Tag Archives: antique

Spreadsheets, arguments, and a spiral staircase at the auctioneer’s sale room (Rousse)

The auctioneer’s accountant praised the clarity of the layout of our financial transactions. ‘That comes from years of working with spreadsheets’, I said with pride. The accountant’s colleagues were not so happy that we sisters argued openly in front of … Continue reading

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No junk in Jesmond (Rousse)

I had dreaded the visit to my sister S’s house in Jesmond, convinced that I probably wouldn’t even make it past the front door. This was due to the quantity of junk that she stored from floor to ceiling in … Continue reading

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Tea making, trains, a trip to Thorpe Park, and torrential rain (Rousse)

The kitchen was so crammed with people that my Granny H struggled to reach the hob to make herself a cup of tea. In the chaos, our guest TF was trying to show us his collection of antique maps. Their … Continue reading

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Huge antiques and art collection taken by ‘men in a van’ (Rousse)

The last time that I had seen my mother’s vast drawing room it looked like an antiques salesroom, crammed from floor to ceiling with fine furniture and paintings. Now it was empty. I found my sister S fast asleep under … Continue reading

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Touching the winking Prince of Wales (Rousse)

William, Prince of Wales, followed me through the house, pen and paper in hand. Ignoring the antique furniture, he was most interested in the pictures – and completely oblivious to the mess in all the rooms. This was so much … Continue reading

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Waylaid on Broughton Street by Edwardian hookers and a shop alarm (Rousse)

I knew that I needed to be at Waverley Station to meet JS and RR off the train from Bristol at 18:30. Nevertheless, I cycled down Broughton Street on my static exercise bike, and followed the new-to-me narrow street that … Continue reading

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Squirrel zoo escapee helps with hopeless antique car (Rousse)

BM and RG ditched their Morris Minor for a very early black motor car. They filled their new vehicle with random passengers including a toddler, a sheepdog, and an exotic rare squirrel ‘acquired’ from the zoo. Whenever they reached a … Continue reading

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Collecting Finlandia porcelain (Rousse)

I returned to my old office on campus to fetch the remnants of my antique Finlandia porcelain collection from the shelves. These were the last of my belongings to take home. I hoped to see BR while I was there, … Continue reading

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Dot.com heyday reunion party gatecrashed by secret lover (Rousse)

The huge Sun Microsystems Sunrise reunion was hosted in a massive chain hotel in a major US city. It was almost as if the heady days of the dot.com boom had never ended. My boat was so late docking in … Continue reading

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Secrets between friends (Rousse)

DJ and AJ had supposedly downsized to a modern house on the mainland. When we visited their new place, however, we found that they were now living in a gorgeous mansion furnished almost entirely with Chinese antiques. We had clearly … Continue reading

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