The boy with the dragon tattoo (Rousse)

The guests hurried to get off the coach that BM had chartered to transport everyone to his magnificent 40th birthday celebrations. All dolled up in a turquoise dress with short black sleeves and flashes on red across the bodice, and having managed to squeeze my flat feet into a pair of red three-buckled high heels (hurrah!) I was ready to party.

Unfortunately I was so eager to check out the other guests in the huge white marquee that I only realised that I had left my handbag with my keys, purse and mobile phone on the bus after the vehicle set off to its next job of the evening. I also lost TPR in the crush of party-goers. Nevertheless, I was determined to enjoy all the entertainment and headed into the vast tent first to watch the performance of male cappella duets. Afterwards I stood outside and chatted with Edinburgh University’s black-robed Professor of Case Music (genre unexplained) in the queue for another show.

After a while I was curious as to the location of TPR. Where was he, and why wasn’t he joining in the fun of the party?

I eventually discovered my husband semi-comatose in a filthy Chinese brothel. In the short time that we had been apart he (or someone else) had dyed his hair black and plucked his eye brows. He then rolled over in his makeshift bed to reveal a red-raw dragon tattoo etched across his back.

“Tell me that’s not permanent!” I screamed, the tears pouring down my face. “Whatever will your mother say?”

He grinned back stupidly.

“She’ll be praying to the souls of your maternal grandparents”, I guessed out loud. “And by the way, this is grounds for divorce. Don’t expect to keep the flat.”

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Diversionary tactics and the ugly child (Rousse)

Although long-divorced, P and G put on a cheery show when they brought their two children to the party. I’d met the little boy before, but was unsure as to the parentage of the girl named Chloë. I wondered whether she was a half sister of the son that P and G shared?

My ponderings over how Chloë fitted into the family were interrupted by J’s rude remark “Oh, an ugly child!” I prayed that nobody heard this dreadful insult. As a distraction I asked the little boy to show me his outstanding school report and tell me all about his sporting achievements.

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New CalMac service covers land and sea (Rousse)

We caught the new CalMac service that travelled to the Outer Hebrides via Hexham. It was a very special boat that could cover both land and sea.

I very much enjoyed riding along beside the dolphins, even though trying to photograph them with my new camera was an impossibility.

I also got very excited when the route took in the B family seat in the far north of Scotland, and passed the filming of a historical drama and a garden fête at Elmwood just off Darlington Road in Stockton-on-Tees. (It also has to be said that Darlington Road looked much neater than Edinburgh’s Leith Walk these days.)

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A sexy shower rendez-vous (Rousse)

Even though we’d over-provisioned on white wine and not bought enough red, our party was still going reasonably well. From the sitting room (where most of the guests were gathered) I walked into the kitchen to see if the shower was free. I really needed to wash my hair.

It didn’t take long to shoo away the kitchen guests so that I could take my shower in peace. Just one very quiet international student stood absorbed at the sink as I stepped out of my clothes and grabbed a towel. She clearly hadn’t spotted that I was undressing.

Then as I climbed into the shower cubicle I noticed that someone had been watching me. It was J! I’d been in love with him from the first moment we met. This was an opportunity too good to miss. It appeared that he had a desperate need to wash his hair too…

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Stuart Maconie radio chef (Rousse)

I was Stuart Maconie’s right hand woman. My main role was to sit at his feet in the BBC studio in Salford next to Rosie the border terrier. The cat sometimes joined us on the floor, but more often she took position on Stuart’s lap.

Today Stuart was entertaining his loyal radio audience by talking about a cookery competition that he had entered. To help prepare the dishes Stuart had chosen a set of recipes from the Field magazine.

This, he admitted, was an unusual choice. However, he admired the models in the adverts for Hunter wellingtons and Barbour jackets, and – as far as he was concerned – this was good enough justification to follow the recipes that he had selected.

See Stuart Maconie elsewhere on Dreamaticus in Mark Radcliffe missing, Stuart Maconie scared (Rousse); Bonding with Radcliffe and Maconie over the Farmer’s Boys and the BBC (Rousse).

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David Tennant returns as Dr Who (Rousse)

The rumours were true. David Tennant was back as Dr Who – and I was his assistant! He grabbed my hand for the latest adventure: The ghost bus.

Once aboard the bus in question, the title of the episode became obvious. As the characters boarded and took their seats their bodies evaporated. All that was left were their “empty” clothes.

The Doctor and I called “Don’t sit down!” from our position standing at the back of the bus. This was the only way that we could think of to keep as many humans alive as possible before setting out to solve the mystery of the ghost bus.

See David Tennant elsewhere on Dreamaticus in The Doctor will NOT be with Belle shortly.

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Missing the tide to Holy Island (Rousse)

It was as if nothing could spoil our fun on this gloriously sunny day – until we realised that it was impossible to drive across to Holy Island by car when the tide was in. SL made a weak attempt to crest the waves before I persuaded her that it really was time to turn back. We passed DT and JLW on our return and advised them to do the same.

Meanwhile I wondered whether I would get into trouble for neglecting a PhD student in favour of a quest for aftershave?

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Luxury yellow bathroom is no substitute for missing wife (Rousse)

Now that it was the fashion to return to university to repeat your first degree, I found myself back at the University of Birmingham reading French.

However, by the end of first year I was struggling to study and hold down my job in Edinburgh at the same time. Meanwhile TPR was very lonely on his own in a house full of clutter. The luxury yellow bathroom did not make up for my absence. He desperately needed me to come home.

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From Leith to Loughborough by boat (Rousse)

TPR shouted at me that if I didn’t hurry, we’d miss the boat from Leith to Loughborough.

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Inadequate shopping signage (Rousse)

I should have put in a complaint to my friend RGJ as the manager of this enormously complex shopping centre. It was simply impossible to navigate.

My worst experience of the day was when I got into the lift. It took me to the top of the tower, then transported me to a satellite mall in Leith.

The only way back to where I wanted to be was by an extremely slow Lothian bus service. The teenage girls trapped with me thought this hilarious, but I had work to do, and no time to waste.

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