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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Ukraine

12th July 2011

The rollerblading bride (and groom)

I suspect it’s not easy, rollerblading in a wedding dress. It’s probably even harder when you’re accompanied by several dozen smartly-dressed guests, also on rollerblades, and are taking a route which includes several steep hills and staircases.

There are always risks in drawing conclusions about national characteristics, so I shall resist any suggestion that this recently-spotted rollerblading wedding party in central Kyiv demonstrates that Ukrainians are a pretty creative bunch of people who are always prepared to take a new approach to established conventions.

I’d be delighted to see more wedding parties on rollerblades as the summer progresses: greener and cheaper than the massive limousines and fleets of supporting vehicles which traditionally transport wedding parties from one photo-opportunity in the city to another.  Respect.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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kyiv Politics Ukraine

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