3rd October 2012
Imagine you are in an enormous mosque, over 1,000 years old. You find an architectural style that encourages serene contemplation: a seemingly endless vista of columns culminating in an octagonal mihrab, a sacred focal point for prayer. But then, in the heart of the mosque, you come across a cathedral: an altar, statues of saints […]
12th September 2012
A fellow diplomat in Amman once told me that he loved it when the Ambassador was away, because he didn’t have to do any work. Well, after a busy summer, @PeterMillett1 is now on a well-earned holiday. In his absence, has the British Embassy shut down?
4th September 2012
A scorpion wanted to cross the River Nile. Unable to swim, he asked a frog to carry him over to the opposite bank. “No way!” said the frog. “You’ll sting me and I’ll drown!” “Of course I won’t sting you,” said the scorpion. “I’d end up drowning myself too.” So the reluctant frog let the […]
23rd August 2012
Next week sees the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, two weeks of great sport between athletes from all over the world. It is the second largest sporting event in the world, an extraordinary celebration of elite sporting ability. Maybe some people will say “So what?” and turn off. Surely nothing can match the […]
6th August 2012
I read an article last week by a French philosopher and economist drawing a parallel between Britain and Japan as “Islands of Isolation.” His theme was that both countries remain inward- looking and preoccupied with the disintegration of their original culture. I can’t speak for Japan, but anyone who watched the magnificent opening ceremony of […]
22nd July 2012
In ancient Greece, where the Olympic Games originated, there was a sacred tradition that warring city states would lay down their arms to allow athletes to compete in the Games. Warlords were unable to take the opportunity of teams crossing their territory to score points against their enemies, or take sportsmen hostage. Greeks could concentrate on sport, […]
11th July 2012
Watching the Wimbledon tennis championships last week reminded me of the old Scouts motto: “Be Prepared”. It demonstrates yet again that preparation is the key to success. We not only saw the players thrashing the ball at each other on Centre Court, but also saw snippets of their painstaking preparations, spending hours every day honing […]
27th June 2012
This week the British airline easyJet named one of their aircraft “Petra 200” commemorating the time 200 years ago when the first Western tourist, Burckhart visited Petra. easyJet have given very few of their 204 planes names, so this was a rare event. It was also an event of great significance. easyJet is the biggest airline […]
14th June 2012
The man was clearly traumatised after crossing the border from Syria. His eyes wide, he told us that he had seen his sister and her seven children murdered by regime thugs. Another man told us with tears about the way he and his family were stopped at a check point and the Syrian army took his daughter away and […]
31st May 2012
This weekend sees an outburst of national emotion in the United Kingdom as we celebrate Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee. It will be done in style: a four-day holiday weekend will see a pageant of 1,000 boats sail down the River Thames including a specially designed royal barge, a concert at Buckingham Palace with some of the […]