Archive for October, 2014


Do you accept that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole assassin in the killing of President John F Kennedy?

October 22nd, 2014 by Roger Darlington

The 1960s was my decade – I was aged 12-22, so it was the formative years for me and I remember it all: James Bond, the Beatles, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam … I am currently watching the showing on British television of an American series called simply “The Sixties” and Episode 3 is devoted […]

Posted in History | Comments (3)


Bye-elections in the House of Lords

October 21st, 2014 by Roger Darlington

If you’re British and interested in politics, you’ll know that that we have recently had two bye-elections to the House of Commons: Rochester and Strood, where UKIP took the seat from the Conservatives, and Heywood and Middleton, where UKIP narrowly failed to take the seat from Labour. Even if you’re obsessive about British politics, it’s unlikely that […]

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)


There is something special about spending time with an older person

October 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Today Vee and I took a dear friend out for lunch to celebrate her 85th birthday. Hana Ludikar has led a remarkable life, largely as a result of having a father who was a Czechoslovak politician who had to flee the Nazis in 1939 and the Communists in 1948. She showed us a fascinating film […]

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At last, an article on the problems facing the British economy which is concise, clear and honest

October 20th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

What are the origins of the current deficit? “Contrary to the Conservative portrayal of it as a spendthrift party, Labour kept the budget in balance averaged over its first six years in office between 1997 and 2002. Between 2003 and 2007 the deficit rose, but at 3.2% of GDP a year it was manageable. More […]

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)


A review of the recent movie “The Monuments Men”

October 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

This unusual World War Two film was directed, co-written and co-produced by George Clooney who also plays the lead character. It is not his best work, but certainly worth viewing. You can read my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)


A review of the book “War. What Good Is It For?”

October 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I try to alternate reading fiction and non-fiction. The latest work of non-fiction that I have read is “War. What Is It Good For?” by Ian Morris. You can read my review here.

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A review of the novel “The Shock Of The Fall”

October 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I try to alternate reading fiction and non-fiction. The latest work of fiction that I have read is “The Shock Of The Fall” by Nathan Fidler. You can read my review here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)


The future of our post offices

October 18th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

I’ve been interested in post offices since 1978 when I became Research Officer at the Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) which later became the National Communications Union (NCU) and is now the Communication Workers Union (CWU). I spent 24 years as a trade union official before taking early retirement. This week, I chaired the Post […]

Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)


An account of my trip to Malta

October 17th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Last weekend, I made a short visit to Malta with my sister Silvia. Although at the time I posted daily reports on the trip, I have now stitched these daily reports into a single narrative and added links and photos. You can check out the account here.

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Today is Blog Action Day 2014 #BAD2014 and this year’s theme is inequality #Inequality

October 16th, 2014 by Roger Darlington

Today is Blog Action Day when bloggers around the world post items on the same theme and this year the chosen subject is inequality. Conveniently this week Credit Suisse has published its annual Global Wealth Report. Among the mass of data, the report tells us that, taken together, the bottom half of the global population […]

Posted in British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (0)