Afternoons in bed with Beowulf (Rousse)

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Dreamaticus

TPR was under the impression that I spent my afternoons at work. In fact I was snuggled up in bed with EMcC listening to him reciting Beowulf.

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What to do in New York: basketball versus shoes? (Rousse)

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I was an unwilling tourist in New York. KA and AM had forced me to cross the Atlantic, convinced that I would be interested in watching a basketball game starring TPR playing in the Sun Microsystems national team. I was not.

They soon picked up on my reluctance to join in the “fun” so abandoned me at the stadium where I spent the rest of the day organising my shoe collection.

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Gatecrashers in Hutton Rudby (Rousse)

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Dreamaticus

It turned out that HH did not live on a farm, but in a massive Victorian house on Hutton Rudby High Street. It was here that she was hosting the school reunion.

Unfortunately the party proved very popular and before long word had spread round town that everyone was invited, regardless of their connection (or not) to our school. The gatecrashers all knew that venue was easily spotted: you just needed to look out for the house with a “for sale” sign posted against the front garden wall.

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Unique party decorations (Rousse)

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Dreamaticus

NP and SF decorated the room for the party – by shrouding everything in sombre black cloth.

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Rousse’s bog accident

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Booking a ski-ing holiday that included studying for a qualification in French turned out not to be the best idea. It was now the end of our week away and I was bound to fail the exam. Instead of going to class, I asked TPR if we could have a late breakfast and then head up to the main slopes above the village to spend the rest of the day ski-ing.

Just as we were going into breakfast a fantastic sunrise broke over the mountains. I rushed to grab my camera, but in the time it took for me to find it the glorious red sky was no more. However, there were now other photo opportunities: the day was so still that the lake provided a perfect mirror for reflections of the mountains. As I ran over to position myself for a shot I fell into a bog, right up to my shoulders.

Although many people witnessed my accident, nobody made the slightest effort to come to the rescue and pull me out, not even TPR.

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Unexpected wedding guests: surprise dinosaur crocodiles and Africans (Rousse)

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We were at yet another wedding and I had completely lost the plot. I’d left the invitation, card and present at home and couldn’t remember who was getting married this time. The only clue was that the reception was in a big hotel just off Darlington Road in Stockton, so I assumed that it must be a school friend. Someone mentioned the name Graham Matthews, but this meant nothing to me.

The whole day was rather peculiar. Never before had I come across a hotel that kept dinosaur crocodiles in its grounds, and I couldn’t understand why it was my job to look after an African family throughout the whole duration of the celebrations.

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Flight food preparation: what you should know (Rousse)

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We set off down the motorway very early to ensure that we would beat the rush hour and make our flight from Gatwick in good time. Then, to shorten the journey time, TPR diverted onto the back roads that he knew from his travelling engineer days.

We stopped about half an hour short of our destination so that DT could change into a brown and red patterned wrap dress and JLW could set up her pop-up bakery. We chose some of JLW’s fabulous cakes for our breakfast.

WB urged us all to eat as much as possible: only one meal would be served on the eight hour flight so it was best to board the plane with a full stomach.

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Neglected dog shares family tableware (Rousse)

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Dreamaticus

DB and LD were leaving town for a long trip.

I wouldn’t have volunteered to help had I known that they lived in such a midden. The house was absolutely filthy, and extremely untidy.

My job was to ensure that their collie was catered for while they were away. “Just get him some water and he’ll be fine”, they said. When I asked about a bowl they pointed to cupboard that stored glasses. The dog didn’t have a special bowl. He just shared crockery and glassware with the rest of the family.

When I discussed the arrangements with the dog he was very dismissive. In a show of protest he knocked over the glass of water that I had prepared for him.

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Scottish surveillance spooks out in force in Leith (Rousse)

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Leith had changed. The streets were lined with beautiful boutiques. Even the charity shops were posh. There were also hundreds of cyclists riding through this smart Edinburgh suburb, proud of their achievement of completing the entire route of the Edinburgh cycle paths.

Another aspect of modern-day Leith was not quite so attractive. The government had installed white metal periscopes to spy on citizens along the shore. Our friend B and R took especial exception to them. We all tried to kick the periscopes out of the way whenever they approached us. It was a futile gesture: they were programmed to return, time after time.

Later I wondered if we were a special target for surveillance when someone photographed me through my bedroom window. I guessed that they were really interested in the antics of my sisters (rather than me). I’d safely hidden them in my kitchen. I would protect them from the Scottish spooks, no matter what.

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Dinner with Bowie (Belle)

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Dreamaticus

Turning up at a dinner party alone is never easy but I fronted it out as well as I could.  Things improved dramatically when David Bowie took the vacant seat next to me.  He told me that he had so thoroughly enjoyed our conversation the last time we met, he had demanded the seat next to mine.

I may have arrived alone, but I left the party arm in arm with David Bowie – my new boyfriend.

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