Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
“So, what exactly do you do, Roger?”
July 19th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I am regularly asked this question, but it is not an easy one to answer. Since I took early retirement from the Communication Workers Union 11 years ago, I have not have a full-time job, but I have had a changing portfolio of appointments in the field of consumer affairs. You can check out my […]
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Sometimes I think that Britain needs a revolution
July 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Here in Britain, we are experiencing a heat wave – mild by the standards of many other countries around the world, but temperatures that are unusually high and consistently so for us. So, in London where I live and work, most days recently the temperature has been around 30C (86F). Now I normally wear a […]
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My meeting with the British Member of Parliament for Kurdistan
July 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I’m thinking of taking a holiday in Iraq. Not immediately but perhaps in the spring. Not to Baghdad but to the Kurdish north. So today I was at the House of Commons to see my friend Gary Kent who is the Administrator of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and has […]
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Family birthday reunion in Leicester
July 6th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
My sister always ensures that the extended family is brought together at least once a year – usually around Christmas. This year, however, we have a summer of birthdays with a ‘0’ or a ‘5’ in the date, so today she convened an extra gathering at her home in Leicester. The weather was brilliant. But, […]
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My latest short story: “The Storyteller Of Damascus”
July 5th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
It’s six months since I wrote a short story, but this week I crafted my 30th. It’s called “The Storyteller Of Damascus” and you can read it here. I’ve had the story in mind since I visited Syria just over two years ago and I was prompted to write it now by the news that […]
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My introduction to the Great War
July 3rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
For my recent birthday, some friends gave me the box set of the groundbreaking 1964 BBC series on “The Great War”. There are 26 episodes and I have already viewed six. As I watched these pictures of the outbreak of a war that the Germans planned would last a mere 40 days, I was reminded […]
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Have many books have you read?
July 1st, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Today, I started reading a long book: the near-600 page work entitled “A History Of The World” by Andrew Marr. In his Introduction, he states: “I calculate that around two thousand books, never mind pamphlets and journals, have been read for what follows.” As I have kept a diary for 50 years, I know how […]
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Do you think I look like Jeff Tracy?
June 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I was at a social event this evening (listening to “The Paramount Blues Band”) where someone (actually a member of the band) said that I looked like the leader of the Thunderbirds, a one-time puppet series for children on British television. I can’t see it. Can you? Check here.
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OMG – today I’m officially an old age pensioner
June 25th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
It’s my birthday today and I’m 65, so I start to receive a state pension. I’d like to feel that I’ve used my time so far quite well, but you can check out a brief biography here. Certainly I think that those of us in our sixties in Britain can feel fortunate as I’ve explained […]
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A day for two dads and one granddad
June 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Here in the UK, it’s been Father’s Day and Vee and I had lunch with our son Richard and granddaugter Catrin. Catrin had already given her daddy a card at home and, in the restaurant, I received cards from both Richard and Catrin (“Happy Father’s Day to a very special Grandad”). Catrin was in great […]
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