Category Archives: Uncategorized

Going without: underwear or shoes? (Rousse)

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Dreamaticus

It would be extremely rude to present a research seminar barefoot, especially in the company of DW who was always so well turned-out. So we spent hours hunting for a neat pair of black loafers (or similar) at the top … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A level, A levels, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, barefoot, corn, corn field, dress, Edinburgh Fringe, emergency, emergency cord, field, flight, France, loafers, Marcillat, present, presentation, professor, rail, research, seminar, shoes, St Pardoux, StartRite, station, ticket, train, underwear | Leave a comment

Red heads and the Data Protection Act (Rousse)

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Dreamaticus

JM was full of bright ideas for the conference, but the these last two did not count. Given her expertise in records management JM should have known every detail of the Data Protection Act 1998. This included the provision related … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged conference, data protection, data protection act, ginger, hair, personal data, professor, records management, red, red-head, speaker, speakers | Leave a comment

Oswald Danes plies an evil trade in Edinburgh (Rousse)

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Notorious paedophile, rapist and murderer Oswald Danes parked his specially adapted 4×4 on Infirmary Street in Edinburgh, then laid in wait for victims. The four of us were the first to encounter him. As we walked up to the junction … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 4 x 4, 4x4, Bill Pullman, boot, car, Chambers Street, Dr Who, Edinburgh, fight, fist-fight, Infirmary Street, Miracle Day, murderer, paed, paedophile, pedophile, rapist, run, running, snow, sofa, South Bridge, Torchwood, vehicle, victim, victims | Leave a comment

Bupa Great Edinburgh Run 2011 organisers surprise athletes with goody bag contents (Rousse)

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I was under the impression that I had just completed the full 10k of the 2011 Bupa Great Edinburgh Run. However, when I joined the others in the vast gymnasium where we had agreed to unpack our goody bags together … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 10k, 2011, athlete, athletes, bag, bags, bomb, bombers, bombs, buggies, buggy, Bupa Great Edinburgh run, goody, goody bag, goody bags, gym, gymnasium, Hartlepool, kit, kit bag, pushchair, pushchairs, race, reservoir, run, running, steward, Tiny Tears, wind | Leave a comment

How to survive the first week of term (Rousse)

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Dreamaticus

My work life was falling to pieces: the only computer available to me for running a complex statistical package was an ancient XT; my first tutorial of the academic year lasted only 30 minutes because I hadn’t prepared enough material; … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged academic, booklet, complaints, computer, drug, drugs, green, hooch, office, pirate, pirates, print room, software, statistical, statistics, stats, stress, student, students, teaching, term, treasure, treasure hunt, tutorial, typos, university, work, XT | Leave a comment

A jewel theft, a music venue and a dog fight (Belle)

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Dreamaticus

It was pointless denying it. My sister had itchy fingers and was now in possession of the world-famous ‘Banging-blue Sapphire’ which was fully two inches across. She had slipped it into her handbag while shopping for ‘vertical knickers’. Meanwhile, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bands, cave, collie, dog, jewel, knickers, rottweiler, sapphire, sister, sixth-formers, thief, underwear | Leave a comment

How to find love: happy relationship remarriage (Rousse)

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I trailed the country as a guest at numerous weddings as all my school and university friends signed up to the new craze of “happy relationship remarriage”. This wasn’t about finding a different life-partner, nor renewing vows with any incumbent … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged attic, campus, church, craze, divorce, divorced, funeral, Glasgow, guest, happy, happy relationship, hat, how to find love, husband, Italian, laptop, laptops, life-partner, love, MacAir, magic, meeting, meetings, middle-age, middle-aged, network, networking, nuptials, PC, PCs, PhD, pie, pork, pork pie hat, remarriage, restaurant, school, straw, students, Sunday, teaching, university, violet, wedding, weddings | Leave a comment

Gothic novel dramatisation set to be one of the best films of 2011 (Rousse)

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The elder of the two middle-aged sisters stirred in the cramped brass bed then stuck her left foot out from under the flowered eiderdown with a groan. She awoke with a loud complaint about the state of spinsterhood in Victorian … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bed, best films, best films of 2011, brass, car, cars, cinema, Corbridge, eiderdown, England, fame, film, flowered, flowers, fuel efficiency, fuel efficient, genius, geniuses, gothic, hit, job, leg, math, mathematics, maths, middle-age, middle-aged, Newcastle, nineteenth century, novel, rail, road, sister, sisters, spinster, spinsterhood, teaching, toilet, toilets, train, trains, Victorian, washing machine | Leave a comment

Stephen Fry saves the world (Belle)

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Not only was I mixing in the highest of social circles in post WWII Europe, but I looked absolutely fabulous in my lavendar chiffon evening gown. As I climbed the stone stairs carved into mountain on my way to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ambassador, ball gown, Champagne, Europe, lavendar, mountain, Stephen Fry | Leave a comment

Checking in at the Institute of Directors (Rousse)

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I was keen to win a FourSquare check-in at the Institute of Directors in London so during the seminar lunch break I wandered the building, hunting for a signal. There was nothing on the ground floor so I took the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged building, claustrophobia, conference, dark, Finland, Finnish, FourSquare, ground floor, Institute of Directors, Internet, judge, lawyers, lift, London, lunch, mud, muddy, Pall Mall, park, profile, seminar, signal, stairs, steps, vertigo | Leave a comment