Archive for July, 2007
Eight things meme
July 9th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I have been tagged by by American cyber-buddy Dana for a meme which involves me listing eight things about me (I think the spirit of the idea is that these should be things that you might not know). I won’t continue the meme by tagging other bloggers but I’ll offer you this list: My name […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Home alone … with Norah
July 8th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
No sooner had Vee and I held our celebratory event for our 25th wedding anniversary than she went off to France for 10 days with her twin sister and two other female relatives. So I’ve been home alone this weekend. One of things I’ve been doing is catching up with the music of Norah Jones. […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The Alistair Campbell diaries
July 8th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I’m just finishing a 500-page book on the Second World War, so – in spite of being something of a political junkie – I’m not sure that I will immediately take up the 800-page Alistair Campbell diaries which are published tomorrow. However, I have read today’s “Observer” profile of Campbell, I am checking out the […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
The new seven wonders
July 7th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I’ve blogged before about a worldwide poll to choose seven new wonders of the world and explained that I had been fortunate enough to visit 15 of the 21 shortlisted sites. Today – the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year of the new millennium – the new seven wonders were announced. […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (2)
The Marco Polo Bridge incident
July 7th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
One of the themes of this blog is that there’s a big world out there – we need to know more about other countries and view things through others’ eyes. Take something as huge and as ‘given’ as the Second World War. Here in Europe, we see the war as commencing in September 1939 with […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The news from Jakarta
July 6th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Some young Canadian friends of mine are on the last leg of a round-the-world trip during which they have been sending regular e-mails to family and friends. The latest and last message comes from Jakarta and reading it will make you glad to be as fortunate as you are to live in such comfortable circumstances.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Forgotten World (90): Micronesia
July 6th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Micronesia, in the western Pacific, consists of some 600 islands grouped into four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap. Although, it occupies a very small total land mass, it is scattered over an ocean expanse five times the size of France. Despite its small population (a mere 11,000) and the large amount of incoming aid […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The man who won gold but lost God
July 5th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
This interview with Jonathan Edwards, the former Olympic gold medallist who has now ceased to be a Christian, is something with which I can identify, partly because something similar happened to me in my early 20s and partly because I knew Jonathan when he was the member for England on the Ofcom Content Board (I […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Forgotten World (89): Niger
July 5th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Historically a gateway between North and sub-Saharan Africa, Niger is a large, landlocked country bordered by seven others. It came under French rule in the late 1890s. After independence in 1960, its progress was held back by political instability and a five-year drought which devastated livestock and crops. Today Niger is rated by the United […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The American political system
July 4th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Some months ago, I was asked to give a lecture to a group of Chinese civil servants on the British political system. I turned my lecture notes into a short essay for my web site here. I’ve received a number of positive responses from visitors to the site and so I’ve decided to expand the […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)