Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Ever been to Glossop?
August 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
No, I didn’t think so – and I hadn’t been there for half a century until this week. Glossop is a lovely market own in Derbyshire which bills itself as the gateway to the Peak District. I was brought up in the nearby city of Manchester and a boy at my school actually lived in […]
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Another lovely day with my granddaughter Catrin
August 21st, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Every few months, I like to see my young friend Jen with her son James who is almost exactly the same age as my granddaughter Catrin (they are both just over two and a half). This week, I wanted Catrin to join us and her parents allowed me to keep her out of nursery for […]
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An Indian evening of Raksha Bandhan and birthday celebration
August 17th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
This evening, Vee and I were delighted to spend time with our lovely Indian neighbours Anil & Bharti (grandparents), Manish & Krishna (parents), and Deepa (16) & Anand (12). It was mainly a celebration of Deepa’s 16th birthday (which is actually on Wednesday), but it was also an occasion to mark the Indian festival of […]
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Are we really that close to Christmas?
August 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
All our Christmas cards are purchased from charities that we support and we try to spread our orders between a number of them. So each year we receive catalogues through the mail from every charity that we have ever backed. Today – more than four months before Noel – we received our first charity Christmas […]
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Which country and which city are the world’s favourite destinations?
August 6th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
A recent study by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation reveals that the country visited by the most tourists is France. My own country of the UK comes in at eighth. Of the top 20 nations listed, I have visited 16. The same study states that the the city visited by the most tourists is […]
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The charm of Czech wedding traditions
August 2nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
As I explained in this posting, last weekend Vee and I were in Prague for the wedding of a dear friend. It was interesting to compare and contrast the traditions associated with such an event in the Czech Republic and Britain. Some of the traditions are the same. For instance, we both have the Flower Bouquet […]
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The wonderful work of Czech artist and designer Alfons Mucha
August 1st, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I have long been an enthusiast for the work of Czech designer and artist Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) who is most famous for his association with the style of Art Nouveau. I have been to several exhibitions of his work and I own six books about his posters and paintings. At the weekend, I was in Prague […]
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A wonderful example of Czech irreverent humour
July 31st, 2013 by Roger Darlington
My wife Vee and I have just returned from a long weekend (four nights) in Prague where we were attending the wedding of a dear friend. It was my 24th trip to the Czech Republic, largely explained by the fact that Vee is half Czech. We have seen all the sights so many times so, […]
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How diverse is your community?
July 24th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I often think that how one sees the world is coloured – if you’ll forgive the pun – by how one’s community looks in terms of diversity or ethnicity. I live in the Northwick Park Ward of the Borough of Brent in the city of London and I have recently seen census data for the […]
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The Royal Family has a new prince but the Darlington family already has a princess
July 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The latest picture of my granddaughter Catrin
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