Tag Archives: widow

Courtship rituals for the widowed and widowed-to-be (Rousse)

I met the young red-haired doctor around the time of TPR’s final illness. It was convenient (to me) that he had lost his wife to cancer a year earlier. Amongst our courtship activities we marked (appalling) Masters dissertations, walked through … Continue reading

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Holidays for widows (Rousse)

Out of earshot TPR’s earshot, DJ told me that he and his wife FB were making plans for future holidays with me. ‘What about TPR?’ I asked? ‘He’ll have died of stress by then’, he responded without emotion.

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Conquering the Andes for £55k (Rousse)

KJD stood up from the table, grabbed her wine glass, and invited her closest friends to join her at the other side of the room. When everyone apart from her two sons followed her, I felt that I had the … Continue reading

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A widow’s assumed privileges (Rousse)

Everyone was tip-toeing around our colleague at work following her recent bereavement. While I was happy to as supportive as everyone else, it irritated me that she took it for granted that she could throw me off my computer whenever … Continue reading

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George Clooney and a Sisters of Mercy lookalike above the snow line (Rousse)

We were going camping with our French friends above the snow line in the north west of Scotland. Access to the site was via Forestry Commission trails, first on the dirt track along the shoreline of the loch, then up … Continue reading

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The shame of the husband who shames his wife in public (Rousse)

TPR had fallen into the habit of shaming me in public. For example, he made lewd remarks about his choice of life-partner to our widowed bed and breakfast host. Then I caught him laying bets on the outcome of Wimbledon … Continue reading

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Unemployed Sunderland couple give daughter away (Rousse)

Who was this small dark-haired, short-legged child with a Scottish accent living with the mother of my childhood friend ECM? She couldn’t possibly be ECM’s little sister: her mother had been widowed for years. A neighbour (and known fantasist) suggested … Continue reading

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Tour of the hotspots of Hartburn misses the White House (Rousse)

As the bus came down Greens Lane I considered pointing out Hartburn Primary School, but I wasn’t convinced that my fellow passengers would be interested. At the T junction we turned right on to Darlington Road, then first left into … Continue reading

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The mystery of canoe man John Darwin’s lottery win (Rousse)

“And this, ladies and gentlemen”, announced the tour guide, “is the mug that Anne Darwin was holding in her hand the moment she heard that her husband had won £5 million on the lottery”. Surely he was mistaken? “Didn’t Anne … Continue reading

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Performance anxieties (Rousse)

Over three decades had elapsed since my last encounter with this group of girls from my first secondary school, and I was curious to know what had become of them. In the course of conversation arch-bully CMcG confirmed that she … Continue reading

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