Tag Archives: widower

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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Cilla Black death faux pas (Rousse)

One of my former students had a famous mother-in-law: the singer and entertainer Cilla Black. When I called round to see him and his father-in-law I asked after Cilla. ‘What kind of question is that?!’ said the father-in-law. I had … Continue reading

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The Emperor of China, Tom Forrest, an absent wife, and a widower (Rousse)

Ancient tradition in China required the donning of a long black robe (similar to an academic gown) whenever the emperor visited. Every day during my imprisonment I was on standby for this eventuality. Meanwhile I joined in with the activities … 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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Widower fooled by wife imposter (Rousse)

We’d been chatting happily for a few minutes before it dawned on me that this was an impossibility. My friend had died almost a year ago so how come she had picked up the phone? As I started to drop … Continue reading

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Congratulations to the one-legged widower father of the bride (Rousse)

My one-legged widowed father had done a fabulous job preparing the house for my sister’s wedding. With the help of a woman from the village, he’d set up three mini-dormitories so that all the guests who had decided to stay … Continue reading

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A Jack Vettriano original (Rousse)

Usually I didn’t have much to do with my widowed colleague X. His fearsome office wife guarded him jealously with an arrogant form of possessiveness that bordered on the pathological. In short, if you came too close, she’d make it … Continue reading

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