3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
25th February 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Invitation to a Virtual Dinner: Can Lebanon Skip a Tech Generation?
Earlier this month I posted some futuristic thoughts on what Lebanon could be in 2020. Much more interesting than the speculation in the post was the response. The almost 300 comments so far give a good sense of current debate in Lebanon: idealism, cynicism, fatalism, frustration. Some seek to apportion blame, many to identify practical […]
Read more on Invitation to a Virtual Dinner: Can Lebanon Skip a Tech Generation? | Reply (6)
25th February 2013 New Delhi, India
PM’s visit heralds new Indo-UK research and innovation initiatives
In the words of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the ‘sky is the limit’ for UK-India partnership and this was evident throughout his visit to India (18-20 Feb 2013). The PM’s delegation included David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, and a host of Vice Chancellors (VCs) from some of the UK’s leading […]
Read more on PM’s visit heralds new Indo-UK research and innovation initiatives | Reply (3)
25th February 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Bread
One of the things all foreigners in Uzbekistan learn about is the local bread – non, or lipyoshka in Russian. There are regional variations, but all on the same theme of a circle of bread with a crisp, flattened centre and a thick rim. Bread, we are told, is an inescapable part of every meal: […]
25th February 2013 London, UK
“Ignite Your Future!”
Before choosing that slogan for the latest Education UK Exhibition here in Brunei, and the dramatic logo which went with it, we discussed what it meant. Some of us thought it sounded too incendiary. Then some bright spark recalled that the I-Centre had pioneered use of the word “ignite” for their excellent “Business Plan” competition. […]
25th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
1 million Australian tourists spend £1bn a year in Britain
London in February is a bit on the chilly side. But London is great to visit at any time of year. That’s why over one million Australians visit Britain every year, spending £1 billion. This amount has doubled over the past decade. A significant number are travelling to visit friends and relatives, but others are […]
Read more on 1 million Australian tourists spend £1bn a year in Britain | Reply
22nd February 2013 New York, USA
Oscars wild!
It was during an Academy Awards ceremony presided over by Johnny Carson in 1982 that Colin Welland famously declared, “The British are coming!” Eeyores back home would have it that Welland’s battle-cry has turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, but the facts tell a different story. There’s actually been an awful […]
22nd February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Live music
The best pleasures in life are those you least expect. I went to a concert of a British singer in Minsk last week. I was busy and hadn’t checked who it was that my colleague had suggested I go and see. The concert was given by the jazz singer Ian Shaw, with local jazz band […]
22nd February 2013 Vientiane, Laos
Nearly there!
The last few weeks have been particularly busy for us as we move into the final phase of our Embassy set-up. The renovation works on our new Embassy building (the former Australian Embassy building on Rue Nehru) are on schedule – if you are in Vientiane you may have noticed we have re-painted the building […]
21st February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Brit Brit hooray!
Watching the BRIT awards (the British Music industry awards) last night, I realised there was something different about them this year, something different… and yet very familiar. Then it dawned on me, just before the American musician Frank Ocean (who won best International Solo Male) said: ‘And thanks to Damien Hirst for the Polka Dots!’ […]
21st February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Of Congressmen and Penguins
It’s late afternoon and I am standing next to a Congressman on a warm, blustery day, surrounded by thousands of eyes looking inquisitively upon us. Despite our best intentions to understand them, their voices only get louder, squawking with unrestrained excitement. In late January, thousands of gentoo penguins are being introduced to a special visitor […]