Learning to love minibeasts (Rousse)

My bags were packed and loaded into the hold for the long coach journey through France. I realised too late that my iPhone and headphones would now be parted from me for several hours. Why hadn’t I remembered to keep them in my pocket? I now faced the prospect of several hours of boredom, as well as possible travel sickness.

A large number of people were about to set off on the same journey as me, and each had found a different form of entertainment while waiting for the signal to leave. I joined a friend into a small glass-fronted room for a catch-up. I was appalled to discover that she was undergoing therapy to overcome her fear of insects in what turned out to be a shed. From the moment I walked through the wooden door I too was covered in all manner of creepy crawlies, from harmless woodlice to stinging wasps.

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Disco dancing and dalliances at the University of Birmingham (Rousse)

My birthday disco lights came in useful at a party hosted in a student flat with all my undergraduate pals from Birmingham University’s French department. While the rest of us danced the night away, X was up to her usual tricks next door, entertaining a number of gentlemen friends.

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Shakespeare and astrophysics for lunch (Rousse)

I took apart the marble mounted interactive display in the museum lobby so that I could replace the details of the forthcoming lunchtime talks. It was high time that the world heard what SPC had to say about Shakespeare, and learnt all about astrophysics from TPR.

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Snow and a new suitor in Sydney (Rousse)

My cousin B sat at a picnic table in the garden of a Sydney suburb with a handsome Asian man. Even though it was the height of summer, flurries of snow fell all around. Shouldn’t Australians be enjoying evening barbecues in the warmth at this time of year?

And where was B’s blond husband? I later learnt that he had been dismissed in favour of this stranger who was, in fact, B’s new fiancé.

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Parkes Observatory hosts visit of geriatric stargazer (Rousse)

I knew that my Granny T had been to Australia a couple of times in her later life to see my Uncle J, but until I saw the photos of her standing proudly outside the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, I had no idea that her visits were partly motivated by an amateur interest in astrophysics.

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Travel by vegetable rack (Rousse)

My new mode of transport was a three foot tall, four-basket, vegetable rack on wheels. Travelling down Edinburgh’s Broughton Street at top speed on this splendid vehicle saved me twenty minutes a day. Sometimes I bounced along the pavement. As an alternative I was just as happy racing the cars on the road.

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Rousse investigates discount rail fares and a career option on the east coast line

I paid a super-discounted fare to travel from Edinburgh to London by train and back again. The service was so good that I made it in good time for my meeting at 11:00, and by 16:00 I was back in my seat heading north.

The only thing that I didn’t like about travelling on this type of ticket was the requirement at Berwick-upon-Tweed to get off the train and sit in a locker the size of a domestic washing machine with other discount passengers while the carriages were serviced. I tried to get out of this by claiming that I suffered from claustrophobia. My pleas were ignored and I was forced into the locker regardless.

Later I got chatting the blonde woman who ran the discount fare company. When I heard that her entire working week comprised travelling up and down the east coast selling and checking rail tickets I wondered whether this could be the job for me. I love the train! Then I learnt that the salary for the role was just £11,000 and you had to work weekends. Suddenly it was a far less attractive career option.

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Sarah Millican breeds the Beatles with Beethoven (Rousse)

I laughed like a drain at Sarah Millican’s joke. The concept of a musical act called the “Beatlehovens” was pure genius.

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Dangerous driver on the loose in Edinburgh’s New Town (Rousse)

I was a menace behind the wheel. My latest driving disaster was to crash my way through Stockbridge up to Howe Street. Someone really needed to confiscate my licence.

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Man wins free Sky TV subscription in Somerset village hall raffle (Rousse)

My ambition was to earn a degree in fine art. The first step to my new career was to return to the sixth form to embark on a one-year foundation course. So I applied to join the Bath and Wells College, located not far from my cousins’ farm.

I made an effort to settle into my new life in Somerset before the start of the new academic year. My first social event was a fund-raising afternoon in the village hall. I chatted to people I had met before at my cousins’ parties, played with strangers’ children, and shared the joy of the man sitting next to me when he won a free Sky television subscription in the raffle.

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