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
12th June 2013 London, UK
Digital Diplomacy at the Foreign Office leadership conference
Every year UK Ambassadors return to London to look at how the Foreign Office can most effectively deliver UK priorities overseas. A key focus of those meetings is “diplomatic excellence”, working to ensure the UK has the most effective diplomatic service in the world. This year the use of digital tools to enhance UK diplomacy […]
Read more on Digital Diplomacy at the Foreign Office leadership conference | Reply
12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Make Poverty History
Could you survive on $1.25 per day? I certainly couldn’t. But over 1 billion people round the world have to do so. These are the extreme poor. Poverty not only means that people lack food and shelter. It also means that they struggle to escape poverty because they also lack good education and healthcare. And it means that […]
12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Honorary Consuls gather in Brisbane
Honorary Consuls from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa gathered in Brisbane for their annual conference and briefing on latest developments in our consular policy. I gave them an update on the current state of bilateral relations. These are local residents in cities where we do not have a consular office, who volunteer to help support […]
11th June 2013 New York, USA
Raising the Curtain on Brits On and Off Broadway
There’s a long and glittering history of traffic between the West End and Broadway. In a recent lavish exchange of gifts, London finally got The Book of Mormon and New York was introduced to the delights of Matilda the Musical, which promptly snaffled five Tony Awards from 13 nominations. One of Matilda’swinners on Sunday night was British playwright Dennis Kelly, who […]
Read more on Raising the Curtain on Brits On and Off Broadway | Reply (2)
11th June 2013 Havana, Cuba
7 days with swing!
Last week in Havana we saw a fantastic celebration of British culture. Once a year, as in many other countries in the world, the Embassy organises a BritWeek when we put on a variety of events. In Havana our cinema programme included the Cuban-British film, The Day of the Flowers. Obra Blue/Orange, put on by British director […]
11th June 2013 Paris, France
My regional visit to Lyon
I recently spent two days in Lyon, where there is a whole range of areas where Britain and France are working together. First of all, I went to Interpol, which is a century-old cooperation between police forces, where we have senior members of staff working on secondment from the British police to ensure the best […]
11th June 2013 British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica
David Fitton CMG Is The New British High Commissioner to Jamaica
Mr David Fitton CMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to Jamaica in succession to Mr Howard Drake, who was transferred to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Fitton will take up his appointment during June 2013. Mr Fitton joined the FCO in 1980 and was , until recently , Deputy Head of mission at the […]
Read more on David Fitton CMG Is The New British High Commissioner to Jamaica | Reply (6)
11th June 2013 Dublin, Ireland
Anniversaries: why history matters.
It has been another really busy but rewarding week for me. The highlights included reminders of history, a visit to Poznan and further evidence of the potential to increase trade and investment with Poland. The Fourth of June was both the anniversary of the historic 1989 elections in Poland when Solidarity won a remarkable victory […]
11th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Underdog
It’s all over – the European football season ended on 25th May with the Champions league final at Wembley Stadium in north-west London. Wembley was the right place for the final, as Britain gave the “beautiful game” of football to the rest of the world. We set out the rules in 1863 that eventually became […]
11th June 2013 Vientiane, Laos
Laos through my eyes – Aiden Glendinning
Having originally come to Laos on a working holiday in February 1995, I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to make my life here. A young man not long out of university, I was asked to visit two ex-college mates working for Houakhong Trading, a fuel company set up by a British investor.
Read more on Laos through my eyes – Aiden Glendinning | Reply (3)