Archive for August, 2024
The latest review of my memoir “Roger And (Not) Out”
August 27th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
The publication of my new book of interviews “Rennie & River” has stimulated some new interest in my previous publication, my memoir “Roger And (Not) Out”. A Facebook contact – whom I’ve never met – has posted a review of the memoir to Amazon as follows:
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A review of “The Great Gatsby” by F Scott Fitzgerald
August 25th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
By the time that I read this work published in 1925, it had long been a candidate for ‘the Great American Novel’ and had been filmed no less than four times (I’ve seen the 1974 and 2013 versions). Ostensibly, it is an American Jazz Era story of the obsessive love exhibited by the enigmatic, new-rich […]
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Do you have a branch of Gail’s in your neighbourhood?
August 23rd, 2024 by Roger Darlington
I’m fascinated by the sudden debate about the desirability or otherwise of having a branch of Gail’s in your neighbourhood. Since the end of the first Covid lockdown, we’ve had a Gail’s at the corner of my street in London’s South Bank, so close that I can see it from my flat window. I use […]
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How many Germanys are there?
August 22nd, 2024 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just returned from my eighth visit to Germany – a short break in Bonn, Aachen and Cologne. This set me thinking again about the idea of different Germanys. At the end of the Thirty Years’ War in the mid 17th century, there were some 2,000 German statelets. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, […]
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An account of my visit to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia
August 12th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been catching up with the pacing on my website of accounts of my recent ravels overseas. Last year, I had a fascinating trip to the Caucasus: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. These three nations have a common 20th century history as parts of the former Soviet Union and are all modestly-sized countries with small populations […]
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A review of “Bismarck’s War” by Rachel Chrastil – an account of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871
August 11th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
The Franco-Prussian War took place between 19 July 1870 and 28 January 1871. At the beginning, it was a conflict between the Second French Empire led by Emperor Napoleon III and the North German Confederation led by the King of Bavaria. However, following early defeat of French forces at Sedan, Napoleon resigned and the Second […]
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An account of my tour of Namibia
August 8th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Last year, I had a fascinating trip to spectacular Namibia, but I’ve only just got around to pulling all my blog postings on the journey into a single narrative. You can access my story here.
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COBRA met this week – but what is it?
August 6th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
It is reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has convened a meeting of Cobra in order to plan a response to the far Right rioting around the country that has followed the terrible stabbings in Southport. Cobra sounds really exciting. It evokes images of a venomous snake or – if you’re a movie fan […]
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Fifth five-star review for my latest book “Rennie & River”
August 5th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
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A review of the new superhero movie “Deadpool & Wolverine”
August 4th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
The idea of a multiverse has dominated superhero movies of late and, in storytelling terms, it does allow for considerable flexibility and fun. In this film, the home universe – ours, if you accept that it’s full of Avengers, X-Men and the like – is Earth-10005. Apparently, the multiverse and The Sacred Timeline (you’ve never […]
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