Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
Looking for that perfect gift?
August 18th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Look no further – you’ll find it here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Family venture (1): Two Left Feet
August 17th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
My brother-in-law Derek visits us most weeks in order that he can take part in a local dance class which he discovered when he spent the best part of six months of weekdays with us building our terrace. On a recent visit, he went over to Slough to help out his daughter-in-law Isobel who works […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (2)
Family venture (2): Find My Igloo
August 17th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I am in awe of people who set up their own business. I so admire their courage and willingness to take risks. Give me a steady job and a secure income (and pension) any time. Now one of my nephews – who has just celebrated his 30th birthday – has given up his well-paid job […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Enjoying your leave?
August 13th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Legal entitlement to leave varies enormously around the world. The USA does not have any legal minimum for paid leave – and even many professionals are only given a couple of weeks by their employer. In Canada and Japan, workers are guaranteed only 10 days of paid leave per year. Here in the European Union, […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
From secret agent to God’s messenger
August 11th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Seven years ago, I spoke at a conference in London organised by an organisation called the Freedom Forum. I was there representing the Internet Watch Foundation – which I chaired for six years – defending the blocking of access on the Internet to images of child abuse. Another speaker at the event was David Shayler, […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
A special reason to go to the North Pole
August 10th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Winston Churchill travelling fellowships
August 1st, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Each year, the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust awards a number of travelling fellowships. I won one in 1980 which enabled me to spend five weeks in the USA studying the American telecommunications system. There are no eligibility criteria so anyone can apply for an award. However, each year there are different subject categories for the […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Hot as Hell
July 26th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
My brother – who is an academic – is currently in Athens for a conference. I sent him a text message asking if it was hot there. He replied: “Hot as Hell”. In fact, yesterday in the Greek capital, it registered 45C (113F) in the shade.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (2)
Wet as never
July 26th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Britain’s Meteorological Office has confirmed that the three months May, June & July 2007 have been the wettest in England & Wales since records began in 1766. More than 387.6 mm of rain has already fallen and the worst experience was that of Pershore College in Worcestershire which had 120.8 mm of rain in one […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Chinese baby traditions
July 24th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
All cultures have a lot of traditions or superstitions around the birth of children and, over the last few months, I’ve been learning some of the many beliefs held by many Chinese people. This is because Vee and I have some dear young Chinese friends Hua and Zhihao who had a baby on 25 April. […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (3)