Tag Archives: deck

A neglected guest witnesses wax flowers, uncovers a property tax dodge, and sticks up for non-smokers (Rousse)

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Dreamaticus

I visited J and GC at their new house in the US. They had relocated there for G’s job. His role now extended beyond sound production and included procurement. These days star-struck hopefuls would approach him seeking fame and fortune … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged deck, decking, dodge, eat, flower, guest, highlands, jet lag, neglected, Norwegian, phone, podcast, property, restaurant, Scottish, shop, smoking, sunbathe, tax, TPR, US, wax | Leave a comment

Magic tricks for UK research council panel members (Rousse)

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Dreamaticus

I had a busy day ahead with a research council panel meeting in the morning followed by an operation to remove a facial skin cancer in the afternoon. CO was on the same schedule as me so – as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cancer, card, council, deck, Finland, magic, magician, member, panel, research, skin, trick, UKRI | Leave a comment

A Hebridean Holy Island (Rousse)

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Dreamaticus

Holy Island was looking rather Hebridean with its towering peaks and sandy lochs. I sat at the water’s edge with JMH trying to work out whether the island had switched coastlines. Had it somehow landed on the west coast of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged card, coast, credit, crew, deck, executive, fare, ferry, Hebridean, Hebrides, Holy Island, home, journey, Lindisfarne, loch, mainland, peak, planning, receipt, sand, sandy, Scotland, ticket | Leave a comment

A failed escape from a crime scene (Rousse)

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Dreamaticus

We were staying in a beautiful tall detached house that was second from the end of a row of similar buildings squashed together in a densely populated part of the city. If you glanced up at the skylight over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alarm, bed, burglar, bus, crime, danger, deck, escape, face, fail, fingers, hand, house, ladder, Malaysian, man, mortal, noise, palm, rooftop, save, scene, silent, skylight, step, top, TPR, warning, window, woman, youth | Leave a comment

Arrogance and recklessness on the road and high seas (Rousse)

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Dreamaticus

Arrogance and recklessness were a dangerous combination, especially on a busy narrow road. At the wheel of his white Mercedes, SM was lucky to avoid a head-on collision with a huge truck. He was not so fortunate when he failed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abandon, apprehend, arrogance, brake, bump, car, collision, danger, deck, die, high sea, injury, Mercedes, narrow, police, recklessness, river, road, sailor, sea, traffic lights, truck, white | Leave a comment

A drifting sea horse (Rousse)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Dreamaticus

The horse stood patiently on the red deck that was tethered to the end of the pier. Meanwhile, the horse’s owner struck up a conversation with us. Then came a gust of wind and the deck’s mooring broke loose. Within … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged creature, deck, drift, gust, horror, horse, loose, mooring, owner, pier, red, rope, sea, tether, water, wind | Leave a comment

The work of Val McDermid: where to start (Rousse)

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Dreamaticus

Val McDermid and I chatted on the top deck of the bus. ‘I am embarrassed to admit that I have never read any of your books’, I confessed. ‘It’s just that everyone says that they are so gory and that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book, bus, deck, fan, gory, idiot, read, Val McDermid | Leave a comment

A foolhardy show-off sailor (Rousse)

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Dreamaticus

‘Don’t worry about me!’ I called cheerfully as I inched along a long thin metal strut suspended high above the main deck of the boat. It stuck out over the sea like an enormous tuning fork lying on its side. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged balance, boat, coastguard, deck, foolhardy, fork, freeze, helicopter, metal, rescue, sailor, sea, show-off, skill, strut, team, tuning, wave, worry | Leave a comment

Naked housework, phone swapping, and Doctor Who accessories (Rousse)

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Dreamaticus

Naked, I tidied up my London flat. I moved slices of white bread from the first floor sitting room windowsill to the kitchen where they belonged. When I returned downstairs a fat woman brandishing a gun confronted me in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aborigine, accessory, Andy Pandy, apple, assistant, bar, boo, bracelet, brandish, bread, breakfast, change, coincidence, conference, conference paper, cover, curtains, deck, delegates, Doctor Who, downstairs, Dr Who, drag, dressing, event, exchange, expensive, face, fat, fear, flat, foundation, gown, grey, gun, hall, housework, introduce, kitchen, librarian, life, London, make-up, man, medical, metallic, mobile, naked, open, phone, pink, presentation, programme, protect, rail, risk, room, seat, seating, session, sitting, slice, slides, slim, sparkle, stats, suit, swap, text, tidy, timing, tummy, undressed, unhappy, upstairs, venue, visual aids, white, windowsill, woman, worry | Leave a comment

Sailing the Scottish coastline by log (Rousse)

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Dreamaticus

ST and I planned to take the boat to Uig Community Centre. We wandered over to the pontoon where we also found JG, with TPR and JC, aboard his boat ‘Mary’. I remained in the queue for the community boat. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bed and breakfast, boat, brother, centre, coastline, community, deck, east, eat, evening, families, family, fjord, husband, journey, local, locals, log, Mary, pontoon, pretend, queue, restaurant, sailing, Scandinavian, Scotland, Scottish, seating, TPR, Uig, west | Leave a comment