Two wonderful days with my adorable granddaughter Catrin
May 1st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
As regular readers of this blog will know, I try to see my granddaughter Catrin – now three and a quarter – once a week and usually I collect her from nursery on Thursday and babysit her that evening while her parents are busy. This week has been different though because her nursery was closed for two days as a result of staff training, so I had extra duties.
Catrin and I had two wonderful days together but it was so tiring. After 10 hours looking after her on Monday and another 9 hours on Tuesday, I was so exhausted that I slept over 11 hours the following night! How do stay-at-home mums (and dads) manage?!?
For Monday, I decided to take her to see friends of mine in Cambridge. Catrin and I have never been on a train together and she found it all so exciting. We were met at Cambridge station by my friend Anne who has two youngsters of her own who were actually in school and nursery that day. Anne loaned us a child seat for the day and drove us to a child-friendly place called “The Box Cafe”.
At the cafe, Anne and I were joined by our mutual friend Ellie who brought along her two year old daughter Hope. Ellie became a first time mother at 47 and has written a fantastic blog about her amazing experiences called “Mush Brained Ramblings”. Catrin and Hope were soon delighting in each other’s company and playing in the cafe’s Wendy house.
Cuddling Catrin and Hope at “The Box Cafe”
Catrin drives her tractor
Catrin and Hope on a real tractor
But again Catrin and I had a really fun time and she was so well-behaved. We did four things – two not a great success and two a brilliant success. We started at the “Sensational Butterflies” tent in the grounds of the Natural History Museum where Catrin was much more interested in stamping a card with different stages of the life of a butterfly than actually observing the butterflies themselves. We finished by going to see “Under The Sea”, an IMAX film in 3D at the Science Museum, but Catrin preferred not to use the 3D glassess (actually the 3D was sensational) and eventually insisted “This is boring” so we left early.
Much more successful was our time in the rest of the Science Museum. Catrin had a fabulous time in the section for 3-6 year olds called The Garden. We have been here several times before and she loves it, but usually it is very popular and therefore very crowded. Since it was a tube strike that day, hardly anyone was there and Catrin was able to spend as long as she wanted on whatever she wanted. Then we visited a section for older children called Launchpad. I have never taken Catrin here before because I thought she was too young but she really loved it. Both The Garden and Launchpad have so many interactive features to engage the kids.
Catrin studying hydraulics at The Garden
Catrin exploring magnetism at Launchpad
Thanks, Catrin, for making an old man very happy.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
That zip wire fiction burn three months later
April 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
It’s now exactly three months since I suffered quite a severe zip wire friction burn in Costa Rica at the beginning of a three-week holiday to five Central America countries. You can read an account of the zip wire ride and see a photograph of my injury here.
Since then, the wound has healed well but slowly and I still have a scar which I suppose will disappear over more time. Meanwhile this is what it looks like now:
A souvenir of Costa Rica
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Do we really live in “this grumpy democracy where everyone has a voice”?
April 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Recently, I was a speaker at a breakfast seminar organised by the Westbourne Communications agency in central London. The title of the session was “Stakeholder Challenge And Influence: Lessons For The Utilities Industry”. I was invited in my capacity as the Chair of the Customer Challenge Group at South East Water to talk about different consumer models in the regulated utilities.
In the courses of the discussion, someone refried to “this grumpy democracy where everyone has a voice”. In fact, I’m in favour of people expressing their views as citizens and consumers. I would like to see more people voting and more people complaining about poor service. But politicians don’t like voters to ask too many questions and companies don’t appreciate consumers challenging poor service.
But there are always communications agencies like Westbourne prepared to advise them. As the agency puts it:
“We believe that the democratisation of knowledge, the break-down of hierarchies, the empowerment of consumers/voters, the supremacy of peer-to-peer communications and table-top publishing have roots that go back centuries.
In fact, the sheer power of the modern state, the influence of media monopolies, the incredible reach of simultaneous broadcasts to millions of homes and the vulnerability of citizens to over-powering legislation are all relatively modern phenomenons that have their roots in the break-down of civil society and the industrialisation of our cities that culminated, awfully, in World War One.”
Posted in British current affairs, Consumer matters, Internet | Comments (0)
What do I think about Scottish independence?
April 29th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This question was recently put to me by an online friend in Australia. I responded briefly as follows:
I’m a democrat so, if Scotland wants independence, I accept that. But I hope that the Scots vote to remain in the United Kingdom with a fresh look at how much power can be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Around the world, we have political movements that emphasise the differences between people and argue for the redrawing of territorial boundaries to address these differences. I support structures, including nations, that build on our commonalties and recognise that redrawing boundaries rarely solves a problem but simply refines it.
This short essay of mine is relevant.
Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)
Who was the first man to assess accurately the age of the Earth? Who was the leading campaigner against lead in petrol?
April 28th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Actually it was the same guy: the brilliant American geochemist Clair Patterson (1922-1995).
Patterson’s estimate in 1953 of the age of the Earth was 4.550 billion years (give or take 70 million years). This number still stands although the margin of error is now down to about 20 million years.
Patterson was the most prominent scientist in highlighting the growing levels of lead in the environment and the food chain and the danger this posed to health. His findings and campaigning led to him being attacked by the petrochemical industry and being cut off from research funding.
You can read more about Patterson and his achievements here.
The work of Clair Patterson was highlighted in the most recent episode (number 7) in the brilliant television series “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey”.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
The road to democracy in Britain has been long and troubled – and the Great Reform Bill of 1832 was one of the greatest battles
April 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Many in Britain take our democracy for granted, not appreciating how hard to was to win and how long the battles took. It is no wonder that countries like Afghanistan and Iraq find that creating a democracy from scratch is exceptionally difficult.
I have just finished an immensely readable account of the extended political campaigning and debating that, on the third attempt, led to the passing of the Great Reform Bill of 1832. You can read my review here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Time for an up-date of what I am doing in my ever-changing portfolio career
April 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
For the last 14 years, I have been a portfolio worker, holding a mix of appointments, some paid and some unpaid, all to do with consumers, most to do with communications.
The composition of my portfolio regularly changes as appointments cease or new ones start, so it is not surprising that even my family, let alone friends and colleagues, are never quite sure what I am doing.
A couple of my responsibilities have recently come to an end, so I have just up-dated the details of my work here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah have reached a new accord – but what’s the difference?
April 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The “Guardian” has this brief comparison:
Hamas
Founded 1987 as offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt by a group in Gaza including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, later assassinated by Israel. Military wing is the Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades. Its founding charter committed to the destruction of Israel and the founding of a state based on Islamist values.
Regarded as a terrorist organisation in the west for its attacks on Israelis it has in recent years offered a more nuanced view of Israel including the offer in the past of a 10-year truce in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967.
Its entry into mainstream politics saw it sweep Palestinian elections which Israel, the west and Mahmoud Abbas’s rival Fatah movement refused to recognise, leading to Hamas asserting its control over Fatah in the Gaza Strip in 2007, leading to the rift between the two main Palestinian movements.
Seats won 74 in 2006 PLC elections.
Political strength One poll last year put support at 20%, but analysts in Gaza believe it is closer to 30%.
Armed strength Israeli estimate in 2011 said armed wing numbered 10,000.
Fatah
Founded The largest faction under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Fatah was founded in 1959 by a group including Yasser Arafat, who led it until his death in 2004 and who signed the Oslo peace accords with Israel. Fatah was surprised by the outcome of the 2006 elections which saw many Palestinians reject a movement they believed had become self-serving and out of touch.
Since Hamas’s assumption of power in Gaza the two factions have been at odds, with both sides arresting supporters of the other in the areas they control. Despite efforts to bring about a reconciliation, and two previous agreements, little progress has been made in the past.
Seats won 45 in 2006.
Political strength A poll published last month taking Gaza and the West Bank together predicted victory for Fatah in presidential and legislative council elections by 43% to 28%.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Why citizens and consumers often need a nudge
April 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
In 2008, a book was published which proved seminal in discussions about how people make decisions and how they can be encouraged to make better decisions. It was called “Nudge” and written by two American academics called Richard H Thaler & Cass R Sunstein. I have reviewed the work here.
Today Sunstein has an article in the “Guardian: newspaper in which he explains:
“… both private and public institutions have been exploring the potential of “nudges” – approaches that steer people towards certain outcomes while also allowing them to go their own way. A GPS is a classic example of a nudge. So are disclosure requirements, warnings, email reminders, statements about social norms (“most people pay their taxes on time”), the use of bright colours and large fonts, simplified forms, cafeterias that put healthy foods first, and default rules which might automatically enrol people in a pension plan.”
He argues:
“The beauty of nudges is that when they are well chosen, they make people’s lives better while maintaining freedom of choice. Moreover, they usually don’t cost a lot, and they tend to have big effects. In an economically challenging time,”
and:
“The great advantage of nudges is that they recognise the diversity of people’s situations and the risk of government error, while acknowledging people’s legitimate interest in preserving their own liberty. No one denies that requirements and bans have their place. But in a society that respects its citizens, we should start with a presumption in favour of freedom of choice.”
You can read Sunstein’s article here.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
Is this the best action movie ever made?
April 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I refer to the Indonesian martial arts film “The Raid 2” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)