Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category


Some ideas to make life simpler

July 14th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

All socks should be sold in packs of three. We should have a 99p coin. Weekends should be three days. Can you think of some other suggestions?

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Nephew 2: David is The Iron Man

July 12th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Imagine swimming 2.4 miles (3.8 km). Imagine cycling 112 miles (180 km). Imagine running a marathon of 26.2 miles (42.2 km). Now imagine doing one after the other after the other – all on the same day. The event is called The Iron Man and it took place today in Zurich in Switzerland. One of […]

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How long will you live?

July 4th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

It depends enormously on life style which in turn is substantially influenced by class and wealth which in turn is shaped very much by upbringing and education. In the UK, on average, a middle-class man will live around 10 years longer than a working class man and, in all classes, women live a bit longer […]

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The world’s oldest man

June 19th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

He’s British and he’s 113 – information on the remarkable on Henry Allingham here.

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PMR-GCA: making a real difference

June 13th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

My friend Mavis Smith – whom I visited on a recent trip to Gateshead – has had a tough retirement because of her Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA). But she hasn’t let it get her down; instead she’s become Chair of a support group for those with PMR-GCA in the North-East of […]

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What’s the most expensive public toilet in the world?

June 11th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Some time ago I blogged about the most expensive cup of coffee in the world. Today I have a new concern: the most expensive public toilet in the world. Now, of course, many toilets are free to use. But charging for women started with the addition of locks in the UK and gave rise to […]

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Who invented the banoffee pie?

June 7th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Those who know me appreciate my love of desserts. Now one of my great favorites is banoffee pie. Earlier this week, I was in a restaurant with some friends visiting from New Zealand and I chose banoffee pie as my last course. My Kiwi friends thought that the pie was American but I assured them […]

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Humour around the world

May 25th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

Here in the UK, today is a Bank Holiday, so I thought that I’d do a lighthearted posting (if you don’t live in Britain, don’t worry – this is a posting with an international dimension). I’m currently reading a book called “Quirkology” by Professor Richard Wiseman. One of the chapters is about why people find […]

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Health warning

May 20th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

If you receive an email from the Department of Health telling you not to eat tinned pork because of swine flu – ignore it. It’s just spam.

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Five minutes with Richard Dawkins

May 16th, 2009 by Roger Darlington

I agree with all his answers as expressed here. But then I was generally very favourable to his book “The God Delusion” which I reviewed here.

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