Category Archives: Uncategorized

Brad Pitt’s summer secrets (Rousse)

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Brad Pitt had managed to remain incognito for much of his visit – many of the students had simply not recognised that we had a Hollywood superstar in our midst – but soon he would be returning home. I’d really … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Brad Pitt, career, company, Hollywood, home, incognito, miss, photograph, Raiders of the Lost Ark, secret, secrets, Star Wars, students, summer, superstar, Thelma and Louise, visit | Leave a comment

Matt Smith speaks at Aberdeen information science conference (Rousse)

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I spied Matt Smith sitting at a table preparing his presentation. Up until this point I didn’t consider it an unusual prospect to be sharing the stage with him. Then it dawned on me that this was Dr Who! I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aberdeen, autograph, bear, bite, bitten, camera, cheesecloth, conference, Dr Who, dress, e-mail, grizzly, hunt, information science, Leith, lens, loch, lost, MacAir, machine, Matt Smith, outfit, paper, photograph, pine marten, presentation, red, scrapes, T shirt, table, treasure, university, white | Leave a comment

Simon Le Bon leaves Yasmin and takes new lover to Aberdeen caravan hideaway (Rousse)

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Simon Le Bon left his wife Yasmin – for me! Our first trip together was to Aberdeen beach to visit the Le Bon family’s caravan. I had expected it to be a luxurious trailer. Instead I discovered a tiny old-fashioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aberdeen, caravan, family, gloves, Marigold, Marigolds, shower, Simon le Bon, trailer, trip, washing up, Yasmin Le Bon, Yasmin. | Leave a comment

Sympathy and ping pong (Rousse)

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Dreamaticus

When XY broke down in tears in my room I realised that the only way to comfort him would be to invite him into my bed. Between sobs he listed many injustices others waged against his research projects, using this … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bed, blue, boss, British Library, careers, colleague, comfort, dinner, Edinburgh City Council, engineering, fair, formal, injustices, invitation, little, man, math, mathematics, maths, members, old, ping pong, project, projects, research, room, science, senior, silver, skirt, stem, stranger, suit, suits, sympathy, table tennis, tears, technology, travels, violet | Leave a comment

The fish-eating fake vegan (Rousse)

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Dreamaticus

My office-mate was up to his usual annoying habits, behaving as if he had exclusive use of our shared room. He’d taken my poster off the door and replaced it with a congratulatory banner for his final year class. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged banner, bean, class, congratulations, corridor, eat, fake, fish, habit, habits, house, kidney, kidney bean, lock, mackerel, office, office-mate, peas, poster, rice, room, smoked, stew, students, supper, vegan, white | Leave a comment

Cycling academics, poor publishing standards, diet Coke rations, a farewell disco, and stiletto heels (Rousse)

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I cycled to work to mark the last day of operation of Queen Margaret’s Corstorphine campus. Many other Edinburgh academics did the same, discussing the poor standard of journal submissions as they rode the route. Because it was such a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged academic, academics, bike, childhood, Coke, college, Corstorphine, cream, cycle, cycling, diet, Diet Coke, disco, Edinburgh, farewell, feet, friend, Friends, gnarled, heel, heels, journal, pal, pals, publish, publishing, Queen Margaret, ration, rations, shoes, stiletto, submission, submissions, train, university | Leave a comment

An over-ambitious walk (Rousse)

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Dreamaticus

My school friends PM, SR and I embarked on a ludicrous 200 mile walk from Edinburgh to Hexham and back. Our goal was to cover the course in one day. We didn’t make it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged day, Edinburgh, fail, Friends, goal, Hexham, over-ambitious, school, walk | Leave a comment

Queen and Duke of Edinburgh spend Christmas with commoners in Northumberland (Rousse)

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Dreamaticus

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh decided to break with tradition and spend Christmas away from Sandringham. Instead of surrounding themselves with members of their own family, the royal couple accepted an invitation to celebrate the festivities at my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christmas, commoners, couple, Duke of Edinburgh, family, festivities, house, invitation, Northumberland, parents, Prince Philip, Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, royal, Sandringham, tradition | Leave a comment

Scandal of Yorkshire tourist information office that charges visitors to look at the moon (Rousse)

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Dreamaticus

We visited widower K in a Yorkshire village. He, along with his two small sons and daughter, seemed to be coping well since the death of his wife. I noticed that the little girl’s nails needed cutting, but she knew … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abseil, charge, comment, crime, daughter, feminist, fury, girl, hill, information, look, moon, nails, office, rape, rope, scandal, sons, steep, ticket, tickets, tirade, tourist, TPR, wife, Yorkshire | Leave a comment

An orphan’s treat cut short (Rousse)

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I volunteered to help with the orphans by taking charge of a very snotty two year old. A male colleague and I chaperoned the toddler around town following instructions issued by a lady dressed in a brown tartan outfit. Unfortunately … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brown, bus stop, cahperone, Calton Hill, care, City of Edinburgh Council, colleague, instructions, lady, lose, orphan, outfit, snot, snotty, snow, tartan, toddler, treat, volunteer, Waverley Court | Leave a comment