Archive for June, 2016


Jeremy Corbyn will soon be gone – and then …

June 30th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

This has been the most tumultuous week in British politics in my lifetime. On a large turnout but by a small margin, the electorate voted for Britain to leave the European Union. I still can’t quite believe that this will happen but I have no idea how it will not. Meanwhile political careers are falling […]

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Britain is not the only country in political chaos – have a look at Spain

June 28th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

In Britain, we are about to see a new leader of the Conservative Party which means a new Prime Minister.  Some months later, we might have a general election which could conceivably result in yet another Prime Minister. Meanwhile, in sunny Spain, they had an election in December when the Prime Minister’s party won the […]

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What exactly is Article 50 and how is it activated?

June 27th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

On 23 June, there was a referendum on the issue of UK membership of the European Union and the shock waves are rippling through every corner of British politics and the British economy. On a turnout of 71.8% (the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election), 51.9% voted for the UK […]

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A review of “The Meddler”

June 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

This small, independent film was released at the same time as the “Independence Day” Resurgence” blockbuster, so the chances are that you haven’t heard to it. But this is a rare movie that is written and directed by a woman and has women in the two leading roles. It’s funny and moving and I recommend […]

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A review of “Independence Day: Resurgence”

June 26th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Twenty years ago, it looked as if the world had defeated an alien invasion. But you know how persistent immigrants are. We should have built a wall. Now they’re back. Can we defeat then again? I won’t reveal the ending of the  movie, but you can read my non-spoiler review here.

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Trying to makes sense of the vote for Brexit

June 25th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

“A quick note on the first three tragedies. Firstly, it was the working classes who voted for us to leave because they were economically disregarded, and it is they who will suffer the most in the short term. They have merely swapped one distant and unreachable elite for another. Secondly, the younger generation has lost […]

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The result of Britain’s EU referendum debate changes EVERYTHING

June 24th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Yesterday, I voted in a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. I voted to remain in the EU – as I did in the referendum of 1975. We now know the result. On a turnout of 71.8% (the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election), 51.9% voted for […]

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So just how fast is the world’s fastest computer?

June 22nd, 2016 by Roger Darlington

The answer is a mind-numbing 93,000 trillion calculations per second. The computer that can do this is the Sunway TaihuLight which is installed at the National Supercomputing Centre in Wuxi in China. You can learn more here.

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A review of “The Girl On The Train”

June 21st, 2016 by Roger Darlington

At last, I’ve read the best-selling novel “The Girl On The Train” by British author Paula Hawkins. It’s a very readable thriller with women as the main characters and more than a few twists. You can read my review here and you should look out for the film with Emily Blunt which will be released on […]

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The weather – like our politics – has gone mad

June 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington

Technically, today is the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere as explained in this short note. But it seems that nobody told the weather. Here in London, we have grey skies and heavy rain and a temperature of 15C. On Thursday, the UK holds a referendum to decide whether the country will remain a […]

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