Archive for December, 2016
Volunteering with Crisis at Christmas (2)
December 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This year, I am going to be a volunteer with the charity for the homeless Crisis at Christmas. At the induction session for new volunteers, we were given some background information on the scale and nature of homelessness. Some 60% of the homeless say that they are lonely. Some 70% of the homeless say that […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Volunteering with Crisis at Christmas (1)
December 19th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For the first time in my life, I am about to become a volunteer. I have been accepted to do three shifts with the charity for the homeless Crisis at Christmas. Since this is my first time, at the weekend I attended a two-hour New Volunteers Induction Session at the Bloomsbury Baptist Central Church in […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (4)
The wonders of BBC’s “Planet Earth II”
December 17th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I know that I’m late to the party, but I’ve just started to watch the widely-praised BBC natural history series “Planet Earth II” narrated by the venerable David Attenborough. The photography is simply stunning. Episode 1 is about “Islands” and this is a clip:
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
What proportion of England’s waste is actually recycled?
December 16th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
One answer is: not enough, less than half, and the proportion is falling. A more statistical answer is: the recycling rate in England has dropped from 44.8% in 2014 to 43.9% in 2015. The rate has fallen for the first time ever, prompting calls for a tax on packaging and meaning EU targets are now […]
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30 photographs of my Thanksgiving visit to the USA
December 13th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
First, I did 10 blog postings during my visit to the United States to enjoy Thanksgiving; then I knitted these postings into a continuous narrative for my web site; now I’ve illustrated the text of the web page with 30 photographs. Check them out here.
Posted in American current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
So how is Jeremy Corbyn doing after his storming re-election as Labour leader?
December 12th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Some of my friends, and even some members of my family, have been enthusiastic supporters of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party. They pointed out that Corbyn’s meetings attracted huge numbers and that many thousands were flocking to join the party. And, of course, in the recent leadership election, Corbyn was returned with […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Who has Donald Trump chosen to help him run the United States for the next four years?
December 11th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
We are still waiting for President-elect Donald Trump to make what is probably the most important appointment to his new administration: the choice of Secretary of State. The latest reports suggests that the pick will be Rex Tillerson who is the CEO of Exxon Mobil and someone with a business relationship with Russian president Vladimir […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (4)
Our annual pre-Christmas family reunion in Leicester
December 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
For as long as I can remember, my wonderful sister Silvia has convened a gathering of the extended family at her home in Leicester a couple of weeks before Christmas. Today is the date of the 2016 event so I’ll be travelling up from London to see everyone. There should be about two dozen there […]
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What should baby boomers do to stay healthy?
December 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I am officially a ‘baby boomer’ because I was born between 1946 and 1964 (actually in 1948). According to a BBC news item, England’s chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies has called on people aged between 50 and 70 to keep working to stay healthy. In a report on the health of the so-called […]
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A review of “Sully: Miracle On The Hudson”
December 8th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Everyone knows what happened when an Airbus was landed on the Hudson River in 2009 and all 155 passengers and crew survived. So how can the story be turned into a successful film? A director of the calibre of Clint Eastwood and an actor as fine as Tom Hanks make this an eminently watchable movie […]
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