Tag Archives: Newcastle

Risk of bias in ‘The Rest is history’ episodes puzzles Sandbrook and Holland (Rousse)

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Dreamaticus

Dominic Sandbrook looked aghast when the Rest is history panel member from York University interrupted him. What right did he have to cut the recording of Sandbrook’s opening line of the latest episode? ‘You must drop these background narratives at … Continue reading →

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‘Dead’ sister alive in Spain (Rousse)

Posted on May 2, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I was on holiday in Spain rummaging through junk on a flea market stall when my phone rang. My sister J was calling with news that we had feared for years: S had died. What made it worse was that … Continue reading →

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Cargo bike crisis in Newcastle (Rousse)

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I travelled all the way to Newcastle by cargo bike. Almost at my journey’s end, at Haymarket another cyclist rode up to tell me that I had lost my cargo, and that I had a flat tyre. I was grateful … Continue reading →

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Identifying elite US and UK universities (Rousse)

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I told a gaggle of American students that everything that I had ever learnt about elite US universities came from watching films. They were impressed that this ‘strategy’ of mine was so successful. I then asked them if they could … Continue reading →

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Shamed at a Newcastle University seminar (Rousse)

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Dreamaticus

TPR and I travelled to Newcastle for two visits to my mother in her care home. Between the visits, TPR consulted physics text books in Newcastle University library, then we both attended a research seminar in the School of Fine … Continue reading →

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Rude relations (Rousse)

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Dreamaticus

My sister J and her husband M decided to move to Edinburgh. They took a quick look at my flat, pulled out a pad of paper, and drew up some plans. Their big idea was to buy my flat and … Continue reading →

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Amol Rajan: rubbish railway worker

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Dreamaticus

Amol Rajan had given up in journalism for a job selling train tickets at London King’s Cross. When he failed to find me a split ticket for the route London-Newcastle-Edinburgh, I recommended that he return to his old role. He … Continue reading →

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Spreadsheets, arguments, and a spiral staircase at the auctioneer’s sale room (Rousse)

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Dreamaticus

The auctioneer’s accountant praised the clarity of the layout of our financial transactions. ‘That comes from years of working with spreadsheets’, I said with pride. The accountant’s colleagues were not so happy that we sisters argued openly in front of … Continue reading →

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Parking in Newcastle and the mean streets of Jesmond (Rousse)

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Dreamaticus

There was no way that I would pay £45 to leave my car for a single day in a Newcastle multi-storey car park. Instead, we took our chances and hunted for a free space on the mean streets of Jesmond.

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Canals crowded in city blaze (Rousse)

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Dreamaticus

TPR shouted back to me that I should follow him up the hill to ‘See this!’ Ahead of me on the right hand side I could just make out an orange glow. As I approached it, I saw an occupied … Continue reading →

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