Tag Archives: sister

House clearing woes – again (Rousse)

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Dreamaticus

‘Oh no, here we go’ I groaned as I faced the mess and decrepitude of my parents’ ‘new’ house. I foresaw months of clearing (again). The only pleasure that I could possibly take from this would be to sort through … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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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PhD poser (Rousse)

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I had never heard a voicemail greeting like this before. My sister J started her message in the conventional way, then launched into a long diatribe about the recruitment of PhD students. Very few of her friends, if any, would … 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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No junk in Jesmond (Rousse)

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I had dreaded the visit to my sister S’s house in Jesmond, convinced that I probably wouldn’t even make it past the front door. This was due to the quantity of junk that she stored from floor to ceiling in … Continue reading →

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Gatecrashing the Choral Society concert (Rousse)

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Dreamaticus

I was desperate to the attend the sell-out concert at the drill hall. Without a ticket, I hatched a plan to gatecrash the event. Just before the concert start time, I walked boldly into the reception area of the hall. … Continue reading →

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An unreliable review of ‘An instance of the fingerpost’ (Rousse)

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Dreamaticus

The woman opposite us on the bus was playing a podcast out loud on her phone. Its host gave an enthusiastic review of An instance of the fingerpost by Iain Pears. ‘I hated that book’, I muttered to my sister … Continue reading →

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Hoarder order (Rousse)

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Dreamaticus

The rumours that my sister lived in complete chaos were false. She had disposed of all the hoarded belongings from one room in her flat and was now busy painting it white. Her bedroom was also very neat and tidy. … Continue reading →

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A forgetful bald friend and queuing for a flight to Denmark (Rousse)

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Dreamaticus

With her bald head, RJ looked like a cancer patient. I said that I hoped that her family and friends knew that she had shorn off her hair to raise money for charity. Otherwise, they would be very worried about … Continue reading →

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