3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
4th April 2012 Bucharest, Romania
Make sure that crime does not pay: UK and Romania’s developing partnership on asset recovery
I’m continuing my section of guest bloggers with Felicia Alexandru, our Senior Political Officer. I invited Felicia to talk about a recent project she worked on, organising a seminar on asset recovery, set up in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Justice and also the National Anticorruption Directorate. Let’s find out more! Romania and the […]
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3rd April 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
Namibia prepares for London 2012
Guest blog by visiting Olympic Attache for Sub Saharan Africa Sarah Heal. Having never been to Namibia and knowing what a small population this vast county has (2.2m), I was interested to see how prepared Namibia is for this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. I did not have to get very far into […]
3rd April 2012 Washington DC, USA
The best laid plans of mice and runners
When I saw my diary for last Wednesday, I realised that a snapshot of my activities that day would be the perfect way to answer that ubiquitous question posed by friends, family, old colleagues, and assorted others: “what do you actually do?” Business Minister Mark Prisk was visiting Washington and our plans for his visit […]
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3rd April 2012 Budapest, Hungary
This is GREAT Britain
The UK has a strong image around the world and, as I’ve discovered, here in Hungary. We’re respected for our traditions, our reliability and the quality of what we produce. It’s a great advantage for us – whether we’re working in Embassies overseas or trying to do business there. But the British brand needs a […]
3rd April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Taj – Reminders of Empire, re-making the British links
The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai is one of the prime landmarks of the city, overlooking the colossal Gateway to India, built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay prior to the historic Delhi Durbar held in December 1911. Built by the founder of the Tata group over 100 […]
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2nd April 2012 Guatemala City, Guatemala
History and human rights in Honduras
Guest blogging for me today is Lisa, our Political Officer who visited Copán, Honduras last week – not just to see the beautiful Mayan architecture at Copán Ruinas and enjoy the sunshine, but on serious business to visit an NGO project site! Here she is with her report: This past year, our project funds for […]
2nd April 2012 Washington DC, USA
A New Dawn for Sangin
I recommend you take a look at the latest blog written by Helmand’s new Head of Mission, Catriona Laing, on the recent DCC elections in Sangin. Famous for its dangerous past where many British and American soldiers lost their lives, Sangin now boasts its first ever District Community Council elections where over 2,000 people travelled […]
2nd April 2012 Bucharest, Romania
Great Britons in Romania: Ian Tilling and Casa Ioana
Third in our series of Great Britons in Romania is Ian Tilling, founder of Casa Ioana, a charity devoted to Bucharest’s homeless. Guest blog by Ian Saunders, our colleague from the embassy. Ian arrived in Romania in 1990 and settled in Bucharest in 1992. His wish was to convert a block in a deprived area […]
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2nd April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ring any bells?
Ever tried to play a Carillon? The Canberra Times said my chopsticks startled passers-by. But it’s hard to play a keyboard of pegs, which you have to hit with the heel of your hand to sound the mighty bells from a foundry in Loughborough. I was at the National Carillon on an island in Canberra’s […]
1st April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A life-changing experience
The Embassy’s Communications manager, Rana Nejem came back from London last week after accompanying four journalists from Jordan and Palestine to London. The feedback she got from them was so positive, that it seemed the perfect theme for a guest blog: “I cannot say it is a dream come true because I never even dreamed this […]