Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
The future of the Post Office network
November 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
For many decades, I have had a deep interest in the future of the Post Office network. For 24 years, I worked for trade unions with members employed by what is now called Post Office Limited (POL) and for six years I sat on the Boards of the consumer bodies on postal matters (Postwatch and […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Water bills rising up the political agenda – and dominating my current workload
November 5th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Today it was announced that the Secretary of State for the Environment has written to all water companies urging them to endeavour to keep bills down in the next Price Review period running from 2015-2020. Interestingly the actual text of the letter is not on the DEFRA web site [see here] but the “Guardian” has published […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
A day at the museums with Catrin and James
November 3rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
On Friday, I was able to take my granddaughter Catrin out of nursery for the day to join our young friend Jen and her son James who is just a few months older than Catrin. This is the third time in the last few months that Catrin and James have spent a day together and […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Can you imagine a television programme on life in a cul-de-sac? (2)
November 2nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
A month ago, I did a posting about being contacted by a television production company interested in making a documentary about living in a cul-de-sac. This was a follow up to a posting I did seven years ago! I have subsequently spoken to a researcher for Landmark Films which is the company wanting to put […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
How my darling granddaughter has already mastered the female art of multi-tasking
October 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“Thank you for buying me this delicious pizza, granddad, but … … can I play my games on your iPad at the same time please?”
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
How Christian is Britain today – and do you believe in miracles and angels?
October 18th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
We think of Britain as a Christian country, but a new poll commissioned by the Christian think tank Theos suggests that only 59% identify themselves as Christian. However, many people still have spiritual beliefs. Among the other findings, 8% said they or someone they knew had experienced a miracle, while one in four expressed a belief […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Congratulations to Alice Munro on her Nobel Prize
October 10th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I am delighted by the news that the Canadian author Alice Munro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature, partly because i have enjoyed her writing [see my review of her collection of short stories in “Runaway” here] and partly because it is a celebration of the art of the short story [see my own […]
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Ruminations on Romania (1): recent history
October 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
In 1861, the United Romanian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia was created. At the National History Museum, we saw a special exhibition to mark the centenary of the peace of Bucharest in 1913. Apparently this treaty ended the Second Balkan War. The First Balkan War of 1912-13 involved the Balkan League of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro […]
Posted in History, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Ruminations on Romania (2): people and politics
October 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The population of Romania is around 20 million. There are two significant ethnic minorities: Hungarians and Roma. Less than 8,000 Jews remain in the country. The population of the capital Bucharest is almost 2 million. There are now only 2,500 Jews and a mere two functioning synagogues in the capital. Romanian is a Romance language […]
Posted in My life & thoughts, World current affairs | Comments (0)
Ruminations on Romania (3): our time in Bucharest
October 8th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Our guide book – the Thomas Cook pocket guide – admitted: “even its fiercest advocate would readily admit that when taken at face value Bucharest is not Europe’s most appealing capital”. Between the world wars, Bucharest was known as “the Paris of the East” but most of the features that earned the city this appellation […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)