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
2nd April 2013 Washington DC, USA
Learning from the UK: A confession from a development professional
I don’t give as much money to good causes as I should. For someone who works in international development and who feels strongly that we need a joint, all-out effort to end poverty, that’s a pretty stark admission. Given my own failings, I can only say hats off to the UK Government for maintaining its […]
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2nd April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Integrarea comunităţii Roma în Rotherham şi în România
Luna trecută am fost la Rotherham, un oraș aflat în sudul regiunii Yorkshire. Împreună cu o delegație din județul Dolj, am încercat să găsim modalități de a reintegra comunitatea romă în România. De data aceasta, a fost rândul nostru să vizităm orașul după vizita preşedintelui Consiliului Municipal din Rotherham, Roger Stone OBE la Craiova şi […]
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2nd April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Roma Inclusion in Rotherham and Romania
Last month I was in Rotherham in South Yorkshire with a delegation from Dolj County looking at approaches to Roma inclusion. This was the return visit after the leader of Rotherham Municipal Borough Council Roger Stone OBE visited Craiova and Podari last January. I wanted him to see the excellent work that local authorities have […]
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2nd April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Gedaref elections: a step on the way towards 2015
I visited Gedaref last weekend, mainly to witness the election for a new Governor. It wasn’t a formal observation mission (we’re not staffed for that). We did however support a Sudanese NGO which made a good job of systematic observation. For me it was more a question of getting a feel for how elections happen […]
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2nd April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australian Easter Festivals
In the Northern Hemisphere the backdrop to the great Christian festival of Easter is Spring and renewal. In Australia it’s Autumn. Seasons matter: it feels different. But Autumn can be beautiful here, and it’s also a time of festivals. Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, is a massive event with nearly a million people visiting the showground […]
28th March 2013 London, UK
“The Mother of all Parliaments” and the mother of all elections
I must be in hundreds of photos seen by people around the world. Not because I’m some global celebrity, but because I regularly walk or cycle over the bridge by the Houses of Parliament in London. Each time I do, I end up in the photos of tourists lining up to take pictures of the […]
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28th March 2013 USA
The geeks are winning!
There is no doubt that the Internet has changed the world as we know it. Being of (slightly) advanced age, I remember the days when the only way to source new knowledge was to ask your mum or dad, thumb through an (out of date) encyclopedia, or search it out in your local library. Now, […]
28th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Spoken English
Last week, I was a judge in an English speaking competition in Minsk, as part of a world-wide competition organised by the English Speaking Union. And then I gave a speech in English at Friendship House (Дом Дружбы). It was a humbling experience to listen to 12 young people from Belarus speaking English fluently – […]
28th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Iron, Ice and Innovation
This job takes me to a range of interesting places but it is not often in the space of a few hours that I end up 500 metres underground and then in a bedroom five degrees below freezing! Such was my contrasting experience on my visit to Kiruna this week. As guest of LKAB, which […]
28th March 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Two Museums in Karakalpakstan
Last week was mid-term break at my daughter’s school, so I took some time off to go with my family to Khiva and Nukus. The big attraction in Nukus was the museum containing works from the collection of Igor Savitsky. It’s no longer unknown, since the 2010 film “Desert of Forbidden Art”. Apparently large numbers […]