Tag Archives: Scottish

Scottish Tory leader resigns (Rousse)

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I’d been chair of the Scottish Conservative party since 2006 (against my will). Now the grey-haired bully across the table was forcing me to resign. I was a disappointment to all. Even though I had held my post for almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2006, academic, bully, Conservative, disappointment, grey-haired, leader, management, party, record, records, resign, RMS, Scottish, system, Tory, track | Leave a comment

Who will be Wella’s next model? (Rousse)

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Dreamaticus

The “campus as building site” experience was really getting to me. From the window of the union bar we watched as yet another structure was pulled down. Today it was the turn of the pier to be demolished. Stray shards … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged application, beauty, black, blonde, building, competition, degree, demolish, disqualify, form, gust, knickers, Marks and Spencer, masonry, model campus, Ms, reluctant, Scottish, sea, sensible, site, skirt, underwear, university, Wella, wind, window, woman, wood | Leave a comment

From danger in the Scottish hills to a ski-ing trip in Surrey (Rousse)

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I struggled up the mountain side, the gap between us widening with every step I took. TPR was miles ahead of me and I would never catch up with him. The terrain was particularly difficult over the grassy banks. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amusement, bank, banks, bed and breakfast, boots, car, check out, coincidence, Dave, downs, egg, footing, forecast, graduate, grass, grassy, guests, hill, hills, keys, kill, lift, Masters, mountain, mountains, number, reunite, sand, Scottish, shout, ski, ski-ing, snow, sports, summit, Surrey, toast, trip, walker, walkers, winter | Leave a comment

Referendum aggression on the Edinburgh tram, and a dead grandmother (Rousse)

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I laughed out loud when the idiot behind me boasted “I work for the Sun and I could sell Scotland for $2 billion!”. He clearly believed that this kind of statement would convince everyone of both his nationalist credentials, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aggression, aisle, argument, billion, birth, daughter, dead, driver, Edinburgh, embarrassing, girl, grandmother, independence, passenger, protection, red-haired, referendum, relation, Scotland, Scottish, sun, tram, Yes | Leave a comment

Top of the Form meets the Archers in 1970s quiz flashback (Rousse)

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Dreamaticus

“And next, after the 7 o’clock news bulletin on Radio 4, 13-year old TPR answers quiz questions in the Archers”. We both looked up from unpacking our suitcases, each searching for answers to half a dozen questions evident in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 13-year old, accent, Archers, archive, astronomy, Barwick Green, BBC, bulletin, clip, dance, intellectual property, maypole, news, programme, question, questions, quiz, Radio 4, recording, scene, Scottish, show, suitacses, suitcase, teenager, theme, top of the form, TPR, unpack | Leave a comment

The conference trap (Rousse)

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Dreamaticus

I was trapped at yet another dreary conference for PhD students. By Day 2 most people had given up on the programme and headed back to their offices to get on with some “real” work. Unfortunately for me, I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged auditorium, breakfast, chemistry, children, colleague, conference, CPD, distraction, doctoral, dreary, food, foodstuffs, format, librarians, office, offices, paper, papers, PhD, programme, Scottish, stage, student, students, technical, training, work | Leave a comment

Ski-ing and smoking (Rousse)

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Dreamaticus

The hotel brochure displayed page after page of glossy photographs of bright young things enjoying Alpine conditions on the nearby Scottish ski slopes. This gave the impression of glamour, when in reality the hotel itself was little more than a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alpine, blonde, brochure, cow, dining room, glamour, light up, onesie, photographs, Scotland, Scottish, ski-ing, slopes, smoking, trouble, woman, youth hostel | Leave a comment

Skiing in Scotland: chairlifts, cafés and crime (Rousse)

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Dreamaticus

There was something not quite right about this Scottish ski resort. The main drag lift, for example, pulled skiers uphill at such a speed that TPR and I found it almost impossible to cross their path while out on our … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ankles, cafés, cafe, chairlift, chairlifts, cheese, children, clean, couple, crime, dinner, drag, face, faces, laps, parents, resort, restaurant, roll, runner, sandwich, Scotland, Scottish, ski, skiing, snow, staff, stains, tips, TPR, village, waitresses | Leave a comment

Queen Victoria: stony history tutor (Rousse)

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Dreamaticus

Whenever tourists complimented me on my extensive knowledge of Edinburgh I always acknowledged my source. My teacher was a statue of Queen Victoria. Most believed that the sole function of the statue was to peer blankly down on Princes Street … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bridge, history, knowledge, name, Princes Street, Queen Victoria, Scottish, statue, stony, teacher, tourists, tutor | Leave a comment

Fearless kayakers ignore shark in Scottish waters (Rousse)

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Dreamaticus

On the day that we packed the car and crossed back over to the mainland we discovered that X and Y had also spent their summer holiday on the Isle of Mull. It was a pity we hadn’t known earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged attack, book, books, car, chatter, conversation, conversations, death, family, fearless, heart, holiday, husband, journey, kayak, kayakers, mainland, Mull, Orange, orphan, orphans, Scottish, shirt, sisters, suit, talk, TPR, US, waters | Leave a comment