Tag Archives: chair

Reader held hospital hostage (Rousse)

Posted on September 8, 2019 by

For a change, the book group members met for Sunday lunch. MH offered her sparse flat as the venue, even though she could not attend herself. JS’s sister took MH’s place, holding her head in her hands whenever death was … Continue reading →

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Val McDermid in hidden class act (Rousse)

Posted on November 25, 2018 by

Val McDermid presented as an invited guest speaker to my undergraduate class. Unfortunately the students found it difficult to see her, hidden behind the stack of tables and chairs at the back of the classroom. I could have done with … Continue reading →

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Dead man chairs a game of classroom charades (Rousse)

Posted on September 5, 2018 by

Everyone was seated on rows of chairs in a classroom for the lunchtime game of charades. Those in the front row performed first. Then, as soon as someone in the audience made a correct guess, everyone moved forward a row … Continue reading →

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The value of writing concisely (Rousse)

Posted on August 20, 2017 by

‘The greatest skill that we learnt as undergraduates’ announced JS to the audience seated before her on rows of hard wooden chairs ‘Is how to write concisely. I can turn one person’s long-winded paragraph into three neat sentences – as … Continue reading →

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‘Intelligence calipers’ measure IQs of aspiring spooks (Rousse)

Posted on June 29, 2017 by

The job advert had read ‘civil servant’ but I knew that the panel members opposite me were assessing my suitability for a role that included subterfuge, espionage, honeypots, and data decryption. I played along answering the standard interview questions with … Continue reading →

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A disgraceful dip in the pool (Rousse)

Posted on December 10, 2016 by

It was a full hour before I was due to chair the presentation at Edinburgh University. I persuaded a couple of others that we had time to call in at the dancing conference on the way. We entered a long … Continue reading →

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Matchbox car entertainment (Rousse)

Posted on November 20, 2016 by

BC and GC’s house was bigger than I imagined from the photos. I was keen to confirm that I had come to the right place and looked around for green leather furniture. When I returned home I realised that I … Continue reading →

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