25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
23rd April 2024
Good English – A Key to Panama’s Future Success
21st March 2024
Forests in focus on International Day of Forests
1st June 2012 Dublin, Ireland
(British) Food is GREAT!
Poland has always been a problem for my waistline, as I have a real weakness for dishes like pierogi, żurek and a well made bigos. The ingredients for these and many other dishes can now be found in most British supermarkets thanks to the thriving Polish community in the UK. But now British food and […]
1st June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Beach volleyball, the Foreign Office and Euro 2012
How will beach volleyball affect the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London this summer? What are the parallels, and differences, between London 2012 and Euro 2012 in Ukraine? You can find answers to these and other questions about the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and about the Euro 2012 football championship, in a short TV […]
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31st May 2012 Toronto, Canada
UK Creative Industries KTN visits Toronto
SIN Canada in Toronto recently had the pleasure of a visit by Jeremy Davenport of the UK Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network (CI-KTN). The CI-KTN is part of the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), and represents around 6,000 companies/institutions involved in the creative sector. Jeremy was in Toronto to make connections with the creative types located […]
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31st May 2012 Ottawa, Canada
A GREAT day in Canada
I haven’t blogged much recently, as we’ve been launching the GREAT campaign across Canada. GREAT as in Britain, and it asks Canadians to take a new look at the Old Country. You’ll be surprised by what you see. All the things you’d expect in the history and tradition departments – and we’re on the verge of […]
31st May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Continuity and Change
This weekend sees an outburst of national emotion in the United Kingdom as we celebrate Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee. It will be done in style: a four-day holiday weekend will see a pageant of 1,000 boats sail down the River Thames including a specially designed royal barge, a concert at Buckingham Palace with some of the […]
31st May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why Kyiv is brilliant
The view is astounding. Below, a mighty river winds through a brilliant green landscape. A steep bluff studded with golden domes tumbles down to the shore. Below me are several hundred tonnes of stainless steel. Welcome to one of the world’s great – and least-known – cities. After years of writing blogs about visits to […]
30th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
GREAT British Cars
Why buying a second-hand jag puts you in good, competitive company… In the business pages of this Sunday’s Washington Post, Michael Lennox asked whether an aspiring global competitor from a developing economy could use the acquisition of an established Western business to grow its earnings and diversify. Michael’s case in point was Tata’s acquisition in 2008 of […]
30th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
British Parliamentarians at Vatican
Seven members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Holy See have just visited the Vatican. In a whistle-stop tour, they were able to meet a range of important Holy See officials, including calls at the Secretariat of State and, separately, at Caritas Internationalis. They were also presented to Pope Benedict at the General […]
30th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukraine: challenges, optimism and the AUGB
Can one be an optimist about Ukraine? When I visited the UK recently I was invited to visit the central office of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) in Notting Hill to meet members of the Association and to give a short talk. A couple of people have told me they enjoyed the […]
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30th May 2012 Bangalore, India
Bangalore visits Cambridge
It was very cold and rainy in Cambridge, but the warm welcome we received lifted our spirits! I led a group of academics and entrepreneurs to Cambridge 16 to 20 April to understand the well-known Cambridge Phenomenon first hand, and explore ways to link this great City to the Technology City in India, Bangalore. Both […]