Author Archives: Ramy Al-Rufaie

Late this afternoon, I picked up our tortoise, Trevor, from his run in the living room, and brought him to the kitchen in order to give him a bath. It was then that I made the shocking discovery that Trevor had very sadly died. Trevor woke up from his hibernation in March this year, andContinue reading “#15 Trevor, We Hardly Knew Ye”

Around 15 years ago, during my final year at medical school at King’s, I applied for my junior doctor foundation training placement. I wanted to be in the north of London, one of the most competitive deaneries in the country. I didn’t get it – and was allocated to the Black Country instead. I’m slightlyContinue reading “#14 Swan Song”

As a self-confessed nerd, it will likely come as a surprise to no one that I, Ramy Al-Rufaie, love a good superhero movie. I was actually never really into comics growing up, and so my introduction to the world of superheroics was mainly through films; I absolutely loved the Tim Burton Batman flicks growing up,Continue reading “#13 Not So Marvel-ous”

Back in 2019 – inspired by a Facebook post from Lisa Martin – I decided to use the 1SE (1 Second Everyday) app to create a 6 minute + video that catalogued my year in 365 consecutive seconds. It was a fun little experiment, if a little arduous at times; some of the days justContinue reading “#12 Still Second To None”

Christmas, they say, is a time to be thankful. It was with those opening words, penned whilst sat in the living room of my parents’ house in Cambridge, that I began my very first blog post (formerly Facebook notes) – Ramy’s Alternative Xmas Message – exactly 10 years ago today. In many ways, my lifeContinue reading “#11 Ramy’s Alternative Xmas Message II”

5 years ago (in a simpler time, when Brexit was just a madcap Farage fever dream, Donald Trump was merely a businessman/reality TV star, and the word Coronavirus meant little or nothing to anyone besides Microbiologists), I posted a rundown of my top movie picks from the first half of the 2010s. I ‘threatened’ atContinue reading “#10 My (Half) Decade In Movies: Part II”

Originally Posted December 31st, 2019 31,536,000. That’s the number of seconds in one calendar year. For me, this year, it’s been the difference between renting a house in Wollaton with my girlfriend, and owning a house in Long Eaton with my fiancée. Yep, suffice it to say, it’s been a big year – and, forContinue reading “#9 Second To None”

Originally Posted December 22nd, 2018 One Hundred And Fifty Thousand Miles. That’s enough to take you around the world approximately 38 times. It’s over half the distance between the Earth and the Moon. It’s also the number of miles that my car has racked up to date; and that car, believe it or not, isContinue reading “#8 When Harry Met Ramy”

Originally Posted December 16th, 2017 I’d like to tell you a story about a friend of mine. In May 2007, she was walking down the street with her sister in Queensway, west London, when she suddenly lost the power in her left leg, and fell to the pavement. She was fine, albeit a little shakenContinue reading “#7 Hope For A Better Tomorrow”

Originally Posted November 5th, 2016 Love it or hate it, I’m willing to bet that 2016 is a year you won’t soon forget. It’s been the year of Brexit. It’s been the year in which some of our most well-loved celebrities – from David Bowie to Alan Rickman to Prince – passed away. And it’sContinue reading “#6 President Trump? Somebody Wake Me When It’s Over…”