Suez in 1956 and Iran in 2026 – are there any parallels?
May 2nd, 2026 by Roger Darlington
This week, I watched a television documentary on the Suez crisis of 1956, a period that I knew too little about as I was only eight years old at the time. In this crisis, Britain and France, together with Israel, concluded that Nasser’s acquisition of the Suez Canal represented some kind of existential threat. They wanted to seize control of the waterway but also to affect regime change.
It set me thinking: are there some parallels between what happened then and what is currently happening in the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran? I see three similarities.
First, the Suez fiasco represented a turning point in British politics and global affairs, since it made clear that Britain was no longer a major world power, resulting in a significant scaling back of its aspirations and diminution of its standing. In the same way, the current stalemate between the US and Iran may come to be seen as recognition that America is not all-powerful and cannot always achieve its objectives by military force alone.
Second, the British and the French expected their intervention to so reduce Nasser’s hold on power that he would be overthrown. It didn’t happen; indeed Nasser emerged as a stronger figure both at home and in the Arab world. Similarly, the Americans and Israelis appeared to be convinced that wiping out the theocratic and military leadership of Iran would lead to an uprising and regime change. Again, this hasn’t happened; the country has proved far more resilient to attack that was imagined.
Third, the assault on the Suez Canal would never have happened if Israel had not concluded a secret deal with Britain and France and made the first military incursion into Egypt. It way well be that the most recent bombing of Iran by the US was provoked by Israelis’ determination, whatever the Americans thought, to take out the previous leadership of Iran at a time they viewed as propitious, since their intelligence identified a meeting of so many of the leaders in one place at the same time.
The Iran crisis is far from over, but already – comparing it to Suez – perhaps several lessons have been reinforced:
- the claim of an existential threat should not be made lightly and needs to be supported by clear evidence
- great powers should not allow smaller powers to push them into military action which is not thought-through and likely to be decisive
- the resilience of authoritarian regimes should not be underestimated and military power alone may be insufficient to to dislodge them.
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A seventh review of my latest book “Everyone Has A Story”available from Amazon
April 29th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
“What a wonderful read ! This is an account of the life journeys of the author’s friends. It is extremely well written, absorbing and thought provoking. “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are ” is an old saying. On this evidence Roger Darlington is a thoroughly decent man and an excellent author.”
I don’t know the reviewer but I’m most grateful to him. If you don’t already have the book, you might like to obtain a copy. If you already have it, perhaps you could consider it as a gift for family and friends.
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A review of the classic 1927 film “Metropolis”
April 19th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
This black and while silent movie was directed by the great Fritz Lang in Weimar Germany and is regarded as the first science fiction epic with huge sets, thousands of extras, and groundbreaking effects. Set in a dystopian future, it depicts a city with the rich above ground in great skyscrapers and the masses labouring below ground on massive and dangerous machinery.
A central role is performed by Maria (Brigette Helm) who is both a saintly figure preaching conciliation and a robot inciting the workers to rebellion. She is assisted and saved by Freder (Gustav Frolich), the pampered son of the Master of the Metropolis. The film’s message is encompassed in the final intertitle: “The Mediator Between the Head [the Master] and the Hands [the workers] Must Be the Heart [Freder]”.
At the time of its release, “Metropolis” was controversial and a box office disaster. Consequently, it was cut substantially after its German premiere. Therefore, over the years, the film has been shown at different lengths and with different sound tracks. It was the subject of a major restoration in 2010, so the version now exhibited runs to 149 minutes and is very close to the original work.
I’ve seen it several times and regard it as a flawed masterpiece: visually stunning and inventive, but with exaggerated acting and an overly simplistic message. However, its future status is secure and, in 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register, the first film to be so distinguished.
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A review of the 1985 classic movie “Back To The Future”
April 18th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Television heartthrob Michael J Fox was perfectly cast as teenager Marty McFly who accidentally finds himself transported from 1985 to 1955 when his patents have not yet married and his future existence is not certain. This spectacular act of time travel is achieved through a modified DeLorean sports car, with its gull-winged doors and a plutonium-powered engine, invented by nutty scientist Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown (a wonderful Christopher Lloyd).
Can Marty get back to the future and will his adventure change the destinies of his family members? This hugely enjoyable science fiction comedy has a clever narrative with witty dialogue, crafted by director Robert Zemeckis and his friend Bob Gale.
Ironically, the project was rejected more than 40 times by various studios but, backed by Steven Spielberg, the movie was made and became the highest-grossing film of 1985. There were sequels in 1989 and 1990 and it became a multimedia franchise with video games, theme park rides, and a stage musical.
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A review of the 1975 classic film “Picnic At Hanging Rock”
April 17th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
On Valentine’s Day 1900, students from a girls’ private boarding school in Victoria, Australia have a day out at the titular mountain. Dressed in their white finery and giggling with excitement, these teenage girls inevitably attract the attention of nearby young men. Four of the girls decide to explore the higher reaches of the rock, but only one returns, screaming with terror.
The minimal dialogue, the lingering gaze of the camera, the atmospheric music, the shadows and crevices of the mountain, all create an atmosphere of expectation, but of what? And when the girls disappear, how do the other girls, the school and the wider community react? This haunting and exquisite film is more about mood than narrative.
Based on a 1967 book by Joan Lindsay which is considered to be one of the greatest Australian novels, this cinematic adaptation by Peter Weir has been voted the best Australian movie of all time. But it is a stage and enigmatic work.
As one reviewer (Joshua Klein) explains it: “A ghost story without the ghosts, a puzzle without a solution, a story of sexual repression without the sex” means that the film “remains maddeningly elliptical”. A story without an explanation or a conclusion will irritate some, but Weir has declared: “Life doesn’t have endings. It’s always moving on to something else and there are always unexplained elements.”
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The latest review of my new book “Everyone Has A Story” available on Amazon
April 16th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
“I love this book and found it to be a page turner. An excellent storyteller, Roger knows how to transform the triumphs and losses of life into gripping tales. The author throughout his life has turned chance encounters into lifelong friendships, uncovering the unique gifts of people. Brilliant little cameos of some ordinary/extraordinary people.
Who will forget the story of 3 seats on a plane, Roger, his then wife and a young unknown Chinese student, now 25 years later, a ground breaking world scientist and Professor at Oxford, seeing her own son off to University? Just one of over 30 people, breaking new ground, bringing discoveries to light, often stepping into uncharted territory, quietly creating a better world.
This is the story of how friendship creates a rich and inspiring life and how each person has a story worth sharing. A great and very enjoyable read from an author who creates friendship wherever he goes.”
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A review of the novel “Crooked Cross” by Sally Carson
April 15th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
The provenance of this novel is particularly interesting. Sally Carson was a young English woman (she was 32 in 1933) who spent holidays in Munich during the early 1930s and her book was first published in 1934. The work was acclaimed at the time and indeed staged as a play in 1935 and 1937 as Germany became a Nazi state (the title is a reference to the swastika). Carson died of breast cancer in 1941 and her book was later forgotten. It was only in 2024 that it was reprinted by Persephone Books which reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly dating from the mid-twentieth century.
“Crooked Cross” is the fictional story of a working-class German family set over only six months, from Christmas Eve 1932 to Midsummer’s Eve 1933, a period when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor, his party effectively took control of the Reichstag, Dachau was opened, and Nazi repression of Jews and political opponents intensified.
The Kluger family consists of the two parents and three off-spring in their early 20s, Helmy and Erich who join the Nazi Party and Lexa who plans to marry her Jewish boyfriend. The novel subtly and fluently explores why young Germans flocked to the Party, how the net tightened on the Jewish community, and the power of love when all around hate is on the rise. It must have been a chilling read at the time and now it is a opportune reminder of how totalitarianism can appeal to the disaffected.
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Wedding programme for Tess & Roger
April 8th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
Saturday 11 April 2026
Ventnor Botanic Garden,
Isle of Wight
Timetable (we hope!)
At VBG:
2.30 Arrival of guests
2.30 Arrival of Roger: Canna Room
2.45 Arrival of Tess: Canna Room
In the Olive Grove:
2.45 Arrival of Roger
3.00 Arrival of Tess
3.00 Legal ceremony and then hand fasting
In Fountain Courtyard:
3.30 Group photographs
In the Echium Room:
4.00 Toast to the bride & groom and responses
4.30 Cutting of the cake and light refreshments
6.00 Farewell
Roles
Registrars: Katie Green & Mike Ackrill
Giver away: Monica Edwards
Witnesses: Gail Mathie & Silvia Holden
Hand fasting: Emily Darlington
Bride’s dress: Julie Sharp
Car for bride: Andy & Sue Richards
Ring bearer: Catrin Darlington
Chief bridesmaid: Kara Darlington assisted by Doreen Hippsley & Penny Smith
Best man: Ralph Darlington
Chief usher: David Waller assisted by Nigel Hartley & Peter Martin
Flowers: Tom Travitsky
Cake: Gail Mathie
Photographs: Richard Darlington
Video: Francesca Mongelli
VBG wedding coordinator: Lera Cooke
Weather: Mark Czuchnecki
Rings
Engagement ring for bride: Sophie Honeybourne
Wedding ring for bride: wedding ring of Tess’s mother
Wedding ring for groom: Sophie Honeybourne
Tartan theme:
Weathered hunting Fraser
Music
Arrival: Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony (Second Movement)
Signing: “Magic Still Exists” by Agnes (Carlsson)
Leaving: Faure’s Pavane (piano version)
Provider: Saskia Darlington
Refreshments
Fish: island brown crab mayonnaise sandwich with lobster and ‘caviar’
Meat: fillet of island beef wrapped in cucumber with carrot, watercress and wasabi
Vegetarian: gallybagger shortbread with whipped rosary goats cheese and vegetable crisp
Sweets: baby meringues with raspberries and cream plus dark chocolate and rum truffles
Notices
Ventnor Botanic Garden is set in a unique microclimate that is around 5°C warmer than the rest of the UK. Spread across 22 stunning acres, the garden is home to over 30,000 rare and exotic plants from around the world, thriving in natural outdoor settings.
There is free parking.
The gardens are open to all the guests all day – enjoy.
The Botanic has a cafe and shop which can be visited before the ceremony.
No confetti please.
No gifts please – if you wish, we advise a donation to:
Mountbatten Hospice, Isle of Wight through their website
https://www.mountbatten.org.uk/donate/donate-to-mountbatten/30/credit-card
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Twenty first century problems
April 6th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
What’s the world coming to? The $23M toilet on the Artemis II is not functioning properly. And, on Easter Monday, my local bakery has stopping selling their delicious hot cross buns. Never mind, I’m getting married at the weekend.
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The fifth five-star review of my book “Everyone Has A Story” available on Amazon
April 5th, 2026 by Roger Darlington
“Roger Darlington is prodigious, his latest book is a collection of 33 tales of people he knows, told by them. He captures the truth that everyone is interesting and worth a listen. Much of of our world is on transmission, he has received and retold.
Should be a TV or radio show . Everyone is a unique combination of universal circumstances. A unique and universal book. Worth reading to discover yourself.”
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