3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
13th November 2016 London, UK
Why do Brits wear the Poppy?
Lots of people are asking me the same question I get every year on the significance of the poppy flower. Here’s a slightly updated version of the blog I wrote last year if you’re interested in knowing the answer #WhydoBritswearthePoppy? https://blogs.fcdo.gov.uk/richardmoore/2015/11/11/why-do-brits-wear-the-poppy/ Why do Brits wear the Poppy? The small, red flower – a poppy – […]
13th November 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka
The Double Sunrise of Peace
On Friday 11 November, we held our usual ceremony for Remembrance Day. The Commonwealth War Graves enclosure of the Liveramentu cemetery on Torrington Road was as serene as ever. The headstones are a startling white against the immaculate green grass. The tropical sun beats down. Birdsong fills the two minute silence. The reading from Kenny […]
11th November 2016 London, UK
Kew observes Remembrance Day 2016
The wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Remembrance Sunday is to be created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. As is the custom, Kew Gardens is providing a wreath to be laid on behalf of the Foreign Office at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. A […]
11th November 2016 Stockholm, Sweden
A joint blog by British, Canadian and Australian Ambassadors to Ukraine You may wonder why we, the British, Canadian and Australian Ambassadors, as well as people from other Commonwealth nations, wear a poppy flower at this time of the year. First of all, the poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day which marks the anniversary […]
11th November 2016 Vienna, Austria
How to ban nuclear tests
Just over 55 years ago, on 30 October 1961, the largest nuclear weapon ever constructed was set off over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Sea. The Soviet Tsar Bomba had a yield of 50 megatons, several thousand times as strong as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The mushroom cloud reached around 60 kilometers into […]
11th November 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia
Finally…
Early October 1918 Corporal George Henry Carter, M2/130656 of the 880th Motor Transport Convoy, Army Service Corps writes to his wife Minnie. His letter, written and indeed read with hope and optimism speaks of change. He confirms an Armistice had been reached with the Bulgarians; ‘…the Germans are about done too, So I am looking […]
10th November 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania
Why I am – commemorating Remembrance Sunday in Vilnius
Every year, the British and Canadian Embassies in Vilnius organise a multi-faith Remembrance Sunday Service in Vilnius. We remember the end of the First World War and the supreme sacrifice of those who gave their lives then, and since, to secure and protect our freedom. The focus of our remembrance is the eleventh hour of […]
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8th November 2016 Canberra, Australia
Yes, Canberra
As I approach the end of my four years representing the British Government in Australia, it is time for reflection. With some diplomatic postings you are counting the days for them to end. With others, you hope they never will. This one is in the latter category. I have seen a lot of this extraordinary […]
7th November 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
The New Human Rights Council
So what do the elections to the UN’s Human Rights Council tell us about the state of human rights in the world today? The elections took place ten days ago. There are 47 members of the HRC, and each has a three year term. A third of the membership is elected each year. All the […]
3rd November 2016 London, UK
Digital training and capability at FCO: pilots have landed
The new half-day Agile workshops for leadership at our embassies and high commissions (Posts) bring together the head of mission and deputy head of mission, and the main people from the press and public affairs teams, policy teams and consular communications team. The purpose is to decide how well a Post’s digital channels are supporting […]
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