Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Word of the day: flâneur
May 3rd, 2021 by Roger Darlington
A friend used this term today to describe me. I’d never heard of it and had to look it up. Flâneur is a French term meaning ‘stroller’ used by nineteenth-century French poet Charles Baudelaire to identify an observer of modern urban life. I guess this captures the essence of my Facebook page, especially since I moved to central […]
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The joy of writing and the challenge of the short story
April 29th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I’ve always enjoyed writing. For 59 years now, I’ve kept a daily diary. Some 36 years ago, I even wrote a book: a biography of a Second World War night fighter pilot. I write a lot on my website – especially book reviews and film reviews. But all this is non-fiction: my life, someone else’s […]
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What do you remember about your childhood?
April 28th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I was brought up in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, so I have a particular set of memories. Do you remember early closing of shops on Wednesday and early release from work on Friday? These days, shops are open all the time and people work all the time. Do you remember being sent home […]
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The Duke of Edinburgh and I
April 9th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I understand that the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has invited particants to share their stories on social media. I achieved the Bronze Award in the early 1960s but never took it further. As a bright lad, I found most of the stages of the award something of a doddle. The problem was the requirement […]
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How I survived a year of lockdowns in this crazy year of a global pandemic
March 23rd, 2021 by Roger Darlington
As soon as the breakout of Covid-19 in Wuhan became news, I was following events there with great interest, not least because I have visited the city twice [some notes here]. Then, exactly a year ago today, Britain went into its first national lockdown. I noted in my diary: “Although this was widely expected and […]
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The meaning of life – according to Yuval Noah Harari (and me)
March 12th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just finished reading “21 Lessons For The 21st Century” by the Israeli writer Yuval Noah Harari. The penultimate chapter – by far the longest – addresses perhaps the most important of existential questions: what is the meaning of life? First, he addresses a popular story told for thousands of years which explains that “we […]
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How should we test for coronavirus?
February 24th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
There are two tests to determine whether someone has coronavirus (and one – a blood test – to establish whether someone has actually had the virus). The first test for the virus is called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This involves swabbing the back of the throat and the nostrils. The swab has to be sent to […]
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What’s it like to be on Channel Four’s #FirstDates programme?
February 10th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
Almost five years ago, my wife of 35 years left me and, after some time, my mind turned to online dating. I dated quite a number of women but did not manage to establish a lasting relationship. My young friend Spence told me about a programme on Channel Four television called “First Dates”. I had […]
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Something to cheer you up in these dark times
February 9th, 2021 by Roger Darlington
This blog has readers from around the world but, if you’re resident in the UK, I have a treat for you this evening. On Channel Four television at 10 pm, there is a special Valentine edition of the series “First Dates”. Each show pairs four couples and I’ll be the guy in the second couple. […]
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A new year means a new diary
December 31st, 2020 by Roger Darlington
I have now kept a diary for 59 years and the total number of daily entries currently stands at 21,548. I have never missed a day. I have always enjoyed the routine of writing a journal, but this last year has been so challenging that it has been a part of my survival mechanism to record what is […]
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