Archive for August, 2010
The Battle of Britain (4): the hardest day
August 18th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
At the time, 18 August 1940 – 70 years ago today – was seen as the toughest day of the Battle of Britain and a turning point in the fortunes of the Royal Air Force. In reality, the intensity of air activity was greater on 15 and 16 August 1940 and the number of Fighter […]
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The strange world of the Amish
August 17th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just finished watching the last of the four fascinating television programmes in a Channel Four series called “Amish: The World’s Squarest Teenagers”. The Amish are an amazing religious community, based almost totally in the United States, who effectively live life as their predecessors did when they emigrated from Switzerland in the 1700s & 1800s. […]
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Still battling over “The Spirit Level”
August 17th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
This is the 10th time that I’ve blogged about the book “The Spirit Level” by Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett [see my review of the work here], but I make no apology for this because it is one of the most important books that I’ve ever read. The core message is that, on a whole […]
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China: world’s second largest economy
August 17th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Since 1968, Japan has been the second biggest economy on the globe when it overtook West Germany. No more – China has now overtaken Japan to be second only to the United States which it will probably overtake around 2030. The detailed figures are here. This Easter, I returned to China for a third visit […]
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Weekend on the Isle of Wight
August 16th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I spent a relaxing and congenial weekend on the Isle of Wight visiting our good friends Trev and Tess Jessop whom we befriended originally on our trip to Indochina. They live in an amazing place called Span Lodge which was built in 1805 as a home for the gatekeeper of the southern gate […]
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The floods in Pakistan
August 13th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
This morning, I received the following e-mail from a friend in Pakistan. “How are you? Hope you will be fine and enjoy well.. I am fine and my study is going well. As you know Pakistan is facing the worst ever disaster in its history in the form of floods…. The flood caused destruction at […]
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The Battle of Britain (3): Eagle Day
August 13th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
In retrospect, the Royal Air Force saw 1 July 1940 as the start of the Battle of Britain but, for the German Luftwaffe at the time, the Battle commenced on 13 August 1940 – 70 years ago today – which they designated Eagle Day.
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A visit to Copenhagen
August 12th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Regular visitors to this blog will know that I’ve recently returned from a four-day summer break in Copenhagen and this visit to Denmark was the 54th nation that I’ve experienced. I’ve written a few notes on Copenhagen here.
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My encounter with Hizb ut-Tahrir
August 11th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
While I was on holiday in Copenhagen last week with my sister, I came across a stall mounted by the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir in one of the city’s main squares. I stood at the stall for a few seconds longer than I should because I was then engaged in conversation with a very articulate […]
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How the Danes saved their Jews
August 10th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just returned from a four-day break in Copenhagen with my sister Silvia which involved some very different sights and experiences. I’m very interested in the Second World War so I made a point of visiting the comprehensive Danish Resistance Museum. Also most of my closest friends are Jewish and I wanted to see the […]
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