Archive for October, 2014


This Halloween breaks two records

October 31st, 2014 by Roger Darlington

1)  A temperature of 23.6C (74.3F) was recorded in Gravesend, Kent and Kew Gardens, Greater London, surpassing the previous record of 20.0C. Other parts of the south of England and the north coasts of Wales and Norfolk also broke the 20C mark. It was warm enough for us to have lunch on our terrace. 2) […]

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How well do people know the basic facts on immigration?

October 31st, 2014 by Roger Darlington

A new survey by Ipsos MORI has checked public understanding of the numbers behind some key news stories in 14 countries. Let’s just look at two issues in two countries. When asked: out of 100 people, how many do you think are immigrants in this country? In the UK, the average guess was 24%, but […]

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Two days with my special young friend Joshua

October 30th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

In the last few months, Vee and I have hosted stays from a  number of youngsters. We’ve had our granddaughter Catrin (three and three-quarters) – see account here; we’ve had Vee’s great niece Yasmin (8) and great nephew Lucas (almost 6) – see account here; and this week – half term in the south of […]

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18 weird German words you won’t believe exist

October 29th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

The Germans certainly have a way with words – a weird way – as you’ll see from these examples. Ist Wunderbar, ja?

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Are there really multiple universes out there?

October 28th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Vee and I are currently watching the new BBC 2 series titled “Human Universe” which is written and presented by Professor Brian Cox. In the second programme in the series, entitled “Why Are We Here?”, Cox concludes that our universe is simply one of an infinite number of universes making up the multiverse. I confess […]

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Britain’s intervention in Afghanistan – the cold facts

October 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

As Britain’s combat role in Afghanistan comes to an end, some facts to ponder on concerning our involvement: Length of intervention: 13 years Maximum troop deployment: 10,000 Total number who served: 140,000 Number of British troops killed: 453 Number of British troops wounded: 2,188 Financial cost: £37 billion During this period: Number of US military […]

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As we turn the clocks back in the UK, around the world who does and who does not practice daylight saving time?

October 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

If you look at the world map on this web page, you’ll see that almost 80 nations – notably those of Europe and North America – practice daylight saving, but most of the rest of the world manages without this practice. The same web page provides some interesting facts on the practice: The USA has […]

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A review of the new Brad Pitt film “Fury”

October 26th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Brad Pitt is back in a Second World War movie, but “Inglourious Basterds” it ain’t – see my review here.

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Do you know your Myers-Briggs personality type? Want to know mine?

October 25th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Someone asked me today what my personality type was in terms of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? I had to search through my personal records to find the report booklet from when I completed the MBTI questionnaire on a training course which I did many years ago. I was assigned type ENTJ. What does that mean? […]

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A review of the film “Gone Girl”

October 24th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I haven’t read the novel (I will now) but I have seen the film (I want to see it again) and “Gone Girl” is a terrific thriller – two and half hours of edge of the seat tension. You can read my review here.

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