Tag Archives: career

Dashed hopes of a career in consulting (Rousse)

X couldn’t wait to watch me read the emailed offer. “Look at this”, he enthused. “£1000 a day just to give advice. I can’t wait to get started on this project with you!” Once again he had completely misunderstood. First, … Continue reading

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Post-PhD depression – Miss Haversham style (Rousse)

She had been depressed for years and now we finally knew why. We found her in her usual spot in bed, cradling a large green cloth-bound book. It was all too apparent that she had never really recovered from the … Continue reading

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Alternative careers for engineers, and vile furniture (Rousse)

Why didn’t anyone tell AA and his fellow engineers that a switch of career from academia to retail at their stage of life was an idiotic idea? I left them to it, found TPR, and spent the rest of the … Continue reading

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Bilingual pre-school songstress wows Simon Cowell (Rousse)

Now that A was a little older she was completely fluent in English (as well as German). One day we heard her singing an Ella Fitzgerald song in a deep, low, melodious voice. This was astonishing. None of us – … Continue reading

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A record deal with Simon Cowell (Rousse)

Simon Cowell was much shorter than I could have possibly imagined. I tried not to stare at his stumpy little legs when he waddled over to join us. For the sake of my niece’s singing career however, I really needed … Continue reading

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University measures of excellence: showers, smoked haddock and guest speakers (Rousse)

If my life wasn’t complicated enough, I accepted another part-time post at the University of Aberdeen, and was also considering a return to Canada. An advantage of Aberdeen was that CM worked in the university gym. He offered to sneak … Continue reading

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Brad Pitt’s summer secrets (Rousse)

Brad Pitt had managed to remain incognito for much of his visit – many of the students had simply not recognised that we had a Hollywood superstar in our midst – but soon he would be returning home. I’d really … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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Intelligent bubble wrap causes Heathrow travel chaos (Rousse)

After dropping out of university, PM had pursued a career in insurance – or so we believed. I’d certainly not expected him to become the inventor of intelligent bubble wrap. He rolled some out across a workshop table to show … Continue reading

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Ex-prison officer questions practice of announcing deaths in service (Rousse)

I should never have told the Principal how I abhorred the prison service’s practice of announcing staff deaths. I complained at length about the lack of professionalism in the short e-mails that I received in my former career as a … Continue reading

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