How Jeremy became Paddy
December 24th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Why was th deceased Liberal Party leader Paddy Asshdiwn called Paddy rather than Jeremy like the current Labour Party leader? This explanation is taken from the “Guardian” obituary:
John Ashdown, an Ulster Protestant who was an Indian army captain and his Ulster Catholic wife, Lois (nee Hudson), who had been an army nurse. The family did not return to Northern Ireland until after the end of the war, when his father invested his savings in a pig farm and then a market garden, both of which failed. Ashdown was christened Jeremy John Durham but gained his nickname, Paddy, from his Irish accent when his father managed to obtain a place for him at Bedford school, where he himself had been educated. The accent was soon lost, though the nickname never was, and there Ashdown obtained a military scholarship, which paid the school fees.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
My review of the award-winning film “Shoplifters”
December 24th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, this wonderful Japanese work was written, directed and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Set in Toyko, it presents a vision of Japanese society that we rarely see: a disparate group living in real poverty and surviving through a mixture of irregular and insecure work, benefit fraud and the eponymous shoplifting.
The literal translation of the original Japanese title is “”Shoplifting Family” which is a better appellation because it more accurately conveys what the film is about. This is not a story about criminality but an examination of the nature of the family unit.
We never see a genuine family genuinely happy, but we do observe a gathering of different ages and origins who manage to create a support group imbued with sensitivity and care, although the motivations may be opaque and even selfish.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the new super-hero movie “Aquaman”
December 23rd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
After two brief previous appearances in earlier movies in the DC Extended Universe, Aquaman (aka Arthur Curry) – played by Hawaii-born Jason Momou who has real physical presence – now has his own feature film in the form of the traditional origin story for super-heroes.
The unusual environment of the undersea world of Atlanta provides some novel visuals with giant sea horses as marine cavalry and a drum-playing octopus (I kid you not). But I found the whole thing someewhat disappointing – a messy plot and action that is often just too fast and furious (director James Wan was responsible for “Fast And Furious 7”).
I’m afraid that all that hanging around in front of green screens was not fully rewarded, not least for an under-utilised Nicole Kidman as our eponympus hero’s mother Atlanta.
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A review of “This Book Will Blow Your Mind”
December 22nd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
The title certainly grabs the attention. The subtitle – “Journeys to the extremes of science” – is more explanatory of what to expect. However, while science books generally tell us what we know about a particular branch of science, this work suggests that much of what we think we know may be incomplete or even wrong, across a range of sciences especially in the worlds of cosmology and quantum physics.
Frank Swain is Communities Editor at the “New Scientist” magazine and has collated 59 essays by 41 of the magazine’s contributors. It is not an easy read, with some technical language and some tough concepts to embrace, but it is a fascinating and sobering review of how little we really know about so many important features of our universe.
At the hugest level, it asks such questions as “Why does the universe even exist?” and postulates that “a quantum leak could be flooding the universe with dark energy” and “gravitational waves could reveal hidden dimensions”. We are invited to consider the possibility of white holes as well as black holes and the notion of antigravity where things fall upwards.
At the tiniest level, it reminds us that matter has characteristics of both a particle and a wave at the same time and mentions the weird idea of entanglement which is the ability of quantum objects that were once related to apparently influence each other’s properties when subsequently separated. We are introduced to the use of imaginary numbers, such as the square root of minus 1, and a possible new sub-atomic particle called the dilaton which would help us to understand the Higgs boson.
Mindblowing? Well, yes – and discombulating too.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
All the president’s men and women who have left the service of Donald J Trump
December 21st, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Jim Mattis, US Defence Secretary, has announced his resignation over the president’s premature withdrawal of US troops from Syria.
is incredible – and very damaging to public policy – how many key officials in the Trump administration have resigned or been fired in the space of just two years.
But, of course, it tells us everything about just how utterly dysfunctional is today’s White House under the leadership of the worst president in memory if not history. The consequences are felt not just by Americans but by all of us around the world.
The BBC has helpfully produced a summary of 27 of the departures: who left and when and why. Check it out here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Defending the UK contribution of 0.7% of GDP on international aid
December 20th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This is a speech which my son Richard made very recently at a conference in Oslo on international aid. You will understand why I am super proud of him and the work he is doing.
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
The welcome return of the American television series “Madam Secretary”
December 18th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I’m a bit of a political junkie and I love political dramas in the movies or on television. “The West Wing” was my all-time favourite TV series – I watched all 155 episodes as they were broadcast and every episode again when it was out in a box set.
So, ever since it began on British television, I’ve been watching a series called “Madam Secretary” about a female Secretary of State played by Téa Leoni. It’s not “The West Wing” but it’s the next best thing currently on our small screens. It may be somewhat formulaic and simplistic but this is part of the price of being entertaining. Certainly it deals with real political issues and approaches them in an enlightened and liberal fashion – something we dearly need in today’s American administration.
I’ve just watched the first episode in the new series – the fifth – which, on British television, is screened on the Sky Witness channel. It has an explosive opening, guest appearances from three former Secretaries of State, and a short speech about the dangers of nationalism that could never have come from Donald Trump.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
12 questions about Christmas answered
December 17th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
What is Christmas?
How did it come to fall on 25 December?
So there was no holiday season before the birth of Jesus?
And it’s been ‘always Christmastime’ ever since?
What in the name of Jesus are mince pies?
So is it now more of a capitalist extravaganza than a Christmas festival?
Who is Father Christmas?
What about non-Christians – those of other faiths or no faith?
Didn’t they try to cancel Christmas?
Well, at least it’s all over by Christmas, right?
How do you pay for a maid-a-milking?
What next?
You can find the answers to all these questions here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The most beloved British sketch not seen by the British themselves …
December 15th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
… until now.
It’s called “Dinner For One” and is performed by British entertainer Freddie Frinton. It is hugely popular in Northern Europe – especially Germany – but has never been broadcast in Britain.
It is now planned that it will be broadcast by Sky Arts on 31 December.
You can learn more here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
How is the Brexit crisis going to work out? I venture 16 predictions (2)
December 12th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
A week ago, I was rash enough to make a blog posting in which I attempted to make 16 predictions of how the Brexit crisis would unfold. One week later, one of my predictions has now come true, although the sequencing of events is not happening quite as I expected.
I said that the Conservative Party would hold a vote of no confidence in Theresa May as leader of the Party but that she would win the vote. The vote took place this evening and May won by 200 to 117.
Now let’s see how many of my other 15 predictions work out. Meanwhile, as a reminder, this is what I forecast …
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- In the House of Commons “meaningful vote” on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, there is no majority for the deal.
- The Parliamentary Labour Party tables a vote of no confidence in the Government. It fails.
- The 1922 Committee tables a vote of no confidence in May as Conservative Party leader. It fails. CORRECT
- May seeks to tweak elements of the deal with the European Commission. She achieves no substantive changes.
- A group of MPs puts forward a ‘Norway plus’ deal. The European Commission is not interested and no real progress is made.
- A group of MPs puts forward a ‘Canada plus’ deal. The European Commission is not interested and no real progress is made.
- The UK asks the other 27 Member States of the European Union for an extension to the Article 50 process to allow time for the holding a second referendum. A few extra months is granted.
- Parliament passes the necessary legislation for a second referendum. The only real debate is the choice to be presented on the ballot paper. The choice is Brexit on the terms negotiated by May or continued UK membership of the EU on current terms
- The Electoral Commission tightens up the rules on spending in the referendum.
- May campaigns hard for her deal. Corbyn campaigns much less hard for staying in the EU.
- The referendum campaign is a bitter and divisive one.
- Turnout is even higher than for the first referendum.
- The result of the second referendum is almost a mirror image of that of the first one: 53% to stay and 47% to leave.
- May resigns as leader of the Conservative Party. There is a battle for the soul of the party.
- Labour demands of the new Prime Minister that a General Election be called. There is no election.
- Corbyn resigns as leader of the Labour Party. There is a battle for the soul of the party.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)