Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rousse notes ecological concerns for native flora and discovers fire(places)

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Discovered: with VE on a Scottish headland: the extinction of heather. with TPR at the House of Bruar, Blair Atholl: the largest fireplace showroom in the country.

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Having a blast with new trainers (Belle)

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I was throwing plastic yoghurt tops across a busy main road to get them to explode. Irritatingly, a young man picked one up and ‘helpfully’ threw it back to me. My new trainers were much admired and I pompously told … Continue reading →

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A stolen suitcase and Champagne for singles (Rousse)

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Unless I was prepared to stay in London forever, I had to chance this last train to Edinburgh. I reasoned that if we reached Newcastle, I could always bail out and stay overnight with my parents. In the event it … Continue reading →

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Rousse’s trip to Spain uncovers NHS zombie and Sir Alex Ferguson’s secret château

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I acknowledged that this little game with passengers at Edinburgh airport was losing its appeal. Stopping dead in your tracks just to witness the reaction of people following immediately behind you is a bit childish. At the gate, and from … Continue reading →

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Belle honeymoons alone

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I had been married less than one day and yet couldn’t remember where I had put my husband. It was typical of me to mislay something like that. Meanwhile, back on the cruise, a simpleton was serving me a dish … Continue reading →

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Rousse’s new career as a dress-making waitress

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Dreamaticus

It was so thoughtful of my colleague EH – mother of Christmas twins and a waitress like me – to think of giving me a fabric shop gift voucher as a house-warming present so soon after we moved into our … Continue reading →

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Distressed baby elephant upstaged by new republic (Rousse)

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I stole the enormous slices of carrot cake from the supermarket staff’s Christmas party, then LM and I gorged ourselves in an illicit bedroom picnic. The pretty little red-haired toddler gazed up at the snow-topped range from the car window … Continue reading →

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Shh – it’s a secret society (Belle)

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The fire station was an attractive modernist building overlooking a river, but the rest of the city was ugly. It was just a badly painted pantomime backdrop. Meanwhile I had inadvertently joined a secret society of librarians and an over-enthusiastic … Continue reading →

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Life as an abandoned wife (Rousse)

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I made an uncomfortable 47 year-old undergraduate banished to the University of Birmingham to finish my degree, and to do so properly this time around. The youngsters resident at the Manor House gradually became used to my presence, and gladly … Continue reading →

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The Extended Shakespeare Company (Belle)

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Dreamaticus

It was the last day of term at my boarding school. The school’s Shakespeare production was stonkingly slow and the class nerd was the most unlikely Romeo. Not only did the play drag on for days, but some liberties had … Continue reading →

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