Ten years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, I’m reminded of a story …
September 15th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Ten years ago today, the American investment bank Lehman Brothers went into liquidation. It was the most dramatic event of the financial crash of 2008 which has led to economic retrenchment and austerity for so many nations and so many people.
When I started to write short stories, I found that one of the characters in my first effort was a former employee of Lehman Brothers in the City of London. He meets someone who has had an even larger set-back in his life and they have an unlikely but meaningful conversation.
I titled the story “Making A Difference” and you can read it here.
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How old is the germ theory of disease?
September 12th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I’ve recently returned from a trip to Colombia which finished in the Caribbean port of Cartagena. Since my return, I’ve started to read the classic novel by Colombian Nobel prize winning author Gabriel García Márquez “Love In The Time Of Cholera”.
Although the novel does not specifically identify the location of the story, it is very clear that the fictional city is based on Cartagena. The period of the narrative is not spelt out exactly either but is roughly 1880-1930.
Reference is made in the book to the first outbreak of cholera in the city which probably killed around one third of the population. The date was 1849. This made we wonder when the germ theory of disease – which was not applied in this outbreak – was known.
Checking on the relevant Wikipedia page, I was surprised to find how old the theory is and how long it took to be generally accepted:
“The germ theory was proposed by Girolamo Fracastoro in 1546, and expanded upon by Marcus von Plenciz in 1762. Such views were held in disdain, however, and Galen’s miasma theoryremained dominant among scientists and doctors. The nature of this doctrine prevented them from understanding how diseases actually progressed, with predictable consequences.
By the early nineteenth century, smallpox vaccination was commonplace in Europe, though doctors were unaware of how it worked or how to extend the principle to other diseases. Similar treatments had been prevalent in India from just before AD 1000.[2] [N 1] A transitional period began in the late 1850s with the work of Louis Pasteur. This work was later extended by Robert Koch in the 1880s.
By the end of the 1880s the miasma theory was struggling to compete with the germ theory of disease. Eventually, a “golden era” of bacteriology ensued, during which the theory quickly led to the identification of the actual organisms that cause many diseases.’
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A guide to the mid-term elections in the US Congress
September 11th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I’ve never been so interested in – and concerned about – the mid-term elections in the United States which will be held on Tuesday 6 November 2018. All the seats in the House of Representatives (435) and a third of the seats in the Senate (35) are up for election.
The Democrats should win the House and just might take the Senate – but turnout is much lower in the election years when there is no presidential election. If the Dems take control of one or both chambers, they can limit to some extent the damage being done by President Donald Trump and prepare the ground for a Democratic return to the White House in 2020.
So these are really important elections.
The BBC has produced a useful guide to the mid-term elections here.
If you want more detail on the American political system, I have a guide here.
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My recent trip to Colombia – the full story
September 9th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I have recently returned from a fascinating trip to Colombia. Although I did daily postings to this blog while on the holiday, I’ve now pulled all these together into a comprehensive and continuous narrative which you can read here.
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“Lunch Atop A Skyscaper” – so many questions …
September 7th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
You know this iconic photograph.
We know it was taken 840 feet (260 meters) above the streets of New York City during the building of the Rockefeller Centre – a building I have visited a couple of times – on 20 September 1932.
But who took the picture? It was credited to Charles C. Ebbets in 2003, but there are at least three other candidates.
And who are those guys? We only know for sure two names of the 11 men: Joseph Eckner, third from the left, and Joe Curtis, third from the right.
This evening, I watched a PBS documentary that tried to answer these questions – speculating about two more of the 11 men in particular – and explored the importance of the image.
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Good work matters – so we should measure it
September 7th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Measuring good work matters. The UK has an excellent record of strong job creation, with each record low unemployment statistics celebrated in the national media. But why do we not have any similar measures for understanding quality of work and how we can make work better?
Today the Carnegie UK Trust-RSA Measuring Job Quality Working Group launched its report on how we should measure progress on quality work in the UK. The Working Group brought together senior representatives from across industry, trade unions, charities and academia to advance the challenge set out in the Taylor Review of implementing national job quality measurement in the UK.
The report identifies a series of new questions – from work-life balance to mental health, and from opportunities for progression to feelings of purpose, involvement and control at work – which should be added to the annual official Labour Force Survey, the largest and most comprehensive annual household study in the UK, to provide new insights for policy makers and employers on how the changing world is work is affecting workers from around the UK.
Read “Measuring Good Work” or the executive summary.
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Holiday in Colombia (11): conclusion
September 6th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
After spending two nights at each of five hotels, our trip to Colombia was coming to an end. On the final morning in Cartagena, there was no programme, so Silvia and I did some final shopping and I had my photograph taken with 73 year old Victoria, a distinguished black woman of African descent wearing traditional Caribbean clothing with a basket of fruit on her head.
The return home was a long journey: first a late afternoon flight of just over one hour from Cartagena to Bogotá and then, after four hours at the airport, an overnight flight of 10 hours from Bogotá to London. Given the six hour time difference, we arrived at Heathrow at 3.10 pm the next day.
It has been a busy holiday with five flights (two of 10 hours and three internal), some long coach journeys, and five hotels. And it has been a fascinating trip with varied experiences, taking us to three major cities and coffee and palm tree districts. We have seen beautifully coloured houses and old colonial buildings plus some wonderful countryside and visited such different locations as a gold museum, an art gallery and a salt mine.
In spite of the concerns of family and friends, the security presence was low-key – certainly less than my experience of Central America and the Middle East – and we had never felt in any danger (although we had to abandon plans to visit Comuna 13 in Medellin). The food was good and the coffee was excellent, while the cost of meals and taxis were very reasonable.
Columbia has the potential to become a significant tourist attraction, but it needs to improve its transport infrastructure (road journeys take such a long time) and standards of service (service is often slow and not always what was requested) and to train guides with better English and organisational skills.
Even in our hotel rooms, used toilet paper had to be put in a basket and, out and about, there was not always toilet paper and, when there was, there was sometimes a charge. In one hotel, our smoke alarm decided to activate itself and staff needed a ladder to disconnect it. In another hotel, Silvia was locked in the bathroom for three-quarters of an hour due to a defective lock.
Above all, of course, the peace settlement between the Government and the leading terrorist group FARC needs to hold, an agreement needs to be struck with the other main terrorist group ELN, and the drug gangs need to be contained.
I wish the Colombian people well. Now I have to get over this jet lag …
Meanwhile I hope that you have enjoyed these reports.
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Holiday in Colombia (10): Cartagena
September 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
The last full day of our holiday in Colombia was devoted to a tour of the Caribbean city of Cartagena. I have wanted to visit the old town since I saw the film of the book “Love In The Time Of Cholera” whichwas set and shot in the colonial quarter.
There was a lot to see and rain was threatened, so our guide Julio took the group off at 8 am. First we drove to Castello de San Filipe de Barajas just outside the city walls. The castle was originally built in 1536 and then expanded in 1657 as part of an elaborate system of fortifications to protect the Spanish colony from the British, the French and the Dutch, but it was not always sufficient and Sir Francis Drake managed to occupy the town for a while. We were introduced to a sophisticated system of defences including an extensive network of narrow tunnels.
Our coach returned us to the old town where Julio took us on an informative walking tour. Every street and square has its delights with wonderful doors, windows and balconies, but we had visits to three particular and very different locations.
We went to the Museum of Pedro Claver and heard the story of how this Spanish Jesuit monk (1580-1654), who lived in Cartagena for some 40 years, actively intervened to rescue many African slaves and personally baptised some 300,000 of them into the Catholic faith. Subsequently he was the first person in the New World to be canonised.
Another visit was to the Museum of the Inquisition. I have never been to a location devoted to the Spanish Inquisition and I confess that previously I had no idea that the Inquisition was applied to Spain’s colonies. The inquisition – which lasted from 1610-1811 – was an horrific act of barbarity perpetrated by the Roman Catholic Church and, when it ended, the office of the inquisitor in Cartagena was ransacked and all the instruments of torture destroyed, Today’s museum provides fascinating historical facts and reproductions of a few of the means of torture and death.
A third stop was to the so-called Emerald Museum. This does provide interesting displays on the location of emerald mines in the world and in Colombia and the differences between different types of emerald, but it is also an expensive shop which tempted Silvia with some beautiful earrings costing over £500.
Our walking tour – which included a refreshment break – concluded at 1.30 pm. Silvia and I broke off from the group to find a place for lunch – “Atahualpa” in Plaza Fernandez Madrid – just in time before the heavens opened with thunder, lightning and some heavy rain which went on for a couple of hours. In the evening, Silvia and I hooked up with two other members of the group, friends Alison and Louise, for cocktails in the local square and then dinner at a fish restaurant called La Mulata” in Calle Quero. The old town was buzzing.
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Holiday in Colombia (9): Medellin to Cartagena
September 4th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Essentially today (Monday) was another travelling day as we transferred from Medellin to Cartagena. The day started very early with an alarm at 5.15 am and departure from our hotel at 7 am. It was only a 45 minute flight from Medellin to Cartagena where we were met by our third guide of the trip, a black Colombian called Julio.
As we have travelled from one location to another in Colombia, the weather has become warmer and then hotter and Cartagena, which is on the Caribbean coast, was 30C (86F) with a humidity of around 80% (it is the rainy season here).
It was only a short drive to our fifth hotel of the trip, a place in the old town inside the city walls. Hotel Kartaxa only has 26 rooms and a good deal of atmosphere with rooms and communal areas designed by local artists and a roof terrace with views of the city and the sea.
Once our guide was sure that we were booked into the hotel, we were left for the day. After unpacking, Silva and I had first little look around the old town which is a UNESCO world heritage site and had a pleasant lunch in a seafood establishment called “La Cevicheria” before returning to to the hotel to escape the heat and have a rest.
Silvia and I started the evening by walking to the western end of the old city where the “Cafe del Mar” has a huge terrace overlooking the sea where people go to have cocktails and watch the sun set. In fact, this evening cloud obscured the sunset, but at least we enjoyed our mojitos and people watching. Afterwards we found a quiet restaurant – we were the only customers – called “Anacarcos” where we had a good meal (the coffee was especially delicious).
Everywhere and everybody in the old town – every hotel, every shop, every hawker, every entertainer – is focused on the tourist and the evening is as bustling as the day, but the area is large enough and old enough to retain its colonial charm in spite of all this commercialism.
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Holiday in Colombia (8): Medellin
September 3rd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Today (Sunday) was devoted to a tour of Medellin which is Colombia’s second city with a population of 3.4 million. Thanks to its location at 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) in the Aburra valley, it is known as “the city of the eternal spring” and the weather today was comfortably warm.
Sadly Medellin is best known worldwide for its violence associated with the drugs trade, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, but infamous drugs baron Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, the military-style Operation Orion was launched in 2002, and in recent years the city has seen a dramatic decrease in violence and a social transformation.
A key element of this transformation has been an innovative transport system which currently includes two metro lines throughout the city, four cable car systems connecting the shanty towns to the city, and an extended escalator linking the most notorious of the shanty towns (Comuna 13) to the city centre.
Currently, more than 30 street gangs or “combos” operate throughout Comuna 13, controlling territory, drug dealing and extortion. Nevertheless, the area has become a tourist attraction because of its colourful graffitis and the Cox & Kings tour promised a visit to the Comuna. However, at the start of today’s tour, our guide Christian announced that there had been a recent growth in violence in the area and it was no longer safe for us to visit.
We started our city tour by driving over an hour up the mountainside to a nature reserve called Parque Arvi. The walk that we should have taken here was not open so, after a short while, we sampled the delights of the city’s new transportation system. First we took the cable car down from Arvi to Acevedo and then from Acevedo to Santo Domingo which gave us dramatic views of the whole city in the valley and – as we descended further and further – the shanty towns clinging to the mountain sides. Then we took the metro to San Antonio.
Now on foot, we looked at a location called “El Hueco” (“The Hole”) where locals can buy a fantastic range of goods for cheap prices, before wandering over to Parque San Antonio where there are 23 sculptures by the famous local artist Fernando Botero. Lunch was in an establishment called “La Fonda del Pueblo” located in Pueblito Paisa which is a small square created to replicate a colonial era venue. After the meal, Christian treated us to a local treat called oblea con arequipe which is a pair of large, thin wafers with a sticky, sweet substance in between.
Our final destination of the day – a rather macabre one – was very close to the hotel. It was the former residence of the drug baron Pablo Escobar: an eight-story building that once housed 12 apartments decorated in opulent fashion. Although the building has long been empty and unused, it remains a tourist attraction to the irritation of local residents and it is due to be demolished by the end of the year and replaced with a memorial to the victims of the narco wars.
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