Archive for June, 2012
Discovering a new place in London
June 21st, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I’ve lived and worked in London for 40 years, but from time to time i still discover a new place of interest. This week, it was the Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide. I went there to view a small exhibition on the Berlin Olympics of 1936, obviously timed as a […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Gaby’s Deli saved for at least a year
June 20th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Last September, I did a posting about the campaign to save my favourite London cafe: Gaby’s Deli in Charing Cross Road near Leicester Square. The campaign has gone from strength to strength and I am delighted that Gaby’s is still open and that we now know that it will have a lease at least until May […]
Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Whatever happened to the cashless society?
June 19th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
“When I first became involved in the communications industry in the late 1970s, I was convinced that the then new microelectronics revolution would soon eliminate a lot of the need for cash. At that time, it looked as if some kind of electronic card would be the approach. In the 1980s, there was a trial […]
Posted in Internet, Science & technology | Comments (2)
The Anglo-American War of 1812
June 18th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Two hundred years ago today, a war commenced between the United States and Britain. Today the conflict hardly features in the history classes of either nation. You can read a short note on the war here and a longer account here. The war is mostly remembered in the USA as the origins of the national […]
Posted in History, My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
How would you have voted?
June 18th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Since I obtained the right to vote 44 years ago, I have never missed an opportunity to cast my vote, whether in a national or local election. It has not been difficult for me to decide how to cast my vote since principles and ideology matter more to me than current policy or the particular […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Why the Olympic torch will not see the centre of Darlington
June 17th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Explanation here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)
Is the United States in unstoppable decline?
June 16th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
This is the question at the heart of the book I read during my recent holiday in the USA [my account of the trip here]. The book by Edward Luce is entitled “Time To Start Thinking: America And The Spectre Of Decline”. You can read my review here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
The rise and rise of baby Catrin
June 15th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Regular readers of NightHawk will know how delighted (OK, besotted) I am to be a grandfather. Baby Catrin is now almost one and a half and remains an absolute delight. I like to see her once a week, but recently we have been to Washington & New York and Catrin & parents have been to […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Will Barack Obama be re-elected? (1)
June 12th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
Most people outside the United States assume that Obama will win a second term in November. After all, he is the incumbent, he has not suffered any personal or political scandal, he is so intelligent and fluent, he baled out the auto industry, he is reforming the financial system, he is introducing a new healthcare […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (2)
A different view of Iraq
June 11th, 2012 by Roger Darlington
I’ve visited 56 countries and would love to go to more. I learn so much on my travels and see the world very differently. One country which fascinates me is Iraq. I would not be willing to travel to most parts of the country in current circumstances, but I would be open to visiting the Kurdish […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)