Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Holiday in the Caucasus (6): on to Sheki, Azerbaijan
July 12th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Our fifth day in Azerbaijan was largely a travelling day, positioning us to enter Georgia tomorrow. So we travelled north-east from Baku to Sheki, a journey of 300 km (almost 200 miles) in pleasant weather. There was one major and two minor stops during a day of green countryside and our first view of the […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (5): more out of and in Baku, Azerbaijan
July 11th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Our fourth day in Azerbaijan was a mixture of out of Baku locations and a couple of Baku museums. Again the temperature was not excessive (28C) with a cooling wind. First, we drove due south to Gobustan. This is the site of a wonderful collection of petroglyphs which has received UNESCO World Heritage status. Before […]
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Holiday in the Caucasus (4): Absheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan
July 10th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
After two days in Baku, we spent a day in the Absheron Peninsula which stretches north and east from Baku. The name means ‘salty water’. As a change from the city, we visited three very different locations. First, we went to the village of Mardakan, a name which translates as ‘place of brave people’. Here […]
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Holiday in Caucasus (3): more Baku, Azerbaijan
July 9th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Our second day in Baku involved a further walking tour with a prolonged visit to a museum. Among the sites we saw were the building which housed the brief democratic government of 1918-1920 and the large statue of Nizami who was a revered 12th century Muslim poet. Our museum visit was supposed be to the […]
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Holiday in Caucasus (2): Baku, Azerbaijan
July 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
The basic Jules Verne trip to the Caucasus covers simply Georgia and Armenia, but three of us have signed up for the Azerbaijan extension. This starts with a two hour flight from London to Warsaw followed by a flight of approaching four hours from Warsaw to Baku. Since we left Heathrow in early evening and […]
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Holiday in Caucasus (1): introduction
July 7th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I am about to go on a holiday to the Caucasus with the company Voyages Jules Verne. I will be away two and half weeks and, in that time, I will visit three countries – two of them for the first time – which will bring the total number of countries that I have visited […]
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Samuel Ryde photographs Roger Darlington
June 15th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
London photographer Sam Ryde has just completed a photographic project hosted by the Bankside Hotel in central London where Sam was the artist in residence. As part of this project, he photographed a number of people living close to the hotel in their own home. I was one of his subjects and this what he […]
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“Roger And (Not) Out” – a memoir of my first 75 years
May 27th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
For the last nine months, I’ve had a major project: I wanted to produce a memoir in time for my 75th birthday on 25 June 2023. And I’ve done it. It was published this weekend. For family and friends who will be attending my birthday celebration, a free, signed copy of the memoir will be […]
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Holiday in Namibia (10): conclusion
May 2nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Namibia is a huge country with a tiny population. The country and the people are poor. Those in work are subject to a national minimum wage of a mere 65 Namibian dollars a day which is about 3 British pounds or 3.5 US dollars. In fact, almost half the population is unemployed with youth unemployment […]
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Holiday in Namibia (9): Otjiwarongo
April 28th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
It seems that this holiday is going to end as it has largely progressed – with early morning starts. At the Etosha King Nehale Lodge on Thursday morning, I had to set the alarm for 5 am and put out my luggage at 6 am, so that I could have breakfast and be ready for […]
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