17th July 2025
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
15th July 2025
International Day of Women in Diplomacy: UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls visit to Geneva
1st May 2025
The UN Commission on the Status of Women: My first visit as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls
21st January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK/Romania Poetry Collaboration: Found in Translation
I was invited last week by the National Science and Arts Foundation and the Mayor of Sector 2 in Bucharest to help give out the prizes at the fifth edition of the “Om Intre Oameni” awards ceremony. The event, held on Romania’s National Cultural Day, the birth date of poet Mihai Eminescu, honoured Romanians who […]
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21st January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Our Common Agenda
The headlines have been full of conflict and argument about extremism and fanaticism. Yet there is a paradox in the debate. On the one hand “We Are All Charlie” and “We Are All Moath”. But on the other there is a perception of conflict between “The West” and Islam. Language which emphasises “jihad” or “crusade” […]
20th January 2015 Boston, USA
Guest Blog: Summer at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute
It is especially rewarding for me when the collaborations created through my work impact the scientific experiences of young scientists – to me, it feels like I am doing my part to pay forward the kindnesses I was shown as a student. My first project upon joining the UK Science and Innovation Network in 2013 […]
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20th January 2015 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 12-18 January 2015
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-12-18-january-2015 [View the story “Canadian science news: 12-18 January 2015” on Storify]
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20th January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Jesuits: revival, restoration or re-establishment
Earlier this week, the embassy co-hosted with the Pontifical Gregorian University – the university in Rome run by the Jesuits – an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the decision by Pope Pius VII to re-establish the Society of Jesus in 1814, 41 years after its suppression by Pope Clement XIV. This was much more […]
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19th January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Geoffrey Wetherell
With his grandchildren in his old factory about 20 years ago Geoffrey Wetherell, who passed away at the age of 95 on 23 December, was at the time of his death the longest surviving Briton in Ethiopia – by quite some way. He first came to Ethiopia with the British armed forces in 1941. With […]
19th January 2015 New Delhi, India
Food systems – UK, India – from field to plate
The intricate world of supply chains of several foods from field to plate and the relationships between food, health and environment gets all the more fascinating if one does a comparative analysis of two countries’ food systems. This is what we attempted to do during the final quarter of the previous year with two scoping […]
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19th January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The FCO’s Australia network: leaner and fitter
When I leave Australia in a few weeks time, I will be leaving a network of five posts (High Commission, two Consulates General and two Consulates) with nearly a third fewer staff than we had when I arrived four years ago. Almost all of the affected positions were “back office” rather than customer facing or […]
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16th January 2015 Montreal, Canada
Paddington warms Ste. Justine’s Children Hospital
Paddington, the film, opens in Canada today. Although Winnie the Pooh is a household name here, Paddington has a lower profile in Canada…
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16th January 2015 Beirut, Lebanon
Parting Shots – An Alternative View of the UK in the Middle East
All over the Foreign Office network, we draw on advice and analysis from our brilliant locally engaged staff. One of our colleagues here, Nadim Zaazaa, is leaving us to work on an exciting project – the UK-Lebanon Tech Hub. See here for more details. He shared with me some parting thoughts about the Middle East, […]
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