Category Archives: Uncategorized

England manager hosts the party of the year (Rousse)

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Dreamaticus

IS and I had been invited to the party of the year – a school reunion hosted by an England football manager at his mansion. We arrived early in order to secure the best accommodation for the night, and were … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accommodation, Blipfoto, buffet, California, celebration, dance, dancing, door, dressing gown, dressing gowns, England, food, hook, iPad, iPads, laptop, laptops, MacAir, MacAirs, manager, mansion, mega-rich, party, reunion, rich, San Francisco, school, stranger, table, tables, tablet, tablets, towelling | Leave a comment

Ageism rife at Virgin Active (Rousse)

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Dreamaticus

My boss at the Virgin Active gym took one look at me and said “I’m sending you home from work. I do not want to see here you again until you have dyed those grey roots black”.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ageism, ageist, boss, discriminate, discrimination, dye, gray, grey, gym, hair, roots, Virgin Active, work | Leave a comment

An unwise trip to the Scottish Antique and Arts Centre (Rousse)

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Dreamaticus

My father and my sister J had started their car journey from Stockton, so they were delighted when I suggested we break our journey at the Scottish Antique and Arts Centre. As we pulled into a parking space on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, antiques, bird, birds, blacksmith, blacksmiths, car, Clarice Cliff, dish, Doune, father, field, fishing, game, glug, gravel, gurgle, journey, jug, jugs, memorabilia, metal worker, metal workers, park, parking, red, Scottish Antique and Arts Centre, sister, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, tackle, Toby, trip, veterinary, waders, White House | Leave a comment

Shoe shops, a suitcase, and a dodgy taxi ruin travel plans (Rousse)

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Dreamaticus

It was a real rush at the end of the Turku conference. Poor GW did her best to get me to the airport in time for my flight to London Heathrow (and onwards to meetings in Swindon), but I got … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged airport, bag, children, conference, driver, Finland, flight, Heathrow, kids, London, shoe, shoes, shop, shopping, suitcase, Swindon, taxi, terminal, Turku, wife | Leave a comment

French flood wipes out village (Rousse)

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Dreamaticus

My mother and I lived in a log cabin in the upper section of a rural French village. During the day she worked in the cinema further down the valley, quite close to the river and the lake. My daily … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged article, articles, author, authors, cabin, camera, cinema, co-author, co-authors, death, desk, die, Dutch, escape, flood, food, France, French, information, Inverary, iPhone, journal, kill, killed, lake, log, meltwater, mother, river, rural, tsunami, valley, village, vocabulary, wallet, water, write, writing | Leave a comment

Two unwanted pregnancies and an unwelcome underwater trip (Rousse)

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Dreamaticus

This was terrifying news. A friend who took fortress-style contraceptive measures, and another who was years past the menopause, had both fallen pregnant. Was it catching? Would I be next? I hoped not. I had enough troubles of my own … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged contraception, contraceptive, fortress, lavatory, lid, menopause, pregnancies, pregnancy, pregnant, teeth, toilet, trip, underwater, unwanted | Leave a comment

Nick Hewer waves off candidate for china restoration and robot building roles (Rousse)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I grabbed my iPhone and camera and made a dash to board the ferry back to the mainland. When Nick Hewer (Lord’s Sugar’s advisor on The Apprentice) told me that I had left my pink notebook behind I said to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alan Sugar, antique, apple, Apprentice, boat, camera, cardigan sea, china, Chinese, dummy, employment, engineer, ferry, grant, hearing, Hewer, iPhone, journey, limb, limbs, Lord Sugar, mainland, marketing, massage, model, Nick, Nick Hewer, notebook, pink, project, proposal, proposals, research, restoration, restore, robot, service, student, students, support, tea, technical, therapies, therapy, tourist | Leave a comment

When massage therapy goes wrong (Rousse)

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Dreamaticus

TPR laughed at me from the other end of the treatment table while my friend tried her best to keep a straight face. Then fitness trainer SS appeared from nowhere and attempted to clamber up on to the table and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged boy, boys, fitness, husband, laugh, massage, table, therapy, TPR, trainer, treatment | Leave a comment

Sarah Jessica Parker picks Belle’s pocket

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I had sourced a rare, early version of a clothes peg doll. Although only three inches tall, its remarkable resemblance to Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) meant it was both highly collectable and extremely valuable. As I walked down the street, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged doll, limousine, p, peg doll, pickpocket, pocket, Sarah Jessica Parker, thief | Leave a comment

Beware underwater gypsy robbers (Rousse)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Dreamaticus

It was a rare sight: hotel guests bathing in the sea long into the evening on the Isle of Lewis. All that spoilt the peace was the permanent threat of underwater gypsy robbers.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bathe, bathing, burglar, burglars, guest, guests, gypsy, hotel, Isle of Lewis, robber, robbers, sea, thief, thieves, threat, underwater | Leave a comment