Archive for July, 2014
How many countries are in the United Kingdom?
July 23rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
As far as the Olympics Games is concerned, the UK is one contestant although for some reason we call it Team GB. As far as football’s World Cup is concerned, we have four teams – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – but we still do terribly. Now, when it comes to the Commonwealth Games […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)
Are we there yet? Christmas, I mean.
July 23rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
If you ever travel with little children, you’ll know that their most common refrain is: “Are we there yet?” Little ones struggle to understand time and distance. Well, it seems that they’re not the only ones. Today I received my first Christmas brochure. It was online and from Jessops. I wish those guys would look […]
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
American presidents (1): Lyndon B Johnson
July 23rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
As a portfolio worker, I have reached the point in the year when many of the organisations with which I work stop having meetings for a month or two because of the summer period. So, for the next few weeks, I’ll be reading books, seeing films, and going on short courses. This summer, the City […]
Posted in History | Comments (2)
Speaker of the House of Commons tells me: “You are a digital equivalent of Che Guevara”
July 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Last night, I was at the House of Commons for a meeting organised by the snappily-named Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum (PICTFOR). The title was “Parliament 2.0: How can the Internet revolutionise British democracy?” The keynote address came from the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow MP who admitted “I am not […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
How can digital technology help to bridge the gap between Parliamentarians and voters?
July 21st, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Earlier this year, a Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy was established to investigate the opportunities digital technology can bring for parliamentary democracy in the UK. It will make recommendations in January 2015. One of the Commission members is Helen Milner, the Chief Executive of the Tinder Foundation, and one of those recently giving evidence was Lord […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
“Hard Choices” (3): a view of Russia
July 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This week, we had the utterly appalling experience of a Malaysian Airlines aircraft being shot down over Eastern Ukraine with the loss of all 298 passengers and crew. Most observers – myself included – believe that the airliner was shot down by Russian-speaking Ukrainian rebels with equipment and probably expertise provided by Russia. Coincidentally I […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Jack Bauer has just finished another bad day (this time in London)
July 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just watched the last two episodes of the new series of “24” entitled “Live Another Day”. I was tempted to return to the series, partly because there are only 12 episodes this time and partly because many of the scenes were shot in London locations well known to me as a resident of the […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
“Boyhood” – a remarkable film that most people will never see
July 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Richard Linklater – who wrote and directed “Boyhood” over a period of 12 years – is a kind of genius but his films are the very antithesis of Hollywood blockbusters, Now, I love many blockbusters for their excitement, but Linklater offers something which I want as well: slow, thoughtful, domestic, dialogue-driven, convincing looks at life. […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How do you compare to the average Briton?
July 18th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Courtesy of the “Daily Mirror”, you’ll find some fun facts here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Catrin and I go on an adventure to Legoland
July 16th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Regular visitors to this blog will know that I try to see my granddaughter Catrin – now three and a half – once each week. However, I was not needed in the past couple of weeks, so I went three weeks without seeing her and then this week I am childminding one evening, looking after […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)