Archive for August, 2007
Family venture (1): Two Left Feet
August 17th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
My brother-in-law Derek visits us most weeks in order that he can take part in a local dance class which he discovered when he spent the best part of six months of weekdays with us building our terrace. On a recent visit, he went over to Slough to help out his daughter-in-law Isobel who works […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (2)
Family venture (2): Find My Igloo
August 17th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I am in awe of people who set up their own business. I so admire their courage and willingness to take risks. Give me a steady job and a secure income (and pension) any time. Now one of my nephews – who has just celebrated his 30th birthday – has given up his well-paid job […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Remembering the Peterloo massacre
August 16th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Today is the anniversary of the massacre at Peterloo. You may never have heard of this incident. But I lived in Manchester until I was 23 and, during my university course, I spent a lot of time studying at the city’s Central Library in St Peter’s Square, the site of the Peterloo event. The Peterloo […]
Posted in History | Comments (4)
What caused the Tunguska explosion?
August 15th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
The force of the explosion was equivalent to twenty million tonnes of TNT and a thousand times greater than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. An estimated sixty million trees were felled over an area of over two thousand square kilometres and yet apparently nobody was killed. It happened at 7.15 […]
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The break up of Pakistan
August 15th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Today the world notes the 60th anniversary celebrations of the creation of India and Pakistan in 1947. In fact, what we now call simply Pakistan was in fact Western Pakistan in 1947. There was an Eastern Pakistan until it broke away in 1971 to become an independent state called Bangladesh. Really these anniversary celebrations ought […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The Indian political system
August 15th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Today sees the 60th anniversary of the independence of India from Britain in 1947. To mark the occasion, I have added to my web site a new essay entitled “A Short Guide To The Indian Political System”. Four years ago, Vee and I had a fascinating holiday in India and you’ll find a detailed account […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
“One Day In The Life …”
August 14th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
The last time I counted my books it came to almost 2,000. Inevitably therefore there are books I’ve always intended to read but never quite got round to doing so. Such a work is the Alexander Solzhenitsyn novel “One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich”. According to my inscription on the inside front cover, […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
Is this the way to bring peace in the Middle East?
August 14th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
You be the judge … This is a kindergarden graduation ceremony held in 2001 which was attended by 1,650 children of the “Islamic society” kindergartens along with thousands of guests, including their mothers. The ceremony took place at the “Islamic society” centre in the al-Shati refugee camp, Gaza strip.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
“Enemies Of Reason” (1)
August 13th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I’m a fan of evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. He talks immense sense and is not afraid to challenge arrant nonsense. In January 2006, I watched his television programmes entitled “The Root Of All Evil?” when he attacked the falsity of religious belief [my blog posting here]. More recently, I read his book “The God Delusion” […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (6)
Fall in life expectancy for Americans
August 13th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Arguably the thing that citizens most seek from their country and their way of life is life itself – that is. a good level of life expectancy. By that fundamental test then, the United States is failing its citizens. Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, in the world rankings of life […]
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