Archive for January, 2015


Why the history of China is steeped in blood and death

January 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington

For three weeks now, I’ve been attending a course at London’s City Lit adult college on the recent history of China. What is very apparent from our sessions is just how much blood has been shed and just how many lives have been lost throughout the long history of China. This is a powerful element […]

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Who is the hottest actress in Hollywood right now? Clue: she’s not American or British.

January 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

Her name is Alicia Vikander and she’s Swedish. Amazingly she has no less than eight films being released in 2015 including the excellent “Ex Machina” which I’ve reviewed here. You can read about Vikander and her new movies here.

Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)


Is global warming caused by human activity? What Americans and Britons think …

January 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

According to a recent poll, 40% of Americans believe that mankind is causing the planet to warm. According to the latest poll in Britain, 84% believe climate change is partly or entirely caused by human activity. As Americans would say: “Go figure.”

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How many ties you you own and in what state do you keep them?

January 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

My wife Vee and her niece Sharon (who is staying with us) decided to tackle me on my ties. They wanted to know how many I had. I had no idea. So we counted and the answer was 33. Is that a lot or a little or average? Then they wanted to see how I […]

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Why you should never give a clock to a Chinese person

January 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

Some of my best friends are Chinese, but they can be a superstitious nation. If one word sounds like a another, then the association can either mean good luck or black luck. An example of good luck is the number 8 which is the luckiest number because it sounds like the words for ‘prosperity’ and ‘multiply’. […]

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British general election (5): exactly 100 days to go

January 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

So, what will be the result of the election in three months time? Like all observers and commentators, I don’t know – but here are the main  options: Majority Conservative Government – very unlikely Majority Labour Government – very unlikely Conservatives in coalition with Liberal Democrats – possible Labour in coalition with Liberal Democrats – […]

Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)


Holocaust Memorial Day: 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz

January 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

In the UK, today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I have visited Holocaust museums in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Washington and Jerusalem and I have been to Terezin in the Czech Republic and Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland. One weekend some years ago, I attend a fascinating course on the Holocaust run by an impressive teacher called Ronnie […]

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What does the Syriza victory in Greece really mean?

January 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

Maria Kyriakidou is a Greek academic working in Cultural Politics, Communications and Media at the University of East Anglia and has written a thoughtful analysis of the election result in a blog posting which concludes: “As the world, therefore, either celebrates or condemns Syriza’s win, Greeks are once more confused. The political powers of the […]

Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)


How the customer voice has been heard in the water sector (3)

January 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

The last three years have seen a fascinating experience in how to embed the consumer voice in a regulated utility – the creation of Customer Challenge Groups by the 18 water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. I have chaired the CCG for South East Water and I was invited by “Utility Week” to […]

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Reviews of my two weekend films: “Wild” and “Ex Machina”

January 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington

This weekend, I managed to see two movies that have only recently been released: “Wild” [my review here] and “Ex Machina” [my review here]. At one level, these two movies are utterly different: “Wild” is a true story, set in the near past, and covers geography of over 1,000 miles of open land, “Ex Machina” is […]

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