Has the British economy really recovered?
August 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
In his article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper, Robert Skidelsky, professor of political economy at Warwick University. writes:
“Five years after the onset of the financial crisis, Britain’s economy is still 3.5% smaller than it was in 2008. Growth may have spurted ahead of Britain’s competitors in the last quarter, but this comparison neglects the fact that it suffered a bigger fall in output and experienced a weaker recovery. The US, Germany and even France have surpassed their pre-recession peaks. Even according to the brightest forecasts, we will need another two years to make up the lost ground. And the picture is worse when we factor in population growth; GDP per capita is not expected to reach its pre-recession peak until 2018. We are only halfway through a lost decade.”
He concludes his piece:
“.. if I were in Labour’s shoes I would hammer home one simple message: the pain has not been worth it because the recovery is not secure. I would explain why printing money to offset cuts in public spending is the flakiest possible route to growth and is bound to land us in a fresh crisis sooner rather than later, and why an alternative policy of targeting growth and letting the deficit look after itself would be better for growth and for the debt.”
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
What are the most popular names for new babies in Britain?
August 13th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
According to the data compiled annually by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the most popular names for children born in England & Wales during 2012 – published this week – were as follows:
| Position | Boys | Girls |
| 1 | Harry | Amelia |
| 2 | Oliver | Olivia |
| 3 | Jack | Jessica |
| 4 | Charlie | Emily |
| 5 | Jacob | Lily |
| 6 | Thomas | Ava |
| 7 | Alfie | Mia |
| 8 | Riley | Isla |
| 9 | Wiliam | Sophie |
| 10 | James | Isabella |
| 11 | Joshua | Evie |
| 12 | George | Ruby |
| 13 | Ethan | Poppy |
| 14 | Noah | Grace |
| 15 | Samuel | Sophia |
| 16 | Daniel | Chloe |
| 17 | Oscar | Isabelle |
| 18 | Max | Ella |
| 19 | Muhammad | Freya |
| 20 | Leo | Charlotte |
There are some patterns here.
First of all, astonishingly the second most popular boys’ name and the second most popular girls’ name are essentially the same (Oliver and Olivia) – what is technically known as cognates – and these names have been in the top two for their gender for the last four years. Is this the case in any other nation? Second, it is striking how traditional most of the names are for both boys and girls, although for the boys it is interesting that the familiar form of names rather than the original version is often preferred – Harry instead of Harold, Jack instead of John, Charlie instead of Charles, Alfie instead of Alfred. Third, in the case of boys, four of the top 11 names begin with the letter ‘J’ while, in the case of girls, nine of the top 19 names end with the letter ‘a’, seven of the top 16 names end with the sound ‘ee’, and ten of the top 20 names contain the letter ‘l’ (in four cases, twice).
On the other hand, the name David – which is the second most common name in Britain – slipped out of the top 50 of names chosen for baby boys born in 2004 and has stayed out (it is currently 59th). Similarly Margaret – the most common female name in the population as a whole – does not even appear in the top 100 names chosen for girls these days. These observations underline how much fashion shapes the popularity of different names. Fashion is a stronger influence with girls’ names than those of boys. So, for example, in the last 10 years Violet has jumped up 556 places, Bella 677 places, and Ivy 911 places, while Lexi has leapt an incredible 1,613 places. The only spectacular rise in boys’ names is Kayden which has soared by 662 places.
It should be noted that the Office of National Statistics (ONS) produces its ranking of the popularity of names using the exact spelling of the name given at birth registration. If one combines the numbers for names with very similar spellings, a different picture is revealed. For boys, combining the occurrence of Mohammed, Muhammad, Mohammad and Muhammed would put the name in second place – a reflection of the changing ethnicity of the British population. Similarly, if one combines the occurrence of Isabella, Isabelle, Isabel and Isobel, one would find the name top of the girls’ list and, if one took Lily and Lilly together, the name would come second.
You can find the top 100 boys and girls names in 2012 here.
You can find my comprehensive guide to naming practices around the world here.
Posted in British current affairs, Cultural issues | Comments (7)
What happens on the Internet each and every second …
August 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
There’s a terrific infographic that explains what is happening on the Net which you can check out here.
Be sure to scroll down to the very bottom.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
What’s the origin of those strange words and phrases in the English language?
August 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Sometimes the answer is quite gruesome. For instance, ever wondered where these terms came from?
- Rule of thumb
- Paying through the nose
- Gone to pot
- Bury the hatchet
- Pull someone’s leg
- Deadline
- Saved by the bell
- Pressed for an answer
- Holding a wake
- Running amok
- Diehard
- Bless you!
- Bite the bullet
- Basket case
- Hoist by your own petard
- To haul someone over the coals
- Sweet Fanny Adams
You’ll find the answers here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the 2010 movie “Kick-Ass”
August 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
When “Kick-Ass” was released in 2010, I didn’t think it was for me and did not see it. However, the sequel is out in the UK this week and a young friend told me that he was looking forward to it because he enjoyed the original so much.
So this weekend I gave “Kiss-Ass” a go and found it outrageously entertaining. You can read my review here.
Thanks for the tip. Spence. Fancy seeing “KA 2” together?
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
When was England last invaded? 1066 or 1688?
August 9th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I always tell foreigners that England was last invaded in 1066 when the Normans beat the English at the Battle of Hastings. I always argue that this lack of invasion or occupation or liberation in almost a millennium explains our strange but effective political system which has evolved slowly and pragmatically over many centuries.
However, maybe I’m wrong. Currently, I am reading a long book: the near-600 page work entitled “A History Of The World” by Andrew Marr. In this book, Marr argues that the accession to the English throne of William and Mary in 1688 was an invasion mounted by 53 war ships and about 400 supply ships.
No battles were fought and no blood was spilt. The English Parliament offered the throne to the Dutchman and his wife in return for agreement on a Bill of Rights that provided that in future no British monarch could raise taxes or have a standing army without the agreement of parliament and that he had to allow free and frequent elections. This is what we call the ‘Glorious Revolution’.
Marr states: “The British do not, in genertal, make much of this invasion. Even quite educated people believe that England has not been invaded since the Normans arrived in 1066.”
He quotes the view of the historian Lisa Jardine that “what happened in 1688 happened because the Dutch decided it must, not because the British asked for it to happen”.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Making poetry public or how Sue Hubbard came to my attention
August 7th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I used to enjoy poetry at school, but I find much modern poetry very inaccessible. These days, I rarely read poetry in a book, so I am rather pleased when I see it in public.
About once a week, I collect my granddaughter Catrin from her nursery in central London and the walk from the tube station to the nursery takes me through an underground passageway that has on its walls a poem from Sue Hubbard.
This is what I see as I descend the steps into the passageway:
You can read the full text of the poem “Eurydice” here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Which country and which city are the world’s favourite destinations?
August 6th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
A recent study by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation reveals that the country visited by the most tourists is France. My own country of the UK comes in at eighth. Of the top 20 nations listed, I have visited 16.
The same study states that the the city visited by the most tourists is Bangkok. My home city of London is second by a whisker. Of the top 20 cities listed, I have been to 15.
You can find the full information on the most popular countries and cities here.
My next foreign destination is Bucharest in Romania. Have any tips or contacts for me?
Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Want a smile or even a laugh? Try these jokes
August 5th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Since I’ve had a web site, I’ve put jokes on it that came to my attention and caused me to grin. You might like to check them out – but, be warned, there’s a lot and you might not want to leave.
You’ll find the jokes here and here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (2)
The Battles of Verdun and the Somme
August 4th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
As I explained in this posting, for my recent birthday some friends gave me the box set of the groundbreaking 1964 BBC series on “The Great War”. There are 26 episodes and I have now viewed 15.
The most recent episodes that I have watched cover two battles that involved casualties that were so huge as to be barely comprehensible.
The Battle of Verdun lasted from February – December 1916. It was fought between French and German armies and the number of those killed and injured is now thought to be almost one million.
The Battle of the Somme took place from July – November 1916. It was a conflict between British & French armies and that of the Germans. The number killed and injured was over one million, making it one of the bloodiest conflicts in history.
In each case, the Allies ‘won’ the battle but very little land changed hands and the war itself was far from over. This vast slaughter was not in the distant past but just one century ago.
Posted in History | Comments (0)