Archive for February, 2010


The mitzvah app

February 27th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Some of my best friends – OK, most of them – are Jewish. Last night, we celebrated Shabbat with two of them and I found myself browsing through the “Jewish Chronicle”, as you do. Now I’m fascinated by communications technologies and I’m a massive fan of the iPhone which I bought in the first week […]

Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)


“The Forgotten Highlander”

February 26th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Even now, there are new stories about the experience of those affected by the Second World War. This account of suffering by a British prisoner of war with the Japan is horrendous. As Alistair Urquhart rightly states: “Germany has atoned. Young Germans know of their nation’s dreadful crimes. But young Japanese are taught nothing of […]

Posted in History | Comments (2)


How many electoral systems are there in Scotland?

February 25th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I used to be something of a minor expert on electoral systems which puts me in a very small and geekish minority. It all started when I worked in the House of Commons in the the early 1970s as Research Assistant to the Labour Party spokesperson for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees at a time when […]

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)


Some good news from Iran

February 24th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Last Autumn, I visited Iran as a tourist.  I was acutely aware of how difficult it is for any Iranian to challenge the current system of power in any way or to work for human rights in any form. As a former trade union official, I believe that Iran is one of the toughest countries […]

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)


Which is the best and worst energy supplier?

February 23rd, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Consumer Focus – on whose Board I sit – has recently published interim statistics on energy supplier performance on its web site here. Check how your current supplier is doing.

Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (2)


Does homeopathy work?

February 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I first posed this question on this blog almost a year and a half ago and my posting attracted some interesting comments – all of which you can read here. Now today the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology has published a detailed report on the provision of homeopathy on the National […]

Posted in Science & technology | Comments (3)


Remembering Sir Keith Park

February 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington

The Battle of Britain was a seminal time in the history of the island and a turning point in the Second World War. Some 3,000 pilots took to the skies with the Royal Air Force and one of them was my wife’s father the Czech Karel Kuttelwascher. The leader of the RAF’s 11 Group at […]

Posted in History | Comments (0)


The BAFTA Awards

February 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I’m a massive film fan so I love watching movie award ceremonies. This evening, it was the British Academy awards the BAFTAs. Good to see British thespians Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan winning the Best Actor and Best Actress categories respectively, but the night went to “The Hurt Locker” which took no less than six […]

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


How many apps do you need?

February 21st, 2010 by Roger Darlington

According to this article in the “New York Times”, Apple’s iPhone users now have a choice of some 140,000 applications, but the average owner of this smart phone only uses 5-10 regularly. I’ve just checked: I’ve downloaded 32. But I guess than I only use about half regularly.

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


The ten word wiki

February 21st, 2010 by Roger Darlington

It is explained here and you have the index here. Some examples: Cat: Mortal enemy of dog. Famous for walk and embarrassing photographs. Sarah Palin: Brain-dead Alaskan and former running mate to elderly John McCain. Recursion: When argument, definition or function refers to itself. See: Recursion. Tiger Woods: World’s greatest golfer. Plays a round, and […]

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)