15th June 2016 Dhaka, Bangladesh
It was a hot summer’s day; the temperature was surely pushing 35 °C. My colleague and I reached a village nearly 200 kilometers away from Dhaka where we had come to visit a 17 year old British girl. We were sitting in small dark room, with no windows and a ceiling fan which was doing […]
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13th June 2016
Tidying out an Embassy cupboard recently, a colleague found a booklet that I first read when I joined the Diplomatic Service in 1986. Even then the 1965 Guidance to Diplomatic Service Officers and Wives posted to Diplomatic Missions Overseas seemed quaint and outdated. Looking at it now some of the advice seems better suited to […]
Read more on Some ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of Diplomatic Etiquette | Reply (1)
3rd June 2016
Travelling to any new destination is always exciting, and a visit I made to Havana recently met all my expectations. Given President Obama’s recent visit there, and the Rolling Stones free performance in front of about one million people, Havana and Cuba are certainly high on the list of many people’s “must visit” locations. Thanks […]
Read more on Havana – an exotic destination – and competition? Only a step away from Turks and Caicos | Reply
20th May 2016 London, England
When I last blogged about DRC, I set out why the UK/DRC relationship mattered, the importance of democracy as the bedrock of stability and my strong hope that the government would reaffirm its commitment to respecting the constitution and to delivering Presidential elections within the mandated timeframe. Last week I was in Kinshasa. Following my […]
Read more on DRC: The future still can be bright…..but not on the current trajectory | Reply
17th May 2016 Paris, France
With three of the home nations having qualified for the European Championships – and hosts France such a short hop away – this summer’s tournament is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of British nationals. And whether you’re travelling by land, air or sea, we’ve got everything you need to #BeOnTheBall. If you’re already thinking about your visit, […]
22nd April 2016 Denver, CO
As one of the first passengers on what has been branded the “Train to the Plane”, I can say that it is truly a game-changer for Colorado. It is one of the most exciting infrastructure projects to hit the State in decades, and, as the UK’s representative in Denver, it’s also exciting to see the […]
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21st April 2016 London, UK
In April 2016 we don’t just mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare. It is also 200 years since the birth of the great English novelist, Charlotte Brontë. I have long loved Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre,’ and visited the parsonage at Haworth in Yorkshire where she spent much of her life when I […]
Read more on An abundance of UK literary heritage: a Brussels angle on the bicentenary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, April 21 1816 | Reply
7th April 2016
During a brief visit to Bermuda to meet my fellow Governors in the region I was fortunate to meet Dr Edward Harris MBE, the director of the superb National Museum of Bermuda. He explained some of the earliest links between our two countries, and at my request has kindly contributed the following piece about our […]
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31st March 2016 London, UK
Authenticity. A nice word to say but what does it really mean? And where does it fit in the world of diplomacy? Some may say that there is a contradiction in terms between authenticity and diplomacy. For me, this cannot be further from the truth – in order to be effective diplomats, we rely on […]
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24th March 2016 London, UK
Since official talks began between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) three years ago, the UK has been committed to supporting the Peace Process in any way we can. Commitment to achieving a lasting peace has resulted in tough negotiations for both sides. I encourage all parties to maintain efforts […]