The indignity of dining alone (Rousse)

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Dreamaticus

After the formal proceedings were concluded, MLH and LC headed off with my hosts for their dinner.

“You can eat over there” they said, signalling a restaurant at the other side of the road.

I crossed over and pushed open the restaurant door. The head waiter and the chef, both of whom were French, greeted me. They recommended the salmon, so I made my order. Then the waiter led me to my table – not in the main room with the other diners, but in a dark annex.

I wondered what was wrong with me. Was I no longer fit to eat in the company of others?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A secret affair discovered on the stairs (Rousse)

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I always said to TPR that my idea of hell was to be stuck in the car deck of a CalMac ferry with both car and boat engines running. Now, as we climbed up the old back stairs of the former military psychiatric hospital, I was beginning to change my mind. It was a very creepy, enclosed space. I’d only agreed to head upstairs on the instruction of XY, partly to avoid being the next person asked to admire his “new plumbing” following his prostate operation.

We found P and Q on the landing at the top of the stairs, apparently having just left the office (even though it was well after 10pm). For years it had been rumoured that they were engaged in a love affair. It appeared that we had caught them (almost) red-handed. They confessed on the spot, then, most uncharacteristically, Q gave me an enormous hug.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A surprise encounter in Rhyl (Rousse)

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We returned to Rhyl and waited outside the church. TPR, HJ, SL and I expected to see DE as soon as the service ended.

As soon she emerged through the church door, I sidled up to her to say hello. She was simultaneously surprised, delighted, and confused.

She handed her blond-haired baby boy over to the care of TPR so that she could sit down a bench on the cliff and recover from the shock of seeing us all again.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Innovations” in knowledge management teaching (Rousse)

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Dreamaticus

What great excitement was this?

My colleagues had just discovered “knowledge management” (KM) and one was under instruction to develop a series of linked modules on the topic so that all graduates would be well-versed in both KM theory and practice.

Nobody seemed to know that (a) I had been teaching the subject successfully to final year students since 1999, and (b) I (and the students) had been asking for years for it to be taught throughout the entire curriculum.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An unhappy WAG (Rousse)

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Dreamaticus

As an international sportsman, my husband spent weeks away from home touring the world. I pined for him from my bare room at the University of Birmingham’s Manor House. If this lifestyle continued, I would need to take a lover. (A candidate had already put her name forward, but I was not attracted to short, dark-haired, flat-chested women.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A glug jug bargain (Rousse)

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I saw the green and mustard yellow glug jug and made a grab for it.

“How much is this?” I asked.

“£18.”

“It’s a bit chipped. Please could I give you £5?”

“OK.”

The woman next to me cast an angry glare. “You know full well that a glug jug of that calibre is worth at least £60 – and it isn’t chipped either” she complained.

I didn’t care. I’d already paid for it, and it was mine, all mine.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Delinquent tram passengers and a detachable carriage (Rousse)

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Dreamaticus

At the tram stop I realised that I had left my burgundy suitcase at the other end of the carriage. I made a dash for it while ECM held the door open with her foot.

The conductor was furious. He detached our carriage from the others. We watched in amazement as the rest of the vehicle merrily carried on its journey through the summer countryside – and wondered what our punishment would be.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fake Kate’s fake PhD (Rousse)

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I could tell that the other holiday-makers thought that ECM was a bit of a pest. She was running from couple to couple thrusting her business card into the hands of anyone daft enough to take it. I couldn’t tell the service that she was offering, but I was surprised that her card read “Dr Kate something-or-other”.

“Why have you changed your name to Kate?” I asked, “And how did you get a PhD?”

Apparently she regarded Kate as a far more sophisticated first name than her own. When she told me that she had achieved the PhD by publication, I did not believe her.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Holy Island accommodation options (Rousse)

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Dreamaticus

We bought a small cottage in the village on Holy Island, about a five minute walk from the Herring Houses. It had been neglected for years and was in need of a complete internal overhaul. The problem was that TPR was not prepared to invest in the building.

“I can get him a job. Pay is good for software engineers. You’d soon have £32 million and then be able to afford anything you want” said RA.

It was clear that RA mistakenly believed that the problem of paying for any renovations was due to a lack of funds. It pained me to explain that TPR just doesn’t like spending money.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A poor choice of PhD examiner (Rousse)

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The second external examiner was a tall, blonde, bitchy New Zealander who arrived very late and immediately laid into the bewildered candidate. This was not going to be an easy PhD viva.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment