Archive for August, 2013
An Indian evening of Raksha Bandhan and birthday celebration
August 17th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
This evening, Vee and I were delighted to spend time with our lovely Indian neighbours Anil & Bharti (grandparents), Manish & Krishna (parents), and Deepa (16) & Anand (12). It was mainly a celebration of Deepa’s 16th birthday (which is actually on Wednesday), but it was also an occasion to mark the Indian festival of […]
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Ever heard of Brit Marling?
August 17th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
No, I didn’t think so. But, believe me, she is a woman to watch. She is an intelligent and attractive American actress who turned down a job at Goldman Sachs to seek a career in the movies. In just a few years, she has been in three small, independent films where she was the lead […]
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Who is the oldest man on the planet?
August 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
It’s the summer – the silly season for the media when Parliament is in recess and politicians are on holiday. Right on cue, the “Mirror” newspaper today has a story about the oldest man alive – who apparently is the oldest man ever recorded. He is called Carmelo Flores Laura and he is said to […]
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A review of the movie “Gangster Squad”
August 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I think that you can guess what this film is about, but you can learn more from my review here.
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The stupidest interview ever by Fox News
August 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
American academic Reza Aslan is brilliantly clear and composed in refuting the absurd claims of Fox News interviewer that, because, he is a Muslim, he is suspect in writing a book about the life of Jesus. Check it out here: In an interview in today’s “Guardian”, Aslan states: “You can’t spend your life studying the […]
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What is the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist?
August 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The answer is Guatemala where, in the last five years, at least 58 trade union members have been killed with no one ever convicted of a murder.Current trade union membership in the country stands at a mere 1.6% of the working population. You can find more information here. I spent 24 years as a professional […]
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Why Britain’s National Health Service is so sick
August 15th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Are we really that close to Christmas?
August 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
All our Christmas cards are purchased from charities that we support and we try to spread our orders between a number of them. So each year we receive catalogues through the mail from every charity that we have ever backed. Today – more than four months before Noel – we received our first charity Christmas […]
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Has the British economy really recovered?
August 14th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
In his article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper, Robert Skidelsky, professor of political economy at Warwick University. writes: “Five years after the onset of the financial crisis, Britain’s economy is still 3.5% smaller than it was in 2008. Growth may have spurted ahead of Britain’s competitors in the last quarter, but this comparison neglects the fact that […]
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What are the most popular names for new babies in Britain?
August 13th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
According to the data compiled annually by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the most popular names for children born in England & Wales during 2012 – published this week – were as follows: Position Boys Girls 1 Harry Amelia 2 Oliver Olivia 3 Jack Jessica 4 Charlie Emily 5 Jacob Lily 6 Thomas Ava […]
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