Back to Nairobi to see my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter
February 16th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Six months ago, my son Richard, his wife Emily and their daughter Catrin relocated to Nairobi as a result of his work. Two months later, on the occasion of Catrin’s half-term, Vee and I visited the family and I wrote up an account of the trip here.
Four months on, Catrin now has another half-term, so this week I am returning to Nairobi, this time alone. Catrin is now five and, while we talk on Skype, I am really looking forward to seeing her again. I think she’s looking forward to the presents I’m taking …
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My film reviews of (most of) the BAFTA winners
February 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
It was a really good Valentine’s Day evening yesterday. Vee and I – celebrating our 34th such day together – went out for an enjoyable Italian meal at a local restaurant.
Then we returned home to watch a two-hour broadcast of the BAFTA film awards. Stephen Fry was terrific as the compere, Rebel Wilson was hilarious in her cameo, and (largely) the awards went to a diverse and well-deserving range of talent.
“The Revenant” garnered Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Sound – see my review here.
“Max Max: Fury Road” took Best Costume Design, Best Make-up & Hair, Best Production Design and Best Editing – see my review here.
“Spotlight” won Best Original Screenplay -= see my review here.
“The Big Short” won Best Adapted Screenplay – see my review here.
“Bridge Of Spies” won Best Supporting Actor – my review here.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” took Best Visual Effects – see my review here.
“Inside Out” won Best Animation – see my review here.
“Amy” took Best Documentary – see my review here.
“Brooklyn” was Outstanding British Film -see my review here.
Now I need to see “Room” which won Best Actress and “Steve Jobs” which took Best Supporting Actress.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Poor Christchurch hit by another earthquake
February 14th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Three years ago, Vee and I visited Australia and New Zealand and had some time in Christchurch. My account of the trip noted of the city:
“Christchurch has been utterly changed, and will experience still more change, as a result of the devastating earthquake of 22 February 2011 which killed 185 people and severely damaged the business centre and the east of the city. We had a short coach tour of the city and our tour director Mark, who grew up in the city, spelt out the extent of the destruction and the challenges of reconstruction. We had a stop of of about 40 minutes next to the Canterbury Museum and Roger & Vee took the opportunity to walk down to Cathedral Square, which is shielded off by railings, so that we could see Christchurch Cathedral which suffered such terrible damage that it may need to be completely replaced.”
Some American friends of ours are currently in New Zealand on holiday and a week or so ago they were in Christchurch. In one of their regular reports, they commented:
“On Saturday, Angela (our innkeeper) drove us to Christchurch’s famed Botanical Gardens and from there we walked to Cathedral Square to meet a “free” walking tour led by a young man who worked for tips. The two-hour walk was interesting and focused on the areas most hit by the devastating earthquake on February 2011 which was just about everywhere. One hundred and eighty-five people died, but thousands more were severely injured and traumatized.
Christchurch was considered New Zealand’s most “English” city and nearly all of the old buildings with their unique architecture is lost. Five years later, Christchurch is still in rebuild mode. Construction activity is accelerating but the process is slow for lack of skilled workers, materials, etc. To fill the need for quick housing and temporary buildings, the government turned to shipping containers. Now, Christchurch, once known as the “Garden City”, is the “Shipping Container” city. An entire shopping area for example, called “Re-Start” has been created out of shipping containers.”
Now we have the report that a further earthquake has struck Christchurch today, but fortunately it appears that nobody was killed or injured.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Why is it called the Zika virus?
February 14th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The Zika virus, discovered by Scottish virologist Alexander Haddow in 1947, is named after the forest where it was found. The forest is located on the equator, close to Lake Victoria in Uganda.
“It is a global epicentre of pathogens and viruses,” says Louis Mukwaya, head of the entomology department at the Ugandan Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and a world-renowned mosquito researcher. Leopards, snakes and monkeys live in its 24 acres, but breeding in its trees are more than 70 species of mosquito. Together, they harbour dozens of deadly pathogens that could potentially be transferred to man.
You can learn more in this article.
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Does the world really need a 500 Euro note (or other very high denomination notes)?
February 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The €500 note, in use throughout the Eurozone, is one of the highest value banknotes in the world. It is worth around £388 or $563.
According to Europol, the European police agency, the €500 note accounts for a third of all the euro notes in circulation, despite their low public profile. About a fifth of all euro banknotes, in denominations from €50 to €500, are not held in Europe, raising suspicions that some of the notes are used by foreign criminals.
Of course, the problem is not just with the Euro note.
In an age of electronic payments and concern about the anonymity cash provides, many experts would like to see the higest-value notes in all major denominations scrapped. This week Peter Sands, the former chief executive of Standard Chartered, called for the abolition of the €500, $100, SFr1,000 and £50 notes, which “play little role in the functioning of the legitimate economy [and] a crucial role in the underground economy”.
You can learn more about this problem and how it could be tackled in this article.
As an example of how high-value banknotes are exploited by the criminal class, consider when Spanish police raided the warehouse of Chinese businessman Gao Ping. They found €12 million in cash and his gang is accused of laundering €300 million a year.
You can read more about Mr Gao in this article.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the thriller novel “I Am Pilgrim”
February 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This debut novel by screenwriter Terry Hayes is one of the best thrillers that I’ve ever read and it’s going to make a series of cracking films. You can read my review here.
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How to have a good job interview
February 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Advice on this subject was the first topic in the Life Skills section of my web site. I crafted my recommendations because I kept being asked by young colleagues how they should prepare for an interview for a job. You can check out the advice here.
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A review of the novel “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky”
February 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I admired enormously Simon Mawer’s novel “The Glass Room” which I have reviewed here. And a while ago I read his follow-up thriller “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky” which I have reviewed here.
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The stark statistics that summarise the appalling tragedy of Syria
February 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
- 470,000 have been killed
- 1.88 million have been wounded
- 11.5% of the population has been killed or injured
- 6.36 million have been displaced internally
- More than 4 million have been displaced abroad
- 45% of the population has been displaced overall
- About 13.8 million have lost their source of livelihood
- Consumer prices rose 53% last year
- Poverty increased by 85% in 2015 alone
- Life expectancy has fallen from 70 in 2010 to 55.4 in 2015
- Overall economic losses are estimated at $255 billion (£176 billion)
These statistics are taken from a new report entitled “Confronting Fragmentation” produced by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR).
My heart bleeds especially for the people of Syria because, just a couple of weeks before the civil war began, we had a holiday in Syria which included time in the currently besieged city of Aleppo.
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U.S. presidential election (20): still early days (look at the numbers)
February 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For all the excitement of the voting for presidential candidates in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire, it’s still very early days.
In the Republican camp, 1,237 delegates are required to win the nomination. So far, seven candidates have picked up delegates. The top four are Donald Trump 17, Ted Cruz 10, Marco Rubio 7 and John Kasich 4.
On the Democratic side, 2,382 delegates are needed to secure the nomination. Ignoring super delegates for now, so far Bernie Sanders has 34 delegates while Hillary Clinton has 32.
It ain’t over yet by a long way …
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)