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
5th August 2013 Warsaw, Poland
From Hel to Wladyslawowo and onto Gdynia
We had a GREAT day in Hel. Right down in the port, lots of visitors – some GREAT things to see and a visit to a Fokarium. That’s Polish for where seals live. Hel is a beacon of the Polish spirit in the Baltic – a star at the end of a thin strip of […]
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5th August 2013 Vientiane, Laos
Laos through my eyes – Chris Mastaglio
This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos. I arrived in Laos on a dusty old tuk-tuk rattling down the main road from the Thai border into Vientiane for a 2 week holiday. Eight years later, […]
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4th August 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
‘United for Tomorrow’: Lebanon’s Live Aid?
I look back at Live Aid, and its 2005 successor Live 8, as extraordinary moments where politics and culture came together with breathtaking power. What Bob Geldof and others achieved was not just to highlight the importance of Africa, but to move the needle – mobilising a generation to believe that our obligations to confront […]
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2nd August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Going with the wind
The UK is one of the most attractive locations in the world to invest in the offshore wind sector. There are huge development projects in the pipeline, as well as the prospect of long-term price stability. With our recent announcements on Electricity Market Reform, the UK is the first country in the world to give […]
2nd August 2013 Windhoek, Namibia
Passing on the Olympic baton to Brazil at Windhoek special needs school
I ended this week on a really high note at an event at Dagbreek School in Windhoek where I handed over an Olympic torch to the Brazilian Ambassador to mark the one year anniversary of the London 2012 Games. It is incredible to think that what we proudly call last year’s ‘Greatest Sporting Show on […]
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2nd August 2013 Athens, Greece
Enjoy the holidays!
I’m preparing for my holidays. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not actually doing any practical preparations. I always plan early, but pack very late. I know where we’re going and have been thinking fondly about our various destinations for some weeks now. But after booking tickets and rooms, I have done nothing except think and […]
2nd August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why Turks can feel good about getting older
Most of us should feel happy about getting older – as they say, it’s better than the alternative. But some of us can feel happier about it than others. To find out why, check out this fascinating Google web-site based on World Bank statistics. It shows life expectancy at birth, ie how long you can […]
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2nd August 2013 Warsaw, Poland
Gdansk is GREAT
Following a period of immense anticipation and excitement the GREAT Routemaster London Doubledecker adorned in red and a HERITAGE is GREAT destination board, fresh from its Grand Prix winning weekend in Budapest chugs into the historical, Hanseatic trading city of Gdańsk. GREAT to see – weather superb and a GREAT location on the rynek. Well […]
1st August 2013 London, UK
FCO launches new Twitter service offering travel advice and help – GOV.UK
British people travelling or living overseas can now get help from the FCO on Twitter: The new Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) service offers an easy way to stay up to date with the latest advice about travel, and to get help before and during a trip abroad. Questions to @FCOtravel are answered 9am – […]
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1st August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Celebrating ECPAT
All of our countries face problems relating to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). There have been some shocking cases recently in the UK which have raised awareness of the scale of what we have to deal with – the British Prime Minister has made very clear that addressing CSEC and its underlying causes […]