Tag Archives: Edinburgh

An Edinburgh pied à terre (Rousse)

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Dreamaticus

J and GC beamed with pride when they announced that they had bought a pied à terre in Edinburgh. ‘How exciting!’ I exclaimed. When I entered the poky two-bedroomed ground floor flat on Broughton Road, I managed to hide my … Continue reading →

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Teenage behaviour amongst the middle aged (Rousse)

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Two middle aged men called over to us from the other side of East Claremont Street, Edinburgh. ECM and I didn’t immediately recognise them as ST and PN. However, as soon as we did, we were transported back to our … Continue reading →

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Trick-cycling, pogo-ing, and the real purpose of a private education (Rousse)

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Dreamaticus

After watching a friend’s son trick-cycle his way down the yellow-painted banister of an Edinburgh tenement staircase, I took my pogo stick and bounced along the streets to my new girls’ school. So much for school fees: the teachers at … Continue reading →

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Self-catering apartments in Edinburgh, with dogs (Rousse)

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Dreamaticus

My American friend JG bought the old mews building a long time before I moved to Edinburgh. I did see her there once with her sister A – but only because I had mastered time travel. My sudden appearance rather … Continue reading →

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Wedding speaker shamed (Rousse)

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Dreamaticus

VAE stood up from her pew seat, marched over to the speaker, and admonished him in front of the whole congregation: ‘This is a wedding of a couple very much in love. It is customary to speak about them during … Continue reading →

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Poor police response times in Edinburgh (Rousse)

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Dreamaticus

‘All our agents are currently busy and unavailable. If you would like to hold to speak to our emergency response team, please wait and we will connect you as soon as possible’. This was not what I expected to hear … Continue reading →

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Parking scam at the University of Edinburgh (Rousse)

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Bold as brass, TPR pulled into a ‘visitors only’ parking space outside Edinburgh University’s Informatics building. A parking warden immediately scurried over to us to ask about the nature of our visit. TPR guessed at the name of a host … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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