Archive for May, 2011


Is the world warming? England is!

May 31st, 2011 by Roger Darlington

The world’s oldest continuous weather record covers a triangular area in England between London (where I live), Manchester (where I was brought up) and Bristol – it dates back to 1659. This record reveals that the average day and night temperature in central England between 1 March  and 29 May this year was 10.32C. Previous […]

Posted in British current affairs, Environment | Comments (0)


The treasures of Afghanistan

May 31st, 2011 by Roger Darlington

All we ever hear about Afghanistan is war and death, but the country has a long history and a rich heritage. Some of this is celebrated in a current exhibition at the British Museum which my wife and I visited this morning. The exhibits come from four archaeological sites in the north of the country: […]

Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)


Global warming still out of control

May 30th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

“Greenhouse gas emissions increased by a record amount last year, to the highest carbon output in history, putting hopes of holding global warming to safe levels all but out of reach, according to unpublished estimates from the International Energy Agency. The shock rise means the goal of preventing a temperature rise of more than 2 […]

Posted in Environment | Comments (0)


Reminiscences from a 90 year old war veteran

May 29th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

In 1985, my biography of Vee’s father – Flight Lieutenant Karel Kuttelwascher DFC & Bar – was published as “Night Hawk”.  It took me three years to research and write and I thought that the project was then over – but it keeps coming back to life, even after 26 years. In 2006, Vee and […]

Posted in History | Comments (1)


Oh, what a delicious mess

May 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

I do love my desserts as I’ve explained here. This evening, I had dinner with friends and concluded with a dish with the delightful name of Eton mess. In fact, our friend Nina also had the Eton mess but only ate half of it – so I finished her mess as well. We are dinner […]

Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


Ratko Mladic and the siege of Sarajevo

May 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

I was delighted this week to hear the news of the arrest at long last of the Bosnian Serb leader Ratko Mladic. Of all his war crimes, undoubtedly the most horrific was the massacre at Srebrenica in 1995, but I have a particular interest in his responsibility for the siege of Sarajevo from 1992-1996. In […]

Posted in History, World current affairs | Comments (0)


A review of “Hanna”

May 28th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

The eponymous heroine of this action thriller is like no 16 year old you’ve ever met. Check out my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


The difficult debate on Internet regulation

May 27th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

“The internet cannot exist in some undiscussable and untouchable dimension of human activity. It is a human creation. It affects human lives in all sorts of increasing ways. Morality and the rule of law should apply on the internet as elsewhere in human conduct. As such, it is an absolutely proper subject for governments to […]

Posted in Internet | Comments (0)


How to reduce the risk of a heart disease

May 26th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

For three months in early 2009, I took part in an international trial of something called the “polypill” to test its efficacy in combating heart disease. The pill contains aspirin 75 mg, simvastatin 20 mg, lisinopril 10 mg and hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg. I blogged regularly about my experience with a concluding post here. The result […]

Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


A review of “Pirates 4”

May 26th, 2011 by Roger Darlington

The fourth instalment in the immensely successful “Pirates Of The Caribbean” franchise is now out. Should you go and see it or wait for the DVD? Check out my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)