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14th November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Taking the Long View
Last week I attended speeches given by two very different political leaders. The first, by Tony Blair as President of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, at the Catholic University in Milan. The second, by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, at the Pontifical Gregorian University here in Rome. What was striking is […]
14th November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
We will remember them
Yesterday I attended the Remembrance Sunday annual service at Solymar’s Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. The weather was beautiful: mild and sunny. The dark-red poppies, for many decades the symbol of this occasion, stood out boldly against a clear, blue sky. This year’s ceremony was special for many reasons. Most importantly – besides the diplomatic […]
10th November 2011 Chevening, UK
Always Bring Your Umbrella!
Monchi Roderos is one of our new 2011/12 Chevening Scholars from the Philippines. He is studying Public Services Policy and Management at University College London. In his week’s Chevening Conversations entry, he tells us about his thoughts just prior to travelling to the UK, and most important of all, whether to bring an umbrella. A Pre-Departure Requirement? By Monchi Roderos One […]
10th November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukrainians… together
The metal of the factory gleams in the sun. Around it, gathered on walkways around three steel structures and massed in the space in front, stand hundreds of workers, some in hard hats, others in lab coats or shirts and ties. Welcome to the world of Igor Gaidai, one of Ukraine’s top photographers, who recently […]
10th November 2011 London, UK
UK and Netherlands – a common outlook
I was in the Netherlands earlier this week, my second visit as Minister for Europe. The UK and the Netherlands have a strong working relationship; the aim of my visit was to deepen bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the many areas where our views are closely aligned. As well as the important trade relations the […]
10th November 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Lest we forget
11 November is Remembrance Day. Along with many of my diplomatic colleagues, I’ll be laying a wreath at the War Memorial in Ottawa, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the guns finally fell silent on the Western Front in 1918. This will be particularly poignant for me, as […]
9th November 2011 Windhoek, Namibia
Guest blog by Natalie Luscombe, Office Manager for UK Minister for Africa
I am UK based member of staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and have been in Namibia for two and a half weeks to help with the organisation of the 3 day visit to Namibia by the UK’s Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham. The Minister arrived fresh from the UK on 31 October to […]
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9th November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why I wear a poppy
Once again, as November begins and temperatures dip towards freezing in Kyiv, Ukrainian friends and contacts are asking why I am wearing a small, red flower on my jacket lapel. I can do no better than refer to the blog I published this time last year, “Why I wear a poppy“. As in previous years […]
8th November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The race that stops a nation
Last week Sarah and I were invited to attend the Melbourne Cup, the race that famously “stops the nation”. In British terms it seems to be the equivalent of Ascot, the Grand National and the Derby all rolled into one. It’s an unmissable Aussie experience. We were very fortunate to be able to join the […]
4th November 2011 New York, USA
Countdown to the Marathon
As my Monster Month of training draws to a close and I enter the final 36 hours before the New York City Marathon on Sunday, I’d like to take this opportunity to praise the efforts of those involved and the causes which are being supported by thousands of competitors. Within the British Consulate in New […]