7th January 2019 Port Louis, Mauritius
It’s been quite some time since my last blog. Twitter seems to have taken over! Remembrance Day and that important opportunity to honour and remember those who gave so much seemed like a very good occasion to get started again. Honouring those who served in the Arctic Convoys of the Second World War was a […]
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14th December 2017 Port Louis, Mauritius
I arrived in Maurtius in August after four wonderful years in magnificent St Petersburg, Russia’s cultural capital. Russia to Mauritius? Quite a change people would say. Well, they were absolutely right. The biggest change is of course the weather. By December we would be well into a long, dark and freezing Russian winter, whereas in […]
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15th May 2017
Commemorating the heroic sacrifice of the veterans of the Arctic Convoys of World War Two has been an important part of my role in St Petersburg over the past four years. I was delighted and honoured to be invited to participate in special events at Loch Ewe in remote North Western Scotland on 6-7 May […]
19th April 2017
We have been very fortunate to have had many wonderful events over the past few years commemorating many different periods of shared history between Russia and the UK. The latest event took place in early April when a delegation of retired officers from the Royal Scots Greys visited St Petersburg to present a replica dress uniform […]
6th April 2017
I paid a farewell visit to the ‘hero city’ of Murmansk in late March. I’ve enjoyed many interesting visits to this Arctic city over the past few years but my introduction back in autumn 2013 was a little unexpected. Instead of the routine range of introductory calls, my first visit to Murmansk included a prison […]
10th March 2017
I have made over a dozen visits to Arkhangelsk since autumn 2013. It’s a very special place in Russia for the UK and I was keen to make one final visit before I leave Russia to thank our key contacts and underline our commitment to future friendship and engagement. Visiting Arkhangelsk has been a highlight […]
3rd February 2017
Late January is always an important time for Scotland’s cultural relationship with Russia and in particular St Petersburg. Not only do we celebrate the birthday of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, but we also welcome friends from the St Petersburg Forum who visit St Petersburg every year for Days of Scotland. Importantly, the Days of […]
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20th December 2016
I was delighted to be invited to participate in the opening of a new exhibition in honour of the ice-breaker Krasin at the Presidential Library in St Petersburg on 15 December. The exhibition may have been called ‘The ice-breaker Krasin: 100 Years in the History of Russia’, but as regular readers of my blog will […]
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1st December 2016
Vologodskaya region is at the southern end of my consular district, Russia’s large North West Federal District. The two main cities are the regional administrative centre, Vologda, and the industrial centre, Cherepovets. Both lie approximately half way between Moscow and St Petersburg. I was keen to see and hear more about this region of Russia, […]
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24th November 2016
My most recent blog (Remembrance Day Commemorations in North West Russia) described our annual Remembrance events across North West Russia in honour of the brave British and Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen who served in North West Russia during World War One, including the Allied Intervention period of 1918-19, and World War Two. There has […]
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