Tag Archives: bird

A heart attack hero and villain (Rousse)

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Dreamaticus

A distressed bird flew into the sitting room. TPR grumpily forced the window open to allow it to escape. Unfortunately he suffered a heart attack due to the effort, and complained incessantly afterwards. Sometimes I wondered whether my husband liked … Continue reading →

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How not to change a nappy (Rousse)

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Dreamaticus

My status in the household was rather ambiguous as the former au pair girl. Should I really be left in charge of the children three decades later? That question was answered when I attempted to change the sodden nappy on … Continue reading →

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Rat and racoon robbers (Rousse)

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Dreamaticus

A rat and a racoon were stealing all the food that I had laid out on the bird table in my back garden.

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Prince Harry and high heels (Rousse)

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Dreamaticus

I travelled to locked down London for training as a new member of the British Secret Service. England’s capital city looked, and sounded, very quiet. I could even hear bird song through the closed top deck bus windows. Soon I … Continue reading →

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A bigamist and big birds with red breasts (Rousse)

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Dreamaticus

I married my husband’s niece in a small but intimate ceremony with most of my in-laws in attendance. None of the family thought it odd that I was committing bigamy. Even I had convinced myself that it was permissible to … Continue reading →

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Alternative wedding activities (Rousse)

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Dreamaticus

As the guests arrived for my sister J’s wedding, I chatted to my young cousins in the kitchen. This was more interesting than making small talk with middle-aged men in dark suits. I also wanted to avoid getting into arguments … Continue reading →

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Back to the old house for BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? (Rousse)

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Dreamaticus

The venue for this week’s BBC Radio 4 Any questions was Stockton-on-Tees or – more precisely – the childhood bedroom that I shared with my sisters at the White House, Hartburn. The room had been cleared of bedroom furniture to … Continue reading →

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Spy penguins deployed to improve University security (Rousse)

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Dreamaticus

The University issued an orange and black plastic spy penguin to each member of staff. Mine was tall, thin and male. AL was very proud of his slightly overweight female bird with wide floppy ears. The powers that be instructed … Continue reading →

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Killer whale identification (Rousse)

Posted on November 26, 2016 by Dreamaticus

‘Oh, and there are a couple of killer whales’ I said, pointing out to sea. ‘No they’re not’ my companion corrected me. ‘They’re just black seabirds close to the shore’.

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Bedroom and bathroom makeover with Moomins (Rousse)

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Dreamaticus

I was so tired on the first night back at home after a long period away with work that I didn’t notice that anything was different. Even the next morning my first thought was only that the bathroom looked very … Continue reading →

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