So what kind of man was Karl Marx?

May 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

All around the world – but in very different ways – people are marking today as the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx in Trier, Prussia. Although my politics have always been firmly Left of Centre, I’ve never been attracted to Marx’s ideas.

I acknowledge that he is a giant in philosophical and political thought but, as a man, he was a deeply flawed character as explained in my review of the biography by Francis Wheen.

Posted in History | Comments (0)

What’s on your to-do list and how best can you manage such a list?

May 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

In an effort to encourage consumers to check during this Bank Holiday weekend whether they ever had Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) , the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) commissioned research which found that the top items on people’s to-do list are the following:

  • Sorting out banking / finances
  • Planning and preparing evening meals
  • Booking appointments: dentist / doctors etc
  • Taking out the rubbish
  • Changing the bed linen
  • Filling in forms e.g. passport applications
  • Renewing insurance
  • Purchasing new clothing / uniform items
  • Holiday planning (booking / organising)
  • Cooking breakfast
  • Hosting a Sunday lunch
  • Doing the ironing
  • Filling the car up with petrol
  • Speaking to energy companies to get a better deal
  • Loading the dishwasher
  • Garden maintenance
  • Calling repair / trades person
  • Booking the car in for MOT / Service
  • Organising days out with friends
  • Planning family get togethers

The FCA media release offered this advice on how best to manage your to-do list:

  1. Plan – Write your to-do-list the night before. You’ll wake up knowing exactly what you need to do.
  2. Prioritise – Tackle your trickiest task first and for the rest of the day you’ll feel like you’ve achieved something.
  3. Go digital – Hunting around for scraps of paper down the back of the sofa isn’t the way to stay on top of your to-do-list; keep it all in one place, such as on your phone.
  4. Don’t procrastinate – Set yourself a deadline and stick to it!
  5. Reward – Keeping on top of your to-do-list is a tricky business, so when you manage to tick things off make sure you take time to reward yourself for having been so organised!

Alternatively you could just enjoy what might be the hottest early May Bank Holiday on record.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)

What are the chances of the Democrats winning the House and the Senate?

May 4th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

In the United States, this November sees what are called the mid-term elections when we are half way through the current presidential term of of office and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 of the seats in the Senate are up for election. The Democrats will do well, but can they take both chambers?

Recently the Cook Political Report, a widely quoted authority on congressional politics, rated just 156 of the 435 seats in the House as solid Republican seats, whereas it rated 179 as solid Democratic seats. In assessing the more competitive races in November’s election, the Report reckoned 45 are leaning Democratic or are toss-ups. If the Democratic Party won 40 of these seats, which seems perfectly possible, it would gain control of the House.

In the Senate, where the Republicans have a narrow majority of two, only eight Republican senators are up for reëlection, so the political map is more favourable to them. But the Cook Report now rates three of these Republican-held Senate races—in Arizona, Nevada, and Tennessee—as toss-ups.

So it is possible that the Democrats will take both chambers which would enable them to box in President Trump. The world is watching …

Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)

A review of the new blockbuster movie “Avengers: Infinity War”

May 3rd, 2018 by Roger Darlington

As blockbusters go, this buster promised to be the biggest block of them all and so it has proved to be. On its opening weekend, it took the record for the US box office from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and the record for the world box office from “The Fate Of The Furious”.

Everything about this movie – the 19th contribution to the Marvel Cinematic Universe over a 10 year period – is HUGE. It has two directors (brothers Anthony & Joe Russo who helmed the last two “Captain America” films), two writers (Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely who have crafted lots of witty one-liners), a record running time for the MCU (one minute short of two and a half hours), six infinity stones (which, when located in a a golden gauntlet, threaten the death of half of the population of the universe), and a phenomenal cast-list the like of which you’ve never seen before.

Almost every Marvel super-hero is here but they are teamed up in new configurations. So Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) is paired with Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) & Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) joins forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy headed by the Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), while Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) pick up Vision (Paul Bettany) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) who seek refuge in Wakanda where they line up with Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and his cohort – and there are many others whom I’ve not mentioned (20 or so, in all).

Thor gets a new hammer and Captain America is given a new shield and we visit a variety of new worlds including the wonderfully-named Knowhere. But not all our heroes survive in the titanic struggle with the mega evil Thanos (Josh Brolin) and the members of his Black Order.

It’s amazing that so many characters and multiple story arcs can fit together, but it does in a roaring and rollicking adventure with a surprising ending that sets us up for the fourth (and last?) Avengers movie. Only MCU aficianados will catch all the allusions to the previous 18 films in the franchise because, even if you’ve seen them all (and I have), viewing has been over a period of a decade and memories fade, but this is simply an encouragement to see “Infinity War” again and perhaps revisit some of the earlier works.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

You’ve heard about Mount Rushmore – but what about Stone Mountain?

May 2nd, 2018 by Roger Darlington

Most Americans will have heard of Stone Mountain, but most non-Americans will not. I confess that I’d never heard of the location until watching the ninth and final part of the impressive BBC2  series “Civilisations” when the presenter Simon Schama highlighted its controversial role in the American psyche.

Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, the United States. It is well known for not only its geology, but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world.

This carving depicts three Confederate figures: President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and ‘Stonewall’ Jackson. The Mountain was the site of the founding of the second Ku Klux Klan in 1915.

You can learn more about the memorial and the controversy around it here.

Posted in American current affairs, Cultural issues | Comments (0)

There’s little better in life than a good friend

April 30th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

“According to a recent study by the Red Cross in partnership with Co-op, more than nine million adults in the UK are often or always lonely.

We are facing a loneliness epidemic, with Theresa May taking the step earlier this year of appointing Tracey Crouch as what some have dubbed the “minister for loneliness” to try to tackle the issue.

Loneliness is something we all feel at times and to varying degrees, but it can also be something that we feel uneasy about admitting to.

Another study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, found that investing in close relationships was associated with better health, happiness and wellbeing in adulthood.

Still, making friends as an adult can be hard, and takes time – last week a study from the University of Kansas found that two people need to spend 90 hours together to become friends, or 200 hours to qualify as close friends.”

This is an extract from an article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper with some tips on how to make friends as an adult.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)

British political institutions (3): the government

April 29th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

I like to attend short courses at the City Literary Institute in central London and I’m now doing a six-week course on “British Political Institutions”.  The third session of the course was delivered by the City Lit’s Director Mark Malcolmson and covered the executive, that is the government of the Cabinet and junior ministers.

I have myself written a guide to the British political system and you can read about government here.

In this session of the course, we had a discussion about the electoral system which, in Britain, is the first-past-the-post (FPTP), like the USA but unlike most countries which have a version of proportional representation (PR). FPTP is said to provide a clear result and a majority government, but we were reminded of several occasions – some very recent – when this has not been the case:

  • The minority Labour Government of February-October 1974 (when I was a Special Adviser in the Northern Ireland Office and fought the two General Elections of that year)
  • The Liberal-Labour (Lib-Lab) Pact of 1977-1978  (when I was a Special Adviser in the Home Offcie) which involved Liberals generally supporting the minority Labour Government without actually joining the government
  • The coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats from 2010-2015 when the Lib Dems had ministers at every level of government on the basis of a detailed joint policy programme
  • The current agreement between the minority Conservative Government and the Democratic Unionist Party whereby the DUP – in return for lots of extra expenditure in Northern Ireland – support the government on ‘confidence and supply’ terms

In my view, the case for proportional representation – on both moral and practical grounds – is a strong one.

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)

What does the Korea summit actually mean?

April 28th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

A few months ago, war on the Korean peninsula looked dangerously likely, but incredibly on Friday President Kim Jong-un of North Korea and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea met, talked, and signed the Panmunjom declaration.

The BBC has highlighted five key moments in the programme and provided access to the full text of the agreement that was signed by the two leaders.

So far, it is largely words – although they are wonderful words – and now we have to see what concrete actions Kim takes and how his meeting with President Trump goes. Amazing times …

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)

Ever considered applying for a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship?

April 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

A Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand your professional and personal horizons by travelling abroad for up to two months, researching innovative practice on a topic of your choice. In 1970, I was awarded one to make a study of the American telecommunications system.

Everyone can apply, regardless of age or background, and no qualifications are required. Just a passion to make change happen in the field of your choice. How to apply

Applications for our next round of Churchill Fellowships are open from 27 April 2018 to 18 September 2018. These are for research trips in 2019 and beyond. Application timeline.

For 2019, the Trust will be awarding Fellowships for topics in these categories:

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)

A review of the new film “The Leisure Seeker”

April 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington

This is not typical Hollywood fare: a movie aimed squarely at the grey demographic and directed by an Italian. The title of this film refers to a 1978 Winnebago recreational vehicle owned by the elderly American couple John and Ella played by Donald Sutherland (now in his 80s) and Helen Mirren (mid 70s), two actors who are both at the top of their game.

He is suffering from worsening dementia, while she is riddled with cancer, but she decides that they can make one last special road trip together. Along the way, they have a series of adventures, some funny, some tragic, some wry.

There are many songs featured in the movie and one is the mid-1970s Themla Houston hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way”. In this story, there is a lot of ‘leaving’: some accidental, some deliberate, some temporary, some permananent. What will not leave the viewer easily are many poignant memories of this quietly moving film.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)

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