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Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
15th July 2011 London, UK
Child abductions in Cyprus
James McCamley, Consular Caseworker, Nicosia, Cyprus I’m sure if you ask most people what Cyprus means to them they’ll start talking enthusiastically about great beaches and fun holidays. That was certainly my main image of the island before I came to work here in the High Commission’s Consular Section – which is responsible for helping […]
15th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Swing dancing in Kyiv
The music is infectious. The urgent rhythm sends dancers sweeping around the room, partners gyrating and in some cases being thrown bodily through the air. At the end of the track, entitled “Shout Sister Shout”, everyone stops for a breather and swaps partners. I’m knackered. People often ask what Kyiv is like for a foreign […]
14th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukrainians to Newcastle
You don’t get much better people-to-people links than by bringing a group of British and Ukrainian young people together to play football on the beach, explore theatre projects and check out urban regeneration and diversity. Those were some of the results of a recent visit organised by the British Council with the Churches’ Regional Commission […]
13th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A moving military and human story
Four British medals are laid out on a Union Flag. The family stand proudly as the Defence Attache says a few words, citing a moving text from the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino in Italy which holds the graves over 1,000 Poles who died storming the abbey there in May 1944. Then we present […]
12th July 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Dispatch from Pond Inlet
This is part two in a series of blogs by High Commissioner Andrew Pocock on his recent trip to Canada’s Arctic region. Pond Inlet (Lat: 72’42” N; Long: 77’ 59” W) To Pond Inlet on 18 June (Waterloo Day!), pushing ever further north. The local name is Mittimatalik, and we stood on its shore, looking […]
12th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The rollerblading bride (and groom)
I suspect it’s not easy, rollerblading in a wedding dress. It’s probably even harder when you’re accompanied by several dozen smartly-dressed guests, also on rollerblades, and are taking a route which includes several steep hills and staircases. There are always risks in drawing conclusions about national characteristics, so I shall resist any suggestion that this recently-spotted […]
11th July 2011 Toronto, Canada
Canada releases two major reports on innovation
This is John Preece guestblogging about recent reports issued by two of Canada’s influential advisory bodies – the federal Science, Technology and Innovation Council and the provincial Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity. The reports detail the current status and future directions of innovation in Canada: State of the Nation 2010 and Canada’s Innovation Imperative. Both […]
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11th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukraine joins EU battle group
It’s easy to see international cooperation in black and white terms: either you’re “in” a particular body or organisation or you’re “out”. This is often tied to “zero-sum” thinking, which argues that something which is good for one person or country has to be bad for another. In reality, however, international relations includes a vast […]
11th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Crime Mustn’t Pay
I was in Bulgaria last week, comparing notes with colleagues in our Embassy in Sofia. Asset recovery is an issue in both Romania and Bulgaria at the moment. The Bulgarian government has developed a new draft law on Asset Forfeiture which is now being debated in the Parliament. Last month the European Commission for Democracy […]
8th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A dark side of Mumbai – and a home away from ‘home’
A small group from the Deputy High Commission went after work one evening to a part of Mumbai we wouldn’t normally visit. Kamathipura has numerous small businesses, and like every part of the city is a great example of entrepreneurism. That evening we saw the dark side of business, calling on the founder of an […]
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