All four copies of Magna Carta brought together for just three days
February 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Today the only remaining original copies of Magna Carta, one of the world’s most enduringly influential documents, are to be brought together for the first and probably only time.
Two copies in the British Library’s collection will be joined by one from Lincoln Cathedral and one from Salisbury Cathedral to mark the 800th anniversary of an agreement that has become a symbol of liberty and law. The four copies will remain at the British Library for just three days.
You can read more about tho special showing here.
But what is Magna Carta and why is it still important today? You can read a short explanation here.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
What is the only place name in Britain with an an exclamation mark?
February 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It is Westward Ho! and it is named after a novel by Charles Kingsley.
You can learn more here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Why the history of China is steeped in blood and death
January 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
For three weeks now, I’ve been attending a course at London’s City Lit adult college on the recent history of China. What is very apparent from our sessions is just how much blood has been shed and just how many lives have been lost throughout the long history of China. This is a powerful element in the thinking of China’s modern leadership: remembering the history of the country, they are determined to do anything necessary to avoid turmoil and even disunity in the relentless drive to economic growth and prosperity.
Wikipedia has a fascinating section which lists wars and disasters throughout history by the scale of the death toll:
- three of the top five armed conflicts took place in China
- the two deadliest famines occurred in China
- the five deadliest floods happened in China
- the largest death toll of any period was in China
The last reference is to the consequences of the political and economic reforms of Chairman Mao. According to Wikipedia, the lowest estimate of the death toll is 49 million and the highest is 78 million – horrifying figures.
Now you know why the Chinese Communist Party will do anything to control dissent and minimise conflict.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Who is the hottest actress in Hollywood right now? Clue: she’s not American or British.
January 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Her name is Alicia Vikander and she’s Swedish.
Amazingly she has no less than eight films being released in 2015 including the excellent “Ex Machina” which I’ve reviewed here.
You can read about Vikander and her new movies here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
Is global warming caused by human activity? What Americans and Britons think …
January 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
According to a recent poll, 40% of Americans believe that mankind is causing the planet to warm.
According to the latest poll in Britain, 84% believe climate change is partly or entirely caused by human activity.
As Americans would say: “Go figure.”
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
How many ties you you own and in what state do you keep them?
January 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
My wife Vee and her niece Sharon (who is staying with us) decided to tackle me on my ties.
They wanted to know how many I had. I had no idea. So we counted and the answer was 33. Is that a lot or a little or average?
Then they wanted to see how I store them. The answer was in a pile in a drawer looking like a load of writhing snakes. Sharon decided that this was a totally unacceptable arrangement and tidied them up as shown in the photo. Is this neat or obsessive and is it maintainable?
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (4)
Why you should never give a clock to a Chinese person
January 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Some of my best friends are Chinese, but they can be a superstitious nation. If one word sounds like a another, then the association can either mean good luck or black luck.
An example of good luck is the number 8 which is the luckiest number because it sounds like the words for ‘prosperity’ and ‘multiply’.
An example of bad luck is clock because the word for clock is “zhong” and the pronunciation is the same as another Chinese word, written differently, that can mean ‘death’ (or the end or finish of something).
A British Government minister has just messed up on the bad luck front as you can read here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
British general election (5): exactly 100 days to go
January 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
So, what will be the result of the election in three months time? Like all observers and commentators, I don’t know – but here are the main options:
- Majority Conservative Government – very unlikely
- Majority Labour Government – very unlikely
- Conservatives in coalition with Liberal Democrats – possible
- Labour in coalition with Liberal Democrats – possible
- Conservatives in location with the Democratic Unionists – maybe
- Labour in coalition with the Scottish Nationalist Party – maybe
- Labour in coalition with the SDLP and Greens – outside possibility
You can read a more detailed look at some of these options here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Holocaust Memorial Day: 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz
January 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In the UK, today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I have visited Holocaust museums in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Washington and Jerusalem and I have been to Terezin in the Czech Republic and Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.
One weekend some years ago, I attend a fascinating course on the Holocaust run by an impressive teacher called Ronnie Landau. Some time later, I attended the launch of the new edition of his book “The Nazi Holocaust: Its History And Meaning” and you can read my review of his work here.
Yesterday and today, media outlets have shown photographs of Auschwitz in the snow. I have found these images haunting because, when I visited Auschwitz, it was January and bitterly cold, so I was chilled mentally and physically.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
What does the Syriza victory in Greece really mean?
January 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Maria Kyriakidou is a Greek academic working in Cultural Politics, Communications and Media at the University of East Anglia and has written a thoughtful analysis of the election result in a blog posting which concludes:
“As the world, therefore, either celebrates or condemns Syriza’s win, Greeks are once more confused. The political powers of the last forty years seem to have died with yesterday’s elections; however, remnants of it have made it to the government through the coalition. Tsipras will be the first Greek Prime Minister to ever take a political rather than religious oath during his swearing-in; but then he is also dependent on the support of nationalist party, which embraces religion as a pillar for the country’s wellbeing.
Change is in the air but what the direction of this change will be is unclear. For Greece, and indeed for Syriza as well, this is not a time of celebration but a time of dealing with challenges, both the economic ones imposed as part of the country’s financial deals but also the social ones, so far largely neglected by the previous governments. Because hope has indeed won in yesterday’s elections; but for the Greeks, this is their last hope.”
You can read her analysis here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)