9th May 2017 Chennai, India
In March, I had the absolute delight of visiting India for the first time in my life and the whole week was an adventure, both personally and commercially. Experiencing the Indian way of life, the hospitality and incredible proactivity to doing business were all eye-opening, as was the traffic! I help run Innovation Birmingham, the […]
21st November 2016 Chennai, India
On Wednesday, I will launch British Deputy High Commission Chennai’s violence against women (VAW) project at Kerala’s Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH) in Kozhikode (Calicut). Here’s a great blog by Rudy Fernandez who’s leading on this project which we’re running across several Indian states over the next couple of months to support better government responses and […]
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30th September 2016 Chennai, India
A couple of weeks ago we hosted our first ever event at the Residence for the LGBTQ community in Chennai. It was a watershed event for us. It was – by diplomatic standards at least – daring, edgy and fun. It was the first time we’ve tried to engage with that community in a country […]
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7th June 2016 Chennai, India
I know it’s been too long since a wrote a blog. It’s hard to think of subjects any readers might be interested in (as always, feedback welcome!) and to prioritise the time. But I’m very conscious that I’m halfway through my posting (sorry, you’re stuck with me to Summer 2018), which is a real driver […]
8th December 2015 Chennai, India
As I look outside at bright sunny skies, it’s almost impossible to recall what the last 3 weeks have been like. Chennai has been battered by the highest rains in over a century. The BDHC closed for 3 days when the electrical supply room flooded, and the power had to be switched off but this […]
27th November 2015 Chennai, India
Today I celebrate 20 years in the Foreign Office. I joined, like many others, because I wanted to see the world and be a part of something that mattered. I remember during the induction a colleague who was less awed by the surroundings asking how long it would take to get promoted (answer 12 years if […]
11th November 2015 Chennai, India
The tall bloke on the right is my best friend Ralph Chapman (obviously I’m not quite that short nor, unfortunately, that young). We’ve known each other since we were 3 and together at Nursery (when I spoke mostly Gujarati), and best mates since we were about 8 when I was forcibly separated from Michael Mowbray […]
17th September 2015 Chennai, India
I’m always conscious that working for my government is a privilege, even if I’ll never become rich as a British civil servant. And working in India – on most days – is an absolute blast, not least because of the incredible team across India that I get to work with. Being a dynamic and growing […]
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23rd November 2014 Chennai, India
I’ve spent most of my career working on Africa and its issues. It’s a beautiful, resilient, inspiring continent. The people are simply extraordinary. But I’ve also seen first-hand the prevalence of violence against women there. That’s true in conflict – in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and most recently as Ambassador to the Central […]
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27th September 2014 Chennai, India
Last month I turned 45. I’m not telling you this so you can congratulate or commiserate with me, although my beloved wife did – very sweetly – remind me that I’m now numerically closer to 50 than 40 (thanks darling). But I do find that birthdays are increasingly occasions for reflection. This year, I was […]