Tag Archives: qualification

Trick-cycling, pogo-ing, and the real purpose of a private education (Rousse)

After watching a friend’s son trick-cycle his way down the yellow-painted banister of an Edinburgh tenement staircase, I took my pogo stick and bounced along the streets to my new girls’ school. So much for school fees: the teachers at … Continue reading

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A PhD on wind turbines (Rousse)

B’s PhD thesis was beautifully presented. Everything was well laid out on the highest quality paper, with a fluent and compelling narrative. I had always thought that he was conducting research into the efficiency of wind turbines, yet – so … Continue reading

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A demanding bride and the perils of a Tesco suitcase (Rousse)

Due to the flood, a quick decision was made to switch the venue of the wedding. Instead of a small parish church in Broadway in the Cotswolds, the venue was now a massive Catholic cathedral in the City of London. … Continue reading

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A wasted trip to the University of Birmingham’s Muirhead Tower (Rousse)

I found my timetable on a scrunched up piece of brown paper in the bottom of my handbag. I’d looked at it so infrequently that I was unsure as to which way it read: were those the hours across the … Continue reading

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The effects of global warming, old school friends, and a recruitment question (Rousse)

In this topsy-turvy world the sun hadn’t risen for weeks and the streets were under snow, even though the calendar told us that it was the middle of the summer. It was so cold outside that the thick soles of … Continue reading

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Rousse is a proud non-practising dentist

Earlier in the day the workshop leader had referred to “the dentist” in the room. I resolved that as soon as the opportunity arose I would point out that there were actually two dentists present. Although I had never practised … Continue reading

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Unbearable workloads: could cloning be the answer? (Rousse)

Locked away in a hall of residence room in Nantes, I wasn’t coping very well at all. I had returned to the city to take some extra courses and gain credits for a full French undergraduate degree, even though it … Continue reading

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Cambridge conference saves Rousse from North Sea diving job

Although I agreed with the guest house landlady that her daughter looked a fright, I kept my views to myself. The poor girl obviously considered herself a beauty, yet to most she simply looked fake with her long blonde hair … Continue reading

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