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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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2nd December 2025
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14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
29th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
Vienna Girlsday: lessons in Styrian dialect and a visit to Burgenland
Last week, for the second year running, the British Embassy Vienna took part in the “Vienna Girlsday”. I certainly learned a lot. The aim of the “Girlsday” (in German it is called “Töchtertag” or “daughters’ day”) is to introduce young women to areas of work where women are under-represented. In the UK in 2019 we […]
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18th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
Are British gardens the best? Visit Britain and decide for yourself!
I was delighted last month to attend the annual spring opening of Praskac Pflanzenland, one of Austrian’s largest gardening suppliers. Praskac rather brilliantly have this year chosen the theme of “English Gardens”. Based close to Tulln in Lower Austria, Praskac was founded in 1875. The company is one of Austria’s largest distributors of English roses; […]
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17th April 2019 London, UK
The Commonwealth: towards a common future
This time last year, 46 Heads of Government and 49 Foreign Ministers gathered in London for the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Formally opened on 19 April by HM The Queen, this was the largest summit of its kind our country has ever hosted. Ahead of the formal conference, a whole series of discussion […]
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16th April 2019 Beijing
Working with China to produce an apple of lasting legacy
China is the world’s largest apple producer, harvesting 31 million tons in 2018 which accounted for 50% of the global production. Yet the industry suffered a 25% drop from the previous year due to bad weather. The Newton funded RED APPLE project kicked off in Beijing in the changeable spring weather of late March. This […]
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11th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
The Hare with Amber Eyes – live in Linz
A family is torn apart by war and discrimination. Many family members are murdered. Years later, a descendant of one of the survivors tries to find out what happened. This might not sound a promising premise for a musical. But at the Landestheater Linz on 6 April, the world premiere of the musical “The Hare […]
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4th April 2019 Morocco, Rabat
Thoughts in the Rain
The rain was falling as I left the house. I had the forethought to put both waterproof jacket and umbrella in the car. And I was very glad I did. / By the time we got to Tour Hassan Mosque, it was tipping down. Puddles were forming on the floor as the masses poured through […]
4th April 2019 Stockholm, Sweden
NATO at 70: The Alliance stands with Ukraine
Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Alliance was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War by a group of European and North American countries, united by their desire to create a lasting peace in Europe. Much has changed in the world since 1949. Security threats are more diverse […]
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2nd April 2019 Guatemala City, Guatemala
El Mirador trek: channelling your inner Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones made archaeology sexy. In the UK, though, it’s difficult to replicate that sense of adventure around archaeological digs. One of the most famous discoveries in recent years was that of the remains of King Richard III (died 1485) – he was found under a car park in Leicester. It somehow lacks the exoticism […]
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2nd April 2019 London,UK
Mad Day Out
This week is English Tourism Week, an annual celebration of the people, places and experiences which make holidays in England so great. I thought I would mark the occasion by blogging about my attempt to retrace an English journey which took place more than fifty years ago. The Beatles, the most famous band in the […]
2nd April 2019 King Charles Street, London
Tackling the Plastics Problem – SIN India
The input and build-up of plastic debris in our oceans is a major and increasing environmental problem. Plastics now comprise the majority of debris found in the sea, and are the most durable and persistent part of it. Estimates vary, but over 100 million tonnes of plastic may now be present in the oceans. While […]
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