Category Archives: Uncategorized

Animal magic in the Edinburgh New Town (Rousse)

I rushed back into the study with my camera to photograph the orange toucans perched in the tree at the window. Two minutes earlier had been beside myself with excitement when I learnt that members of this exotic species had … Continue reading

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An appointment on the Isle of Skye with Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod (Rousse)

Strangers helped me pack my bike for the journey to the farthest reaches of the Isle of Skye. It was a long way, and I had probably left setting off too late in the day for any hope of arriving … Continue reading

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Edinburgh’s worst driver (Rousse)

TPR leapt out of the black BMW at the traffic lights while we were queuing at the Barnton junction. “I’ll be back in a minute” he shouted. “I’m just going to get some petrol.” When the lights changed to green, … Continue reading

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Crowded office sleeping arrangements (Rousse)

It was a bit of a squash, but nine of us were now sleeping on mattresses on the floor of my office on campus every night.

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Human sacrifice on the school bus (Rousse)

One school party took over the upper deck of the bus. The other settled in below. Rumours spread that the rival schools would go into combat as soon as the first human sacrifice was made. “OK,” I said to TPR, … Continue reading

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Musselburgh: bike repair capital of Britain (Rousse)

Musselburgh boasts the highest number of bike repair shops in Britain. This is due to its large resident population of retired cyclists.

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Scott McNealy continues to charm (Rousse)

It was the 1990s all over again. Scott McNealy took to the tiny blue stage to promote his new company. The charisma for which McNealy was famed in the heady days of dot.com boom at Sun Microsystems soon had the … Continue reading

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Pens lost and found (Rousse)

PT interrupted F’s PhD supervision with a question. “Are these pens yours?” he asked me. “Did you leave them behind when you moved offices?” There were three pens in total: a beautiful dark blue-marbled fountain pen; the striped wooden roller … Continue reading

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Seal invasion (Rousse)

A couple seated a few tables away from us across the hotel dining room appeared to be sharing exciting news. I couldn’t resist interrupting my meal to run over to them and find out what was going on. “Look out … Continue reading

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War Horse is “rubbish” (Rousse)

The first act of War Horse was tedious beyond belief. Why had we forked out fifty quid each to watch such a load of rubbish?

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