Archive for September, 2014


A review of the new movie “Before I Go To Sleep”

September 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

This is a solid enough film but not the best memory loss movie. See my review here.

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Fancy travelling somewhere different? Want a bit of excitement? Here are 13 suggestions.

September 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

As you’ll see from this section of my web site, Vee and I like to travel to different countries and, over the years have been to some fascinating places. Not just nations like Egypt, India and China, but quite exotic locations like Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria and Guatemala. and Vee especially has done some fun things […]

Posted in Miscellaneous, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)


Why has the West been so globally dominant in the last 500 years? It’s latitudes not attitudes that explains it.

September 29th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I am currently reading “War: What Is It Good For”? by Ian Morris and this fascinating look at big history frequently refers to the ‘lucky latitudes’. This led me to look up earlier writing by Morris on this idea that it is geography and not biology that has largely shaped the history of civilisations. In this […]

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The fascination story of the remains of King Richard III

September 28th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I did a blog posting some time ago about the discovery in a Leicester car park of the skeleton of England’s King Richard III who was killed at the battle of Bosworth in . The city of Leicester put on a temporary exhibition in the city about the discovery of the remains and the decretive […]

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A review of the film “Divergent”

September 28th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

If you enjoyed “The Hunger Games”, you’ll probably like “Divergent” – see my review of the movie here.

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Among all the trouble spots in the world, don’t forget Uzbekistan

September 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

There are so many places of armed conflict and human rights abuse around the globe that it’s tempting to cut oneself off from the news or to focus only on the current or largest threats like Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But we should not overlook other trouble spots such as Uzbekistan where there […]

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Who was the first to suggest a standard system of tipping?

September 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

You might be surprised – apparently the idea in Britain goes back at least to 1768, as you will see from this story on the BBC web site. Like many people, I really don’t like the system of tipping. It obscures the issue of low wages. One is never sure whom to tip and how much. […]

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More fun time with my granddaughter Catrin

September 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Earlier this week, the Labour Party held its annual conference in Manchester and both parents of my granddaughter Catrin were attending parts of the event, so we looked after her for a couple of nights and a couple of days. We had lots of fun together and, as always, she was so chatty and funny. […]

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How has market research changed in the age of social media?

September 24th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Less than two weeks before the referendum on Scottish independence, there was a YouGov poll suggesting that the ‘yes’ vote was in the lead but the actual result was a 10 percentage point victory for the ‘no’ vote. So was the YouGove poll flawed? According to the pollster’s Chief Executive Stephan Shakespeare, the poll was […]

Posted in British current affairs, Consumer matters | Comments (0)


The war of Jenkin’s ear – the oddest name for a conflict in British history?

September 23rd, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I am currently reading “War: What Is It Good For”? by Ian Morris and he mentions the war of Jenkin’s ear which prompted me to remind myself what this oddly-named conflict was all about. It was a war between Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. The body […]

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