Tag Archives: class

The fish-eating fake vegan (Rousse)

My office-mate was up to his usual annoying habits, behaving as if he had exclusive use of our shared room. He’d taken my poster off the door and replaced it with a congratulatory banner for his final year class. He … Continue reading

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A wasted trip to the University of Birmingham’s Muirhead Tower (Rousse)

I found my timetable on a scrunched up piece of brown paper in the bottom of my handbag. I’d looked at it so infrequently that I was unsure as to which way it read: were those the hours across the … Continue reading

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Rousse recovers from a fashion faux pas by dancing the bare-topped tango

Perhaps the reunion was a failure because it was organised by a black and white border collie? I felt uncomfortable from the moment that I arrived. Two girls from my sixth form English class, N and C, were the first … Continue reading

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Enemy of the Principal loses her mind (Rousse)

My class started at 14:00 and it was already 14:05. I still needed to collect the materials from my office. More pressing was the requirement to dress. I couldn’t really turn up to teach wearing just a navy blue towel. … Continue reading

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The farmer PhD supervisor and Motown hopefuls (Rousse)

This was the strangest of PhD tutorials. The chair of the session sat at the front of a room and a full class of students, most of whom looked like undergraduates listening in on the discussions. What surprised me most … Continue reading

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Knowledge management: not a “cinch” after all (Rousse)

The students were busy discussing their options for next term. Three over-confident boys declared that they would choose my class because it would be a “cinch”. The most arrogant of the three boasted proudly that he was already was familiar … Continue reading

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A transatlantic upgrade (Rousse)

I was dreading the journey: a transatlantic flight in economy. As soon as the fasten seat belt sign went out I made my move for the on-board lavatory, as did many of my fellow passengers. Rather than wait in a … Continue reading

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Hypnotic cat dancing routine reveals hidden skills (Rousse)

I wandered around the crowded room and performed a little dance. I hoped that this would please my new friend and that she would agree that I had mastered the “dancing like a cat” routine. She observed my technique, then … Continue reading

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Melvyn Bragg’s editor, boasts about the Sound of Music, and other distractions keep Rousse away from class

Now that it was December I no longer objected to the Christmas displays in the shops. I was even becoming more tolerant of the members of the sect who queued up every day in their drab black uniforms for the … Continue reading

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Rousse’s rubbish reunion

This was the most peculiar of university reunions. First the woman across the table congratulated me on another successful event. “I didn’t organise this!” I responded. (I secretly added “Had I been in charge this would have amounted to far … Continue reading

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