Tag Archives: father

Greeted by a huge sawn-off-at-the-shoulder bloodied arm (Rousse)

Both my mother and TPR were released from their respective care homes for the day. My mother was in particularly fine fettle. She was able to keep up with my father’s walking pace – albeit at a distance – and … Continue reading

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Action-packed Pitlochry (Rousse)

BR was busy organising meetings to address his latest work predicament, my sister J was about to arrive in town at the invitation of her daughter A, and my deceased father was almost completely submerged in the water of Loch … Continue reading

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A lost baby, a father risen from the dead, drug addicts, and an unlicensed driver (Rousse)

‘Wake up! Wake up!’ I screamed at my mother in the bed next to mine. ‘Naomi’s baby has vanished!’ I made such a noise that I literally woke my father from the dead. When I noticed his corpse stir at … Continue reading

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Riding a water envelope is more fun than house clearing and lecturing (Rousse)

When we were recalled to my parents’ house to finish the clearing job, we admired the garden in the beautiful spring sunshine. Our progress was slow, especially because all the utilities had been disconnected. Even the simplest of tasks, such … Continue reading

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Lion cubs join Oxford University for freshers week (Rousse)

Dressed only in a navy blue towel, I wandered around chilly Oxford cursing the snow – and TPR, now onto the xth affair of our marriage. The new undergraduates looked both puzzled and proud at their achievement of winning places … Continue reading

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Mother in a care home (Rousse)

We had some explaining to do when my father returned from Canada. Why, he demanded, had the three of us – my two sisters and I – placed our mother in a care home?

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Passion with a potter (Rousse)

What a shock! I remembered the woman called Poppy, and the man who ran a pottery. They had been friends of my mother in the 1960s. However, I had no idea that for a period of my early childhood my … Continue reading

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Left luggage in Pitlochry, the shame of Hull (Rousse)

It didn’t make sense to carry everything that we had packed on the second part of our highland holiday, so we left our excess baggage at the self-catering cottage in Pitlochry. We would call in to collect it on our … Continue reading

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My father’s ghost (Rousse)

My deceased father and I chatted at the garden table as the sun was setting. My anxiety about our meeting increased as darkness fell. Soon we’d need to retreat inside. How could I keep him away from my mother? He … Continue reading

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A gatecrasher ghost (Rousse)

My mother was enjoying her party so much that she took out her Northumbrian pipes and played a few tunes with her old friends. I was therefore furious when my father’s sepia ghost put in an appearance. I pushed him … Continue reading

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