Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Another visit to beautiful Prague
November 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
In the late 1980s, Vee (whose father was a Czech pilot in the war) re-established contact with her family – the Kuttelwaschers – in what was then Czechoslovakia and, about the same time, we first met the Czech doctor Pavel whose wife and children – the Horvaths – became as close as family to us. […]
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Have you ever been to an unconference?
November 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I’m a non-executive Board member of the Tinder Foundation which promotes digital inclusion in the UK. This week, the organisation had its annual conference in the BT Headquarters in London which I attended. But the evening before it had an unconference in the London offices of Google which I also attended. It was my first […]
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A couple of days in my old home city of Manchester
November 8th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
From time to time, I’m invited to lecture to visiting delegations from China, usually in London. This week, I was asked to go to Manchester to give a couple of such lectures and I agreed since I was brought in Manchester (I left when I was 23) and still have relatives there. So I went […]
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A review of “Would They Lie To You?” and a guide on “How To Think Critically”
November 2nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just finished a short book called “Would They Lie To You?” by Robert Hutton – an amusing and insightful guide to how authority tries to bamboozle us. You can read my review here. I have used this book as one of several sources to revise and expand my guide to “How To Think Critically”. […]
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This Halloween breaks two records
October 31st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
1) A temperature of 23.6C (74.3F) was recorded in Gravesend, Kent and Kew Gardens, Greater London, surpassing the previous record of 20.0C. Other parts of the south of England and the north coasts of Wales and Norfolk also broke the 20C mark. It was warm enough for us to have lunch on our terrace. 2) […]
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Two days with my special young friend Joshua
October 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
In the last few months, Vee and I have hosted stays from a number of youngsters. We’ve had our granddaughter Catrin (three and three-quarters) – see account here; we’ve had Vee’s great niece Yasmin (8) and great nephew Lucas (almost 6) – see account here; and this week – half term in the south of […]
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Do you know your Myers-Briggs personality type? Want to know mine?
October 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Someone asked me today what my personality type was in terms of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? I had to search through my personal records to find the report booklet from when I completed the MBTI questionnaire on a training course which I did many years ago. I was assigned type ENTJ. What does that mean? […]
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There is something special about spending time with an older person
October 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Today Vee and I took a dear friend out for lunch to celebrate her 85th birthday. Hana Ludikar has led a remarkable life, largely as a result of having a father who was a Czechoslovak politician who had to flee the Nazis in 1939 and the Communists in 1948. She showed us a fascinating film […]
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An account of my trip to Malta
October 17th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Last weekend, I made a short visit to Malta with my sister Silvia. Although at the time I posted daily reports on the trip, I have now stitched these daily reports into a single narrative and added links and photos. You can check out the account here.
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Visit to Malta (4): more Valletta
October 13th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Sunday – the hottest day yet – was utterly different from Friday and Saturday because it was a totally free day with nothing organised by Voyages Jules Verne. Roger & Silvia were soon reminded of the downside of a day alone in an unfamiliar location. Having so enjoyed the visit to Casa Bernard in Rabat, […]
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