Twenty first century problems
April 6th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
What’s the world coming to? The $23M toilet on the Artemis II is not functioning properly. And, on Easter Monday, my local bakery has stopping selling their delicious hot cross buns. Never mind, I’m getting married at the weekend.
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The fifth five-star review of my book “Everyone Has A Story” available on Amazon
April 5th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
“Roger Darlington is prodigious, his latest book is a collection of 33 tales of people he knows, told by them. He captures the truth that everyone is interesting and worth a listen. Much of of our world is on transmission, he has received and retold.
Should be a TV or radio show . Everyone is a unique combination of universal circumstances. A unique and universal book. Worth reading to discover yourself.”
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A review of the new thought-provoking film “The Drama”
April 5th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
The weekend before my wedding, I went to see the most intriguing new release which ironically features a couple in the final stages of planning their wedding who are shocked by a ‘great reveal’.
Written and directed by the Norwegian Kristoffer Borgli, this is not the traditional Hollywood fare, although it is set in Boston. Instead it is part romantic comedy and (a larger) part a psychological drama (I guess the clue is in the title). Balancing these two genres is a tricky business which doesn’t always work, but the film holds the attention throughout and provokes thought which lingers afterwards.
What really sells the movie is its stars. Robert Pattinson and Zendaya are excellent, as respectively British art historian Charlie and American bookstore clerk Emma. It is a tale of honesty, forgiveness and empathy and the balance between them.
It is wordy and watchable and could be turned into a play. If perhaps a drama is too easily turned into a crisis, that might have something to do with the relative wealth of all concerned. If they had more pressing worries, perhaps they would have a greater sense of perspective. But you decide.
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A review of the 2001 French film “Amélie” which is back in cinemas now
April 2nd, 2026 by Roger Darlington
This utterly delightful Gallic rom-com has an eventual romance and considerable humour, but something more: a sense of magic, as it explores how providing happiness to others secretly and unselfishly can transform one’s own sense of well-being.
The location is the Parisian quarter of Montmartre, but it a digitally-enhanced and lusciously-coloured version of this tourist haunt. The titular character is a young woman who has had an isolated upbringing, which has led to her being shy and inhibited and very much living in a world of her imagination. The large cast of supporting characters are invariably eccentric but in endlessly variable ways. There is even a travelling garden gnome.
The creator of this marvellous concoction is director and co-writer Jean-Pierre Jeunet who uses a huge array of inventive techniques to engage and entertain the viewer: lots of narration, some frenetic camerawork, variable camera angles, close-ups, long takes, and digital effects such as Amélie dissolving into water. The story and the camera are always on the move. The director’s muse is the adorable Audrey Tatou, playing the bobbed-haired gamine, who literally changes lives and ultimately her own.
The film was a huge success on its release and there was a 25th anniversary re-release. I was at the cinema to see it on both occasions.
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”Everyone Has A Story” – over 30 fascinating tales
March 31st, 2026 by Roger Darlington
This is the latest review of my new book “Everyone Has A Story” available from Amazon. Have you bought your copy yet? Don’t forget family and friends.
“The breadth of experiences that the author ‘reports’ from 33 interviews with accomplished, but humble and low key people, is gripping. His interviewees go from tech entrepreneurs to trade unionists to social justice campaigners to academics to athletes to survivors of serious crime to lawyers championing consumers to historians to extensive to travellers to carers including at end of life.
An overarching conclusion I took from the book is that there is simply no such thing as an ‘ordinary’ person. That sounds trite and something that we all know, but, too often, we are lumped together under various labels and deprived a distinction that is uniquely ours. It is also a testament to the resilience of the human spirit as well as its capacity for imagination and creativity.
None of the interviewees recount perfect lives untouched by bad circumstance. Many have endured tragedy, yet, all reflect a strength of character that not just saw them emerge from crisis but stronger for it.
This is one of those books that is not alone profoundly interesting for its content, but provides in a subtle, unforced, and clear way, some wisdoms about the human spirit that will stay with the reader.”
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A review of the new science fiction blockbuster “Project Hail Mary”
March 28th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
I love a good science fiction movie and novelist Andy Weir and scriptwriter Drew Goddard have done it again. A decade ago, Weir’s first book “The Martian” was turned into a script by Goddard to produce a most enjoyable film with Matt Damon in the eponymous role as the left-behind astronaut. This time, Weir’s third novel has been crafted by Goddard into a hugely entertaining feature, on this trip with the immensely-watchable Ryan Gosling in the main role as a junior high science teacher.
The stakes are higher this time, much higher – not just one life at stake, but ultimately the whole of humankind. And, on this occasion our reluctant hero is not alone: a charming alien is around to show that friendship can cross life forms. It’s a exciting drama but leavened with humour.
Visually the film is stunning and the sound is wonderful, so I was delighted to be able to see a 70 mm IMAX version of the movie on the biggest screen in Britain. Plot-wise, however, the film is a bit of a stretch both subject-wise and time-wise, but you just need to go with it. The problem is the dimming of our sun, caused by a microorganism known as an astrophage (Greek for ‘star-eater’) which will cause Earth to suffer global cooling (and you thought that global warming was our problem). There might be a solution in a star system some 12 light years away (that’s about 70 trillion miles).
You’re wondering how humans could possible make such a journey and how one could persuade a mere school teacher to go on such a suicide mission (did I mention that the fuel that they’ll use will only be enough for a one-way expedition?). Go see this fun movie.
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A huge protest against the far Right in Britain
March 28th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Today’s Together Alliance March in London was a huge demonstration and there were similar events all around the country. The official website of the organisers stated the aim as “Together for love, hope and unity against the far right”.
So there was a massive protest against racism and support for immigrants. But there was also a great deal of pro Gaza/anti Israel sentiment plus opposition to the bombing of Iran and some people remembered Ukraine. A whole variety of other causes, from environmentalism to trans rights and even anti-Brexit, were on show.
Trade unions were the backbone to the event with the only political parties in evidence being the Socialist Workers Party (as always lots of placards), the Socialist Party (the former Militant) and even the Communist Party (shouting for revolution).
I met a number of people I know.
Organisers of the march said that as many as 500,000 people had attended, although the Metropolitan Police estimated the figure to be closer to 50,000, adding that precise figures were hard to determine due to the spread of the crowds.
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A review of “The Longest Afternoon” by Brendan Simms, a particular account of the Battle of Waterloo
March 27th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
On 18 June 1815, an allied force commanded by the British Duke of Wellington beat a French army led by the Emperor Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo, one of the most consequential conflicts in European history. This short work, first published in 2014, concentrates on one particular geographical section of this epic event, the farm of La Haye Sainte, and on one particular unit, the riflemen of the 2nd Light Battalion of the King’s German Legion.
Using a wide range of sources, including many personal accounts, Simms tells a gripping story which illustrates great courage and heroism but also vividly describes the brutality and horror of such a fiercely-fought encounter. As he summarises the matter: “The struggle for La Haye Sainte and its environs was not merely ‘a battle within a battle’, for much of the afternoon it was the battle.” The battalion of almost 400 men suffered something like 40% casualties but held out for nearly five crucial hours.
The origin of most this defending unit, the area of Hanover, leads Simms to question whether the Battle of Waterloo as a whole was a ‘German victory’. After all, “About 45% of the men with whom Wellington started the battle spoke German of one sort of another, and the proportion increased with every Prussian formation reaching the scene.” But he opines: “It would be more accurate and more helpful, however, to describe Wellington’s army as ‘European'” and points out that 36% of the initial force was British.
Of course, after a relative peace in Europe of half a century, the French and the Germans would be back in mortal combat with one another repeatedly – the Franco-Prussian War. the First World War, the Second World War – and, in the last two of those gigantic clashes, the British and the Germans, such strong allies at the Battle of Waterloo, would be irrevocable enemies. That’s history for you.
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Ever heard of culturally responsive pedagogy?
March 25th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Sometimes it’s good to go to a new place and engage with a new subject. So it was that, this evening, I was at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at University College London (UCL) for the launch of a book titled “Culture and Science Education: Towards More Inclusive Practice”. The event was chaired by the co-editor of the book who is a friend of mine, Professor Justin Dillon.
It was a rather different event from my own book launch a week ago (check out “Everyone Has A Story” on Amazon). Thanks to a failure by the publisher Bloomsbury, there are no copies of the book currently available, whereas I self-published my book in time to give all attendees at the launch a free and signed copy. The Bloomsbury book will retail at £90, whereas Amazon is only charging £7.99 for mine.
Above all, of course, the subject matter of the book and the launch is utterly unfamiliar to me. So I learned a new acronym: CRP which stands for culturally responsive pedagogy. In non-academic language, this means teaching in a style which takes proper account of cultural background of the students, including issues like ethnicity, gender and language. Makes sense to me.
The event reminded me of an exchange I had with my mother when I was studying physics at school. I told her that my teacher was Scottish and it seemed to me that so many important scientists were Scottish: Maxwell, Kelvin, Watt … My Italian mother responded by advising me that, when she was at school, she was taught that all the greatest scientists were Italian: Galileo, Da Vinci, Marconi …
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Another five-star review on Amazon for my new book “Everyone Has A Story”
March 19th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
“Not only does everyone have a story, everyone could write something like this engaging book. Read this collective biography of 33 friends of the author, all assembled within a year’s time. This is not about accomplishment but connection to the author, and the variety provides a glimpse into Roger’s own bio as he comments on each of those connections. Buy it, read it, and consider doing your own version, or at least a list of those you might include.”
A great idea which truly captures the spirit of the book.
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