Forgotten World (244): Tristan da Cunha
June 23rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Tristan da Cunha was at one time on the main trading route between Europe and the Indian Ocean, but the tiny community of 275 living there is now extremely isolated. It is situated 2,800 km west of Cape Town, South Africa, and is part of a group of islands which includes Inaccessible, Nightingale, Middle, Stoltenhoff, and Gough which has a manned weather station.
According to Tristan da Cunha’s official website the island “was ignored by early explorers as a possible home due to its rugged mountain landscape, absence of natural harbour, lack of land for agriculture, and a harsh climate with heavy rain and high winds at all seasons. It took an extra-ordinary breed of people, ready to live at the margins of life, to settle and eventually thrive in the world’s most isolated community.”
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A review of “X-Men: First Class”
June 23rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
You can check out my take on the fifth film in the franchise here.
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Forgotten World (243): St Kitts-Nevis
June 22nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The islands of St Kitts and Nevis have been in an uneasy federation since independence from Britain in 1983, with some politicians in Nevis saying the federal government in St Kitts (also known as St Christopher) – home to a majority of the population of around 50,000 – have ignored the needs of Nevisians. But a referendum on secession held in Nevis in 1998 failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to break away.
Tourism, offshore finance and service industries are important sources of income – more so since a centuries-old but loss-making sugar industry was wound down in 2005 with the loss of hundreds of jobs. By 2003, Nevis was home to around 17,000 offshore businesses operating under strict secrecy laws, making the islands a target for drugs traffickers and money launderers. Laws have been introduced to crack down on the problem.
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How many are killed on the roads each year?
June 21st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended a meeting at the BT Centre in central London as a guest of the Chair of the BT Ethnic Minority Network Malcolm Weston. The subject of the meeting was infrastructure. Most of the prese4ntations related to the UK but one looked at the topic from a world perspective and I was astonished by some information on road fatalities.
• Nearly 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads each year (that’s almost 3,600 every day)
• Up to 50 million people are injured and many remain disabled for life
• 90% of casualties from road deaths occur in developing countries
• Annual road traffic deaths are forecast to rise to 1.9 million people by 2020
• Road traffic injuries are the number one cause of death for young people worldwide
• By 2015 road traffic injuries will be the leading health burden for children over the age of five years in developing countries
• The economic cost to developing countries is at least $100 billion a year
A Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 has recently been launched.
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Forgotten World (242): Faroe Islands
June 20th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The Faroes, an archipelago of 18 islands in the North Atlantic with a population of only 50,000, constitute an autonomous region of Denmark. While the islands’ rugged coastlines and extensive bird life are a draw for some, the Faroes also offer the prospect of major offshore reserves of oil and gas.
These potential resources have given extra weight to the argument for full independence from Denmark. But a planned referendum on the issue was shelved in 2001 after Denmark said it would halt aid within four years if voters favoured the independence proposals.
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Why is it called bubble and squeak?
June 20th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Last night, Vee and I took a young Czech woman out to dinner on Harrow-on-the-Hill. She was keen to be introduced to typically English food so we identified for her suitable items on the menu. In the end, she chose roast beef and Yorkshire pudding followed by bread and butter pudding.
But she was fascinated by the notion of bubble and squeak. Now, if you’re not British, you probably have no idea what this is. And, even if you are British, you probably don’t know why it is called that (I had to look it up).
Bubble and squeak is cold boiled potatoes and green vegetables fried together. The term comes from the original preparation which involved bubbling in boiling water and then hissing or squeaking in the frying pan. So now you know!
More information here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (3)
Forgotten World (241): Cayman Islands
June 20th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
It’s time for one of the regular weeks of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that too rarely feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 240 entries here. I think we’ll make this the last batch for a series which has been running on this blog for over five years and has covered almost every spot of land on the globe.
Once a dependency of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands came under direct British rule after Jamaica declared independence in 1962. Granted greater autonomy under a 1972 constitution, the islands are largely self-governing and economically self-sufficient. Tourism, banking and property are big money earners, having overtaken the traditional trades of fishing, turtle hunting and shipbuilding.
More than 9,000 mutual funds, some 260 banks and 80,000 companies operate through the islands meaning that the territory has more registered businesses than it has people (about 55,700). The industry has come under scrutiny and the government has enforced stricter banking regulation to counter money laundering.
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Goodbye to “Brothers & Sisters”
June 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I like television series that deal with relationships. I used to love “Thirtysomething” and I enjoy “Desperate Housewives”.
I’ve been a devoted fan of “Brothers & Sisters” and watched the last ever episode this week since the series has been cancelled after five seasons.
It was running out of original plot lines, but I loved the sense of family and I think that Sally Field is a really fine actress.
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Vee and I mark 30 years together
June 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Today is the 30th anniversary of my first date with Vee. I invited her round to my place and cooked her a meal. It was pork chops and treacle tart – I know the way to a girl’s heart.
Three decades later, we are are still together and still happy. In a case of role reversal typical for our relationship, I gave her a card and she had forgotten the anniversary.
Here in the UK, it’s also Fathers Day. As usual, I received a card from Rich but this year he celebrates his first year as a father himself – to beautiful Catrin.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Is there anything as British as the umbrella?
June 18th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Now that the long dry spell of weather here in Britain has given way to regular showers, I thought that I would draw your attention to a quintessential British establishment: a shop that essentially sells nothing but umbrellas. It’s located in central London and has been operated as a family-run business for 175 years. Check out James Smith & Sons.
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