Tag Archives: parent

Garfields survive house clearance deadline (Rousse)

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Now that my youngest sister had cleared our parents’ house (albeit a year later than the ‘final’ deadline), my middle sister and I felt able to accept the new owner’s invitation to visit it once more and look at his … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged clear, clearance, curtain, deadline, dining room, Garfield, house, parent, parental, parents, renovation, sister, soft toy, teddy | Leave a comment

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

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Dreamaticus

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beach, boat, cave, clean, clear, envelope, father, house, lecture, mother, parent, ride, salami, sister, sports, TPR, university, water, wine | Leave a comment

Lion cubs join Oxford University for freshers week (Rousse)

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Dreamaticus

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged academic, affair, cousin, cub, daughter, father, grandmother, house, lion, marriage, Oxford, parent, sister, snow, son, TPR, undergraduate, university, year | Leave a comment

Abusive parental role play (Rousse)

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Dreamaticus

This was not my best idea for a bonding exercise: find a partner; allocate the roles of mother and daughter; perform role play on the basis that the parent hates the child.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abuse, child, daughter, mother, parent, play, role | Leave a comment

Sofas, snow, and singing on Edinburgh’s Broughton Street (Rousse)

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Dreamaticus

Two new shops opened on Edinburgh’s Broughton Street while we were away on holiday. As an avid reader, I was pleased that one was a book exchange. The other was a posh furniture store full of University of Edinburgh students. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged academic, book, Broughton, choir, Edinburgh, exchange, gay, kiss, madrigal, men, neck, New Town, parent, reader, Scotland, sing, snow, sofa, street, student, terminal degree, university | Leave a comment

A hairy bridesmaid (Rousse)

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Dreamaticus

I was honoured to have been asked to serve as one of JA’s bridesmaids, even though the only part that I had played in her life was to introduce her to some external work contacts and help her secure her … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged armpit, bride, bridesmaid, ceremony, cremation, dress, face, father, gown, guest, hair, hairy, marriage, mortuary, mother, obituary, paper, parent, relation, shower, smile, spit, uncle, wedding | Leave a comment

Discussing death by drain (Rousse)

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I managed to set up a sewer-phone line to P and SM by lifting a manhole cover in the street. We discussed by drain the death of Durham University undergraduate KF, and how we would deal with her parents later … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cover, death, drain, Durham, manhole, parent, sewer, student, undergraduate, university | Leave a comment

Cat capture (Rousse)

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I was speaking to my parents on the phone from the comfort of my own bed at 06:00am when three cats jumped into the flat through the bedroom window. I left TPR to chase the intruders out again.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bedroom, capture, cat, chase, flat, intruder, parent, phone, telephone, TPR, window | Leave a comment

Entertaining a former fitness model – in a dirty blue and white spotted bikini (Rousse)

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Dreamaticus

JS came to visit us at the new house that we were sharing with TPR’s parents. It was a rather small semi on a housing estate, but all the rooms were perfectly proportioned and we believed that there was possibly … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged advertising, bikini, block, blue, Canada, credit card, dinner, entertain, failure, feature, fitness, glass, gym, hoarding, house, model, money, parent, private, restaurant, semi, shop, shower, small, space, spot, still, style, Sunday Times, tower, TPR, video, visit, wear, white, window | Leave a comment

Cousin colouring comparison check (Rousse)

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Dreamaticus

GT stuck his ginger head through the kitchen window of the log cabin in rural Canada. ‘Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?!’ he demanded to know. He had no idea that the ‘English squatters’ now … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cabin, Canada, check, colouring, comparison, cousin, English, ginger, head, holiday, identity, kitchen, log, parent, rural, squatter, window | Leave a comment