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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
23rd September 2019 London,UK
Pleased as Punch
We missed Special Guest Star Bobby Davro, who had opened the Hotham Park Country Fair in Bognor Regis, but watching the Punch and Judy show at the fair felt like a rite of passage for our five-year old son, George, in the company of his parents and great aunt and uncle. The show was put […]
23rd September 2019 Geneva, Switzerland
Badly Opened Boxes
There are different ways to open boxes of breakfast cereal. When my wife does it, the box looks like it’s been magically opened by a graceful spell – the packaging remains in pristine condition and the re-sealable cardboard tag slides effortlessly into its allotted place. Whenever I do it, it looks like a pack of […]
20th September 2019 Beirut, Lebanon
12 months in Lebanon: ‘It can sometimes be hard to stay optimistic … but here’s why I do’
This time last year was one of the highlights of my career – presenting Queen Elizabeth’s letter to President Aoun that nominated me as Ambassador. The anniversary has allowed reflection on the year: for Lebanon, and for the UK. My first 12 months in Lebanon has been remarkable. Rolls Royce and MEA signed our largest […]
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17th September 2019 Vienna, Austria
Outstanding British food and drink in Vienna
‘You should try this English sparkling wine.’ ‘Really? Is it any good?’ ‘Try some. Make your own mind up.’ ‘OK.’ (Long pause.) ‘Wow. Can I have a couple more glasses?’ Our annual Queen’s Birthday Party at the residence in Vienna is not only one of the city’s hottest tickets (apologies, again, to all those we […]
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16th September 2019 Geneva, Switzerland
Disarmament blog: the Conference on Disarmament in 2019
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) adopted its Annual Report to the UN General Assembly last week. Thanks to the skilful work of the sixth and final President for the year, Zimbabwean Ambassador Taonga Mushayavanhu, this was a quicker and much less fractious process than many of us were expecting. With that, a week ahead of […]
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4th September 2019 Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan: A New Dawn
Protestors took to the streets of Sudan in December 2018 calling passionately for change. Their persistence led in April 2019 to the removal of former President Bashir. But what followed was not civilian rule but a tense period of political negotiations and sometimes confrontation with the Transitional Military Council that assumed power. This period saw […]
3rd September 2019 Dublin, Ireland
Celebrating Sustainably at the British Ambassador’s Summer Party 2019
I am now back from my summer break. After three weeks in Poland and Austria, I took off from Vienna in 34 degree heat and landed back in Dublin, where the temperature was 15C. I knew I was home. But I was also aware that our summers are getting warmer and generally drier. While that […]
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3rd September 2019 London,UK
In praise of London’s parks
Brasilia’s City Park, named after Sarah Kubitschek, the spouse of the President responsible for the founding of the city in the late 1950s, covers an area of more than 900 acres. It has some impressive features, including modernist toilet blocks decorated with ceramic tiles from Brazilian master Athos Bulcao. I was intrigued to see that, […]
2nd September 2019 Geneva, Switzerland
Disarmament blog: back to school
As August turns to September, the traffic jams return to Geneva and the evenings start drawing in. People start returning from the beaches or mountains. It’s ‘back to school’ time. In fact, the disarmament community has been back at work since 29 July, when the CD resumed its 2019 session. So I feel like I’ve […]
30th August 2019
UK nationals living in Spain: your healthcare access after Brexit
We understand that recent media reports about the impact of Brexit on the rights of UK nationals living in Spain may have caused concern to UK citizens living in Europe. We want to make clear the actions that UK nationals in Spain need to take to continue living and working in Spain as they do […]
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