Tag Archives: Edinburgh

Escaped gorillas from Edinburgh Zoo enjoy the Fringe experience (Rousse)

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Dreamaticus

All the animals had escaped from Edinburgh Zoo. I spotted a hippopotamus lumbering along a New Town crescent, then a gnu carefully picking his way along a cobbled street. A family of three gorillas seemed more at home, queuing for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cobbles, crescent, Edinburgh, escape, Fringe, gnu, gorilla, hippopotamus, New Town, St Andrew Square, zoo | Leave a comment

REF cheats (Rousse)

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I started to write my report about the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in pink ink along the top of the low wall. My source material was a huge A4 binder bulging with print-outs and notes from 2021. I left my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2021, action, colleague, confidential, Edinburgh, ink, legal, men, pink, REF, report, Research Excellence Framework, suit, university, vacancy, wall | Leave a comment

Jonathan Ross lover boy (Rousse)

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Jonathan Ross was a surprise celebrity guest at RC-I’s London flat, where I was staying for a couple of nights. How bizarre to find myself standing next to the star at the bathroom sink, cleaning our teeth together, dressed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bandages, bathroom, Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Firth of Forth, Jonathan Ross, London, love, lover, Mummy, New Town, surgery, teeth, TPR, train, underwear, weight-loss | Leave a comment

Toilet transport for women (Rousse)

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Dreamaticus

While my male ex-colleague SL could happily stand up from the dinner table, cross the room, and find the gents with no trouble at all, any women who hoped to use the facilities at the University of Edinburgh were forced … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged children, convenience, crate, Edinburgh, hatch, journey, lavatory, Pitlochry, public, toilet, transport, underground, university | Leave a comment

A shoddy Edinburgh welcome at Portobello Town Hall (Rousse)

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Dreamaticus

All business travellers to Edinburgh were routed into the city via Portobello Town Hall. Strips of dirty blue plastic poorly fixed to the hall’s internal steps announced ‘Welcome to Edinburgh’ hundreds of times in a tiny font. Once in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bridge, cake, Edinburgh, Forth, hall, plastic, Portobello, rail, South Queensferry, town, tunnel, welcome | Leave a comment

Sausages on a train (Rousse)

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Not long after my mother and I bought half a dozen sausages to cook on the train carriage grill, TPR suggested that we take advantage of the 40 minute break in the journey at Edinburgh Waverley station to play tourist … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged by-pass, computer, Edinburgh, handbag, hill, Midlothian, Pentland, pony, sausage, sausages, station, suitcase, tourist, train, Waverley | Leave a comment

A play, a pie, a pint, and passion (Rousse)

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Dreamaticus

A play, a pie, and a pint was so heavily advertised that all Edinburgh seemed to have gathered at the Festival Theatre for the first performance of the season. I feared that TPR and I would lose one another in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged auditorium, crowd, cubicle, Edinburgh, Festival Theatre, horde, partner, phone, pie, pint, play, shower, toilet, TPR | Leave a comment

Homeless photographer takes a trip to Japan (Rousse)

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I packed away the white bed sheet that I slept in each night at the doorway of the Bethany shop on Leith Walk, Edinburgh. Then I set off to join the family reunion in Japan. As a reunion venue, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bethany, carriage, Edinburgh, family reunion, homeless, Japan, landscape, Leith Walk, midden, photograph, photographer, railway, sand, shell, shop, station, train | Leave a comment

Afternoon tea in the Palm Court at the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh (Rousse)

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Dreamaticus

There were huge queues outside the public lavatories on Princes Street, so I crossed over the road, held my head up high, and climbed up the steps of the Balmoral Hotel. The door staff, concierge, and receptionists barely looked up … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged afternoon, Balmoral, bill, cakes, Edinburgh, hotel, in-laws, ladies, Princes Street, sandwiches, Scotland, tea, trousers | Leave a comment

Queue karaoke at the Edinburgh Breastival (Rousse)

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Dreamaticus

PMF was desperate to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, but it was now far too late to secure a show entry in this summer’s programme. ‘Here’s an idea’, I suggested. ‘”Queue karaoke” could be the top performance of the Fringe! … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged audience, Cancer Research UK, donations, Edinburgh, festival, Fringe, karaoke, performance, programme, queue | Leave a comment