A review of the thriller novel “I Am Pilgrim”
February 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This debut novel by screenwriter Terry Hayes is one of the best thrillers that I’ve ever read and it’s going to make a series of cracking films. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How to have a good job interview
February 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Advice on this subject was the first topic in the Life Skills section of my web site. I crafted my recommendations because I kept being asked by young colleagues how they should prepare for an interview for a job. You can check out the advice here.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
A review of the novel “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky”
February 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I admired enormously Simon Mawer’s novel “The Glass Room” which I have reviewed here. And a while ago I read his follow-up thriller “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The stark statistics that summarise the appalling tragedy of Syria
February 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
- 470,000 have been killed
- 1.88 million have been wounded
- 11.5% of the population has been killed or injured
- 6.36 million have been displaced internally
- More than 4 million have been displaced abroad
- 45% of the population has been displaced overall
- About 13.8 million have lost their source of livelihood
- Consumer prices rose 53% last year
- Poverty increased by 85% in 2015 alone
- Life expectancy has fallen from 70 in 2010 to 55.4 in 2015
- Overall economic losses are estimated at $255 billion (£176 billion)
These statistics are taken from a new report entitled “Confronting Fragmentation” produced by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR).
My heart bleeds especially for the people of Syria because, just a couple of weeks before the civil war began, we had a holiday in Syria which included time in the currently besieged city of Aleppo.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (20): still early days (look at the numbers)
February 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For all the excitement of the voting for presidential candidates in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire, it’s still very early days.
In the Republican camp, 1,237 delegates are required to win the nomination. So far, seven candidates have picked up delegates. The top four are Donald Trump 17, Ted Cruz 10, Marco Rubio 7 and John Kasich 4.
On the Democratic side, 2,382 delegates are needed to secure the nomination. Ignoring super delegates for now, so far Bernie Sanders has 34 delegates while Hillary Clinton has 32.
It ain’t over yet by a long way …
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How can the Israeli Government improve the image of the country?
February 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Well, one approach is to be found in this news item which explains:
“The Israeli government is offering directors and actors shortlisted for this year’s Oscars a trip to the Holy Land worth $55,000 (£38,000) in the hope of countering recent bad press for the country.
The voucher for a 10-day trip, valid for one year and partly funded by the Israeli government, which is also being offered to the ceremony’s presenters, is the most expensive freebie in the Oscars gift bag, making up a quarter of the bag’s $200,000 value.
The trip, which includes first-class flights for two and accommodation in five-star hotels, is worth roughly twice the average Israeli salary.”
Of course, another approach would be for the Israeli Government to change its policies and seriously negotiate a two-state solution. Meanwhile it could stop supporting illegal settlements in occupied territories and legislating to discriminate against Israeli Arabs.
I’m a (critical) friend of Israel and paid for my own visit to the country.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Remembering my mother: Anna Darlington
February 8th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Today is the anniversary of my mother’s death. She died 17 years ago, just short of reaching age 79. So it was not a short life, but it was a tough one and, for the last decade, a very limited one.
My sister, my brother and I think about her often – especially on a day like today. Naturally I remember her funeral and you can read my oration here.
But I also think of her life and how much I owe her. Some years ago, I wrote a short story inspired by the memory of my mother, but it was much less a story of the life she actually had than perhaps the sort of life I would have liked her to have had. You can read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
A review of the Oscar-contending film “The Revenant”
February 6th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
At this year’s Academy Awards, “The Revenant” will be up for the highest number of awards having been shortlisted in no less than 12 categories.
It is a stunning work which I have now seen. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
How to cope with unemployment
February 5th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been very fortunate – I’m retired now and I never had a period of unemployment, But many relatives and friends of mine have experienced unemployment, this situations seems to be affecting more people more often, and so I sought advice from a friend who knows what unemployment is like.
You can find his advice here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
You learn something every day. Let me introduce you to RAMSAR
February 4th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For the past four years, I have chaired a body – currently called the Customer Panel – for a company called South East Water. The operation and regulation of the water sector is incredibly complicated with lots of specialist terminology and a great many acronyms.
This week, we had a meeting at which we focused especially on environmental issues. We learned that some 44% of the area covered by South East Water lies within landscape which has some kind of environmental designation. The national average is 24%.
So there are 144 SSSIs which are Sites of Special of Special Scientific Interest – a designation I know. But the paper before us mentioned five RAMSAR sites and this was an acronym that was totally new to me.
A quick search on Google revealed that RAMSAR is not actually an acronym but a place – a town in Iran where in 1971 there was agreement on the Ramsar Convention (formally, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat).
You learn something every day …
Posted in Environment | Comments (3)