Archive for June, 2018
400 years ago, Europe’s Thirty Years’ War began
June 7th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This summer, four centuries ago, three characters were thrown out of a window in Prague – they all survived – and, from this bizarre incident, a war began than ran for 30 years and caused utter devastation throughout Central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was convulsed by a bitter conflict between the Catholic Austrian Habsburgs […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Could a people’s vote reverse the Brexit decision?
June 6th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This week, I attended the first annual lecture to commemorate the distinguished former European Commission official Julian Priestley (1950-2017) whom I knew briefly in the mid 1970s. The speech – a low-key but heartfelt address – was given by Richard Corbett, a long time Member of the European Parliament and leader of the British Labour Party […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A (very) short history of broadband Britain
June 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Can you remember those early, exciting days when you moved from narrowband to broadband for your Internet connection? Instead of having to dial up each time, you were always on and, instead of a speed of as low as 28.8 kilobits per second (kps), you jumped to at least 128 kbps. A lot has happened […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
“A Very English Scandal” was a very English success
June 4th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I spent part of this weekend watching all three one-hour episodes in the BBC1 drama series “A Very English Scandal”. This provides an account of the gay relationship between Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe and model Norman Scott and the trial of Thorpe and others on the charge of conspiracy to murder Scott. Although I […]
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
A genuine democracy needs effective trade unions
June 3rd, 2018 by Roger Darlington
I spent 24 years working professionally as a national trade union official, so I know the vital role that unions play in counterbalancing the power of employers and exploitation at the workplace and I know the reluctance of unions to take strike action especially when this is so heavily circumscribed by law. Last week, an […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
June 1st, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This is the 10th “Star Wars” movie, the second in the anthology, and the first origin story. It arrives only half a year after “The Last Jedi” – clearly Disney, as the new owners of the franchise, are seeking to exploit the potential of the box office – and after a troubled production (notably a […]
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