Tag Archives: mother

Sunshine in the Highlands, a glug jug and a job offer in New York (Rousse)

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I hoped for good weather to show off the highlands to my sister-in-law SB. She had never travelled so far up the country before and I wanted her first impressions of the north of Scotland to be memorable for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aberdeen, antique, antiques, blue, glug, gurgle, highlands, hill, hills, holiday, holidays, iPhone, jug, jugs, mobile, mother, mountain, mountains, New York, north, price, professor, shop, shops, sister-in-law, skies, sky, sun, sunny, sunshine, UN, Uniited Nations | Leave a comment

A mother’s secret career and further clues of the Baby Ted graveyard (Rousse)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The party of external examiners included an elderly man from Sheffield University, a woman from Loughborough, and a dark-haired systems librarian called Mike Hirst. They all seemed friendly enough although none were interested enough to acknowledge (or perhaps question) who … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1975, academic, Baby Ted, bear, Blackberry, campus, career, colleague, e-mail, examiner, examiners, game, graveyard, handbag, internal, librarian, line, lines, Loughborough, mentor, mother, Muirhead Tower, mum, office, opera, PhD, phone, premium, professor, replica, roads, secret, Sheffield, sister, soap, soaps, Stockton-on-Tees, systems, teddy, telephone, television, tights, tower block, traffic, trek, TV, university, University of Birmingham, viva, walk, White House | Leave a comment

Lord Alan Sugar’s babysitter and JK Rowling’s secret (Rousse)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Dreamaticus

“Babysitting” was the answer I gave whenever anyone asked what I did for Lord Alan Sugar. He liked to keep me nearby. This usually meant that I could be found hanging around the main door of the office at street … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alan Sugar, artwork, babysitter, babysitting, coin, coins, cover, design, Egypt, geek, geeky, gold, golden, handbag, handbags, Harry Potter, Harvey Nicks, Harvey Nicols, hunt, JK Rowling, job, key, landing, Lord Alan, Lord Alan Sugar, Lord of the Rings, man, manhole, manhole cover, middle-aged, mother, newspaper, office, paper, pocket, pockets, secret, Sir Alan, Sir Alan Sugar, Tolkein, Tolkien, treasure, treasure hunt, trove | Leave a comment

Dancing bear imposter (Rousse)

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The famous dancing bear lived in a plush apartment on the eight floor of a brand new tower block, above a branch of Boots the Chemist. I knew this because he belonged to my friends J and GC. I almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1970s, act, animal, apartment, arm, audience, bear, beg, begging, black and white, boots, Boots the Chemist, bowl, chemist, dance, dancing, dog, famous, flat, friend, leg, legs, mother, number, phone, photo, photograph, teenage, teenager, telephone, video | 1 Comment

Rousse offers advice on Gaelic, Java and T shirt printing

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Everyone was seeking my advice on their artistic endeavours. First my boss asked my opinion of her latest magazine column. I had absolutely nothing to say about the content. It was composed in Gaelic and I couldn’t understand a word … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged column, Gaelic, hen night, hen weekend, Hotmail, Java, legible, magazine, mother, students, T shirts, typeface, URL | Leave a comment

Time-travelling aunt fulfils her duties as a godparent (Rousse)

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The children’s names were listed in sibling groups on a whiteboard. The mothers referred to the list as they discussed godparents and presents. Although he was male and based in the Republic of Ireland (where this scheme did not operate), … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged child, children, Cumbria, dreadlocks, duties, duty, dye, godmother, godparent, hair, kid, kids, meeting, mother, nephew, niece, rail, Republic of Ireland, school, sibling, siblings, swearing, time travel, train, west coast, whiteboard | Leave a comment

Rousse pays homage to shark-wrestling Finnish immigrant

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Dreamaticus

It was a bad day: I lost my shoes (black patent leather Mary Janes), mislaid my headphones, and couldn’t face a bare-footed music-less walk home. To my rescue came Professor JM. She offered me a lift down the A1 with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A1, car, driving, Finnish, fishing, fossil, fossilised, headphones, immigrant, mother, shark, shoes, village | Leave a comment

A mention of Morrissey and Rousse recruits (another) Facebook stalker

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Newly-wed SL (was SJ) sang the praises of my husband to an audience that included her mother and me. I budged uncomfortably in my seat, taking care not to ram it into the table behind me. I’d already been told … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bride, Facebook, fitness, Jew, Morrissey, mother, neo-Nazi, newly-wed, park, rounders, Smiths, stalker, the Smiths, TPR | Leave a comment

Dead grandmother finances tricky train travel (Rousse)

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I’d over-stretched myself with a busy morning of cycling to the Welsh border combined with talking to strangers along the route, and now it was time to head home to Newcastle. It was only when my family gathered at Waverley … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged box, Carlisle, cartoon, cycling, Edinburgh, flat, grand-daughter, grandmother, lost, mother, Newcastle, purse, sister, station master, step-sister, train, trains, Wales, Waverley | Leave a comment

From Joan Armatrading discussions in Windermere to abandoned babies (Rousse)

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Funny fragments: Travelling in the back of the car along the shores of Lake Windermere listening to the two butch women in the front arguing about Joan Armatrading, and working out how to persuade them to get back onto the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged adoption, babies, car, driving, Eaglescliffe, Edinburgh, father, Hartburn, Joan Armatrading, Lake District, Lake Windermere, M6, mother, sister, Teesside High School | Leave a comment