Last minute wedding preparations (Rousse)

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Dreamaticus

E was heavily involved in the wedding preparations, organising everything from her tiny flat. She even grew her red hair long for the occasion – or was that a ginger wig she wore with her green gown? When I called round to see how she was getting on she offered me the bath that she had run for me. I declined because it was just as easy for me to get ready at my own house two minutes away.

Amongst the other guests was OC-I, who arrived in Morningside by bicycle. I suggested the Canny Man as a suitable meeting venue for him and R.

My own contribution to the preparations was to help out with the children, including toddler TPR.

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Narrow boat holiday negotiations (Rousse)

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Dreamaticus

RG-J was far more excited about her family’s narrow boat holiday than her husband. I couldn’t quite understand her enthusiasm for travelling by canal, especially when she tried – and failed – to demonstrate how to steer a narrow boat around a 90 degree angle.

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Gordon Brown on a train (Rousse)

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Dreamaticus

Gordon Brown was my travelling companion on the new fast train service to London. In real life he was much younger and trendier than the ex-Prime Minister I knew from old news reports on the television.

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Snogging a smoker (Rousse)

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Dreamaticus

TPR thought that he was dreaming when KT climbed into bed with us and leant over to kiss him. I nudged him in the ribs and told him to stop. He’d regret it in the morning. He told me later in the bathroom (where we were trying to find some privacy ourselves) that snogging a smoker was not a pleasant experience.

The next day we set off along the Rue de Rivoli to meet VJ at a new friend’s house. The street was so crowded that I lost TPR almost as soon as we left. Once again I was extremely annoyed that he refused to carry his mobile phone on him at all times.

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Sating a stationery obsession (Rousse)

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Dreamaticus

In the summer we would walk over the hills to the beach on the other side. We could even take bikes, so long as we were prepared to carry them part of the way. For the time being while it was still winter, however, we would head in the other direction and visit the industrial relics of the region.

The machinery at the factory was dated 1984, although the technology on which it was based was much older. It produced A5 sized metal letters. If you looked carefully on the ground, you could find ancient examples littered around the site. I set to work looking for the letters of my name.

Inside the factory there were drawers and drawers of stationery. I helped myself to piles of notebooks and post-its. IA questioned my greed for all things paper: was this really necessary? I explained that I was obliged to make the most of this opportunity now that we could no longer harvest stationery supplies on an annual basis at the (now defunct) Online conference.

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Insensitive weekend drug dealers (Rousse)

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I spent the working day at my portable desk on pavement on the north side of Princes Street. It had a convenient storage slot where I kept a big supply of bottled water.

One Friday a bunch of ruffians offered me ‘something to help celebrate the weekend’. I took one look at their supply of tablets and screamed at their insensitivity. Then TPR leapt into action and chased them away.

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A wedding called off (Rousse)

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I kept my promise and arrived at the French Registry office at 3pm on 11th July as agreed. A did the same.

‘Do you really want to go through with this?’ he asked.

‘Of course not’, I replied. (I couldn’t stand this man. In any case I was already married, as was he.)

We turned to the registrar and made our apologies. The wedding was off.

The only person to be disappointed was P. He had laid a bet of £10 that I would go through with the ceremony.

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A pink kitchen mural (Rousse)

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Dreamaticus

The F family painted a pink mural which stretched across the whole length of their kitchen wall.

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An electric blue race to the airport (Rousse)

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I wasn’t ready when TF met me to share a taxi to the airport. I hadn’t even ordered a car.

TPR volunteered to take us in the electric blue super-charged Rover. He was, however, concerned about the timescales – especially since TF said that there were other people to collect.

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A new study at the White House (Rousse)

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Dreamaticus

By clearing the landing at the White House a lot of extra space was made available. My mother told me that a new room would be built there.

I begged for this to be a bedroom for me. I was sick of sharing with my sisters. I discovered (with grave disappointment) that it was going to be a study instead.

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