Archive for December, 2021


It’s a special anniversary for my diary writing

December 31st, 2021 by Roger Darlington

On New Year’s Eve 1961, I started to write a diary. Since then, I’ve managed an entry for every single day. So today I celebrate exactly 60 years of recording my daily activities. The total number of daily entries now stands at 21,913.  The historian David Kynaston has made a total of six visits to study my diaries […]

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


What can the world expect in 2022? Another year of living dangerously.

December 30th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

“On the brink of a new year, the world faces a daunting array of challenges: the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, the struggle between democracy and authoritarianism, humanitarian crises, mass migration, and trans-national terrorism. There is the risk of new inter-state conflicts, exacerbated by the breakdown of the rules-based international order, and the spread […]

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)


A review of the classic German war film “Das Boot”

December 29th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

“The Boat” is a German war film with an interesting genesis and aftermath. In 1941, war correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim joined German submarine U-96 on a patrol as part of the hard-fought Battle of the Atlantic. In 1973, he published a best-selling novel called simply “Das Boot” based on his experiences aboard U-96. Wolfgang Petersen then […]

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


My Christmas gift to you

December 26th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

It’s my latest short story entitled “After Life” which you can read here. To access all my short stories click here If you would like to have my short stories in book form, you can purchase “The Rooms In My Mind” for a very modest price on Amazon click here

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


Life at the moment feels like a waiting game

December 20th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

I’m waiting to see if … … England enters into some kind of fourth lockdown to combat the impact of the Omicron variant of the corona virus … the western nations will honour their undertakings to provide anti-covid vaccines to the developing nations so that we reduce the incidence of deaths, illness and new variants […]

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


A review of the new blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home”

December 19th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

After almost two years of the global pandemic, demand was high for a new Marvel movie and, if I wanted to see it in IMAX on the opening weekend, to secure a decent seat I had to attend the showing at 8 am on the Sunday morning. But it was worth it to forget the […]

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


The grim record of covid deaths in the United States

December 15th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

The US death toll from Covid-19 has passed 800,000, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after vaccines became available last spring. The figure represents the highest reported toll of any country in the world and is likely to be even higher. The US accounts […]

Posted in American current affairs, Science & technology | Comments (0)


A review of the award-winning Japanese film “After Life”

December 11th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

I only heard of this 1998 Japanese film some two decades after its release when I saw a play based on it performed at London’s National Theatre. Coincidentally, just a few months later, the film was shown as part of a Japanese season at the British Film Institute which is next door to the theatre […]

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


Do you have any nicknames? Would you like to know three of mine?

December 10th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

When I was a lad, there was a popular comic called “The Beano” and one of the regular characters in that was a young boy called “Roger the Dodger”. Inevitably, I was often called that. When I started my working life, it was at the then Polytechnic of North London where I was the Accommodation […]

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)


A review of the samurai film “47 Ronin”

December 9th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

A ronin is a samurai without a lord. In early 18th century Japan, 47 ronin sought to avenge the death of their master knowing that, even if they survived the endeavour, they would be put to death for breaching the authority of the shogun. This true story is very well-known to all Japanese because of […]

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)