Things I learned on my latest visit to the British Museum (2): the origin of the term Phoenicia
March 3rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This week, I visited the British Museum with a family of Czech friends. Of course, I’ve been to the museum on many occasions but, on each such visit, I always learn something new.
By the beginning of the first millennium BC, the territory on the north coast of modern Lebanon and Syria was known as Phoenicia. The name derives from the Greek word for ‘purple’, referring to one of the principle industries of the region, the extraction of dye from murex shells and the production of purple-coloured fabrics.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Things I learned on my latest visit to the British Museum (1): the origin of the word mausoleum
March 2nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This week, I visited the British Museum with a family of Czech friends. Of course, I’ve been to the museum on many occasions but, on each such visit, I always learn something new.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was a huge tomb built for Maussollos, a satrap in the Persian Empire, between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, Turkey). The modern word ‘mausoleum’ derives from the Latin form of his name.
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The Academy Awards recognises the remarkable Alicia Vikander
March 2nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
There were not many surprises in this week’s Academy Awards and it was right that Leonard di Caprio won an award at long last for his eponymous role in “The Revenant”.
A surprise to some may have been the award of Best Supporting Actress to the Swedish Alicia Vikander for her role in “The Danish Woman” (which I haven’t actually seen), but I am sure that this is deserved.
Over a year ago, I did a posting identifying Vikander as the hottest actress in Hollywood. Just under a year ago, I did another posting arguing that a star was born. You are going to hear a lot about this remarkable talent.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Did Conservative candidates cheat on election expenses to enable return of a Tory Government?
March 1st, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“Two dozen Tory MPs failed to declare thousands of pounds spent on their winning election campaigns in marginal seats, a ‘Mirror’ [newspaper] investigation has found.
None of the 24 Conservative candidates whose constituencies were visited by the controversial RoadTrip battlebuses included the cost within their election budget locally.
And 20 of them could have breached strict campaign spending limits had they declared it.
Breaching these limits is a criminal offence and could lead to calls for by-elections.”
Full story here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of “Trumbo” – a film about the Hollywood Ten
February 28th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“Are you, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?” During the ‘red scare’ of the late 1940s, this was the question posed to those called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the United States.
In this evening’s Academy Awards, Bryan Cranstan has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance in the eponymous role in the film “Trumbo” which examines this dark period of American history. I don’t think he will win – I believe the award with go to Leonardo di Caprio for his role in “The Revenant” – but Cranstan is brilliant in his portrayal of the screen writer who was impriosned by the state and blacklisted by Hollywood.
You can read my review of the film here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How to have a good media interview
February 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’m returning to my Friday practice of highlighting advice in the section of my web site concerning Life Skills.
I don’t do many radio and television interviews these days but, at different times in my career, I’ve done a lot of them, so I’ve compiled some advice for those who might find that they are about to be interviewed by the media. You can read my advice here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
How the 7% privately-educated elite continue to dominate the UK professions
February 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The Sutton Trust report “Leading People 2016″ shows very clearly that the UK’s top professions remain disproportionately populated by alumni of private schools and Oxbridge, despite these educating only a small minority of the population (estimates suggest about 7% attended private schools, less than 1% Oxbridge):
- In the military, nearly three quarters (71%) of the top officers in the country attended independent schools. With grammar schools included, too, nine out of 10 (88%) senior officers attended a selective school.
- In medicine, nearly two thirds (61%) of top doctors were educated at independent schools, nearly one quarter at grammar schools (22%) and the remainder (16%) comprehensives. Of the same group, 40% were educated at Oxbridge and 60% at one of the top thirty universities in the country.
- In politics, nearly a third (32%) of MPs were privately educated and over a quarter (26%) attended Oxbridge. Half (50%) of the cabinet was privately educated, compared with 13% of the shadow cabinet. Of the cabinet, just under half (47%) attended Oxbridge; of the shadow cabinet, just under a third (32%) attended Oxbridge.
- In the senior civil service, about half (48%) attended private school, nearly a third a grammar school (29%) and the remainder comprehensives (23%). At university, about half had attended Oxbridge (51%), over a third UK top thirty institutions (38%) and a small minority other UK universities (7%).
- In journalism, about half (51%) of the country’s leading journalists were educated privately, less than one in five (19%) went to comprehensives. Over half (54%) went to Oxbridge.
- In business, a high proportion of FTSE 100 chief executives attended schools overseas. Of those who were UK educated, over a third (34%) of CEOs were educated at private schools and nearly a third (31%) at Oxbridge.
- In law, nearly three quarters (74%) of the top judiciary were educated at independent schools and the same proportion (74%) went to Oxbridge. Barristers and solicitors disproportionately herald from the same schools and universities.
- In music, about four fifths (81%) of British solo BRIT winners were state educated, just under one fifth (19%) attended independent schools. In classical music, the pattern is reversed: three quarters (75%) of top British Classic BRIT winners attended private schools.
- In film, over two thirds (67%) of British winners of the main Oscars attended independent schools, over a quarter (27%) grammar schools and the remainder (7%) comprehensives. Looking only at the last 25 years, these proportions have remained remarkably stable (60%, 27%, 13%, respectively) despite the growth of comprehensives.
- In film, under half (42%) of British winners of the main BAFTAs attended independent schools, over a third (35%) grammar schools and less than a quarter (23%) comprehensives. Looking only at the last 25 years, these proportions have again remained remarkably stable (42%, 33%, 25%, respectively).
- In the international sphere, nearly two thirds (63%) of British Nobel Prize winners were educated privately, one quarter (28%) at grammars and 8% at comprehensives; 63% attended Oxbridge, nearly a third (31%) UK top thirty institutions and the remainder other universities or none (7%).
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
Essential services: getting extra help
February 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Services such as gas, electricity, water, phones and public transport are not luxuries. We need them every day to look after ourselves, and if you’re older, ill or have a disability, or you’ve suddenly found yourself in vulnerable circumstances, you may have particular needs.
This new leaflet, produced by the UK Regulators Network, tells you about free services that can give you or your relative/friend/colleague extra help.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Remembering the sky-high achievements of Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown
February 23rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
One of my many interests is aviation which is why on my web site I have a section on aviation and a section on aviation films.
So I was saddened to hear of the recent death, aged 97, of the legendary – but not so widely known – Eric Brown, a British test pilot known as ‘Winkle’.
This obituary concludes with an explanation of his nickname and a reminder of how the attribute which led to it actually saved his life:
He was 5ft 7in – short for a pilot – which earned him his nickname and helped save his life when in 1949 he was flying the De Havilland 108, which he called “a killer”. This was the plane in which the test pilot Geoffrey de Havilland had died three years earlier when, at Mach 0.88; the plane slipped out of control. Propelled upwards, De Havilland had broken his neck on the canopy. “He was a big man. I was short,” wrote Brown. “… This was the moment of truth.”
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Back from Kenya to find Britain divided by Europe
February 23rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
At 5 am this morning, I landed at London’s Heathrow Airport after a near nine hour overnight flight from Nairobi. It was wonderful to spend almost a week with my son Richard, his wife Emily, and their daughter Catrin (now just five). It was Catrin’s half term and we able to spend a lot of time together which we both enjoyed enormously.
Back at home, I find a nation in turmoil – OK, a Conservative Party in crisis – over the issue of Britain’s continued membership of the European Union which is to be the subject of a referendum on 23 June. We are going to have four months of this!
As I recall, it was a Conservative Government – led by Ted Heath – that took the UK into what was then called the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January 1973. Again, as I recall, it was a Labour Government – led by Harold Wilson – that renegotiated the terms of membership and held an in/old referendum on 5 June 1975 (at the time I was a Special Adviser working for the Home Secretary in that Government).
At some point in the 1980s, the roles of the political parties reversed with the Conservatives going on and on and on about Europe and Labour accepting that membership is best for Britain. In 1975, I voted for the UK to remain a member; in 2016, I shall do the same (note to Boris Johnson – it’s called consistency of political principle).
If you would like to know more about how the European Union works, I’ve produced a short guide which you can access here.
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (1)