Category Archives: Uncategorized

Condensed milk cures homesickness amongst British ex-pats (Rousse)

Whoever thought that I was qualified to examine a PhD in Latin on the French Enlightenment needed their head examining. Four of us gathered for the viva around a table in an over-heated room at the end of a long … Continue reading →

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The face at the window (Rousse)

I was too frightened to open the shutters: through they crack where they met I could still see the blank face of the six year old girl staring back at me. She hadn’t moved in 24 hours. Was she a … Continue reading →

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Changes in the marine environment to suit a red-haired mermaid (Rousse)

We were coming to the end of an uneventful family holiday. On the morning of our last full day away I bounced out of the big shared family bed and asked my little sister (aged 12) whether she would like … Continue reading →

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An undesirable neighbour (Rousse)

We moved back to Birmingham into a large Victorian house on a busy road. Our new next door neighbour wore a long dark beard and kept his hair tied up in a black turban. He told us that he was … Continue reading →

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Kate shops at Topshop (Rousse)

Catherine Duchess of Cambridge crossed Princes Street from opposite the Balmoral Hotel and headed right towards Princes Mall. “Catherine!” I called. She ignored me. I called again, and then she turned round. She looked so beautiful and elegant in a … Continue reading →

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A love affair in outer space (Rousse)

I paid VJ a visit to find out if she wanted to travel up to work with me. I was also keen to know whether any of her colleagues could help me find some materials to prepare a tutorial. She … Continue reading →

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But is it art? Ride the purple flume and admire a stick of celery at the Baltic (Rousse)

I launched myself into the purple flume with no idea of what I would land in or on at the bottom. My eventual destination turned out to be an art exhibition at the Baltic curated by staff from Northumbria University. … Continue reading →

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A gifted child (Rousse)

TPR and I were very proud of our new baby. Just two days old, she was already crawling at speed on her six long black legs, chattering to herself. The latest additions to her vocabulary included four syllable abstract nouns, … Continue reading →

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Congratulations to the one-legged widower father of the bride (Rousse)

My one-legged widowed father had done a fabulous job preparing the house for my sister’s wedding. With the help of a woman from the village, he’d set up three mini-dormitories so that all the guests who had decided to stay … Continue reading →

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Questions of etiquette (Rousse)

One friend accidentally copied in a second when he sent an e-mail reply to say that he couldn’t make it to my birthday party – so now she knew that she hadn’t been invited. How could I explain why not … Continue reading →

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