Archive for December, 2007
Thank you, Parky
December 22nd, 2007 by Roger Darlington
This evening, I watched the final programme of interviews by 72 year old Michael Parkinson – a compilation of clips from some of the many, many fascinating guests he has had over 36 years on both BBC and ITV. He was the consummate interviewer who could persuade very public people to reveal very private aspects […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Did you know that there was a King Roger?
December 22nd, 2007 by Roger Darlington
As you will see from my web site essay on naming practices around the world – which I mentioned in a posting earlier this week – I am fascinated by names. My father was English and my mother was Italian and they named their first child of three – me – Roger. I was always […]
Posted in History | Comments (1)
Memories still flying high
December 21st, 2007 by Roger Darlington
One of my favourite sayings is: “It isn’t over until it’s over – and then it isn’t over”. This has certainly been the case regarding the book “Night Hawk” which I wrote in 1984 about the life of the Second World War night fighter ace who was my wife’s father [his story here]. I keep […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Which of these messages is true?
December 21st, 2007 by Roger Darlington
You should drink eight glasses of water a day. You only use 10% of your brain. Your fingernails will continue to grow after you die. You will damage your eyesight if you read in dim light. Your hair will growth back coarser if you shave it. You will be causing danger if you use a […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
What’s in a name?
December 20th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
One of the things I like about this time of years is all the lists that come out about the year just ending. We’ve just had the information from National Statistics on the most popular baby names for 2007. This has enabled me to up-date my very comprehensive web site essay on naming practices around […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Know your BRIC and your N11
December 18th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
As regular visitors to NightHawk will know, this blog has a strong international flavour on the grounds that Britain is not the world and we all need to know more about other parts of the globe. Certain countries are proving particularly interesting because of their rate of economic growth and potential for international investment. In […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Examples of non 999 calls
December 17th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
You have to pity the police – people are calling the emergency number 999 (really it should be 112 now) in ever greater numbers for often trivial reasons. A compilation of ‘non’ 999 calls is being made available for the public to listen to in an effort to curb the number of nuisance calls the […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Royal Mail’s busiest day
December 17th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
As a member of Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services, I am aware that Royal Mail is now experiencing its busiest time of the year, handling an anticipated over 2 billion letters and cards during the festive period. Proving that Santa isn’t the only one working hard over Christmas, Royal Mail predicts that today […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
An inspirational success story
December 16th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
This week, Sammy Gitau graduated from the University of Manchester with a Masters degree in International Development. So, what’s so special about that? Well, Sammy was born into a life of crime and poverty in a Kenyan slum,, only had two years formal education, and was foraging through a rubbish dump when he found a […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Christmas news (1)
December 15th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
At this time of year, we send out Christmas cards to our many friends at home and abroad and, so that they know what we’ve been doing in the past 12 months, we always include a Christmas newsletter. You can read this year’s newsletter here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)