Tag Archives: sisters

Humpty Dumpties take up residence in run-down farm house (Rousse)

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Dreamaticus

I pushed open the back door of my cousins’ farm house and walked into the kitchen. There several members of my extended family were seated at the kitchen table, but only one greeted me: TB with a low groan. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mother in a care home (Rousse)

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Dreamaticus

We had some explaining to do when my father returned from Canada. Why, he demanded, had the three of us – my two sisters and I – placed our mother in a care home?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Treasures of Ophelia and the Brontë sisters (Rousse)

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Dreamaticus

‘This is our sculpture of Ophelia’, I announced proudly, pointing at a pile of weed in a dirty stream. ‘And behind us, under that hillock, Jane Austen buried a relic of the Brontë sisters’. My new colleagues were either genuinely … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An enormous yellow melamine convector heater (Rousse)

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I had my eyes on a giant 1970s yellow melamine convector heater. Even though it was the size of a large kitchen table, I thought that it would look fabulous in our flat. I just had to find a way … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A new study at the White House (Rousse)

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Dreamaticus

By clearing the landing at the White House a lot of extra space was made available. My mother told me that a new room would be built there. I begged for this to be a bedroom for me. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A course in Corbridge – with popsicles (Rousse)

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Dreamaticus

The venue for the course was the sitting room of my (dead) grandmother’s house in Corbridge. It was exactly as it was the last time that I had last visited it in the 1980s. The brown curtains still hung at … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pregnant sisters at Christmas (Rousse)

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Dreamaticus

When I heard that both my sisters were pregnant I vowed that I would never again spend Christmas at my parents’ house – at least not before the children had grown up.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walking on the Isle of Lewis (Rousse)

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Dreamaticus

Since the ‘improvements’ to the guest house on the Isle of Lewis it now boasted a series of public rooms on the scale of a country house hotel, with a smart décor all deep red and burnished gold. The proprietor … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sisters, a crop top, a wooden dinosaur, a knitted kangeroo, and a Christmas lunch invitation (Rousse)

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I mentioned to my sister S that it was probably not a good idea to go out in a crop top. It was a cold day. In addition, ‘Madonna circa 1986’ was no longer a good look in 2015. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Classic car investment (Rousse)

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Dreamaticus

I despaired at my parents who proudly showed off their latest acquisition. This was a set of four wrecked ‘classic’ cars that they considered to be valuable vintage vehicles. There was a badly bashed grey Golf GTi, a Ford Cortina, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment