Tag Archives: hall

Bare-bottomed criminal intent at Ambridge Hall (Rousse)

Posted on September 10, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I won a star role in an all important, much trailed, Friday night episode of The Archers. David Archer was happy to release the stranger that we found sleeping on the floor in a back corridor of Ambridge Hall. However, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged am, Ambridge, Archers, bare, bottom, cardboard, cat, cupboard, David Archer, genitals, hall, Lily Pargetter, member, pants, police, rear, scruff, stranger, tourist, treasure | Leave a comment

Unexpected unicycling lunch guests (Rousse)

Posted on February 15, 2026 by Dreamaticus

AC was teaching a stranger to unicycle in our hall. After the ‘class’ I invited the pair of them to stay for lunch, even though I knew that this would cost us a fortune. The cycling student hesitated, then said … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Broughton Street, Edinburgh, guest, hall, lunch, unicycle | Leave a comment

Undergraduate accommodation options (Rousse)

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Dreamaticus

Student finances were so tight that the university accommodation choice for the typical undergraduate student boiled down to: A very expensive traditional room in hall A ‘blow-up bedroom’ – effectively a blow-up mattress inside a tiny tent ‘Suitcase sleeping’ – … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accommodation, blow-up, hall, mattress, money-saving, ray, room. bedroom, student, suitcase, TPR, undergraduate | Leave a comment

Medicine as a mature student at the University of Cambridge (Rousse)

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Aged 25, and after several exam attempts, I was finally admitted to the University of Cambridge as a medical student. My mother and sister S came with me to Cambridge on my first day to help me settle in. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book, bookshop, Cambridge, commercialisation, dining, dinner, gender, hall, medicine, segregation, shop, sister, student, toilet, university | Leave a comment

Big changes at the University of Birmingham (Rousse)

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Childhood friends SB and KH met me in Birmingham to scope out venues for next year’s university reunion. We were in for a shock when we reached the University of Birmingham campus. The French department was completely unrecognisable. The corridors … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged banner, Birmingham, Chinese, corridor, French, hall, lecture, navigation, reception, reunion, student, university, venue | Leave a comment

In defence of the ‘Nonsense Norwegian’ (Rousse)

Posted on April 20, 2025 by Dreamaticus

The residential staff retreat was a dreary affair. As I stood in a queue waiting for my turn to take part in the next ‘exciting’ activity – charity shop shopping – my mother-in-law lifted my woollen jumper to check that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged blade, charity, cousin, defence, Edinburgh, hall, jumper, lecture, mother-in-law, navigation, nonsense, Norwegian, Nottingham, poke, retreat, shop, shoulder, suit, technology, university | Leave a comment

Gatecrashing the Choral Society concert (Rousse)

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I was desperate to the attend the sell-out concert at the drill hall. Without a ticket, I hatched a plan to gatecrash the event. Just before the concert start time, I walked boldly into the reception area of the hall. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged audience, blog, choral, concert, drill, Elastoplast, gatecrash, hall, mouth, prawns, publicity, sister, society, ticket, TPR, wok | Leave a comment

A holiday cottage and wedding invitations (Rousse)

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I was worried about the safety of the family’s holiday cottage. Although the front door to the building that we shared with the neighbours was secured with a Yale lock, the door to our porch and the second one from … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bolt, cottage, cousin, curry, dairy, Dartmoor, door, food poisoning, hall, holiday, invitation, porch, Scotland, security, TPR, wedding, Yale. lock | Leave a comment

Moth escape (Rousse)

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Dreamaticus

TPR and I were halfway across town when we realised that we had abandoned our elderly charge at home without leaving details of our whereabouts. We made an about turn and rushed back to the house, praying that she had … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged coat, escape, hall, moth, moths, TPR | Leave a comment

An inconvenient house in the Highlands, with stunning medieval hall (Rousse)

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Why did we ever buy this inconvenient house in the Highlands? The only advantage of living here was that you could leave your front door unlocked without any risk of burglary. The layout of the building was ridiculous. You walked … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bathroom, burglary, dining, hall, highlands, house, inconvenient, investment, kitchen, layout, medieval, sitting, study | Leave a comment