to get up and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged airing cupboard, back, centre, check, children, city, conduit, door, dress, drown, drowning, duck, ducks, feature, flat, garden, investigate, kitchen, mallard, neighbourhood, river, sea, sound, television, TPR, upstairs, view, water | Leave a comment

Phil Collins’ Ghostbusters dance (Rousse)

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Phil Collins danced with joy as I watched Ghostbusters on a decrepit VHS tape. Afterwards I took the dog into town to find TPR’s abandoned bike. When I returned home to the White House I annoyed my sister J. She … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bedroom, bike, dance, dawn, dog, garden, Ghostbusters, Hartburn, mist, Phil Collins, sister photograph, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, tape, town, TPR, VHS, White House, window | Leave a comment

Love strikes in the City of London (Belle)

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Dreamaticus

My advanced tea-making skills had attracted the attention of a handsome young suitor but I knew this was not enough to ensure our long-term compatibility. I was more interested in the older gentleman I had met in the exquisite and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Cannon Street Station, car, chapel, London, love, tea | Leave a comment

Cheese throwing with Billy Connolly (Rousse)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Although the purpose of the exercise was unclear, I enjoyed an afternoon of ‘cheese chucking’ with Billy Connolly and BP. The concept was simple. All you had to do was throw lumps of cheese up onto a high shelf. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Billy Connolly, breeze block, brick, cellophane, cheddar, cheese, chuck, chucking, lift, lumps, PhD, poverty, propel, Reading, shelf, thesis, throw, throwing, viva | Leave a comment

A bathroom for every bedroom in Edinburgh’s Victoria Street accommodation (Rousse)

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I visited AC in his Victoria Street flat. None of us had ever been there before, although TPR had once peered into the sitting room and concluded that this was the extent of the apartment. This was on the basis … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged apartment, back-packer, bathroom, bed, bedroom, building, Edinburgh, flat, foreogners, income, New Zealand, resident, shape, street, stting room, sub-let, TPR, Victoria Street, view, walls, windows | Leave a comment