Tag Archives: undergraduate

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged academic, affair, cousin, cub, daughter, father, grandmother, house, lion, marriage, Oxford, parent, sister, snow, son, TPR, undergraduate, university, year | Leave a comment

Oxford University cheat (Rousse)

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Dreamaticus

HVJ’s father passed on the telephone message. ‘Your daughter N is struggling with a final year essay. Please could you help?’ I couldn’t believe that it had come to this: Oxford undergraduates using their mothers as ghost writers.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cheat, essay, final, ghost, message, mother, Oxford, telephone, undergraduate, university, writer, year | Leave a comment

Top civil servant caught in tearful embrace (Rousse)

Posted on May 4, 2024 by Dreamaticus

DMcN didn’t pursue a career as a dentist, but instead joined the civil service. We caught sight of her dressed in a tailored black suit, coming out of a meeting carrying a dossier of government papers. She stopped dead in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged civil, dentist, document, dossier, friend, government, hug, servant, suit, tears, undergraduate | Leave a comment

Events at Northwick Hall (Rousse)

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Dreamaticus

We employed a team of caretakers to look after Northwick Hall, our rather grand country ‘cottage’. These employees doubled up as duty managers on event nights. Amongst them was my old colleague ED and her husband M. While they did … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baby, breakfast, duty, employees, hall, holidays, manager, Northwick, parents, premature, ring binder, undergraduate | Leave a comment

Dangers of regifting unwanted presents (Rousse)

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Dreamaticus

I was on stage facing a line of dignitaries, including Donald Leach and former Moderator of the Church of Scotland Alison Elliot, to be awarded my latest undergraduate degree (classification 2:2). I took great care when asked to sign for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alison Elliot, bursar, certificate, degree, Donald Leach, gift, graduation, offence, pen, present, regift, stage, undergraduate | Leave a comment

Global wheat production, whisky league tables, and Hawaiian trade statistics (Rousse)

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Dreamaticus

This time I really had gone too far. Why would the students need to know about global wheat production and whisky league tables in an introductory about Knowledge Management? Sure, the images that I used were beautiful, but surely there … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Hawaii, keynote, knowledge management, league, lecture, overkill, prep, preparation, presentation, production, slides, spirit, statistics, table, trade, undergraduate, wheat, whisky | Leave a comment

Discussing death by drain (Rousse)

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I managed to set up a sewer-phone line to P and SM by lifting a manhole cover in the street. We discussed by drain the death of Durham University undergraduate KF, and how we would deal with her parents later … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cover, death, drain, Durham, manhole, parent, sewer, student, undergraduate, university | Leave a comment

Val McDermid in hidden class act (Rousse)

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Dreamaticus

Val McDermid presented as an invited guest speaker to my undergraduate class. Unfortunately the students found it difficult to see her, hidden behind the stack of tables and chairs at the back of the classroom. I could have done with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Cambridge, chair, class, college, forensic, hidden, iPhone, keyboard, Mac, model, purse, speaker, student, table, thief, thieves, undergraduate, Val McDermid | Leave a comment

Bare legs and no knickers in a spanking new library (Rousse)

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Dreamaticus

The reason for baring my legs under a short winter dress, I explained, was that I had mislaid my tights. My companions were unaware, however, that I was also wandering around knickerless. I knew the location of my underwear – … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1980s, bare, bathroom, book, building, campus, clothes, companion, dress, Edgbaston, furniture, House of Fraser, issue, IVF, knickers, leg, legs, library, loan, lobby, mislaid, naked, nursery, pants, road, slip, spanking, student, suite, tights, treatment, undergraduate, underwear, wife, winter | Leave a comment

A hall of residence for horses (Rousse)

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Dreamaticus

I stabled the grey mare in my new hall of residence bedroom with a degree of reluctance. First I was dubious as to the ‘legality’ of keeping a horse on campus. I also harboured concerns over my skills as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bedroom, car, conversation, curry, diner, dinner, Driffield, driver, driving, friend, grey, hall of residence, horse, horsewoman, house, hug, mare, operation, parent, polite, pregnancy, ride, school, skill, student, TPR, undergraduate, university | Leave a comment