Archive for May, 2015
Has the new Cold War already begun?
May 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It seems that, for the Russians, it already has. In the West, we see the Russians as the aggressors: intervening militarily in Georgia and Ukraine, constantly testing the security defences of other European nations, and backing a president who seems to want to isolate his country more and more from international norms. Of course, the […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
Do you enjoy a good blockbuster movie?
May 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I do. Indeed I enjoy most types of films, all the way from the blockbuster to the art house, and all genres except musicals and horror (although even there I can make exceptions). So at the weekend, in an effort to forget about the terrible General Election result, I went to the City Lit, a […]
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A poem which appealed to me: “Dust If You Must”
May 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
View post on imgur.com The poem is by Rose Milligan.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (3)
The 70th anniversary of victory in Europe
May 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This week marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe as the Allies finally smashed the Nazi war machine. All around Europe, there have been various commemorative ceremonies. Today Vee and I attended a small but special ceremony at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey where Czechoslovak airmen, killed during the […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
British general election (18): some interesting facts and figures
May 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The new Parliament has 182 new members, including 74 new Conservative, 53 new Labour and 50 new Scottish National MPs. The new Parliament will see a record number of female representatives, with 191 women (up from 143) which represents 29% (up from 22%). The new Parliament will see a record number of ethnic representatives, with […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
British general election (17): how did all the polls get it so wrong?
May 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The failure of all the polls to predict the actual outcome of the General Election has rightly caused many questions to be asked. There is to be an inquiry commissioned by the British Polling Council into what went wrong. But this is a wider problem than Britain, In other countries, like the USA and Israel, […]
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs, World current affairs | Comments (1)
My 9th short story: “The PM And The MP”
May 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Enough of political reality; let’s have some political fiction. Six years ago, I wrote a short story entitled “The PM And The MP” which features a Labour Prime Minister who is Jewish and radical. This week, Ed Miliband might have become that man in the real world – but it was not to be. At […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
My short guide to the British political system – an update following the general election
May 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
My web site contains around 170 sections. The most visited section is my short guide to the British political system and, in recent days, there have been especially large numbers checking out this section. I’ve now updated it to take account of the recent general election and you can check it our here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
British general election (16): I officially resign as an election pundit
May 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
OK – I’ve now caught up with my sleep, having gone to bed in the early hours when the broad thrust of the General Election result was clear and I could take no more blueness. When I went to bed, I hoped that I would wake up to find that it was just a bad […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (9)
British general election (15): today’s the day and it couldn’t be closer
May 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The front page article in today’s “Guardian” newspaper summarises the position this morning: “Britain is heading for a second hung parliament in succession after the most drawn-out election campaign since the war appeared to be ending in near deadlock with Labour and the Conservatives tied at 35% each according to the preliminary results of the […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)