Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Hostage taking in Nigeria
March 9th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I think that hostage taking is a particularly cruel and abhorrent crime and I was saddened by the news that Briton Chris McManus and Italian Franco Lamolinara died in the attempt by UK Special Forces and Nigerian military to rescue them from an Islamist group in Sokoto. One of the earliest short stories that I wrote […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Are you interested in being a volunteer?
March 7th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I am not a volunteer as such. But, as a portfolio worker, I have a mix of paid and unpaid appointments, so I guess the unpaid appointments – the majority – represent a form of volunteering. Certainly I am a great supporter of volunteering and a good website to get involved is called Do-it. I […]
Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A year of revolution in Syria
March 3rd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Exactly one year ago today, my wife and I flew to Damascus to start a 10-day holiday in Syria and Lebanon. Some of our friends thought that we were crazy. But we had booked the holiday six months before, nobody had told us there was going to be an Arab Spring, and at the time […]
Posted in My life & thoughts, World current affairs | Comments (0)
My first visit to the Online Centres Foundation
March 2nd, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Almost a month ago, I did a posting about my appointment as a non-executive director at the Online Centres Foundation. At my interview for the position, I explained that, if appointed, i would be keen to meet the staff and visit an online centre as soon as possible and, in the last two days, I have done […]
Posted in Internet, My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
The Faberge Big Egg Hunt
February 27th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I like it when art comes out of the gallery and in to the streets. Here, in London, we have had coloured cows and coloured elephants dotted round the city at different times. And now we have something different: coloured eggs in the shape of The Faberge Big Egg Hunt. Apparently the event was unveiled […]
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
February 26th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
The film was released in Britain this weekend and we saw it in our local multiplex in Harrow where the theatre was absolutely full (we have a large Asian community in the area). We loved it and you can read my review here. Almost all the movie is shot in the wonderful Indian city of […]
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The day 17 Chinese came to tea
February 24th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Our Chinese ‘son’ Zhihao makes his living by accompanying various Chinese delegations on their tours of the UK and his current delegation had a different request from others: they wanted to visit a typical British home. This is how 17 Chinese turned up at our semi-detached house today – a bit of a crush but […]
Posted in History, My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Latest news on baby Catrin
February 19th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
My beautiful granddaughter Catrin is now 13 months old and doing really well. The week before last was tough as teeth three and four came through at the top, but this week she has been back to her usual cheerful self. I try to see her for a couple of hours each week, usually collecting […]
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Visit to the land of Hope and Ellie
February 11th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Just over a month ago, I did a posting about the birth of Hope whose mother Ellie had struggled so much to have her first baby at the age of 47, following miscarriages, IVF treatment in Spain, and numerous medical complications and interventions. Hope is now five weeks old and doing well and Ellie is […]
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Should I apply to be the next England football manager?
February 9th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I have just completed my term as a board member of Consumer Focus and I will shortly complete my term as a member of the Communications Consumer Panel, so I am looking for a new paid appointment. I see that there is suddenly a vacancy for the role of manager of the England football team […]
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