Tag Archives: Stockton-on-Tees

Hostage taken at the White House: Rousse to the rescue

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Dreamaticus

I could hear my iPhone ringing out, but where was I, and what time of night was this? I pulled myself up in bed to peer into the dark. I was back at the White House in my childhood bedroom. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bed, bedroom, bike, caller, childhood, cycle, cycling, dark, dawn, doors, duvet, friend, gate, hostage, iPhone, lavender, phone, prisoner, rescue, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, study, trap, tree, White House | Leave a comment

Stockton-on-Tees welcomes Dreamaticus fans (Rousse)

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Dreamaticus

By now Dreamaticus was a popular tourist attraction. Coach parties travelled to Stockton-on-Tees to learn about its beginnings on Darlington Road, and the vital roles of the 224 and 268 buses. Today my school friend KM (now KC) led another … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged attraction, bus, buses, coach, coaches, Darlington Road, fame, famous, Stockton-on-Tees, tourist | Leave a comment

A mother’s secret career and further clues of the Baby Ted graveyard (Rousse)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The party of external examiners included an elderly man from Sheffield University, a woman from Loughborough, and a dark-haired systems librarian called Mike Hirst. They all seemed friendly enough although none were interested enough to acknowledge (or perhaps question) who … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1975, academic, Baby Ted, bear, Blackberry, campus, career, colleague, e-mail, examiner, examiners, game, graveyard, handbag, internal, librarian, line, lines, Loughborough, mentor, mother, Muirhead Tower, mum, office, opera, PhD, phone, premium, professor, replica, roads, secret, Sheffield, sister, soap, soaps, Stockton-on-Tees, systems, teddy, telephone, television, tights, tower block, traffic, trek, TV, university, University of Birmingham, viva, walk, White House | Leave a comment

A spot from which to watch the boys go by (Rousse)

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Dreamaticus

I peered through the bannister spindles at the top of the stairs at the White House, watching the men arrive. I was terribly excited because amongst them were some of the boys who had not made it to the recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bannister, boy, boys, men, reunion, school, spindles, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, White House | Leave a comment

Debbie Harry impersonator stars at isolated Yorkshire guest house (Rousse)

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The isolated guest house on the North Yorkshire moors was well-known for its strict graduate-only entry policy. I travelled there by car with Belle and a stranger. We couldn’t compete with his credentials as a UCL-based Jane Austen expert with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baking, BBC, bicycle, bicyles, bike, bikes, Blondie, clerk, clerks, cycle, cycling, Debbie, Debbie Harry, Deborah, degree, disco, discos, explicit, Front Row, graduate, graduates, guest house, Harry, isolation, Jane Austen, London, lyrics, mobile, mobile phone, Moors, North Yorks, North Yorkshire, pastry, phone, radio, Radio 4, Scrabble, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, TPR, UCL, University College London, weather | Leave a comment

Dog and documentation disaster (Rousse)

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Dreamaticus

As EH passed the Patch the Jack Russell terrier over to me in the office I worked out that he must be at least 35 years old. He also a long way from his home with the S family in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Canada, documentation, dog, ill, Jack Russell, meeting, Patch, sick, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, vomit | Leave a comment

Flood, fire and knitting (Rousse)

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Dreamaticus

Although our house was not as grand as those of our neighbours with their massive tiled entrance halls, I was still distraught to learn that it had been damaged by a combination of flood and fire. Especially annoying was that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Baby Ted, bib, bus, bus shelter, cable, cardigans, coffee, ex-husband, fire, flood, hall, Hobbs, knitting, singing, sisters, stains, stitch, Stockton-on-Tees, tiles, wool | Leave a comment

Peppa Pig, toast, and extreme sports in the Hebrides (Rousse)

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Dreamaticus

The grande finale of the Canadian delegation’s visit to Scotland was a massive dinner and ceilidh in Edinburgh. Conversation was so animated at my table that I broke three pairs of glasses while entertaining my own Canadian cousins. After three … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bag, Canada, Canadians, ceilidh, Christian, cliff, cliffs, cousins, dancing, dinner, Edinburgh, extreme, fertiliser, gay, glasses, grass, homosexual, Isle of Skye, parents, Peppa Pig, religion, same-sex, sect, sledging, sport, Stockton-on-Tees, toast, video, Waternish | 1 Comment

Family life: a cure for obesity (Rousse)

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Dreamaticus

AD had shrunk into a neat tweed suit worn under a brown overcoat, with the whole outfit topped off by a forest green felt hat. When we found him on Darlington Road he thanked us for the offer of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bus, children, Darlington Road, diet, driving, hat, overcoat, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees, suit, tweed, weight, wife | Leave a comment

Gordon Brown’s sexuality questioned by single straight man (Rousse)

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Dreamaticus

News of AR’s impending visit spread fast. Those who came to see him included friends from Birmingham University SC (now SL), CP (now CA) and HJ (now HJ). AR’s fame even reached school friends keen to meet this eligible bachelor … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bottom, computing, denim, diplomat, driving licence, essay, Gordon Brown, hair extensions, Hartburn, invitation, nutrition, pepper, scandal, school, Scotland, sexuality, sister-in-law, Stockton-on-Tees, tabloid, TPR, University of Birmingham, wallet, Yellowcraigs | 1 Comment