John McDonnell’s speech to the Labour Party Conference
September 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
At today’s Labour Party Conference in Brighton, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell made a serious speech with no jokes, no knockabout, none of his usual colourful language and a remarkably mild delivery. He called it “the new politics”. There were lots of good ideas in the speech but very little detail. Hopefully he will listen to the advisory team he has appointed and those Labour MPs with experience of office.
You can hear and see his speech here:
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)
Over half the world still offline
September 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
A report from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) suggests that 57% of the world’s population remain offline. The annual “State of Broadband” report from the UN agency suggests that the number of people online over the world has grown to 3.2 billion, up from 2.9 billion last year, but that some 4 billion still do not have any internet access.
The report shows that the Internet is only accessible to 35% of people in developing countries, while in UN-designated least developed countries, over 90% of people do not have any Internet connectivity.
The report also suggests that the top ten countries for household Internet penetration are all located in Asia or the Middle East. South Korea continues to have the world’s highest penetration, with 98.5% of homes connected, followed by Qatar (98%) and Saudi Arabia (94%).
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
A review of the new film “Everest”
September 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I once tried hard to fly over Mount Everest – but failed, as you can read here. Flying over it is one thing; climbing it is another- but that is what hundreds of people attempt each year.
In May 1996, lots of climbers were at the top of the mountain when it was hit by a ferocious storm and eight died. The new film “Everest” captures the excitement and the terror of the climb and you read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
At last, we have switched our gas and electricity suppliers
September 26th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Although most of my work is as a consumer advocate in regulated industries, I am not a very canny consumer myself. I’ve always been so reluctant to switch suppliers, fearing that something could do wrong.
So, after all the years that energy suppliers have been privatised, I have never switched either our gas or our electricity supplier. Until now. What persuaded me was two things.
First, I have switched as part of a block of around 100,000 consumers mobilised by the campaign group 38 Degrees. It felt good to be part of a movement.
Second, it’s 100% clean electricity – all of it coming from renewable sources. It’s energy made from Cornish sunshine, Scottish wind and, um, Welsh rain (seriously!).
And we’re saving hundreds of pounds compared to our existing energy suppliers.
Our new provider is called Good Energy which regularly tops the table for the Which? Customer Satisfaction Survey.
Posted in Consumer matters, Environment | Comments (0)
My 29th short story: “This Life Business”.
September 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Many of my short stories are loosely inspired by some experience in my life. Almost five years ago now, I became a granddad with the birth of my granddaughter Catrin. This got me thinking about memory and when it begins and how temporary it is.
As a result, I wrote a short story called “This Life Business”. You can read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Series 1 of “Homeland” – we’ve finished it
September 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Recently, I did a posting explaining the circumstances in which Vee and I had started to watch series 1 of the American television programme “Homeland” – some four years after the series was first broadcast. Thanks to having a box set, we’ve been able to watch all 12 episodes of the series in just six days.
We have thoroughly enjoyed the experience: convincing sets and characters, clever plotting, a fine script and superb acting by Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin especially. The trouble is that there are now four more series …
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
How many characters has James Bond killed in the movies so far?
September 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As we await eagerly the 24th Bond film, “Empire”magazine has a round-up of facts and figures about the earlier films.
Apparently Bond has so far killed 378 characters. The break-down by actors is as follows:
- Pierce Brosnan – 135
- Roger Moore – 90
- Sean Connery – 72
- Daniel Craig – 53
- Tomthy Dalton – 23
- George Lazenby – 5
Maybe, in “Spectre”, Craig will kill enough to take him above Connery’s total. Who’s counting, you ask? Well. someone at “Empire” magazine at least, no doubt.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How much do you know (and care) about world poverty?
September 23rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
One billion people across the world live in extreme poverty, struggling to survive on the equivalent of about $1 a day. The United Nations aims to lift every single one of them out of this category within 15 years.
It’s an ambitious target, and this weekend 150 world leaders will meet to work out how they’re going to do it. But is it even possible? To help you judge, a short quiz has been set by the renowned statistician, Prof Hans Rosling. You can check out the seven-question quiz here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
What’s the more dangerous: a shark or a selfie?
September 22nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
According to this article in the “Daily Telegraph”, there have been twelve recorded selfie deaths in 2015 so far, compared to eight people dying because of shark attacks. Most of the selfie-related deaths have been due to falling. The next most common is when people are trying to take a selfie, and they’re hit by a moving vehicle.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Can British politics get any weirder?
September 22nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
First the Labour Party elects a Leader of the Opposition who, in 32 years as a Member of Parliament, has never sat on the Front Bench. Then the Prime Minister is savaged by a biography co-authored by someone who is a principal funder of the PM’s political party.
Amusing though the tales of Cameron’s university days might be, the most serious revelation so far is Lord Ashcroft’s insistence that he told David Cameron of his non-com tax status in 2009 before the General Election the following year. So Ashcroft is accusing Cameron of lying when, in March 2010, Cameron claimed to have only known about the peer’s tax status a month before.
But it seems that Cameron is not the only liar. It is widely reported that Ashcroft promised the then leader of the Conservative Party William Hague that, on receipt of a peerage, he would take up permanent residence in the UK.
At tomorrow’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Corbyn should hit Cameron hard on this issue with a set of sustained questions that do not allow the PM the easy time he had last week.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)