Archive for May, 2011
A review of the book of British history “Monarchy”
May 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Kings and Queens of England and Britain have come and gone over the centuries and the present Queen Elizabeth II might yet become the longest-serving monarchy. But the institution has changed – and, in turn, changed the nation – enormously. I’ve just read a book by David Starkey – called simply “Monarchy” – which describes […]
Posted in History | Comments (1)
Well done Manchester City and Manchester United
May 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’m not a football fan but, as someone brought up in the city of Manchester, I have to take pride in today’s achievements by the two Manchester football teams. Manchester City has won the FA Cup and Manchester United has secured the Premier League. More information here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The need for evidence-based policy-making
May 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’m a political person but, I hope, I am also a rational individual. So I have my values and principles, but I like to make decisions based on evidence and some of the best evidence comes from trials. Therefore I was pleased to read this article today which puts the case for evidence-based policy-making in […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Amnesty International’s annual human rights report
May 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Growing demands for freedom and justice across the Middle East and North Africa and the rise of social media offer an unprecedented opportunity for human rights change – but this change stands on a knife-edge, said Amnesty International as it launched its global human rights report on the eve of its 50th anniversary. The report […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
The world’s highest bungee jump
May 11th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The highest bungee jump in the world is in South Africa at a place called Bloukrans River Bridge. It is 216 metres (708 feet). This week someone set a world record by doing the jump 105 times as reported here. Now that’s impressive; but just as impressive in my book is the fact that, on […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
A review of “13 Assassins”
May 11th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
If you want some escapist violence on the big screen, currently you can’t do better than catch the Japanese film “13 Assassins” which I’ve reviewed here. In fact, unless you live in a big city, I suspect that you’ll have to catch it on DVD.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Does science support belief in God?
May 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
This evening, I attended a fascinating meeting at the South Place Ethical Society in central London organised by the Centre For Inquiry UK. The title of the event was “Does science support belief in God?”. The meeting was addressed by two of the world’s most powerful and respected thinkers from either side of the theism/atheism […]
Posted in Miscellaneous, Science & technology | Comments (0)
How to learn more about using the Net
May 10th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I am a member of the Nominet Policy Stakeholder Committee and recently learned that Nominet – which manages the .uk domain name system – has a special web site to educate Net users. You can check it out here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
Enjoying the art of Miro
May 9th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
When Vee and I spent a week in Barcelona some years ago, we enjoyed a visit to the art gallery featuring the work of the Catalan artist Joan Miro. Today we visited Tate Modern art gallery in London to see a special Miro exhibition. It is an excellent exhibition, featuring a very large number of […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The 600th Thought For The Week
May 8th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
For some 12 years now, each and every week I have sent out a motivational thought to an e-mail list which has grown and grown, so that it is now around 1,700 friends and contacts all around the world. My Thought For The Week goes out each Sunday and today I’ve sent out the 600th. […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)