Archive for October, 2013


Another poem by Rabindranath Tagore

October 31st, 2013 by Roger Darlington

Those who are near me do not know that you are nearer to me than they are Those who speak to me do not know that my heart is full with your unspoken words Those who crowd in my path do not know that I am walking alone with you They who love me do […]

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How to make sense of all those place names in the British Isles

October 30th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

In Britain and Ireland, there are many place names with recurring elements. Obviously these bits of names mean something – but what? Take the city of Manchester where I lived until I was 23. The ‘chester’ bit, which occurs in other place names, means a camp or fortification especially of Roman origin. You can find […]

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Do we need an African NATO?

October 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

My son Richard Darlington thinks so, as he explains in this cogent article for the “New Statesman”. Not surprisingly I’m sure, I agreed with him. But I’m not just saying this because he is my son and very well informed on international matters. Six years ago, I wrote a posting on this blog about the case for […]

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The story of Heinz 57 plus 57 stories to make you think

October 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

When I was growing up, Heinz was known as a company that produced 57 different types of soup. But it wasn’t true and the number was a mere invention for marketing purposes – see here. In the section of my web site on “Stories To Make You Think”, I have just added the 57th item […]

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Celebrating Czech National Day

October 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

It’s probably escaped your attention but today is Czech National Day, the anniversary of the date in 1918 when the new state of Czechoslovakia was declared. My wife Vee is half Czech, so we follow these things. Vee’s father was a famous World War Two pilot, so were were invited to attend the National Day […]

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So, just how big is the UK’s tax gap?

October 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

The tax gap is the difference between what the tax authority believes should be paid in tax and what is actually paid. It comprises tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax lost to the hidden economy, and companies and individuals falling to take reasonable care. According to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the total figure is […]

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A review of the new film “Captain Phillips”

October 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

This weekend, Vee and i went to see a film with our good friend Spence. Nothing unusual about that. But we went to the brand new Cineworld (it only opened this week) at the almost equally new London Designer Outlet in nearby Wembley with its choice of 15 restaurants. We could not have seen a […]

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Coming soon to somebody near you – or even you: transient or biodegradable electronics

October 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

“Imagine recovering from an operation without fear of a post-op infection from a drug-resistant super-bug. Imagine that this is because of a tiny electronic device left behind when they sewed you back up, which monitors the wound, picks up signs of infection, administers a specific amount of heat to the right area and then, job […]

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How my darling granddaughter has already mastered the female art of multi-tasking

October 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

“Thank you for buying me this delicious pizza, granddad, but … … can I play my games on your iPad at the same time please?”

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Has the web grown too big for its bytes?

October 25th, 2013 by Roger Darlington

“Every year I return from a visit to California dazed at cyberia’s next expansion in reach. After machines that can track and record our every move will come sensors that can identify our faces and gather, catalogue and distribute such data worldwide. After tools that can read messages come ones that can hear our talk […]

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