Tag Archives: antique

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

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Dreamaticus

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, ballgown, ballroom, boat, bot, dancing, DJ, dot.com, head, hotel, husband, lover, party, pushchair, reception, shoes, shop, Simon Moore, Sun Microsystems, TPR, US | Leave a comment

Secrets between friends (Rousse)

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Dreamaticus

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, artist, Chinese, France, friend, house, indiscretion, mainland, mansion, night, oil, painting, portrait, present, revelation, secret, TPR, trip, wedding | Leave a comment

From turtles to a wish to weigh under ten stone (Rousse)

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Dreamaticus

I left my school friend KC in charge of the mixed selection of beautiful green-striped turtles that were climbing up our side of the bath. This allowed me to drive south to collect my mother from my cousins’ house in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, bath, blue, Borders, building, cousin, cupboard, dress, family, friend, grandmother, house, kitchen, meeting, school, stone, turtle, weigh, wheelchair, wing | Leave a comment

Fine art tips from a hairdresser (Rousse)

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I fancied myself as a fine art dealer, so I angled for a part-time position working in an antiques emporium run by my hairdresser.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, art, dealer, emporium, fine, hairdresser, trade | Leave a comment

How the other half (barely) lives (Rousse)

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Dreamaticus

When I was supposed to be at work I poked around my sister J’s vastly extended house in West Sussex. On the ground floor there was a luxurious self-contained holiday cottage that looked out onto a large rectangular pond destined … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, balloon, bedroom, blanket, blue, boardroom, breed, cash, children, chocolate, concrete, dinosaur, disabled, duvet, ebony, field, gallery, green, holiday cottage, house, hovel, how the other half lives, hut, ivory, leather, mattress, museum, pig, pool, poverty, rare, silver, studio, West Sussex, witness, wood, woodwork, yellow | Leave a comment

A lakeside retreat in the US (Rousse)

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Dreamaticus

Our long drive across the states with cousins NT and DT eventually brought us to the beautiful detached red brick house of a slim, elderly black man. The building was crammed with fine antiques, including a handsome marquetry grandfather clock. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged America, antique, black, boat, brick, clock, cousin, cousins, detached, door, drive, elderly, food, fresh, freshwater, grandfather, host, lakeside, life, man, Marine, marquetry, red, retreat, sea, slim, States, US, view | Leave a comment

Friends amongst French antiques (Rousse)

Posted on May 14, 2017 by Dreamaticus

My school friend KC and her husband D excitedly showed us a brochure for a French antique shop. Amongst the photographs of ancient furniture I spotted the proprietors P and SG. KC couldn’t believe the coincidence. I admitted that this … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ancient, antique, brochure, coincidence, French, friend, furniture, photograph, proprietor, school | Leave a comment

Neighbours banned from local ‘cinema’ (Rousse)

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Dreamaticus

Now that I had more time to myself I was determined to improve our living arrangements. First I would find a long antique dining table for the unused space in the inner hall. Then I was going to stop our … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, cinema, dining, hall, improve, living, local, neighbour, room, television | Leave a comment

Mansion makeover (Rousse)

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Dreamaticus

I had never seen my parents’ house look so beautiful. With all the clutter cleared away and the antique furniture and decorations on display, it had the feeling of a stately home. My cousin B and her friend SW loved … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antique, carpet, clutter, conservatory, cousin, decoration, dining, display, failure. trampoline, friend, furniture, home, house, landing, makeover, mansion, parents, red, room, sheepish, single, sixth form, slim, stairs hotel, stately, TPR | Leave a comment

Sourcing a stash of hard-to-buy vintage anti-feminist placards (Rousse)

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Dreamaticus

The research seminar was my responsibility and time was running out. My main concerns were that: (a) I had confused everyone by corresponding with the speaker as Tivol (or Tivo for short) – my Aboriginal name; (b) the event was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a woman's place is in the home, Aborigine, American, anti-feminist, antique, assistant, biscuit, biscuits, Broughton Street, confuse, drag, Edinburgh, hard-to-buy, miserable, name, overbook, owner, participant, placard, premises, prop, purchase, research, seminar, shop, source, space, stash, state, Tivo, Tivol, US, vintage, wares | Leave a comment