Tag Archives: university

Smoked salmon salad cocktails and stormy seas in the Outer Hebrides (Rousse)

Posted on October 26, 2026 by Dreamaticus

It was the end of the final season for my favourite guest house on the Isle of Lewis. As a favour to innkeeper RG, I helped him with the catering in his attempt to use up all the food that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cancel, cocktail, favour, ferry, guest, house, innkeeper, isle, Lewis, meatball, office-mate, Outer Hebrides, salad, salmon, sea, smoked, storm, university | Leave a comment

Sting and spousal abuse at the university reunion (Rousse)

Posted on October 25, 2026 by Dreamaticus

What a coup! Sting came to sing for us at our university reunion. Now all I had to deal with was the last-minute booking from a fellow undergraduate who had brought her wife-beating boyfriend along with her.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abuse, beater, booking, reunion, spouse, Sting, undergraduate, university, wife | Leave a comment

A return to hall of residence life – in Manchester (Rousse)

Posted on October 22, 2026 by Dreamaticus

Our new home was a small study bedroom in a derelict hall of residence at the University of Manchester. We reached the building by way of the A702. The last part of this road was still under development. It petered … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A702, bed, breakfast, dirt, flood, hall, mall, Manchester, oats, paddle, porridge, residence, shopping, track, university | Leave a comment

Alpine pig-snoring and the price of pork (Rousse)

Posted on October 5, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I met my old university pals HVJ, JS, and SPL in the Alps for a short non-ski winter break. Our accommodation was a large room with four single beds, athough not quite large enough for me to pig-snore without waking … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accommodation, Alpine, Alps, bed, bedroom, break, complaint, friend, holiday-maker, lift, mountain, non-ski, piste, ski, snore, strand, university, winter | Leave a comment

Work as a guerrilla gardener and clandestine cleaner (Rousse)

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Dreamaticus

I sneaked up to the University of Edinburgh’s New College tugging my small trolley of gardening tools. There, out of sight of the few people who were around so early in the day, I tidied up a couple of shrubs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged antler, Birmingham, clandestine, cleaner, dahlia, deer, Edinburgh, French, gardener, gardening, guerilla, Muirhead Tower, New College, North Bridge, seminar, shrub, sofa, statue, tool, trolley, university, vacuum, vase | Leave a comment

A wet campus nude (Rousse)

Posted on August 12, 2026 by Dreamaticus

While TPR found a parking space for our red Peugeot 205 near the World’s End pub in Edinburgh’s Old Town, I retreated to the Merchiston campus of Edinburgh Napier University. On arrival in the department, I stripped off all my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Aga, campus, clothes, colleague, cycling, dress, Edinburgh, gear, giggle, naked, Napier, nude, nudity, officering, Old Town, park, Peugeot 205, pub, TPR, university, wet, World's End | Leave a comment

Three in a bed shocker (Rousse)

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Dreamaticus

Although DM had a great reputation for hospitality, and the accommodation that she presented to me was exactly as described, I was shocked when I realised that DM expected me to sleep three in a bed with my university friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged accommodation, bed, blanket, cosy, friend, hospitality, hot water bottle, shock, shocker, son, three, university | Leave a comment

Dumbing down language degrees (Rousse)

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Dreamaticus

My former university tutor Mr H sat across the table from me, marking the papers of final year undergraduate French students. I questioned why they were all in English. ‘Today’s students are incapable of writing in a foreign language’, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged down, dumbing, English, French, graduates, papers, referencing, speak, tutor, university | Leave a comment

Medicine as a mature student at the University of Cambridge (Rousse)

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Aged 25, and after several exam attempts, I was finally admitted to the University of Cambridge as a medical student. My mother and sister S came with me to Cambridge on my first day to help me settle in. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book, bookshop, Cambridge, commercialisation, dining, dinner, gender, hall, medicine, segregation, shop, sister, student, toilet, university | Leave a comment

Big changes at the University of Birmingham (Rousse)

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Dreamaticus

Childhood friends SB and KH met me in Birmingham to scope out venues for next year’s university reunion. We were in for a shock when we reached the University of Birmingham campus. The French department was completely unrecognisable. The corridors … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged banner, Birmingham, Chinese, corridor, French, hall, lecture, navigation, reception, reunion, student, university, venue | Leave a comment