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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)
6th June 2012 Warsaw, Poland
The Great British Car Rally and Motor Show
8.00, Thursday 31st May, Jablonna Palace just outside Warsaw a pack of 15 Great British motoring icons line up on the palatial courtyard for scrutineering. E type jags, Rolls Royces, Austin Healeys, an MG and leading the pack a Lotus 7, a testimony to Colin Chapman and British racing excellence. The British and Poles are […]
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6th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Putting children first
Last week I spent time with the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organisation (JeCCDO) at their Debre Zeit branch office – altogether they operate in 15 areas of Ethiopia. JeCCDO was first set up in 1985, to support the wellbeing of orphans and other vulnerable children. But it has branched out since to embrace the […]
6th June 2012 New Delhi, India
A day spent in Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly
In February this year, I travelled to Bareilly, located in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), along with a delegation of UK experts in livestock research to visit IVRI. The visit was part of a joint venture between the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to initiate […]
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5th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Sixty Years of Service
This is a week of celebration in the United Kingdom and across the 15 independent realms of which The Queen is Head of State (including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica). We are celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. And in so doing, we are also celebrating the stability and evolution of the British […]
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 […]