Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lord Alan Sugar’s babysitter and JK Rowling’s secret (Rousse)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Dreamaticus

“Babysitting” was the answer I gave whenever anyone asked what I did for Lord Alan Sugar. He liked to keep me nearby. This usually meant that I could be found hanging around the main door of the office at street … Continue reading →

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News of Michael Jackson’s death takes time to register back in the 1970s (Rousse)

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I met my new young man back in 1975. He squeezed into the seat next to me on one of the first 125 trains released into the fleet. We agreed to meet the next day beside the cave. He didn’t … Continue reading →

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Cambridge conference saves Rousse from North Sea diving job

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Although I agreed with the guest house landlady that her daughter looked a fright, I kept my views to myself. The poor girl obviously considered herself a beauty, yet to most she simply looked fake with her long blonde hair … Continue reading →

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Become a personal trainer – but not on this course (Rousse)

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Completely fed up with work, I decided to ditch academia to train as a fitness instructor, and joined the same course as FM. The pace of the classes was incredibly slow, largely because the tutor took a 15 minute break … Continue reading →

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Rousse’s perilous journey

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Dreamaticus

This was highly embarrassing. My gym membership had run out several weeks earlier and somehow I had ended up in the changing rooms with everyone encouraging me to pretend that I was still a member. This was not right and … Continue reading →

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Talking dog finds a new home (Rousse)

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Dreamaticus

TPR and I found a new place to live on the top floor of an abandoned Victorian orphanage in Manchester. Admittedly it would take some time to make the cold grey rooms comfortable, and we’d have to do something with … Continue reading →

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Suicide bombers target ocean liner university campus in Leith – with bonus baby monkey (Rousse)

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Dreamaticus

A huge media campaign grew up around the campus move to an ocean liner moored in Leith Docks. Thousands of visitors were expected to gather for the firework display that followed our open afternoon. I was looking forward to the … Continue reading →

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John Lewis suitcase switch and Tiffany diamond haul (Rousse)

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Dreamaticus

In a flashback to the heady days of dot.com boom TPR and I flew to South Africa for an all-expenses paid incentive holiday in Pretoria. I was looking forward to comparing the twenty-first century experience of corporate excess with that … Continue reading →

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Babies, text mining and Any Questions (Rousse)

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Dreamaticus

All the middle-aged married women at the conference looked so much bigger than they did this time last year. Puzzled at first, I eventually worked out that all of them were either about to give birth, or had recently welcomed … Continue reading →

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Holy Island Heights (Rousse)

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Just short of the Holy Island causeway, TPR steered the tandem over to the right. Perhaps behind these dunes we would finally discover the most beautiful beach in Northumberland? The sight before us from atop the marram grass was, indeed, … Continue reading →

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