Archive for July, 2010


The Battle of Britain (2): the Americans

July 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington

“I think it is important in life to speak as it is and the fact is that we are a very effective partner of the US but we are the junior partner. We were the junior partner in 1940 when we were fighting the Nazis.” British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking to Sky television This […]

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The great city of London

July 20th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

My wife and I visited the Museum of London today. Amazingly she has never been there before and I wanted to go again because they have recently opened five new galleries on the period since 1666. In all, there are nine permanent galleries telling the story of this great city over two millennia. My favourite […]

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The truth about Communism

July 19th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

It’s two decades now since the collapse of the Communist regimes in Central & Eastern Europe but we sometimes need to remind ourselves of the terrible human cost of those repressive systems. Today saw the publication of the obituary by a friend of mine of one of the victims of Communist totalitarianism in what was […]

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Farewell (for now) Jonathan Ross

July 18th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

I’ve only just watched a recording of this week’s “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross” show on BBC television. As the BBC have not renewed his contract, it was his last such show. He interviewed Mickey Rourke, Jackie Chan and David Beckham and song was provided by Roxy Music. I’m a big fan of Jonathan Ross […]

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The American dilemma

July 18th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

From a non-American perspective, President Barack Obama seems to have done well in his first year and a half in the White House. He has managed to push through Congress three huge measures: an economic stimulus package, major healthcare reform, and a restructuring of the financial sector. And yet, and yet, his poll ratings are […]

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The Darlington Spitfire

July 17th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

In 1985, William Kimber published “Night Hawk”, my biography of Flight Lieutenant Karel Kuttelwascher, the RAF’s greatest night intruder ace [for more information click here]. While doing picture research for this book at the Imperial War Museum in London, I came across a photograph of “The Darlington Spitfire”. Given my surname, I was naturally intrigued […]

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My 22nd short story

July 16th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Today I’ve put on my web site my latest short story. It’s entitled “Time To Move On” and you can read it here. Please let me know what you think. This short story is my 22nd effort. If you’ve missed any the others, you can access them all here.

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Forgotten World (215): Council of Europe

July 16th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

The Council of Europe – headquartered in Strasbourg, France – is not to be confused with the European Union. The Council was formed in 1949 to promote human rights on the continent, while the European Union – as it is now called – was created in 1957 to encourage economic and political union. The EU […]

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It’s St Swithin’s Day

July 15th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Here in the UK, today – 15 July – is known as St Swithin’s Day. And what is all that about, I hear my non-British readers asking. Well, the story goes that, if we have rain or sun on this day, then we will have the same weather for the next 40 days. You can […]

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Forgotten World (214): Puerto Rico

July 15th, 2010 by Roger Darlington

Puerto Rico (Spanish for ‘rich port’) is a Caribbean island that is almost part of the United States – it is technically a sef-governing, unincorporated territory of the USA.  The US invaded and occupied the island during the Spanish-American War of 1898, ending centuries of rule from Spain. Under American administration, Puerto Rico saw growth […]

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