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
23rd April 2014 Los Angeles, USA
A Q&A with Dame Wendy Hall
I guest-blogged over on the Queen Elizabeth Prize ‘Create the Future’ site this month on the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web, as well as an interview that I conducted with Dame Wendy Hall. Read it here.
23rd April 2014 New York, USA
Shakespeare’s Big Four-Five-Oh
His is an amazing name when you think about it. Something tremulous, something virile. Vulnerability and power in tension — or is it harmony? Like his characters, so recognisably real in their complexity, even the playwright’s signature seems to encompass a vision of humanity in all its strengths and failings. “What’s in a name?” Juliet […]
23rd April 2014 London, UKMadrid, Spain
Business and Human Rights is a top priority for the British Government
I’ve blogged before about Business and Human Rights. Sustainable trade is vital for our economy, it supports employment and promotes British and global growth. But at the same time, human rights values are intrinsic to our foreign policy. So we will not promote trade at the expense of human rights. Our work on business and […]
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23rd April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Shakespeare in 600 words*
On occasion of the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare He was born 450 years ago, possibly on the same day – the 23rd of April – that he died 52 years later. He was the son of a merchant from Stratford, in the Midlands of England. He probably attended the local school where he studied […]
22nd April 2014 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 14-20 April 2014
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: https://storify.com/SINCanada/canadian-science-news-14-20-april-2014 [View the story ” Canadian science news: 14-20 April 2014″ on Storify]
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22nd April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Peru and the Falkland Islands: history of a Latin American common cause
Earlier this month the Peru-Argentina Friendship League organised a meeting in Congress under the title “Peru and the Falkland Islands: history of a Latin American common cause”*. I wasn’t invited to attend but I have read a report of the event with interest. The topics of the Falkland Islands, of the invasion of the islands […]
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22nd April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Farewell to Romania
Martin Harris has now finished his appointment in Romania. Please visit the blog of Raluca Bragarea, Head of Communications to follow the Embassy business and welcome the new ambassador Paul Brummell in August.
18th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Getting down to business in the Turks and Caicos Islands
I met earlier this month with the Business Advisory Group that I have invited to meet periodically. The Group represents a cross section of businesses including retail ( the Do It Store and IGA), construction (Coxco), tourism and new developments ( the Hotel and Tourism Association, Inter- Caribbean Airways, the Grand Turk Cruise Centre and […]
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18th April 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
My Parents Lived in Bulgaria in the 60s
by Denise Holt After David Holt’s story for #100UKBG from earlier this week, today – a few days before Easter – we look at his wife Denise’s most vivid memory of Bulgaria – an Easter service at Alexander Nevski Cathedral. Dame Denise Holt is a Non Executive Director on the boards of HSBC Bank. A former career diplomat, Denise was […]
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17th April 2014 London, UK
Building an audience for a Pop-Up Consulate
Have you ever tried planning a party in a city where you don’t know anyone? Yes, it doesn’t sound easy. Last month we took on a comparable task when we decided to follow in the footsteps of our colleagues in Chicago and host a British Pop-up Consulate in Halifax. One of the main reasons for […]
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