Archive for May, 2018
Word of the day: antidisestablishmentarianism
May 19th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
In the many debates on political reform in the UK, one idea is disestablishment of the Church of England. Rightly in my view, it is argued that the UK population is no longer largely devoted to the Anglican faith and that, in multicultural Britain, it is wrong for one religious denomination to be privileged over others with […]
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British political institutions (6): devolution & Brexit
May 19th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended the sixth and final session of the course at the City Literary Institute on “British Political Institutions“. This session was on devolution and Brexit and delivered by two lecturers: American Dale Mineshima-Lowe and British Mark Malcolmson. The UK has a devolved system of government with a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly […]
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Reviews of my last two films: “Sherlock Gnomes” & “Let The Sunshine In”
May 16th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
The last two films that I’ve seen – on consecutive days last weekend – could not have been more different. ************************************************************ “Sherlock Gnomes” Like the Smurfs, garden gnomes make cute characters for a children’s animated movie. I missed the first outing, the Shakespeare-themed “Gnomeo & Juliet”, because it was issued in the year of my […]
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Word of the day: homunculus
May 15th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
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A review of the fascinating book “Enlightenment Now” by Steven Pinker (2018)
May 11th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
The Enlightenment took place from the mid 17th century to the late 18th century but, 300 years later, the triumphs of Enlightenment thinking and values, with their emphasis on reason, science and humanism, still need explaining and defending to a world in which populism and so-called post-truth are seeking to challenge the fruits of progress. […]
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British political institutions (5): the civil service
May 10th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended session 5 of the six-week course at the City Literary Institute on “British Political Institutions“. This session was on the civil service and delivered by two lecturers: Phil Chamberlain, who was a former civil servant in what is now the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports, and Philip Geering, who […]
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In short, what is the nuclear deal with Iran?
May 9th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
“Iran and a six-nation negotiating group reached a landmark agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in July 2015. It ended 12 years of deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Struck in Vienna after nearly two years of intensive talks, the deal limited the Iranian programme to reassure the rest of the world that […]
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The continuing tragedy of Syria’s civil war
May 8th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I spent two hours this Bank Holiday weekend watching a double programme about the civil war in Syria. It was broadcast by the BBC and presented by its Canadian-born chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet. You can check it out here. The seven-year Syrian civil war is a conflict which has now lasted longer than the Second […]
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British political institutions (4): the judiciary
May 7th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at the City Literary Institute in central London and I’m now doing a six-week course on “British Political Institutions”. The fourth session of the course was delivered by Mark Geering and covered the judiciary, including an outline of the legal system and the role of the Supreme Court. I have […]
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A review of the new film “Tully”
May 6th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody first worked together on the justifiably acclaiimed “Juno”, featuring a teenage girl unexpectedly pregnant. A decade later, the two are paired again for another film with a single-word, woman’s name for the title and again we start with an unplanned pregnancy. This time, however, the pregnant woman is […]
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