Archive for February, 2021


Word of the day: comity

February 11th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

In legal language, there is a term comity of nations which is the friendly recognition accorded by one nation to the laws and and usages of another. More generally, the word comity means mutual civility or courtesy. I came across the word in a profile of the new US President Joe Biden which suggested that […]

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What’s it like to be on Channel Four’s #FirstDates programme?

February 10th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

Almost five years ago, my wife of 35 years left me and, after some time, my mind turned to online dating. I dated quite a number of women but did not manage to establish a lasting relationship. My young friend Spence told me about a programme on Channel Four television called “First Dates”. I had […]

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Something to cheer you up in these dark times

February 9th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

This blog has readers from around the world but, if you’re resident in the UK, I have a treat for you this evening. On Channel Four television at 10 pm, there is a special Valentine edition of the series “First Dates”. Each show pairs four couples and I’ll be the guy in the second couple. […]

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Word of the day: meliorism

February 8th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

Meliorism is the doctrine that the world tends to become better or may be made better by human effort. It comes from the Latin word melior which means better. I first came across the term meliorism today when reading a new book: a biography of the new US president Joe Biden by Evan Osnos. Osnos […]

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“A Promised Land” by Barack Obama (6)

February 6th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

Large sections of the last 250 pages of the book are devoted to different areas and aspects of foreign policy. In so far as it is fair to summarise Obama’s approach in a single sentence, that would be his assertion that: “I was determined to shift a certain mindset that had gripped not just the […]

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Ever heard of the Schumann resonances?

February 5th, 2021 by Roger Darlington

No, neither had I – until today. A friend of mine, who is very spiritual, explained that her troubled week might be related to a high value of the Schumann resonances. As a sceptic, I am profoundly doubtful about all spiritual phenomena or explanations, but I was assured that Schumann resonances are a real thing. […]

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A review of the new film “The White Tiger”

February 3rd, 2021 by Roger Darlington

Inevitably, this film will be compared with “Slumdog Millionaire”. Both tell the story of a young man’s rise in urban India; both are based on novels by Indian writers: both have Western directors. But “Slumdog” – while including some tough elements – was ultimately a feel-good rom-com with a message of redemption, while “Tiger” is […]

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A review of the new film “The Dig”

February 2nd, 2021 by Roger Darlington

It’s 1939 and war clouds are gathering over Europe and fighter aircraft – from RAF Martlesham (incidentally now the site of BT’s research centre) – are in the skies over Suffolk. Wealthy landowner and widower Lady Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) engages local excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to investigate the mounds on her land, leading […]

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